New Delhi : The bigger worry for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh may not be Gen Z, but the generation that raised them (referred to as Gen X), experts said, citing the latest India Today-CVoter Mood of the Nation (MOTN) survey. The latest survey projects 41 of the state’s 80 Lok Sabha seats for the INDIA bloc, compared with 38 for the BJP-led NDA, if elections were held today. It marks a big shift from the January 2026 MOTN poll, which projected 48 seats for the NDA and 31 for the INDIA bloc.
The numbers, which are for Lok Sabha polls, do not amount to a prediction for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. But the wider picture points to a political vulnerability for the BJP in a state that has been central to its electoral dominance over the last decade. It is no secret that Uttar Pradesh polls have always set the tone for the next general elections. With 80 Lok Sabha seats, the state can make or break a national political narrative.
Of late, the upper castes, BJP’s core vote base, have been upset with the party over the University Grants Commission (UGC) equity regulations aimed at preventing caste discrimination in educational institutions. While the regulations have been put on hold, the Centre has not withdrawn them, sparking unease among the upper castes. The issue has also sparked a massive protest by an outfit, Reservation Hatao Andolan, at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
Deshmukh underlined that Gen X fear that their children could face similar consequences because of the UGC regulations. “They (Gen X) are reminded of everything that happened in 1989. They fear that they handled that period poorly, and it affected them badly, and now their kids are going to be impacted by the UGC,” he further said. Deshmukh feels the new UGC regulations have revived that memory among Gen X. For the BJP, the upper castes have been a core constituency of the party in Uttar Pradesh since 1989.
Read Also : Pakistan ISI Spying Case : Delhi Couple Arrested Over Alleged Information Sharing