After Maha Victory, RSS Gears Up for 2028 Telangana

 Hyderabad: No buzz, no hype, no hungama and no high decibel campaign. The focus on door-to-door outreach and small group meetings across Maharashtra by thousands of swayamsevaks months before the November 20 elections, with extensive campaigns highlighting concerns about Hindutva and national unity, seem to have paid-off for the BJP in the neighbouring state.

The swayamsevaks effectively addressed the caste division strategies by the Opposition and explained how that would work against Hindu unity. They enabled mobilisation of rural voters to consolidate support in regions where the BJP has traditionally faced challenges.

More importantly, the collaboration between swayamsevaks and BJP workers and leaders, led by Atul Limaye, 54, joint general secretary, who was deputed months ahead by the RSS top brass enabled the stupendous electoral success of BJP.

Limaye’s strategy played an instrumental role in gaining Marathas’ support for the party.

A senior functionary of RSS said that the small `tolis’ (groups) of swayamsevaks held meetings with two to three families in mohallas. A respectable local person was included in these meetings to shape opinion.

'Sajag Raho’, a voter awareness campaign initiated by Limaye, saw volunteers visit each house.

The silent voter mobilisation efforts paid off with the overall turnout rising by 4.95 percentage points, compared to 66.05 per cent in 2019.

In contrast, among 22 Assembly constituencies with 25 per cent or more Muslim population, 19 saw lower polling than the state average. “We wanted to ensure high voter turnout in all urban pockets, where our influence is deeply rooted,” said a senior RSS leader involved in the campaign.

Meanwhile, sources in RSS said that they had started working with a long-time strategy on Telangana with a focus on 2028 Assembly elections and the cultural outreach effort is underway. Besides setting up the Sammakka-Saralamma Tribal University in Jakaram, near Mulugu, the Centre has released funds for the Medaram jatara.

The RSS had recently conducted its fourth edition of Lokmanthan in Hyderabad, which was the first time in South India. The event prominently featured Rani Rudrama as part of the RSS focus on Telangana.

The Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram had intensified the outreach in tribal communities to counter the influence of left-leaning and Christian missionary groups. The RSS is shaping up the narratives to benefit the BJP and bolster its chances in 2028.