The BJP has started an extensive exercise to win a third term in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The party is focusing on 90 constituencies where it lost ground. A senior source said, "Wherever he goes and addresses rallies, he attracts huge turnouts," referring to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
The party is focusing on nearly 90 constituencies where it lost ground, while working to counter the SP's efforts to expand its support among OBCs and Scheduled Castes.
NEW DELHI: With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections still months away, the BJP has begun an extensive organisational and electoral exercise to retain power for a third consecutive term, regain constituencies lost to the Samajwadi Party (SP) and other Opposition parties, and counter emerging caste and political combinations.
The party has reportedly set a tentative target of winning at least 260 of 403 Assembly seats, over and above those secured by its allies. Its preparations are being driven by the need to consolidate its position in UP, which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha and remains central to its calculations for the 2029 elections. The BJP will focus on nearly 90 seats which will help it regain its lost ground.
The urgency stems partly from the BJP's performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when its tally in Uttar Pradesh fell to 33 from 62 in 2019. The party has since stepped up its booth-level mobilisation, appointing Panna Pramukhs and other workers across all booths and assigning them organisational responsibilities.
Its MPs have also been asked to focus on their respective constituencies, which cover several Assembly segments. The BJP has reportedly divided Uttar Pradesh into seven to eight organisational zones, with particular attention to constituencies where the SP has a strong presence.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is expected to play a central role in the exercise. The party leadership is learnt to have given him considerable freedom to identify electoral issues, intensify the campaign and devise strategies to counter the SP, its principal challenger.
A senior BJP source described Yogi as a major crowd-puller in the state, claiming that he enjoys public trust comparable to that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Wherever he goes and addresses rallies, he attracts huge turnouts," the source said, adding that Yogi was effectively preparing the ground for the eventual entry of the party's national campaign leaders, including Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The BJP's immediate political concern is the SP's attempt to consolidate its traditional Muslim-Yadav (MY) base while expanding its reach among other OBC communities and Scheduled Castes. The ruling party is working on constituency-specific strategies to counter this combination and strengthen its own caste outreach.