Yogi meets Bhagwat,2nd time in 3 months

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday met Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat during the latter's two-day visit to Lucknow as part of his ‘pravas' outreach programme, held in the backdrop of the Sangh's centenary year celebrations.The meeting lasted 30 minutes and came three months after the two last met in Ayodhya. Though officially described as a courtesy call, it carries wider significance, given the current political climate in the state which is gearing up for a high-octane assembly election early next year, says a political analyst.
Sources said the CM briefed Bhagwat on key initiatives and development works undertaken by the state govt, including welfare schemes, infrastructure expansion, and measures aimed at rural and social upliftment.While no official statement detailing the discussions was issued, the timing of the meeting during the RSS centenary outreach added to its political resonance, particularly as UP remains central to the national political landscape.A senior RSS functionary said that Yogi most likely would have briefed the RSS chief about UP govt's role in the propagation of RSS's "panch parivartan" (five transformations) it is targeting in its centenary year. It includes social harmony, environment, people's duty, family bonding and swadeshi."There is all probability that the CM might have also briefed the RSS chief about Magh Mela's Swami Avimukteshwaranand's controversy, UGC guideline impact and recent cases of love jihad in KGMU," another RSS functionary said.Bhagwat's visit to the state capital came at a time when the RSS intensified its outreach efforts to consolidate Hindu society under a broader umbrella of social harmony and unity. Over the past few months, the Sangh chief repeatedly emphasised the need for social cohesion and the removal of internal divisions within Hindu society.The meeting also assumed importance in the context of the political narrative in UP, where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is countering the opposition's caste-based mobilisation efforts. The Samajwadi Party (SP), led by Akhilesh Yadav, aggressively pushed its PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) plank, accusing the BJP govt of favouring select social groups.Yogi, in recent public addresses, has been accusing the opposition parties of attempting to divide society along caste lines for electoral gains. The RSS, too, has been maintaining that social unity and harmony are essential for national progress.