BJP moots strategy to win ‘challenging seats’ in UP polls

Lucknow: As part of its preparation for the UP Assembly elections, BJP has categorised ‘challenging seats' into six groups where it will give special focus to drum its tally in the hustings.

The six categories are — seats where it came second in 2022 elections; where it was a distant third; seats which are the pocket boroughs of the opposition (read SP and Congress); seats BJP lost in 2022 but later won in bypolls; seats where its allies lost; and seats dominated by the Muslim population.


In the 2002 Assembly elections, BJP had contested 376 seats — it won 255 seats and came second on 106. These were the seats where the BJP faced a fierce square-off with the Samajwadi Party and its ally Congress. BJP sources said the party plans to rework its ground-level strategies while amplifying its outreach among the voters on these seats.

The other major hurdle for the BJP is in constituencies where it came third. These include Kunda, Babaganj, Saheswan, Jalalpur and Rasra. In Malhani, the party had come a distant fourth, behind SP, JD(U), and BSP. These seats represent some of the most difficult electoral terrains for the party, requiring structural political shifts for the BJP to become competitive. The party plans to devise special strategies to take on the SP and Congress in their pocket boroughs of Etawah, Mainpuri, Kannauj, Azamgarh, Firozabad, Amethi and Rae Bareli. Sources said that the party plans to deploy its senior functionaries, including those from the central leadership, for deeper and sharper coordination in these seats.

Next comes seats which BJP lost in the 2022 elections but later won in the bypolls. These seats include Katehari, Rampur, Kundarki and Milkipur. Analysts said that some of these seats—especially Rampur and Kundarki—have traditionally been under the influence of the SP and have a strong presence of minority voters.

Seats which the BJP's allies lost in 2022 are also on the radar. Data show that while the NISHAD Party lost Kalpi, Handia, Katehari and Atrauliya, the Apna Dal (S) faced defeat in seats like Suar, Bacchrawan, Chail, Soraon and Partappur. Sources said this time BJP plans to field its candidates in these seats after formal talks with the allies.

At the same time, BJP will step up efforts in seats with a sizeable presence of Muslims. According to an estimate, there are around 140 seats where Muslim voters have considerable presence and can play a decisive role in electoral outcomes. Sources said the party will depute its minority wing members to reach out to Muslims to blunt the opposition's influence.

Experts said the exercise is part of BJP's micro-level strategy rather than a broader statewide campaign. A senior UP BJP functionary said the party will try to convert narrow defeats into victories through targeted political management this time. This, analysts said, reflects a shift from macro messaging (development, govt) to constituency-specific political engineering.Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Women's day wishes, messages and quotes !