Low polling in urban seats of Agra, Aligarh, Mathura and Ghaziabad has BJP worried in UP

A day after the first phase of polling there are murmurs within BJP's state unit that several stalwarts looked set to lose their seats. Some insiders claimed that even Pankaj Singh, son of the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, might lose the election from Noida constituency. Doubts are being voiced about the prospects of several ministers in their constituencies in Braj comprising Agra, Matura, and Aligarh region. What has shocked BJP veterans is a marked decline in polling percentage in the urban areas, which are believed to be the party's stronghold.

“The much-hyped BJP’s organization appears to have failed to deliver this time. Where are the panna pramukh and booth committee members who were supposed to bring voters out of their homes and ensure that they reach the booth and cast votes for the party," asked a despondent BJP leader as a group of them huddled together to assess the damage done.

The first phase of the election was held in 58 constituencies spread over in 11 districts. These districts clocked 63.47 percent votes in 2017 and it dropped 60.17 percent in 2022. This, despite some districts like Shamli, recording almost 2 percent more polling this time as compared to 2017 In Meerut polling percentage declined by over 5 percent in 2022. In the 2017 assembly elections the polling percentage in Meerut was 66.64% and in 2022 it came down to 60.91%.

The lowest polling was reported from Ghaziabad with 54.77 percent followed by Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida) with 56.73 percent.

The BJP leader, who holds a senior post in the election committee, says the analysis of the polling percentage is a clear indicator that polling in urban areas was less as compared to the rural areas. “Moreover, the Muslim-dominated regions showed more enthusiasm than the Hindu-dominated urban areas. This is a clear indication of the failure of our organization,” he said.

He further said that this low percentage shows that party organization at the lower level has not worked as per plan. Low turnout has also raised questions over the future of several ministers of the Yogi Government. Take the case of Agra Cantt where GS Dharmesh is a BJP candidate where polling percentage was just 56 percent. In the nearby Mathura city constituency where Power Minister Shrikant Sharma is the BJP candidate, the polling percentage was 57.33 while the district polled 62.90 percent votes. With such a low percentage of votes, BJP leaders believe, that Sharma might lose the election this time.

Among the seven constituencies that went to polls in Aligarh, the lowest polling percentage was recorded from Attrauli from where Sandeep Singh, a minister in Yogi’s government and grandson of Kalyan Singh is in the fray. Attrauli polled 59.7 percent while the Baroli assembly constituency recorded 63.41 percent votes.

Low turnout in the urban areas during the first phase has sent alarm bells ringing in the BJP.