BJP’s checklist for UP debacle: What factors is the party looking at?

How well-connected were candidates with the public? What was the impact of the Constitution and reservation issues on the campaign? Did decisions of the government, the Centre and/or the state, play a role in a loss?

These questions form part of a checklist prepared by the BJP to try and ascertain reasons for its debacle in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections.

The party’s below-par performance in the state saw its tally of seats fall from 62 in 2019 to 33 this time while its vote share declined from 49.98% to 41.37%.

The party will explore reasons why it lost so many constituencies and, except for Varanasi and Lucknow, also look into seats that it, and its allies, retained but where their victory margins dropped.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi retained Varanasi for the third straight time, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh bagged Lucknow. However, their victory margins fell.

The BJP has assigned senior state leaders for the review process, instructing them to visit every Assembly segment of the Parliamentary constituency assigned to them. They have to submit their reports to the state leadership by June 25. The state leadership will then send a report to the central leadership.

The BJP checklist includes the following questions:

During ground visits, BJP leaders will collect feedback on these points from mandal unit leaders, district office-bearers, the party’s elected public representatives, and the candidates. Besides this, the BJP leaders will also collect information about what the Opposition candidates did, such as how they campaigned and the resources they had at their disposal.

“We have to ask about the narratives set by the Opposition on various issues and also about the impact of their campaign on the