LUCKNOW: CM Yogi Adityanath on Thursday attended a closed-door coordination meeting of the RSS in Ghaziabad, amid intensified consultations between the ruling BJP and the Sangh leadership ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
The meeting assumes significance as the BJP seeks to address signs of discontent among sections of its core upper-caste support base while attempting to consolidate Dalit voters in the run-up to the high-stakes Assembly polls.
Party insiders indicated that discussions are centred on recalibrating caste equations and strengthening grassroots coordination ahead of polls.
An organisational reshuffle in the state BJP is expected by the end of March. The rejig is likely to underscore the BJP’s attempt to strike a balance between its traditional upper-caste base—which has remained central to its electoral success since the Ram Temple movement of the early 1990s—and the OBC-Dalit combine. The exercise is being viewed as a counter to the SP, which has sharpened its PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) narrative.
The BJP has also faced political heat over controversies surrounding the UGC’s equity regulations and tensions involving Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati during the Magh Mela in January. The leadership is learnt to be treading cautiously amid sensitivities linked to caste and religious leadership.
Sources said the RSS has been holding coordination meetings across its six regional units (prants) in the state, with caste dynamics high on the agenda. Adityanath recently participated in the RSS coordination meeting of the Gorakhpur prant.
During his visits to various prants including Gorakhpur and Lucknow, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had made appeals to rid the society of caste discrimination. Bhagwat’s call for unity among Hindus was seen in the light of the Opposition’s aggressive approach to court caste groups with focus on Opposition’s PDA narrative.
“If all castes -- Dalits, OBCs and upper castes -- unite as Hindus, that will certainly help the BJP,” said a BJP leader.