The top leadership of the BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday held a meeting with the BJP-ruled state chief ministers and deputy chief ministers to review the Lok Sabha poll results, the implementation of central welfare schemes and formulate strategies to overcome shortcomings.

Party leaders said that the otherwise routine meeting assumed significance because of the recent Lok Sabha poll results as the central leadership sought to identify the reasons behind the BJP’s poor performance in some party-ruled states. The meeting was held at the BJP headquarters after the Niti Aayog governing council meeting.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of the rumblings in Uttar Pradesh over the party’s poor show in the heartland state that has resulted in open tension between chief minister Yogi Adityanath and his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Adityanath, along with his two deputies Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, attended the meeting and party insiders said that the three had presented their assessment of the possible reasons behind the BJP’s win in just 33 of the 80 seats in the state.

Party leaders were tight-lipped about the closed-door meeting but insiders said that the rumblings in Uttar Pradesh would be addressed by the top leadership in separate meetings with Adityanath.

“The focus of the CMs meeting was mainly on coordination between the central and state governments for better implementation of central welfare schemes. Core organisational and political issues would be handled in separate meetings,” one party leader said.

Sources said that the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and other key leaders of the outfit were also in Delhi and they were also likely to be involved in resolving the ugly rumblings in the Uttar Pradesh BJP.

Party insiders said that Adityanath had held a long meeting with the BJP general secretary (organisation) B.L. Santosh, an RSS representative, after reaching Delhi on Friday evening.

“All key members of the RSS and the BJP are working closely to ensure the factional feud in Uttar Pradesh gets resolved amicably. Several rounds of secret meetings could take place on Saturday and Sunday,” one party leader said.

Party leaders said that an Adityanath-Modi meet was likely to take place on the sidelines of the chief ministers’ meet at the BJP headquarters that went on till late
in the evening.