A Night Halt and Hush-Hush meet at Nagpur
PM Modi's reportedly secret meeting with the top RSS leadership at Nagpur continues to baffle political observers.
In an unusual development, the PM decided to stay overnight at the Nagpur Raj Bhawan on April 19 after addressing a rally at Wardha. No engagements were listed in his schedule until next morning at 11 am where he was to address a meeting at Amaravati. He reached the Raj Bhawan around 6.30 pm and held a long meeting with the top leadership of the RSS. One report suggests that he drove down to the RSS headquarters to meet RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat who was also in town to cast his vote while another report says the RSS leaders came to the Raj Bhawan over dinner for a free-wheeling discussion with Modi.
The PM rarely stays overnight anywhere during campaigns and prefers to return to Delhi. But this time, he chose to stay put overnight amidst reports of lack of adequate communication. The RSS had alerted the BJP well in advance that people are disenchanted and it could slip to 250 seats in the 2024 polls. The RSS has been dismayed as this was the first time it did not play an important role in the process of selection of candidates. The end result was that its workers were unenthusiastic.
When reports poured in, the damage control began which resulted in this high-level meeting at Nagpur. It is said that the RSS is now working hard to ensure BJP's win which can be seen in improved voting percentage in eight of the 12 states in the second phase.
