Internal dispute within BJP- NDA before elections in UP

All political parties are busy preparing with full force for the assembly elections to be held in Uttar Pradesh next year. However, the emerging dissenting voices within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and in the NDA have increased the concerns of the party leadership.

The growing divide between elected representatives and officials, and among ministers, is now becoming a subject of public debate.

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The heated argument between Water Resources Minister Swatantra Dev Singh and local BJP MLA Brijbhushan Rajput on the road in Mahoba on January 30 is considered the latest example of this internal confrontation. Although the party leadership termed it a minor incident, in political circles, it is being seen as a link in the chain of imbalance between power and the organisation.

BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary gave a brief reaction regarding the heated exchange between Water Resources Minister Swatantra Dev Singh and BJP MLA Brijbhushan Rajput in Mahoba. He said that the entire matter is in the party’s knowledge. Both leaders have been spoken to regarding this matter.

However, this is not the first time that a crack has appeared in the wall of discipline within the BJP. In the past few years, several incidents have come to light where dissatisfaction regarding the ambitions of elected representatives and the administrative style of functioning has surfaced openly.

Earlier, in July 2022, the public resignation of Minister of State for Water Resources Dinesh Khatik, who accused officials of neglect and corruption, was a major indication of this unrest. Although the matter was later resolved, the message was clear that internally, all was not well.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, infighting within the party also came to the fore. The bitter verbal spat between Union Minister Dr Sanjeev Balyan, who was contesting from the Muzaffarnagar seat, and former BJP MLA Sangeet Som affected several seats. After the election results were announced, BJP candidate Raghav Lakhanpal Sharma from Saharanpur openly blamed a party minister and MLA for his defeat, further escalating the political tension.

In Uttar Pradesh politics, infighting is becoming increasingly evident not only within the ruling BJP but also among ministers of the BJP and its allies. The latest incident involves the growing conflict between cabinet ministers Om Prakash Rajbhar and Anil Rajbhar, which has now spilled into the public domain.

Both leaders belong to the same caste, reside in the same area, and hold cabinet-level positions in the Yogi government. Their long-standing rivalry now appears to be transforming into sharp verbal attacks.

A few days ago, while UP minister Anil Rajbhar was giving a speech at an event in Varanasi, some people wearing yellow scarves started chanting slogans. An angry Anil Rajbhar, identifying the sloganeers as supporters of another state minister and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) president Om Prakash Rajbhar, said, “Just like their leader is a thief, they are also thieves.” He then instructed his supporters to remove the sloganeers, who were subsequently pushed and forced out of the venue.

Responding to this incident, Om Prakash Rajbhar, during his Varanasi visit on Sunday, retaliated against Anil Rajbhar, saying, “The one pointing fingers used to run an iron shop 23 years ago and was involved in theft.” He challenged Anil Rajbhar, saying, “If you are a man and if you are a true son of your mother, then tell me where the shop for selling votes is located.”

Responding to Om Prakash Rajbhar’s statement, Cabinet Minister Anil Rajbhar said, “Why is he bringing my mother into this? A mother is a mother, regardless of whose she is.”

On the eve of elections, the biggest challenge for the BJP is to maintain public trust. The ground reality is that in many areas, elected representatives feel marginalised, while allegations of excessive influence by the bureaucracy persist.

Against this backdrop, a new agenda is being prepared for cabinet expansion, panchayat elections, reorganisation of the state unit, and coordination meetings between the BJP and the RSS to control dissent before the 2027 assembly elections. Political analysts believe that if the coordination between the government and the party organisation is not strengthened in time, this internal conflict could become a major weapon for the opposition. How successfully the BJP leadership manages these dissenting voices in the coming months will determine the outcome of the upcoming elections.