After taking over the command of Uttar Pradesh BJP, the biggest challenge before Pankaj Chaudhary is not just to run the organization but to take everyone along. Before the 2027 assembly elections, coordination within the party, government-organization balance and social equations will be the real test of his leadership ability. The task before them is to lead the party to victory in the possible Panchayat and Municipal body elections in 2026 and then in the UP Assembly elections. For this, opposition parties i.e. SP, BSP, Congress and other local parties will also have to make efforts. In such a situation, the question is important that what are the five big challenges which will decide the political existence of Pankaj Chaudhary?
5 big challenges of UP BJP President
1. Caste equation and social balance
The main basis of politics in Uttar Pradesh is caste equation. Like Bihar, here too the mathematics of caste is necessary for political fortification. Especially OBC, Dalit, Brahmin, Thakur, Yadav, Nishad, Patel, Kurmi, Jatav and non-Jatav voters play an important role. Along with Yadavs and Dalits, the role of Brahmins in UP is also no less important.
Being from the Kurmi OBC community, he will be expected to include other OBC groups (Kushwaha, Lodha, Maurya, Patel etc.) in the party. Besides, it is a challenge to keep the Dalit and Brahmin vote banks balanced. Without balance, SP and BSP can get land.
2. Strength of organization
The strength of BJP in UP since 2014 is the strength of the organization at the booth-level. This will continue in the future only if the new president shows his efficiency in maintaining cooperation and unity among the leaders at the booth president, ward and block level. It will also be a big challenge for him to reduce the factionalism and resentment between his previous leadership and local leaders. Chaudhary has 35 years of experience in parliamentary elections. He has been elected MP from Maharajganj seven times since 1991. Before coming to Parliament, he was elected Municipal Corporation Councilor and Deputy Mayor in Gorakhpur.
In 1991, Chaudhary was made a member of the BJP’s executive committee, but this was the only organizational post he held in his long political career. Sources said that he had very little contact with BJP workers outside Maharajganj. He never held any organizational post in the state.
Pankaj has been actively participating in RSS programs, but has not held any post there either. This is different from other former state presidents, who have worked for RSS affiliates like Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Therefore, it will be a new challenge for him to connect with the people of the entire state.
3. Assembly elections 2027
UP assembly elections are in the year 2027. Assembly Elections 2022: BJP got less seats as compared to 2017, however, BJP was successful in forming the government. Therefore, his first responsibility will be to make the party win in the Panchayat and Municipal body elections to be held in the year 2026. For this they will have to show social engineering and political acumen.
There will also be a need to keep BJP workers united to ensure the party’s victory in the 2026 Panchayat elections. Since the number of ticket seekers is high in local body elections, Chaudhary will have to convince those people that they will not get tickets. So that they do not rebel and instead support the official candidates of the party.
For the Assembly elections 2027, it will be the responsibility of Chaudhary to help the Adityanath government save the anti-incumbency wave to bring the party to power for the third consecutive time.
4. Opposition alliance
Defeating the SP, BSP and Congress alliance in UP for the third time in the assembly elections 2027 will be one of the important challenges. It will depend on how BJP will perform in the Lok Sabha elections 2029. To meet this challenge, they need caste alliance,
The political narrative and opposition front will have to be weakened. Also the strategy of the opposition will have to be understood. Reducing resentment against power is one of the biggest challenges for them.
Pankaj Chaudhary comes from the Kurmi community, which constitutes about 8% of the OBC population in the state. They have a significant presence in Eastern and Central UP. His election as state BJP chief is being considered a political step of the party. So that it can counter SP’s PDA campaign, whose objective is to gain support from OBC, Dalit and minority communities. It will be a challenge for Chaudhary to unite his Kurmi community as this community has never voted together for any one party in the state.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a large section of the Kurmi community voted for the SP-Congress alliance. In the 2022 UP assembly elections, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had formed a big alliance of OBC parties, due to which the number of seats of BJP reduced from 312 in 2017 to 255. The number of SP seats increased from 47 in 2017 to 111 in 2022.
5. Coordination between government and organization
In BJP, the job of the President is not only to run the organization but also to give political form to the work of the government. Especially when Yogi government is active. In such a situation, the public welfare work of Yogi government, its publicity and its role in creating the election narrative can prove to be beneficial for the party. For this, we will have to work as a link between the Yogi government and the leaders of the organization. Also we will have to take everyone along. If coordination between the organization and the government remains weak, the opposition may get a chance.
Overall, Pankaj Chaudhary will have to work towards OBC, Dalit and upper castes in terms of caste balance. To strengthen the organization, the booth-service structure will have to be strengthened and the decision to give tickets will have to be taken as per the party’s strategy. Along with giving competition to SP-BSP-Congress, narratives will also have to be created in favor of the government.
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