RSS ended Sinha’s CM dream

NEWDELHI: A red flag from the RSS, BJP’s ideological mentor, spoiled telecom minister Manoj Sinha’s chances of becoming the Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

BJP’s 312 MLAs elected Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath as their leader on Saturday, paving the way for his elevation as the chief minister. As a tug of war played out between the contenders — in Lucknow and Delhi — BJP sources claimed that Sinha was edged out of the race much before it was claimed.

Deliberations between the top BJP and RSS leaders after Holi saw him being dropped.

Sinha, also an ABVP activist during his BHU days, was not seen as a suitable candidate to take forward the ideological battle that the RSS was interested in. RSS joint general secretary Krishna Gopal, who coordinates between the RSS and the BJP, was against the idea of Sinha becoming the CM.

As RSS pracharak in Poorvanchal, when Sinha was an MP in the 90s, Gopal had a turf war with the Bhumihar leader.

Sinha’s detractors in the RSS also claim that the perception about him having a soft corner for a particular caste worked against his favour. “The RSS wanted a caste neutral leader,” a source said. Adityanath too flexed his muscles to lock down Sinha’s chances.

State BJP chief Keshav Prasad Maurya also joined the ranks. Those who opposed Sinha also propped up Maurya’s name.

He had been in the race from the beginning of polls, but when it came to the selection, Maurya was seen as a relatively lightweight leader.

Some in the RSS felt that a heavyweight like Rajnath Singh, should be in the hot seat. But, the idea did not cut ice with PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, who also wanted a young leader as chief minister.

Lady luck smiled on the 44-year-old head priest of Goraknath mutt when the RSS and the VHP opined that he had all the qualities that they and BJP were looking for.