The Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh is preparing for a major overhaul in the party organisation as well as changes in its list of candidates.
The Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh is preparing for a major overhaul in the party organisation as well as changes in its list of candidates.
According to sources, these changes are being made in view of recent political developments in the states — the tussle between the BJP and the BSP, and the slow but definite emergence of the Congress. Party managers feel that the caste divide will widen in Uttar Pradesh in the coming weeks and a cautious approach is needed to strike a balance.
A number of district presidents in the party will be shown the door to curb factionalism in the constituencies. The frontal organisations are also being reorganised.
SP president Mulayam Singh Yadav, on Friday evening, revamped the Samajwadi Yuvjan Sabha, giving prominence to some new faces.
A report prepared by 36 party MLCs in 18 divisions of the state about the image and performance of the sitting party MLAs has also been submitted to the party president Mulayam Singh Yadav. According to the report, more than 70 sitting MLAs have shown poor performance in their constituencies. Their image has taken a beating and there are reports of their tussle with the party unit. These sitting legislators may not be given tickets for the 2017 Assembly elections”, disclosed a senior party functionary.
The party plans to counter the anti-incumbency factor by fielding fresh faces who can win the confidence of voters.
However, the legislators who are not being re-nominated for the upcoming Assembly elections will be informed only after the Assembly session in September in which the chief minister will get the supplementary budget approved.
The party has also done an assessment of the candidates who names were announced in March on seats that the SP had not won in 2012.
Some of the candidates have not made much progress in their campaign and are likely to be replaced.
The SP, sources said, is also planning to give more tickets to Thakur candidates to prevent the community from crossing over to the BJP.
SP leaders feel that upper caste voters need to be wooed all the more since the Congress is also making a concerted effort to regain lost ground and if the Congress manages to make inroads in Muslim votes, a section of upper castes and Dalits may also veer towards the Congress.
