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A closed-door meeting between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders in presence of general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale in Lucknow on Tuesday sparked speculations that something big could happen in the government as well as the party organisation of UP.
While most Sangh leaders were tight-lipped about the outcome of the meeting, one of the pracharks told The Pioneer that it was a routine meeting where senior leaders sat and confabulated about the present situation and how the Sangh could play a role in such a situation. It was Hosabale’s first visit to Lucknow after being appointed as the ‘Sar Karyavah’ of the RSS and therefore,.the meeting was called on Tuesday.
The importance of the Tuesday meeting could be gauged from the fact that two days back, Hosabale held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Organising Secretary (UP) Sunil Bansal and BJP’s national president JP Nadda in New Delhi. Immediately after that meeting, the convening of a meeting in Lucknow hence sparked speculations that something big was on the cards at the party or government level in Uttar Pradesh.
These meetings are considered the beginning for BJP’s strategy for 2022 UP Assembly elections. Insiders in the party claimed that the second Covid wave has brought to the fore various fault lines in the ruling BJP’s strategies, the biggest being a feeling among the backwards and most backwards in the BJP that they were being ignored. The Brahmins also feel sidelined as there is a belief that Thakurs are calling the shots in the state government as Yogi is a Thakur.
“UP election is not easy. It is a caste maze where that party which gets its caste equations correct wins. This time members of the Backward community are likely to play a decisive role. Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya was not utilised properly. We can expect a rejig In the government. Many ministers could be asked to do organization work and many new faces, depending on their castes, can be made ministers,” a senior upper caste BJP leader said.
A feeling within the BJP is also about UP party chief Swatantra Dev Singh, who was rather successful as general secretary of the party, but failed to deliver as the state unit head. In Uttar Pradesh, the party and the government never looked on the same page, which resulted in resentment among party workers and lawmakers against the local administration.