Putting an end to all speculation that Yogi Adityanath was not listening to the central leadership of Delhi, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister suddenly reached Delhi on Thursday and met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with some other Union Ministers and MPs. The meetings have strengthened speculation about the expansion of the Yogi government.
Adityanath met Amit Shah for more than one-and-a-half hours and reportedly agreed that whatever roadmap for the 2022 Assembly elections is prepared by the central leadership, he will implement it. The CM is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president J.P. Nadda on Friday.
The visit came a day after the BJP scored a high-profile recruit from the Congress, Jitin Prasada, a top Brahmin face in UP. Prasada is expected to play a key role in the BJP’s UP reset ahead of the state elections, especially in correcting the optics of a government perceived by a section of the state’s Brahmins as being pro-Thakur (Adityanath’s caste).
Significantly, sources said that there were differences between Adityanath and the central leadership for the last one week over certain issues. The BJP high command had sent the list of Cabinet expansion in the hands of Uttar Pradesh BJP in-charge leader Radha Mohan Singh, but Yogi Adityanath was not comfortable with those names. One of the prominent names he seemed to have problems with was that of Arvind Sharma, who is considered close to PM Modi. The Prime Minister wanted to make him the Deputy Chief Minister or Minister of UP. Sources said that Yogi Adityanath was opposed to this name. The tension over this one name increased so much that the expansion in the Yogi government and the reshuffle in the organisation had to be postponed.
Sources added that later, after the intervention and mediation of RSS leaders, Adityanath agreed to come to Delhi to meet the Prime Minister and the BJP leadership. After meeting PM Modi on Friday morning, Yogi Adityanath will formally prepare for the 2022 UP Assembly elections under the guidance of the central leaders on the roadmap given by him.
In the meeting of RSS and BJP leaders, it was agreed recently that before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the BJP will have to pay special attention to the state’s delicate social equations. Especially some sections which are said to be angry with the BJP will have to be engaged with the party again.
The BJP will also give more importance to Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to give a message to the backward castes. Some more castes have been identified which are necessary for the BJP’s Mission 2022. The party central leadership also wants to project Arvind Sharma as a Brahmin leader. Sources say that soon, the Adityanath government will expand in UP, a big reshuffle can also be seen in the organisation.
Meanwhile, with the UP elections less than a year away, many MPs and MLAs have gone public with their adverse assessment of their own government’s Covid management. Last week, senior BJP leader B.K. Santosh led a central mission to Uttar Pradesh to take feedback and carry out a review in meetings with ministers, MLAs, MPs and the Chief Minister too. Senior RSS leader Dattatreya Hosbole had recommended the feedback session after reportedly sensing disenchantment in the cadre during his visit.