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From former district presidents and MLAs to inactive office-bearers and influential professionals, the BJP is preparing an extensive contact list to address internal grievances
The BJP has asked district presidents to collect inputs from mandal-level units and prepare lists of former district presidents, former MLAs and MPs, inactive office-bearers and influential personalities who could be brought into the party’s organisational network. (Image: PTI/File)
Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, which is less than a year away, the BJP has started reaching out to leaders and workers feeling sidelined within the organisation.
From former district presidents and MLAs to inactive office-bearers and influential professionals, the BJP is preparing an extensive contact list to address internal grievances, revive old networks and prevent discontent from affecting its electoral preparations.
At an organisational meeting chaired by Uttar Pradesh BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary in Lucknow on October 31, national general secretary and state incharge Vinod Tawde and state general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh discussed the outreach strategy.
WHAT IS THE BJP PLANNING?
The BJP has asked district presidents to collect inputs from mandal-level units and prepare lists of former district presidents, former MLAs and MPs, inactive office-bearers and influential personalities who could be brought into the party’s organisational network.
At the meeting, it was decided to identify former district presidents, MLAs and other old party functionaries who have remained inactive or feel sidelined. Senior leaders will personally contact them, address their grievances and attempt to bring them back into active organisational work.
“There was a time when those not holding formal positions in the organisation were also left without any work, a practice the party now wants to change,” a state general secretary privy to the meeting said.
Another BJP leader said the outreach exercise followed feedback indicating that there was a sizeable number of party workers and influential people with grievances against the party or the government, largely over perceived neglect.
“The party now wants to address these grievances and correct this perception ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections,” the leader said.
The exercise will not be limited to former party functionaries. District units have been asked to identify influential personalities from different professions, including lawyers, doctors, traders, industrialists and intellectuals. Influential opposition leaders not particularly active in their parties will also be identified and approached.
The district presidents have also been asked to prepare separate lists of people interested in joining the BJP, categorising them into those willing to join without seeking an assembly ticket and those aspiring to contest the 2027 election.
These lists will be forwarded to the state party headquarters, where senior leaders will examine the names and decide on further action.
WHY THIS OUTREACH BY THE BJP
The outreach follows the BJP’s setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh, where its tally dropped from 62 seats in 2019 to 33 in 2024. The Samajwadi Party won 37 seats, while the Congress secured six.
Since the 2024 results, complaints about coordination between elected representatives, the organisation and the administration have figured in internal discussions. Office-bearers of the BJP have also raised concerns about their inability to get routine administrative issues addressed by officials at police stations and tehsil offices.
“We do not experience the feeling of being part of the government despite our party being in power in the state since 2017. Since we cannot get small things done for our supporters, we cease to be taken seriously by them,” a BJP worker said while describing the frustration among grassroots functionaries.
Senior BJP leader and UP minister Daya Shankar Singh acknowledged that party workers sometimes feel frustrated when they compare their influence with that enjoyed by workers of other parties when they were in power.
“But this is what makes the BJP different from other political parties. For the BJP, the interest of the society as a whole is supreme while for other political parties individual and family interests are more important,” Singh said. “We do not interfere in day-to-day administration.”
The issue of organisational discontent was also reflected in Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s address to the BJP state executive committee meeting in Lucknow on October 30.
Acknowledging that several workers might not have received organisational positions or rewards despite their contribution, Shah urged them to set aside their resentment and work together for the party.
“Aap logon ke mann mein jo bhi nirasha, narazgi hai, usey yahan se jaate samay Gomti mein daal kar jaiye. Ekjut rehna hai. Kai baar mann mein jo socha jaata hai wah haasil nahi hota hai (whatever disappointment or anger you have in your hearts, dump it in the Gomti river when you leave here. We must remain united. Many times, what one thinks or hopes for in their heart is not achieved),” Shah told party workers.
He said the BJP had made the “maximum adjustment” in Uttar Pradesh to accommodate workers in government bodies and organisations, even though many had not received formal positions.
