In Uttar Pradesh, BJS gained strength from Upadhyaya's vision, Atal Bihari Vajpayee's oratory skills and Deshmukh's organizational work and it emerged as an important player in the state politics. Deshmukh always shared good relations not only with his party colleagues but also with his opponents. Gupta, who suffered many defeats at the hands of Deshmukh, yet continued to have great respect for him and called him 'Nana Phadanvis '. His relations with Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia changed the course of Indian politics. Once he invited Lohia in BJS "karaykarta sammelan" where he met Upadhyaya for the first time and this association brought the BJS closer to other socialist parties in exposing the Congress and its misrule. Lohia and Deshmukh's association led to the first non-Congress coalition government in Uttar Pradesh after the 1967 state assembly election