In a disaster waiting to happen for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP may fail to reach the double digit in Uttar Pradesh in this year’s Lok Sabha polls, if Samajwadi Party and the BSP contested together. This observation was made by psephologist Yashwant Deshmukh of Cvoter after India TV broadcast a new survey for the parliamentary polls.
According to the India TV-CNX poll survey, BJP may win 40 seats, BSP 15, SP 20, Congress 2 in Uttar Pradesh if elections were conducted today. This projection was seemingly made based on the assertion that these non-BJP parties will contest separately. Deshmukh said that the projection for the BJP in UP was worrying and the saffron party may struggle to reach even the double digit if the BSP and the SP fought the Lok Sabha polls together.
He tweeted, “Huge shocker coming in for BJP from UP as per @indiatvnews survey. If without MGB the BJP is being shrunk at just 40 seats, imagine what would happen if SP-BSP are taken as alliance. If @indiatvnews numbers hold ground, BJP won’t be in double digits in UP.”
Huge shocker coming in for BJP from UP as per @indiatvnews survey. If without MGB the BJP is being shrunk at just 40 seats, imagine what would happen if SP-BSP are taken as alliance. If @indiatvnews numbers hold ground, BJP won’t be in double digits in UP. https://t.co/3qCjGSa40u
— Yashwant Deshmukh ?? (@YRDeshmukh) January 5, 2019
The BJP, riding on the Modi wave in 2014, had won 71 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh. This significantly contributed to the party’s overall tally of 282 seats in the Lok Sabha. With the projection for the UP being so grim, it’s unlikely that the BJP may be able to repeat its 2014 performance this year.
The latest opinion poll came on the day a veteran BJP leader wrote to the party predicting a rout in the elections if it did not make urgent changes in top leadership. Sanghpriya Gautam, who served as a cabinet minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, said that Nitin Gadkari should be made the Deputy Prime Minister. He also said that Amit Shah be removed from his post as the party chief and replaced with former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Sanghpriya Gautam was menacing in his tone about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who he felt should return to his role as a temple priest. According to him, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh should be made the new Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, which has plunged into anarchy under Adityanath.