Deadlock over the battle between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’: Seat-sharing equation for 11 constituencies remains unresolved despite a marathon meeting.

At present, the murmur regarding Legislative Council (MLC) tickets is at its peak in the corridors of politics of Uttar Pradesh. Within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the process of brainstorming on the names of candidates for the upcoming MLC elections is going on, but the ongoing internal tussle has increased the problems of the party leadership. It is said that there is a constant debate going on within the party whether loyal old workers i.e. ‘our own’ should be given preference in ticket distribution or veterans from other parties i.e. ‘outsiders’ should be fielded. Even after several rounds of high level meetings amid the mathematics of profit and loss, the final seal on the seats has not been finalized yet.

Displeasure of workers within the party and claims of veterans

All the big leaders and strategists of the state participated in the marathon meetings held in the BJP office, but every time the equation gets stuck that the loyal cadre who has been toiling for years should not be sidelined. On the other hand, the strong claims of outside leaders under the arithmetic of political equations and winning the elections are also putting pressure on the leadership. Amidst the challenge of not accepting the anger of the grassroots level workers and the compulsion to cross the electoral hurdle, the party is moving slowly, due to which there is continuous delay in the announcement of names.

Big challenge of achieving caste equation and regional balance

In a big political laboratory like Uttar Pradesh, caste balance and regional representation are the most important links for any election. Contenders from every division and every big section are putting their efforts for these 11 posts of MLC elections. Party strategists are brainstorming over which face to field on which seat to send the right political message and defeat the opponents on all sides. This is the reason why even after using scissors several times on the lists, a final consensus is not being reached.

List of names may come soon, all eyes on high command

Political experts believe that the BJP high command is in no mood to rush this time, because the profit and loss of each seat is linked to the credibility of the party. In the coming few days, after various talks and intervention of the central leadership, the names of the candidates on these seats can be announced. At present, everyone’s eyes are fixed on this political turmoil going on from Lucknow to Delhi to see which side the camel sits on.