Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is on a visit to the national capital where he is likely to meet top BJP leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and party chief JP Nadda.
Adityanath is coming to Delhi a day after Jitin Prasada, a former Congress leader who comes from a well-known Brahmin family of Uttar Pradesh, left the party and joined the BJP.
The BJP hopes that Jitin’s defection will send a positive signal to the Brahmin voters. Brahmins make up roughly half of the 20 per cent upper caste population of Uttar Pradesh and have supported different parties at different times. Jitin could get a key position in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, BJP sources said.
Adityanath’s visit comes at a time when there have been reports of despair and helplessness and widespread criticism of his government over its tackling of the pandemic that had apparently prompted the central leadership to rush Santhosh and Singh to Uttar Pradesh for the stock-taking exercise.