Lucknow: Is the BJP looking to replicate its Bihar poll playbook in Uttar Pradesh to script a hattrick in the Assembly elections?The question has gained traction as the BJP stokes the law and order and administrative issues to corner the previous Akhilesh Yadav govt. The party had adopted the same strategy in Bihar Assembly polls last year while attacking Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal which ruled from 1997 to 2005. Before that, Lalu ruled Bihar as a Janata Dal leader from 1990.BJP sources said the party plans to highlight the alleged “jungle raj” and dominance of “one particular caste” in every stream of governance during the SP govt. This would be similar to BJP’s campaign in Bihar where it aggressively reminded voters of the alleged lawlessness, corruption and crime during RJD govt. BJP convinced voters—particularly upper castes and non-Yadav backward classes—that an RJD victory would bring back an era of fear, institutional lawlessness and caste dominance.The strategy, aimed to create a tactical anxiety around “Yadav rule”, worked and the BJP-led NDA registered a landslide victory by winning 202 out of 243 seats, with BJP winning 89 seats.BJP sources said the party plans to launch an aggressive campaign comparing Akhilesh govt with the incumbent Yogi govt. “We need to remind the voters about the anarchy, lawlessness and corruption prevailed during SP rule,” said a UP BJP state general secretary.Interestingly, BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde, who was recently made UP in-charge, had earlier worked in a similar capacity in Bihar during the 2025 assembly elections. Sources said Tawde, too, wants to run a Bihar-style campaign in UP to draw a stark comparison between the BJP and the SP.Sources said the strategy has been endorsed by the RSS. A senior BJP member said Sangh wants to pit Yogi directly against Akhilesh while whipping up the Hindutva card. A senior UP BJP functionary said Sangh pressed the need for putting Yogi’s face at the forefront of an aggressive ground-level campaign to take on the SP.This, sources said, is seen as a crucial strategy even as the BJP seeks an aggressive counter to SP’s Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak narrative which dented the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, pulling its tally down from 62 to 33. BJP is also confronting multiple challenges with factors such as Gen Z and “discontent” among upper castes following the row over University Grants Commission’s equity regulations which have been challenged in court.Analysts said BJP wants to convert SP’s attempt to broaden its social coalition through the PDA formula into a debate about what SP’s return to office could mean. BJP’s challenge is that the SP is no longer relying exclusively on its traditional Muslim-Yadav support base. Akhilesh Yadav has instead been trying to expand his party’s appeal among non-Yadav OBCs and Dalits.BJP’s proposed counter, therefore, appears to be two-fold: attack SP’s govt record while simultaneously projecting Yogi as the face of continuity, stability and law and order.
