Lucknow: BJP may play the MY (Mahila-Youth) card in the much anticipated rejig of the Yogi cabinet and UP BJP unit, in a bid to connect with young voters and send out women-centric messaging in the run-up to the Assembly polls.The MY card was prominently discussed at the recent organizational meeting of the party which was attended by the UP BJP brass, including state president Pankaj Chaudhary and state general secretary (organisation) Dharam Pal Singh.A senior BJP member privy to the meeting said the party has decided to step up its outreach by accommodating more young faces, besides scaling up inclusion of women in leadership roles. The party will also factor in experienced hands for administrative and organizational stability.The move is seen as a counter to the traditionally popular Muslim-Yadav combine, mainly cultivated by the Samajwadi Party — first by SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and later by his son and present SP chief CM Akhilesh Yadav. SP, though, is now more focused on its poll narrative of PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) to consolidate non-Yadav OBC and Dalit communities.UP BJP sources said the party has planned an aggressive outreach towards young and women voters who have increasingly emerged as decisive electoral blocs in UP.Youth remain politically crucial due to concerns around employment, skill development and aspirations among first-time voters. Sources said BJP is planning to replace the underperforming older ministers with the young brigade. Not surprisingly, many young former ministers are back as contenders to be included in the state cabinet.Likewise, women have attained the spotlight in UP over a brouhaha that erupted after the opposition stalled the Amendment Act advancing women reservation in Parliament and state legislatures. BJP sources said the party will keep the pressure on the opposition while pushing its women-inclusive stance.Speculations are rife that the party may induct many women legislators into the Yogi cabinet or elevate junior women ministers to the senior ranks. Analysts said the strategy complements BJP’s evolving political template in Uttar Pradeshwhere it has combined governance with welfare delivery, Hindutva, and targeted social representation.BJP has consistently tried to consolidate women voters through welfare schemes linked to housing, LPG connections, sanitation, direct benefit transfers and law-and-order narratives.
