Lucknow: BJP national general secretary and newly appointed Uttar Pradesh in-charge Vinod Tawde made it clear that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would be the party's face in the 2027 Assembly elections,
saying the NDA would return to power in the state for a third consecutive term under the leadership of Yogi and state BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary.
Tawde made the remarks on his first visit to Uttar Pradesh after being given charge of the state, signalling that the BJP has begun preparing for the 2027 electoral battle in earnest. His assertion also seeks to put to rest speculation over the party's leadership in the state ahead of the polls.
Tawde said the pace of development in Uttar Pradesh had accelerated under Yogi's leadership and expressed confidence that the NDA would once again form the government. He said every NDA worker would work with full strength during the election and stressed that the party's objective was not merely to win the election but also to serve the people for the next five years after forming the government.
Accompanied by co-incharge Jagdeep Bhai Patel, Tawde held separate meetings at the BJP state headquarters with Chaudhary, state general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh and other general secretaries. The discussions focused on the party's organisational preparedness and the possible roadmap for the Assembly elections.
According to party sources, a key suggestion emerging from the meetings was that the BJP should counter the Samajwadi Party's PDA strategy not by entering into a direct caste arithmetic contest, but by making development and welfare the central theme of its campaign.
The proposed strategy is to highlight the government's work for women, youth, farmers and the poor and use delivery of development schemes as the BJP's principal political response to the SP's Pichhda, Dalit and Alpsankhyak formulation.
Tawde also sought suggestions from the state general secretaries on preparations for the elections. Party leaders suggested that experienced and active workers should be given key responsibilities in the election machinery and that the organisation should begin preparing at the grassroots level well ahead of the polls.
Tawde also indicated the importance being attached to Uttar Pradesh by the central leadership. He told party leaders that the BJP's central leadership was closely watching political developments in the state.
Tawde also took aim at SP president Akhilesh Yadav over the PDA plank. In a sharp political attack, he gave a new interpretation to the SP's PDA slogan, describing it as "paraya dhan apna", or someone else's wealth being treated as one's own.
He said BJP workers would defeat the slogans associated with the SP's PDA and asserted that the NDA would not allow the opposition party's strategy to succeed.
With the BJP now beginning its organisational preparations more than a year before the Assembly polls, the battle for Uttar Pradesh has already started taking shape, with development, social equations and leadership set to become the principal political battlegrounds.
