The BJP’s alleged “top-down” leadership model, in which key appointments and decisions are tightly controlled by the national high command, appears to have revealed its shortcomings in Uttar Pradesh.

Pankaj Chaudhary, who was made the BJP state president on December 14, 2025, has failed to form his team till now.

The allocation of portfolios of the six new ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government, who took oath on May 10, has not yet been finalised either.

A senior BJP leader in Lucknow, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, hinted at how state leaders are ill-equipped to resolve differences without the intervention of either Prime Minister Narendra Modi or home minister Amit Shah.

“There are disagreements between state-level leaders over who will be included in the team of the new state BJP boss. On the other hand, some MLAs who took oath as ministers last week are not happy with the portfolios offered to them. Some BJP leaders have also raised objections to the induction of some ministers in the Yogi cabinet,” the BJP leader said.

“Maybe Adityanath and Chaudhary will meet Shah in New Delhi soon to finalise everything. We have also heard that they are expected to wait till Modi returns from his foreign trip before taking a call,” he added.

Modi is on a five-nation tour from May 15-20.

Sources said several BJP leaders were unhappy with the selection of the new ministers in the Yogi cabinet.

Asha Maurya, the BJP MLA from Mahmoodabad in Sitapur district, had openly reacted against the induction of Manoj Kumar Pandey. Taking to X on May 10, she wrote that a turncoat was prioritised over a dedicated BJP worker from the Maurya community.

Pandey was elected an MLA from the Samajwadi Party from Unchahar in Rae Bareli but defected to the BJP in 2024 and has tried to establish himself as a Brahmin leader. Those who have been with the BJP for decades believe that they should be given priority during the allocation of ministerial berths over new entrants.

Maurya had deleted her post within a few hours, but said she was in pain because she kept party work above everything for 35 years.“I am anguished because I am emotionally connected with the organisation (the BJP). This pain will not weaken me, and I’ll continue with my responsibilities for the society and the organisation,” she wrote.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has often lampooned the BJP for its centralised leadership model by claiming that the Uttar Pradesh government has no power to take any decision independently.