Winning Delhi assembly election is certainly crucial for AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, but a triumph for Narendra Modi is more vital, virtually of the nature of do and die, than a win for Kejriwal. By winning the election, Kejriwal would become the chief minister of Delhi for the fourth time, his stature will grow among the opposition leaders, but BJP winning the election will empower Modi and project him as the supreme leader of the Saffron ecosystem. With Delhi win by Modi, Mohan Bhagwat cannot think of challenging him and his authority. True enough, RSS will have to act as second fiddle.
Modi and Amit Shah took control of the charge of BJP planning for Delhi elections soon after the Maharashtra results came. They knew that once the elections for Delhi assembly are announced, the RSS will gear its machinery and the cadre force for winning the election and project the victory as their gift. Yet another development that ought to be taken note of is the BJP, precisely Modi and Shah, did not project a chief ministerial face. This would have motivated RSS either not to publicly accept their candidate or project a RSS leader as the probable chief minister.
But Mohan Bhagwat did not take it lying down. At his instance, RSS had already requisitioned around 50,000 cadres to undertake the electioneering. They are going door to door and seeking vote for the BJP candidates. Apparently RSS is one step ahead of Modi-Shah combine in campaigning. Usually Modi prefers to campaign even for the panchayat and municipal elections. Delhi being important he has put extra effort. He has been going around, announcing a flurry of project inaugurations; thus setting the tone for the BJP’s campaign. Through his actions, Modi has managed to send a strong message that he is the public face and talisman of the BJP in Delhi assembly polls.
In a strategic move, some leaders close to Modi-Shah have been trying to float the name of senior RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi as the new president, to replace Nadda. Though in 2021,Bhaiyyaji was downgraded and was replaced by Dattatraye as the general secretary, he was next man to Bhagwat. In the RSS circle he is known to be a close friend of Modi. His projection has got credence from the statement he made just a fortnight back “violence is sometimes “necessary” to protect the idea of non-violence”.
His observation was underscored as his suggestion that people of India have to take everyone along on the path to peace, but the context was not clear: what made him to say this. He was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the ‘Hindu Spiritual & Service Fair’, known as ‘Hindu Adhyatmik Seva Mela’ in Gujarat. His observation was quite confusing. While he talked of Hindus, he tried to put it in pan India perspective.
While in one line he tried to endorse the political line of Modi, at the same time he identified with Bhagwat’s philosophy. His observation; “There is no country other than India capable of taking along all other nations. ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (the world is one family) is our idea of spirituality. If we consider the entire world as a family, there will not be any conflict” ought to be given proper attention. In the same breath he said: “When we say that India should become stronger, we are actually giving an assurance to the world that a stronger India and a stronger Hindu community are beneficial for everyone because we will protect the weaker and the downtrodden. Hindus are always committed to protecting their religion. To protect our ‘dharma’, we have to do even those things which others will label as ‘adharma’ and such things were done by our ancestors”.
He in fact maintained a razor thin difference from the stand of both the leaders, Modi and Bhagwat. Though he projected Hindus as generous, he did try to balance other communities: “When people call themselves Hindu, it includes many aspects, that it is a religion, spirituality, ideology, service and lifestyle. Humanity is at the centre of the Hindu religion and it comprises “our duties, cooperation, truth and justice”. He consciously avoided the line of politics of hatred, as propounded by Modi and Shah. He said “Hindu religious organisations are not just limited to performing rituals, they also run schools, gurukuls and hospitals”.
Bhagwat has been in recent times trying to reach out to Muslims and also Christians but he used to be cautious and guarded in his observations. Joshi’s observation will certainly give rise to some confusion in the saffron ecosystem. The observations coming from a person who has ceased to have nice working relations with Bhagwat would definitely not augur well.
Modi loyalists hold the view that Bhaiyyaji will have more acceptability, even in the international circle, particularly among the Indian diaspora. His observation is being viewed and analysed by these people in that perspective. They also hold the view that in contrast Bhagwat does not have a clear opinion about the global arena. It is said that Bhagwat could not place the issue of torture and repression on Bangladeshi Hindus by the fundamentalists there enjoying the support and patronage of Pakistan and ISI.
Nevertheless the future of Modi and Bhagwat depends mainly on the Delhi poll verdict. While BJP is making all-out attempts to come back to power in Delhi using the slogan of “Parivartan” (change) and involvement of Arvind Kejriwal in corruption, RSS is using its cadre strength and opportunities to project itself in the electoral arena. The RSS leaders are sure that they will defeat Kejriwal. Even in the Lok Sabha election, its cadres have helped the BJP candidates to get more votes than AAP in 52 out of 70 assembly segments. In yet another development, the RSS cadres are also seeking the views of the voters about the new chief minister to be installed after elections.
Though AAP claims to have strong support base in the slums, Dalits, unauthorised colonies, the presence of Congress is a major source of worry. Congress is expected to receive significant support in 12 reserved and 8 minority dominated seats. The Muslims having 14 per cent population are inclined towards the Congress. They are aggrieved that Kejriwal did not raise voice in their favour. Instead he did not even condemn the actions of BJP mercenaries who ransacked their dwellings. However the integrity and sincerity of BJP and of its 12 candidates who switched from AAP and Congress are being questioned even by the RSS cadres. (IPA Service)
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