According to party sources, complaints had also been raised over the accommodation of people from outside the organisation in senior positions, while workers who had spent years building the party felt overlooked. At meetings held in Varanasi and Sultanpur, party workers reportedly questioned the criteria for rewarding organisational work and alleged that people with access to senior leaders were getting positions while grassroots workers were being overlooked.
A senior BJP functionary said the meetings were intended to allow workers to express their grievances.
“The BJP and Sangh will take note of the concerns raised,” the functionary said.
The leadership has also linked the outreach exercise to strengthening the organisation at the booth level. At the October 30 meeting, BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary said: “The BJP’s real capital is its workers, not power.”
He urged MPs, MLAs and other elected representatives to maintain regular dialogue with party workers.
The outreach exercise also comes at a time when the BJP is preparing to manage competing political ambitions ahead of the assembly election. With 403 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, the party will have to consider claims from sitting MLAs, former legislators, unsuccessful ticket aspirants, influential new entrants and leaders seeking opportunities for family members.
Tawde addressed the issue at the state executive meeting on October 30, saying that aspiring to contest elections was not wrong but that party workers would have to accept the limitations of ticket distribution.
“There is nothing wrong with wanting to contest the election, but the state has only 403 seats. Some people will get tickets, those who fail to get, would not work against the party,” Tawde said.
He said tickets will be decided on the basis of work and candidates’ credentials rather than money or personal proximity to senior leaders.
“I have not come only for the elections; I will remain in-charge of Uttar Pradesh for the next three years. I will leave Uttar Pradesh only after fulfilling the promise made to any worker who does the work. You can ask workers in Bihar, Maharashtra and Haryana about me,” Tawde said.
His remarks came as the party sought to communicate that organisational work will be recognised while individual electoral ambitions would have to be balanced against the party’s overall strategy.
OUTREACH AS POLL STRATEGY
The outreach to neglected leaders is part of a wider election-preparation strategy.
The BJP has proposed assigning one worker the responsibility of every 50 households, setting up district- and assembly-level election steering committees and appointing migrant in-charges at the constituency level.
Tawde has said the 2027 elections will require detailed micromanagement and coordination down to the booth level.
The party is also focusing on voter-list revision, beneficiary outreach and engagement with women, young voters, first-time voters, farmers, traders and other sections of society. It is preparing social outreach programmes, beneficiary contact initiatives and conventions for young and first-time voters.
Former public representatives, office-bearers and candidates who contested the 2022 assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections are also expected to be assigned roles in the campaign. A party functionary said the leadership wanted to integrate former public representatives and inactive office-bearers into these activities.
“Every worker and former public representative has to be assigned a role. The effort is to ensure that no one who can contribute to the election campaign remains outside the organisational structure,” the functionary said.
The BJP’s latest exercise brings together three organisational priorities: reconnecting with leaders and workers who feel neglected, identifying influential new entrants and strengthening its booth-level network.
WHAT ARE THE EXPERTS SAYING?
Political analyst Dr Shashikant Pandey, Head of the Department of Political Science at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, has highlighted the importance of leadership and organisational strength in the BJP’s electoral strategy in Uttar Pradesh.
“The BJP’s biggest strength is Adityanath’s leadership,” Pandey said in an earlier assessment of the party’s preparations for the 2027 elections.
He said Uttar Pradesh was among the states where votes could be mobilised in the name of both Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Akhilesh has been expanding his support base for years, while Yogi and the BJP continue to rely on an organisational machine that remains unmatched,” Pandey said, also identifying ticket distribution as an important factor in the next election.
Prof SK Dwivedi, former head of the political science department at Lucknow University, has specifically flagged the possible electoral implications of worker dissatisfaction.
“These issues will undoubtedly affect the BJP in the Assembly polls, but the party is likely to try to counter them through sops,” Dwivedi said in an assessment of the party’s preparations.
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Ask News18The BJP has directed district presidents to compile lists of former district presidents, former MLAs, inactive office-bearers, and influential personalities to address internal grievances and bring them back into active work. Senior leaders will personally contact these individuals to correct perceptions of neglect ahead of the 2027 polls.
Ask News18November 03, 2026, 09:00 IST
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