LUCKNOW: With the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections approaching, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has advised ministers and party MLAs of the government led by Yogi Adityanath to improve their working style and avoid making controversial statements.
According to highly placed sources, the advice was given during a four-and-a-half-hour meeting held at the residence of the Chief Minister on Friday.
Sources said that discussions between RSS functionaries and the state leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party focused on addressing alleged discontent among party workers ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
It may be recalled that in the past two months, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat held a series of meetings of the ‘prants’ during his tour of Uttar Pradesh. The Chief Minister had also held coordination meetings with the Sangh across the state.
During the meeting, BJP office-bearers from Awadh, Kashi, Braj, Kanpur, Goraksh and Western provinces presented their views. It was discussed that some ministers and MLAs lacked coordination with allies, affecting organisational work. Sources also said that controversial statements made by BJP MLAs came up during the discussions.
RSS functionaries said that such statements create an impression of conflict within the government or differences between the government and the organisation, which should not be conveyed to the public.
There was agreement in the meeting on maintaining unity among the RSS, the state government and the BJP as an organisation ahead of the elections. The meeting also discussed issues such as love jihad, illegal conversions and maintaining vigilance in districts bordering Nepal.
Sources said that RSS functionaries stressed the need to focus on nationalism instead of caste in view of the upcoming elections. It was also suggested that ministers and MLAs should avoid speaking on caste-related matters and instead focus on nationalism.
Meanwhile, the government said that the process of appointments to corporations, commissions and boards has begun.
A core committee meeting was also held on Saturday in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and RSS Sah-Sarkaryavah Arun Kumar.
In the meeting, discussions were held on preparing a roadmap based on the issues raised during Friday’s meeting. Deliberations were also held on a possible cabinet expansion and the formation of a new state BJP team. Ministers are expected to be assigned responsibilities in the cabinet meeting scheduled for Monday.
Those present at the meeting included Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, BJP state president Pankaj Chaudhary, organisation general secretary Dharampal Singh, RSS Eastern Region Pracharak Anil Kumar, Western Region Pracharak Mahendra Kumar, and pracharaks from all six provinces.