After the rout: BJP faces questions, this time from RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat

According to sources, with the BJP’s “negative campaign” believed to have backfired, Sitharaman was asked why she had used the word “thief” in connection with AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal before the elections.

Irani, they added, was asked about her “attitude” based on complaints received by the Sangh leadership from some academicians and scientists who had interacted with her ministry.

[related-post]

“Our workers had also complained to the leadership about the arrogance of several ministers and BJP leaders. Even some BJP workers had complained to RSS leaders that they were ignored and ‘paratroopers’ deployed,” they added.

“Our efforts are to use this defeat as an accelerator and make some course corrections for the better performance of the government and the party,” they said.

Apart from the ministers, among those who met Bhagwat was Delhi BJP leader Jagdish Mukhi who was once labelled as the party’s CM candidate before Kiran Bedi was roped in.

Bhagwat, meanwhile, asked top Sangh leaders to debrief their pracharaks posted in Delhi and within the BJP about the verdict. Their feedback would be discussed during the Akhil Bhartiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS) meeting next month in Nagpur, sources said.

”A meeting of the RSS-BJP co-ordination committee will be held next Sunday in Delhi,” they added.

Among the senior Sangh leaders who met Bhagwat were general secretary Suresh Bhayyaji Joshi; and the three joint general secretaries Suresh Soni, Dattareya Hosbole and Krishna Gopal who is currently the party’s top liaison with the BJP.

Also present were RSS national executive member Indresh Kumar and pracharaks Ramlal, who is also BJP general secretary (organisation), and his deputy Shiv Prakash.

Apart from discussions about the BJP defeat, the RSS leadership also sat through a presentation on the proposed structure of the Sangh’s new multi-storeyed office in Delhi.