Bhopal, Aug 9 (IANS): Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat resumed his outreach with the party cadre post-lockdown with a meeting of select parivar office- bearers from the Malwa and Central Madhya Pradesh regions on Sunday.

He asked the Sangh leaders to focus on rural education which has suffered due to the pandemic as also the environment and water supply.

Earlier reports suggested the meeting was to be held over two days. RSS insiders, however, clarified that Sangh chief's visit was for two days but the interaction was scheduled only for a day.

Bhagwat is apparently making up for lack of direct contact with party cadre as no 'Shakhas' (morning meetings) are being held during the lockdown and direct communication with the Sangh functionaries has been minimal. His tours have resumed to send out a positive message to the cadre.

Sunday's meeting was with just a few functionaries of the region in which physical distancing and all other safeguards were taken. The meeting ended by 7 p.m.

More interactive sessions are likely to be held to study how the BJP can capitalise on the momentum gained on the Ram temple construction at Ayodhya. Madhya Pradesh has by-elections lined up for 27 assembly seats and the Sangh activists are expected to be mobilised for them.

The resignation of 25 Congress members, most of whom have joined the BJP, have caused the by-elections. Two seats had fallen vacant due to the death of incumbent MLAs.

Bhagwat, who arrived here on Saturday late night, will leave for Nagpur on Monday.

He is expected to hold discussions with the top functionaries of Mahakoshal (in MP) and Chhattisgarh parts of Sangh's Central region at Raipur later this month, according to Parivar insiders.

The RSS chief is understood to have taken stock of the welfare activities undertaken by the outfit members during corona times.

This is the second visit of the Sangh chief to Bhopal in 20 days. He had held meetings to discuss the elections and construction of Ram temple during the earlier visit.

Ahead of the ground-breaking ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Bhagwat had chaired a meeting of a few top functionaries of the Sangh for four days to turn the Ram Temple foundation stonelaying function into a grand event.

It had also discussed the China-India stand-off and other issues facing the country amidst the Covid-19 crisis. That meeting, in which office-bearers took part virtually from Nagpur and Delhi, had also advocated for strengthening the Swadeshi movement to counter Chinese expansionism.