Tensions within the Bharatiya Janata Party escalated dramatically in Bulandshahr as ten booth presidents tendered their resignations en masse, protesting the UGC’s controversial equity promotion regulations in higher education.
Hailing from Khurja’s Murari Nagar Shakti Kendra, the dissenting leaders—Vinay Kumar Gupta, Rajveer Singh, Purushottam Chauhan, Chandrashekhar Sharma, Neeraj Kumar, Praveen Radhav, Mukesh Kumar, Shivendra Chauhan, and Satendra Chauhan—submitted their letters on January 28, 2026. They represent booths 268, 261, 269, 270, 202, 271, 272, 263, and 274 respectively.
The flashpoint is the UGC’s 2026 regulations, which the group labels as an assault on the savarna community. ‘This legislation paints savarnas as historical tyrants, igniting rage among a core BJP constituency,’ their statement reads. They lament that the anger is hampering their ability to canvass for party programs.
Insisting on the rules’ immediate repeal, the booth chiefs warn of full booth committee disassociation. Social media has propelled their missive into a viral storm, drawing national attention.
Notified on January 13, these UGC guidelines enforce anti-discrimination measures in universities, including mandatory committees and helplines focused on protecting Scheduled Castes, Tribes, and Other Backward Classes from bias. General category advocates decry it as biased, fearing victimization through fabricated claims without reciprocal protections.
The Bulandshahr revolt mirrors a statewide surge: BJP functionaries in Pilibhit, Saharanpur, Firozabad, Baghpat, Raebareli, and Lucknow have followed suit with resignations. Savarna outfits have hit the streets, and legal challenges are mounting in the Supreme Court.
Amid the uproar, Minister Dharmendra Pradhan affirmed the regulations’ constitutional compliance and pledged against misuse, yet the episode underscores vulnerabilities in BJP’s upper-caste support in Uttar Pradesh’s volatile political landscape.