Giving a clear warning, BJP mandarins, including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, told chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of various boards and corporations not to treat themselves as VIPs and instead work as dedicated party workers to ensure victory of the party in elections.

“Do not live in ivory towers. You have a right to get VIP facilities but you are party workers first. Hence engage yourself for ensuring victory of the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls,” Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told a gathering in Lucknow on Thursday.

The meeting was held at Lok Bhawan in which the Chief Minister, BJP state president Mahendra Nath Pandey and party’s organisation secretary Sunil Bansal addressed around 300 BJP leaders.

Yogi said that there should be perfect co-ordination between the government and the party. “Good work done by the governments, both UP and Union governments, should reach the village level. Party workers can play a pivotal role in this,” he said. 

Mahendra Nath Pandey said that chairpersons and their deputies had been asked to fulfill their responsibilities towards the party and the government. 

The chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of board and corporations enjoy the status of minister of state. One such chairman said that the party brass had given them responsibilities in their respective areas to ensure the victory of the party and its allies in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

He said that the Chief Minister and other leaders told them that they were made chairmen as they were BJP workers first.

“We were asked to go to our respective areas and remain in touch with the people as party workers and not chairpersons,” he told ‘The Pioneer’.

Earlier, the party had held meeting with ministers in the Yogi Council of Ministers and had given them responsibilities of Lok Sabha constituencies. They were asked to hold meetings for three days starting November 2.

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.