RSS to Yogi Adityanath: Lead BJP charge in UP 2019

Lucknow: Setting to rest all speculation about a possible change in leadership in Uttar Pradesh, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has entrusted the responsibility of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in the state to chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

After a series of meetings on Tuesday in Delhi and Lucknow, RSS conveyed its support for the chief minister by giving him a free hand in administration and sharing with him feedback about the dismal performance of certain ministers in his Cabinet. Some ministers may be dropped while others may lose important portfolios in the reshuffle next month.

Sangh leaders also asked him to use the Kumbh Mela in January 2019 to sharpen the party’s Hindutva agenda ahead of elections while impressing the world by taking its management and magnificence to another, higher level.

The RSS, keen for the BJP to project a more OBC and dalit-friendly image, also asked Mr Adityanath to create and implement policies and schemes that benefit these two caste groups whose support is crucial for a win in UP. The RSS’ backing has made Mr Adityanath emerge stronger in UP while deflating the intentions of his detractors.

On Tuesday, the chief minister first met with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and his deputy Bhaiyya Ji Joshi in Delhi, and then returned to Lucknow for another meeting in the evening with Dattatraya Hosbale, the RSS’ point person in BJP who is considered close to party chief Amit Shah. The BJP’s UP president Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma and organisation secretary Sunil Bansal were also present at the Lucknow meeting.

In both the meetings, the chief minister is said to have presented his “report card” and listed the difficulties he has been facing in running the government due to “interference from certain quarters”.

After the meetings, the RSS leaders reportedly conveyed to Mr Adityanath that he would be given a free hand in administration and that he would lead the BJP in UP in the general elections.

Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha constituencies and in the 2014 elections the BJP had won 71 seats. But in March this year, the BJP lost bypolls to two Lok Sabha seats — Phulpur and its bastion and the chief minister’s earlier constituency, Gorakhpur.

Mr Adityanath had attributed the shocking loss to “overconfidence” of the party and its failure to fully understand the implications of the alliance between the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party.

The RSS leaders also informed the chief minister and party leaders about the feedback they have been receiving about the performance — rather, lack of it — of certain ministers.

It is now believed that some ministers may be dropped and others may lose important portfolios when the much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle takes place next month.

In another significant move, the Sangh asked Mr Adityanath to use the Kumbh Mela in January next year to prepare political ground before the polls.

The RSS feels that the Kumbh Mela, likely to attract over 12 crore pilgrims, will provide the perfect amalgam of politics and religion since political activities for Lok Sabha elections will be at their peak then. They have said that it should be used to sharpen the party’s Hindutva agenda without making it obvious as the event is watched worldwide.

The Sangh leaders, sources said, also asked the chief minister and party leaders to caution party men against making irresponsible statements that dent the image of the government and the party.

A number of BJP legislators and ministers have, in the recent part, made controversial statements with the intention of stirring the communal pot.

The RSS also underlined the need for better coordination between the party and the government and asked the chief minister and state BJP president to increase their interaction so that rumours of differences between the two die down on their own.