Bulandshahr’s political corridors buzzed with shock as ten BJP booth presidents resigned collectively, their ire directed at the UGC’s fresh equity regulations for higher education that have upper castes up in arms.
On January 28, 2026, leaders from Khurja’s Murari Nagar Shakti Kendra— including Vinay Kumar Gupta (268), Rajveer Singh (261), Purushottam Chauhan (269), Chandrashekhar Sharma (270), Neeraj Kumar (202), Praveen Radhav (271), Mukesh Kumar (272), Shivendra Chauhan (263), and Satendra Chauhan (274)—handed in their papers.
The resignation manifesto condemns the ‘Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions Regulations, 2026’ for demonizing savarnas as oppressors. ‘Our community, long-time BJP loyalists, is seething with resentment, making grassroots outreach futile,’ it declares.
They’ve issued an ultimatum: scrap the UGC draft or relieve them of booth duties. The document’s rapid spread across social platforms has fueled a digital firestorm.
These rules, rolled out January 13, 2026, compel colleges to set up equity panels, hotlines, oversight squads, and redressal systems to shield SC/ST/OBC students from discrimination. Detractors slam it as lopsided, vulnerable to abuse, and dismissive of general category vulnerabilities.
This is no isolated incident; BJP workers across UP districts—Pilibhit, Saharanpur, Firozabad, Baghpat, Raebareli, Lucknow—have quit in solidarity. Protests by savarna groups abound, alongside Supreme Court filings.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan countered by vowing strict adherence to the Constitution and no room for exploitation, but the resignations highlight brewing discontent that could reshape UP’s electoral dynamics.