Bhagwat quotes IB report to say BJP has done badly in UP polls; asks cadre to galvanise for remaining phases

On February 14 – after the second phase of polling in Uttar Pradesh, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat held a virtual conference with the top office-bearers of the Sangh in Uttar Pradesh asking them to galvanise the cadre because “BJP has suffered a humiliating defeat in first two phases”.

A senior RSS functionary said Bhagwat even quoted IB report to say that BJP has failed miserably in the first phase and the second phase is no better.

“The BJP is likely to win just 17 seats in the first phase and in the second phase the party has done equally bad,” the Sangh functionary said quoting Bhagwat.

In the first phase of the assembly election held on February 10 in UP, 58 constituencies had gone to the polls. In 2017, the BJP had won 53 of these seats while the RSS projection, based on IB input, is this time the party will win 17 seats. In the second phase of elections, held on February 14, at least 55 constituencies had gone to the polls. The BJP had won 38 of these seats in 2017 and this time the Sangh projection is it will not be able to retain half of the seats.

The Bhagwat’s meeting has come as a shocker as the Sangh leaders in UP were expecting a fall in the number of seats but never believed that the party will hit the rock bottom.

“The Hijab controversy united Muslims and they came out in large number to cast their votes, particularly in the second phase of the election. The Hindus on the other hand remained silent and probably due to this, the party is facing a whitewash in the first two phases of the election,” a Sangh functionary said.

Another Sangh leader said that it could be another toolkit controversy. “BJP’s future now depends on Janata and their su-vichar,” he said.

After this assessment, the Sangh workers have been asked to spread out in their respective regions and motivate Hindus to come out and vote for BJP. “The picture is very clear. If Yogi loses 2022 elections, Modi is bound to lose in 2024,” the Sangh pracharak said.

Following this, sangh pracharaks are now holding small drawing room meetings with people asking them to vote keeping in mind the nation.