Separate appearances by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya at two VHP programmes commemorating the birth centenary of the outfit’s late international president, Ashok Singhal, raised eyebrows on Sunday.
The issue assumed political significance as the BJP begins preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections and amid the well-known differences between Yogi and Maurya.
UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya with Union HM Amit Shah, RSS leaders, saints. Image credit/X @kpmaurya1
While Yogi attended the VHP’s centenary programme in Lucknow, Maurya was at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, where BJP and RSS leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, were present. Maurya left the venue before Shah and Hosabale, who were later seen in an extended conversation.
The optics acquire added relevance given the history of political differences between CM Yogi and Deputy CM Maurya, which have periodically surfaced publicly, with the two often seen visiting the party’s top leadership in Delhi separately.
Their contrasting positions have also been visible on contentious issues, including the controversy involving Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaran earlier this year.
The juxtaposition comes at a particularly sensitive point for the BJP. With the UP polls scheduled for next year, the party is seeking to consolidate its organisation after concerns over cadre grievances and internal differences.
Recent reports have highlighted complaints among BJP workers about the administration and factional tensions within the state unit.
The BJP recently attempted a course correction when party chief Nitin Nabin visited Meerut and Saharanpur and met former MLAs and MPs of the party to seek their feedback.
At the same time, the BJP’s own formulation for the 2027 contest has put the question of leadership in focus, with UP BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary recently describing the election as one to be fought under collective leadership and naming CM Yogi, Deputy CM Maurya, Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak and the central leadership among those who would have a role.
Against this backdrop, Sunday’s parallel Singhal centenary programmes offered an unusual snapshot of the BJP-Sangh establishment’s political geography in Uttar Pradesh, with Yogi, the incumbent Chief Minister and principal face of the state government and the party in the state, attending the Lucknow programme, while Deputy CM Maurya, one of the state’s senior BJP leaders, was alongside the Home Minister and the RSS leadership in Delhi.
The two appearances, by themselves, do not signal any disagreement between the leaders. However, they do provide a politically notable backdrop as the party heads towards the high-stakes 2027 UP elections, with factional issues continuing to pose a challenge.
