In recent months, Michael Lobo has been openly critical of his party, claiming that it is not the party that previous Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar established.
Yati Narasimhanand, a religious leader who has been accused of instigating violence in the past with his inflammatory sermons, organised the conclave.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's flagship project in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh is Kashi Vishwanath Dham. PM Modi inaugurated it on December 13 of last year. When the Prime Minister learned that people at Kashi Vishwanath were working barefoot in the bitter cold, he dispatched the footwear.