'BJP Needs RSS To Win Uttar Pradesh Assembly Bypolls': Here's What Happened In Key Meeting At Yogi Adityanath's Residence

A key meeting between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamasevak Sangh (RSS) was held at the residence of Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday (21 August) evening.

This was part of the series of meetings that have been happening between the two organisations since the Lok Sabha results, which were very disappointing for the BJP in UP, where it could win only 33 of 80 seats.

The RSS delegation was led by Sah Sarkaryavah (joint general secretary) Arun Kumar, who has been pioneering the coordination between the two sister organisations, Live Hindustan reported.

The discussion emphasised that the BJP needs RSS to win a maximum of the 10 assembly seats, set for bypolls in UP. The BJP's outreach programmes for Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) were also discussed.

This comes in the backdrop of rumours of a rift between the two organisations, which led to BJP's underperformance in UP and the fact that Dalit and OBC voters drifted away from the party.

The two organisations discussed ways to enhance coordination between them, the use of the UP government to strengthen the BJP organisation and the need to add more members to the BJP.

This meeting was earlier planned in July but due to the rifts between Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya, it got delayed. It was held only after the two leaders reached a truce.

A day before meeting the UP CM, Arun Kumar held a meeting with some selected RSS functionaries of the state. Kumar also met UP BJP president Bhupendra Chaudhary separately.

The main concern for the BJP and RSS has been fusing enthusiasm in its cadre and tackling the fake narratives propagated by the Opposition, which harmed the party's prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

For this, the organisations planned to please the workers by appointing them to vacant posts in various commissions, corporations and boards and also nominating them as councilors.

To tackle the Opposition's narrative, the leaders have been asked to refrain from needless remarks and bring coherence to their statements while approaching every section of society.

For the assembly bypolls, it has been decided that apart from fielding strong candidates, social equations will be strengthened at booth levels and the Opposition's lies will be called out.

Both deputy CMs, Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, UP BJP president Chaudhary and organisation general secretary Dharampal Singh and the pracharaks of western and eastern UP were also present in the meeting.