Upper castes dominate BJP’s list of UP dist chiefs

Lucknow: The BJP has appointed presidents of its 70 district units in Uttar Pradesh, prioritising upper castes in the long-pending appointments.

The strategic move is seen as an effort to manage the caste equation ahead of the 2026 Panchayat Elections and the 2027 Assembly elections.

Of the 70 district presidents, 39 belong to the general caste, which is considered BJP’s core vote bank. The party has divided the state into 98 districts for organisational purposes.

In 2023, the BJP had appointed four women and four Scheduled Caste (SC) district presidents. The party’s central leadership had suggested increasing the representation of women and SC community members to 20 percent to attract these voter segments in the upcoming elections.

However, despite the efforts of state election officer Mahendra Nath Pandey, state president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary and general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh, the target was not fully achieved. Nevertheless, the number of women district presidents increased from four to five, while SC representation rose from four to six.

The BJP’s new list features 20 Brahmins, 10 Thakurs, 3 Kayasthas, 2 Bhumihars, 4 Vaishyas, and 1 Punjabi president from the general category. Among the 25 Other Backward Classes (OBC) district presidents, there is one representative each from Yadav, Carpenter, Kashyap, Kushwaha, Pal, Rajbhar, Rastogi and Saini communities. Additionally, there are five Kurmis, two Mauryas, four Backward Vaishyas, and two Lodh community leaders. Six district presidents hail from the SC community, including three from the Dhobi, Katheria, Kori, and Pasi categories. However, the BJP has not appointed a single Muslim district president out of the 70.

Political analysts believe that after two and a half months of meticulous efforts, the BJP has successfully crafted the right political equation for the upcoming elections. By giving prominence to upper castes, the BJP aims to prevent the Samajwadi Party (SP) from making inroads into its traditional vote bank.

Among backward castes, the party has accommodated all major communities, including Kurmi, Lodhi, Saini, Maurya, Kushwaha, Yadav, Rajbhar, and Nishad. By increasing Dalit representation, the BJP is attempting to counter SP’s PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, and Alpsankhyak) strategy. Additionally, the absence of a Muslim district president is seen as a strategic move to polarise Hindu votes.