New Delhi: The ten-year long hiatus of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in the organisational affairs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over— is all set to come to an end, with the election of new party president. In all likelihood, the BJP’s president will be someone with a strong sangh involvement.
After gaining power at the Centre, the BJP had overshadowed the RSS and its frontal organisations. This was most apparent in BJP president J.P. Nadda’s statement during the last Lok Sabha elections: “Shuru mein hum aksham honge, thora kam honge, RSS ki zaroorat padti thi… aaj hum badh gaye hain, saksham hai… toh BJP apne aap ko chalati hai (In the beginning, we would have been less capable, smaller and needed the RSS. Today, we have grown and we are capable. The BJP runs itself).”
Later, however, the BJP fell short of its target of 350 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, ending up 30 short of the halfway mark and 60 less than its 2019 tally. The arrogant stand of a few BJP leaders increased political space for the Opposition, leading to major setbacks in its strongholds like Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
But things appear to be on the mend. The BJP was projected to perform poorly in the Haryana elections, which would have had a huge impact on the party after the Lok Sabha elections, but RSS activists were seen to have saved the day with an aggressive campaign. A similar plan is in the works for the forthcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections.
According to highly-placed sources, the RSS had made it clear that the next BJP president would have a strong Sangh background. Those nominated by the Sangh would once again take control over the BJP organisation as general secretary (organisation) at all levels.
Prominent Sangh leader Sanjay Joshi, once national organisational secretary, is likely to get back his prominence in the party. He is even tipped to get a top job to correct its ideological base, which the RSS believes got diluted after leaders from other parties joined in. Another prominent Sangh leader Ram Madhav could also get a major responsibility.
Sangh affiliate groups like Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and Akhil Bharat Vidyarthi Parishad, which lost space under the larger shadow of the BJP, would get back freedom to work in their areas.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently met VHP’s former international working president Praveen Togadia, who played a key role in the Ram Mandir movement. After his role was curtailed in the VHP, Togadia resigned in April 2018 and floated the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad. Togadia also hails from Gujarat and is a well-known Hindu leader.
The RSS chief had reportedly asked him to re-associate with the VHP and promised freedom in his activities. “The RSS and VHP leaders were scared to meet Togadia due to his differences with a top personality in the central government. But the RSS Sarsanghchalak openly meeting him signifies new assertiveness of the Sangh,” said an RSS old-timer from Gujarat.
In the centenary year of the RSS, the RSS functionaries at the state-level have started monthly meetings with its different affiliate organisations and one such meeting with the BJP leaders from Telangana recently took place in Hyderabad.
