A coordination meeting for the Awadh region between the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Lucknow on Wednesday emphasised the Opposition should not be allowed to set the political agenda as leaders stressed that the party should “play on its own pitch” rather than respond to narratives created by its rivals.
The meeting, which is part of a wider organisational exercise being undertaken by the BJP and RSS in the state ahead of the polls, was held at a resort on Kanpur Road here. It was attended by RSS sarkaryawah Dattatreya Hosabale, sah sarkaryawah Arun Kumar, BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh, kshetra pracharak Anil Kumar, BJP state president and Union minister Pankaj Chaudhary and state general secretary (organisation) Dharampal Singh, among others.
The meeting sought feedback on the functioning of the government and organisation at the grassroots. Each organisation was also asked to spell out the new programmes it planned to undertake in the run-up to the elections. Some complained that even MLAs were not listened to. Workers were cautioned against getting drawn into such narratives and were asked to instead communicate the government’s development and governance record.
Because it could not effectively counter the BJP on development and governance, the Opposition, the leaders said, was seeking to shift the political discourse towards caste and issues such as the UGC regulations.
During the interaction, workers openly voiced their “pain” over not being heard at thanas, tehsils and blocks, according to insiders.
