RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat holds close-door meetings with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath post poll debacle

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat held two meetings with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minsiter Yogi Adityanath after the Lok Sabha election results. 

Bhagwat met Yogi twice on June 15 and both the “closed-door” meetings lasted nearly 30 minutes each, reported Indian Express.  

Bhagwat first met Yogi on on June 15 afternoon at a school in Campierganj area where the RSS chief attended a meeting and an RSS event. The second meeting took place at the Saraswati Shishu Mandir at Pakkibagh locality in the city around 8:30 pm, the report added.  

The meeting is significant as it took place only a week after Bhagwat's crucial speech in Nagpur.  

Bhagwat’s trip to Gorakhpur soon after the elections was not a routine visit but was meant to hold discussions with Adityanath over the key reasons behind the debacle in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP was seen to be in a strong position.  

In a surprise turn of events, BJP managed to win only 33 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP compared to 71 in 2014 and 62 in 2019. The Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in the state outnumbered BJP winning 43 seats of which 37 went to SP and six to Congress.  

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP aimed for 370 seats but secured only 240, falling short of the majority mark due to good show from the INDIA bloc. 

Last week, the RSS chief stressed on the need for consensus between the ruling side and the opposition so that work for common good (of the masses) can be carried out. Polls are to gain majority and it is a competition and not war, he pointed out. Bhagwat also lamented that even the RSS was being dragged into it without any reason.  

However, the RSS has rejected all rumours of a rift between itself and the political outfit.