Uttar Pradesh BJP Factionalism Flares Up Again After Brief Truce

New Delhi: After a brief truce, infighting in the Uttar Pradesh BJP is again on the boil. Efforts to patch up the widening divide between chief minister Yogi Adityanath and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya appear to have failed to quell the brewing factionalism.

After their last meeting back in July with the BJP top brass, warring factions were summoned by the party high command earlier this week. While Mr Maurya called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP state unit chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary met the party president J.P. Nadda for the second time in a couple of weeks. Both the Uttar Pradesh leaders were told to end the growing differences within the state unit.

The meetings held earlier this week assumed significance as the BJP top brass is expected to meet the senior RSS leaders towards the end of August for a crucial coordination meeting between the RSS and its affiliates in Kerala.

The RSS, sources said, has indicated that it wants the BJP to "sort out brewing factionalism" in Uttar Pradesh at the earliest. Feedback reaching the RSS leadership, it is learnt, has suggested that the dissidence within the BJP Uttar Pradesh unit is hurting both the governance and the organisation in the state. Ever since the Lok Sabha verdict came out and the party's seat tally substantially decreased in the BJP-ruled state, reports of factionalism within the state organisation surfaced.

During their July visit to the national capital, both Mr Maurya and Mr Chaudhary had met the BJP top brass. Then Mr Maurya had met Mr Nadda and Mr Chaudhary had met Mr Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and Mr Nadda to resolve the issues.