By Arun Srivastava
If winning the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand is crucial for the political survival of Narendra Modi, the electoral victory in these two states has wider connotation for the RSS, as it would reinvent the philosophical importance of its politics of Hindutva and reaching to its destination of turning India into a Hindu Rashtra.
Maharashtra is merely a state for Modi and BJP and winning the assembly election will provide more muscle and money power to Modi. But for RSS Maharashtra is not merely a state, instead it symbolises Maha-Rashtra (Great Nation) which will reshape and rejuvenate the RSS policies and politics in the Indian perspective. Loss of Maharashtra will deny Modi to project his policies as tools for making India a Vikshit Bharat, it will also inflict major ideological damage to the RSS of being the creator of a new Bharat.
True enough, Modi and Mohan Bhagwat are engaged in two-line struggle. The assembly election is witnessing highest form of war of wits between the two leaders. Already indications are making round in Maharashtra political circles that RSS and BJP leaders are out to ensure the defeat of some of the prominent faces of the rival factions. RSS has managed to get tickets for its supporters and leaders close to it. The strategy of the RSS and BJP has been to win the election at any cost but ensure that their supporters get elected so that RSS and Modi can use the government to suit their needs.
RSS has already launched outreach programme to replicate BJP’s Haryana success in Maharashtra. Apparently the BJP MLAs from Haryana do not exhibit their apathy to Modi in public, most of them are dedicated to the RSS cause. RSS intends to repeat it in Maharashtra also. It is known to have worked a lot for the success of BJP in Haryana polls. In Maharashtra RSS is conducting over 50,000 small meetings and outreach efforts through its volunteers organised into groups, or tolis”. The tolis educate the voters on the need for having a saffron government committed to the RSS philosophical line. This strategy aims to shape public opinion in favour of the BJP-led Mahayuti.
The base for the Hindutva politics is quite strong in Maharashtra. While RSS has a well organised cadre base in the state, the Shiv Sena of Bal Thackeray too has a viable base of dedicated Hindutva cadres. To avoid overlapping while the RSS from the very beginning has been focussing on the tribals, Dalits and economically weaker castes, Sena is mainly confined to the urban areas. RSS already has a strong presence in Maharashtra, with Nagpur as its headquarters. It is expected that RSS would pose a major threat to the Shiv Sena. However some RSS leaders confide that it would not prefer to transgress Sena’s support base.
BJP could not do better in Lok Sabha election as the RSS cadres had withdrawn in some areas where they did not like the BJP candidates. BJP led Mahayuti could win only 17 seats, while the INDIA bloc’s MVA outperformed it by winning 31 seats. A lack of enthusiasm among the RSS workers was said to be the reason for the underwhelming performance. But the raging war of wits between Bhagwat and Modi has forced RSS to assert and ensure its candidates win most of the seats in Maharashtra.
A win in Jharkhand is of immense importance for RSS. The ideological and philosophical existence of RSS is at stake in Jharkhand. While a defeat would be a major set back to its politics of Hindutva and attempt to convert tribals to Hindu community, it would lose its credibility across the country. In his ceremonial speech this year on the occasion of Dussehra Mohan Bhagwat had made impassioned plea for Hindu unification, coming with a stark warning: weakness is a sin that even the gods disdain. RSS has been using the settling of Bangladeshi in Jharkhand as a major tool to terrorise the tribals of losing their identity and home.
RSS has been active in Jharkhand for decades, long before the state was formally created carving out of Bihar. It runs a number of frontal organisations. It has been using Jharkhand as the cushion to reach out to the tribals of other states. During the Lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand too, the RSS workers kept away from the elections. But this time they are determined to win the state. “The Sangh always works for Lok Jagran (people’s awareness) and will continue to do so,’’ said Sunil Ambekar, the spokesperson of RSS. But the fact that these meetings are taking place is an affirmation that they are backing the BJP unlike the general election.
With emergence of Hemant Soren as the new face of the Tribal aspiration, the situation has undergone a transformation not only in Jharkhand but across the country. He has conferred the right to land and made the message reach to the Adivasis that Sarna was different from Sanatan. RSS cadres were trying to convince that Sarna was akin to Sanatan. But Hemant’s strident opposition made them conscious of their rights.
RSS is scared that a defeat would marginalise it in Jharkhand and completely erode its base. Yet another reason for activating its cadres and make them participate in the election is, they will turn apolitical and hostile to BJP if kept away for longer from electoral politics. The RSS also does not intend that its cadres must not rub shoulders with the power.
Maharashtra has been the biggest loser of RSS politics of election boycott. The Congress’s tally went up to 13 from one seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena won nine seats and Sharad Pawar-led NCP eight. B JP has been virtually marginalised. Same scenario was more or less repeated in Jharkhand. BJP’s loss has been JMM and INDIA bloc’s gain.
After these two states, Uttar Pradesh has been the laboratory for RSS. Erosion of saffron base in UP would have wide ranging adverse impact on all the north Indian states. Saffron base will be weakened. Realising this threat, the RSS leaders in August had worked out the formula to project Yogi Adityanath as the public face of the saffron ecosystem. To iron out the differences a key meeting between the BJP and RSS leaders was held at the residence of Yogi Adityanath on August 21 The meeting resolved to strengthen party’ outreach and agenda with a more conducive and concrete coordination between the organisation and the government.
The issue of assembly by-election for 10 seats featured prominently at the August meet. It was also decided that Yogi will lead the party campaign. Along with drawing the strategy, chief minister will also select the candidates at a meeting with top organisation leaders. The manner in which Yogi ably supported by RSS was going ahead and giving a shape to the campaign, it is certain that it would be a tough fight for INDIA bloc even to register its presence. (IPA Service)
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