Lucknow: As Uttar Pradesh braces for possible organisational and cabinet reshuffles, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionaries spent the past two weeks seeking feedback from ministers, civil servants among others.
While RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat held an hour-long meeting with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the Sangh’s Ayodhya office Saket Nilayam on 24 November, ThePrint has learnt that over a dozen meetings took place involving Sangh functionaries, between 18 and 26 November in Lucknow.
The discussions, according to insiders in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sangh, focused on getting first-hand feedback on governance issues and offering suggestions to fine-tune the system.
These meetings were held in the backdrop of Yogi’s interaction with Bhagwat, and at a time when major changes were expected in both the party organisation and the state cabinet.
With BJP state chief Bhupendra Chaudhary’s tenure having ended, the party is expected to announce his successor soon. For the state chief’s post, the names of Keshav Prasad Maurya, Dharampal Singh and B.L.Verma are doing the rounds, as the BJP is expected to continue backing a non-Yadav OBC leader for the role.
A major cabinet reshuffle is also likely, in which Chaudhary and some new faces are likely to be inducted to balance caste equations.
UP BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member Amarpal Maurya and BJP Kisan Morcha state president Kameshwar Singh coordinated these meetings, the sources said. Both are considered close to the Sangh. The meetings were also attended by principal secretaries and other departmental officials, with senior members of RSS affiliates present as well.
“One of the key meetings took place 26 November 26 at the residence of Animal Husbandry Minister Dharmpal Singh. Categorised under the service sector, it was attended by representatives from the RSS’s Gau Seva wing,” a senior UP BJP functionary told ThePrint.
“Kripa Shanker, the coordinator between the RSS and the BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, along with Sangh functionaries Yudhveer and Dhaniram participated on behalf of the organisation.”
The discussion focused on cow protection efforts and welfare schemes for cattle owners. The RSS representatives appreciated the government’s work over the past three years, particularly the construction of large cow shelters, which has helped reduce complaints about stray cattle, he added.
Similarly, on the same day, another meeting was held at the residence of Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Brajesh Pathak, where representatives from Arogya Bharti, an RSS-affiliated organisation, were also present.
The discussions primarily centred on the health-related schemes, as well as the feedback received from RSS, BJP workers regarding the medical treatment in local hospitals.
Prashant Bhatia, the RSS’s Awadh zone special communication chief who attended the meeting, declined to share specific details . However, he told ThePrint that such interactions are routine. “We regularly take feedback. It’s a normal process.”
Considered as a key link between the government and the Sangh, Bhatia was present at a meeting held a few days ago with Labour and Employment Minister Anil Rajbhar. Functionaries from the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Sangh functionaries including Shankar attended the meeting.
“This was a first-of-its-kind meeting in the second tenure of this government. I don’t recall any earlier instance where ministers, bureaucrats and RSS functionaries, along with affiliates, were all present together,” a minister who attended one of the meetings told ThePrint.
“Earlier, there have been individual meetings, but not group interactions like this. They raised a few questions about policies and their implementation, so we asked the officials to brief them. We also shared our own points.”
Another minister told ThePrint that the Sangh functionaries mainly take feedback and offer suggestions. “It would be wrong to call it a report card exercise. It was more of a coordination and feedback meeting on how to improve policies and how ministers can work with RSS affiliates. This is how the RSS functions; they gather feedback in their own way.”
The minister denied that any feedback was sought regarding the CM or his deputies.
“After offering prayers at the Ram temple, Bhagwat reached Saket Nilayam on the evening of 24 November. Around 7 pm, Yogi also arrived at the RSS office and met him. The meeting lasted for over an hour,” a Sangh functionary told ThePrint. “This was Yogi’s third meeting with the RSS chief in his second tenure, the earlier ones took place in October 2022 and October 2024.”
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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