The recent meeting between RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Ayodhya was not just about election strategy. Their hour-long conversation clearly suggests that Yogi Adityanath will continue to be the BJP’s main face for the 2027 UP assembly elections. This meeting is important because there were rumors that the BJP’s top leadership might replace Yogi before the next elections. The party was reviewing its poor performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the high command had asked Yogi to explain why the results were so weak. In 2024, the BJP won only half the seats it had won in 2019. It’s also worth noting that Bhagwat and Yogi last met soon after the disappointing 2024 election results from UP. At that time, many people were demanding Yogi’s removal as chief minister. But after that meeting, the criticism against him died down. Now, Bhagwat meeting Yogi again this time before the UP assembly elections is being seen as a sign that the RSS wants to take a more direct role in shaping the party’s strategy in UP. It also suggests that the RSS is choosing to discuss key decisions directly with the chief minister rather than with the party’s central leadership.
In recent weeks, there has been considerable activity in Lucknow in preparation for the crucial state elections, in which the BJP is hoping to secure a third consecutive victory. RSS functionaries and Yogi Adityanath were present at all these meetings. No one from the party’s central leadership was present. With the strong backing of the RSS, Yogi is expected to have his way in the selection of candidates for the elections. He had complained that he was not consulted during the ticket distribution for the Lok Sabha elections. This time, he is hoping to manage the election process with the help of the RSS.
Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka is averting a rebellion within the BJP
While all eyes are on the simmering rebellion within the Congress government in Karnataka, a parallel drama is unfolding within the BJP. A section of BJP leaders is pressuring the high command to remove state president B.Y. Vijayendra, a first-time MLA. Vijayendra’s biggest claim to fame is that he is the son of B.S. Yeddyurappa, the BJP’s tallest leader in Karnataka and former Chief Minister. In fact, when the BJP lost the last assembly elections to the Congress, partly due to Yeddyurappa’s unspoken rebellion, the high command, despite strong opposition from other BJP leaders, appeased the rebellious leader by making his son the state unit president. While this move may have pleased Yeddyurappa, discontent has been brewing within the party ever since, and Vijayendra’s opponents are frequently making trips to Delhi to have him removed.
Recently, they were in Delhi again, meeting with senior party decision-makers and submitting a long list of complaints against the state president. The Congress seems to have temporarily patched up the infighting between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar. But the BJP’s internal squabbles continue. One reason for the BJP’s internal problems is also that the party has not attempted another ‘Operation Lotus’ to topple the Congress government, which is just a step away from collapse due to internal divisions. Ironically, the Congress government might complete its full five-year term thanks to the BJP’s internal problems. It remains to be seen who will win this game of political maneuvering; only time will tell.
Open conflict between Congress and RJD in Bihar
Following the humiliating defeat of the Grand Alliance in the recent Bihar elections, the RJD-Congress alliance in Bihar continues to face difficulties. Both sides are now openly blaming each other for the loss, and Congress and RJD leaders are trading barbs almost daily. In fact, RJD state president Mangani Mandal even went so far as to tell the Congress party that it could leave the alliance if it wished. Interestingly, although both Congress and RJD are part of the INDIA bloc, state Congress leaders are now claiming that their alliance was only for the assembly elections. Significantly, both Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav remain silent while their leaders are openly squabbling. For the BJP in Bihar, nothing could be better than this ugly infighting among its opponents.
