BJP's central team hold talks with RSS leaders on first day of UP visit

BJP's national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Radha Mohan Singh on Monday held meetings with RSS office-bearers here during which assembly election preparations and the row over Ram Temple land purchase were discussed, party sources said.

Arriving here on a two-day visit, the two leaders also met UP BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh and state general secretary Sunil Bansal and discussed various campaigns of the party.

This is their second visit this month as the party sets in motion preparations for the crucial assembly polls next year in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two leaders later headed for the office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Niralanagar locality in the state capital.

Party sources said that at the RSS office, Santhosh and other party leaders met Sangh office bearers, including 'Kshetra Pracharak' Anil.

They held discussions on the 2022 UP Assembly elections and the allegations of corruption in the purchase of land in Ayodhya by the Ram temple trust, the sources said.

However, when asked about the meeting, Swatantra Dev Singh said that it was a courtesy call.

He said that a meeting is proposed at the residence of UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath where discussions on organisational campaigns will be held.

A UP BJP spokesperson said that Santhosh will hold meetings with party office bearers and review COVID-19-related campaigns and other ''seva'' works. He will also give his guidance for upcoming party campaigns and programmes.

A party office-bearer said that Santhosh has come for the "monthly review" of the various ongoing programmes of the party.

"There are 11 programmes, and he has come to see how they are being implemented by the UP unit of the BJP," he said.

During their earlier visit from May 31 to June 2, Radha Mohan Singh had shot down speculation of a leadership change in the state and had defended the Yogi Adityanath government's handling of the COVID-19 situation.

Opposition parties, which have been attacking the Yogi Adityanath government over the situation during the second COVID-19 wave, have in recent days trained guns at the BJP over allegations of corruption in the purchase of land in Ayodhya by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which has dismissed the charges as politically motivated.

The BJP leaders have hit back at the opposition, claiming it was an attempt to derail the Ram Temple construction by levelling false allegations.