Today in Politics: Amid rumblings of dissent from allies in UP, what will BJP do?

After the BJP’s shock defeat in Uttar Pradesh’s Lok Sabha seats at the hands of the Opposition INDIA bloc, reviews of the results within the party have been accompanied by criticisms from its allies, most recently the Sanjay Nishad-led NISHAD party.

On Monday, Nishad told reporters: “Garib ko ujadenge toh woh hamein ujadega rajneeti mein (Uproot the poor, and they will uproot us in politics).” He also criticised the “misuse of bulldozers” by the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, as reported by Maulshree Seth. On Tuesday, Adityanath allayed the fears of residents of Lucknow neighbourhoods, who have been troubled for the past month by rumours about the demolition of their houses for the Kukrail river project.

Earlier, another BJP ally and Union Minister of State Anupriya Patel, the chief of the Apna Dal (S), had publicly shared a letter she wrote to Adityanath, expressing concerns about government jobs reserved for OBCs and SCs ending up with general category applicants in Uttar Pradesh.

Patel’s claim that reserved seats becoming “unreserved” during the government recruitment process shows a deeper concern among the ruling party’s coalition partners about the shift in SC and OBC votes to the Opposition in the Lok Sabha elections.

The disquiet within the NDA in UP may prompt the BJP to revisit its alliances in the state with some in the party claiming that its partners were unable to bring in votes from their communities. A section of the state BJP believes the party should now attempt to develop its leadership in these communities.

A senior BJP leader recently said, “The party will have to think about promoting strong OBC faces, especially Kurmis, from within our ranks who can connect with people. It is clear that despite giving