The war of supremacy that has been raging inside the saffron ecosystem, for quite time between the RSS leadership and the Gujarat Lobby led by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, came out for the first time in public domain with Modi-Shah duo withdrawing the list of the candidates chosen by them for the J&K assembly election.
Modi-Shah had to withdraw the list within 24 hours of announcement of the names of the candidates in the face of stiff resistance from the local RSS leaders and old-timer cadres. They openly charged the Gujarat Lobby of ignoring the cadres who sacrificed everything and fought against separatists and terrorists. They also alleged that turncoats who were against BJP were being given priority.
Modi’s task was tough had become clear on August 21 when the joint meeting of the RSS leaders with the UP state BJP leaders, resolved to entrust UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath to lead the party to the byelections to the ten assembly seats. The meeting chaired by RSS sah sarkaryawah Arun Kumar at Yogi’s residence decided that Modi would not be the party face for the by-elections.. It resolved to work out agenda with a more conducive coordination among RSS, BJP and the government. So far Modi’s Chanakya used to chalk out campaign strategy and select the probable candidates for election. But this time Yogi will not only chalk strategy but also select the candidates.
Though through his deceitful operations, planning to pull down opposition governments in Karnataka or Jharkhand or to stage a operation lotus coup in West Bengal using the sordid incident of rape of doctor, Amit Shah has been still desperately striving to prove his political relevance, but the latest development, especially the decisions made at the UP meet and on J&K assembly poll list, has made it explicit that RSS has sent a clear and loud message to him not to dictate on election matters but to agree to discussions with RSS..
Modi and Shah have been dictating the party functioning across the country for a long time,, but they have a special interest in Uttar Pradesh. Modi knows his losing grip on UP would prove to be disastrous for his political survival. But he has lost, and there is no doubt about it. Shah’s protégé, deputy CM of UP Keshav Prasad Maurya, ever since the message of holding the meet in Lucknow was announced, has changed his stance. Barely a fortnight back he was seen joining issues with Yogi in presence of national and state BJP leaders. He has been having a very strained relation with Yogi. But the same Maurya is now a changed person and has even publicly endorsed and hailed Yogi’s leadership.
RSS message to the rank and file is clear; Modi will no more be the Hindutva mascot of RSS. Yogi Adityanath would be the face of RSS’s philosophy of Hindutva. Of late UP was being projected as the citadel of the Hindutva philosophy by the saffron ecosystem. The RSS leaders confess the rout of BJP in the Lok Sabha election has shaken them and it is after this development, RSS resolved to put aside Modi. The RSS intends to use the byelections to the ten assembly seats to set the house in Uttar Pradesh.
This was the first detailed meeting involving a top RSS leader, the chief minister, the two deputy chief ministers, the state unit president and the secretary (organisation) after the 2024 Lok Sabha election. In June, Yogi Adityanath had met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat after the Lok Sabha election.
RSS leadership is working on the plan to win at least seven assembly seats out of ten as it would herald its rebirth in the state. Senior RSS leaders hold that losing the assembly byelections would virtually lead to dissipation of the saffron ecosystem across the country. During BJP’s membership drive, which begins on September 1, the effort would be on enrolling independent minded persons. The directive of RSS sah sarkaryawah Arun Kumar is quite significant. He said the membership drive should be run in coordination with the government and organization. RSS leadership does not intend to encourage the members of other parties to join the BJP.
RSS sources point out that attitude of the leadership is quite honest and candid; Bhagwat prefers to curtail the influence and say of Modi in the saffron ecosystem. He has virtually lost his place in the system. A message has also gone to the rank and file that Modi’s guarantee has lost currency. It is worth taking note that RSS leadership does not invite Modi to any of its important meetings with the BJP leaders. He is especially being kept aside from the discourse and decisions on Uttar Pradesh.
A section of RSS leaders are sceptical of his abilities and whether he would be able to win the coming elections in two states Haryana and J& K They bluntly tell that so far the BJP was run on the lines of duo. The functioning of Modi and Shah does not reflect that it was following a political line. They used coercive means to stay in power and rule. This was the major reason for alienation of the common people. These leaders point out even after losing the election, Modi and Shah duo have refused to take lessons and continue to practice their arrogant mode of politics.
However the RSS leaders are ready to dilute Modi’s powers in the party but they are not yet ready to look for any alternative to Modi. The talk of Nitin Gadkari in some Sangh circles is just a part of pressure tactics on the PM. Bhagwat also wants Modi to remain as PM but he needs to be responsive to the RSS suggestions on organizational affairs.
Even the detractors of Modi in the RSS admit that Modi allowed the RSS leaders to have share in the state power and helped them to achieve their ideological agenda. He constructed Ram Mandir, abolished art 370 and has been promoting the Hindutva agenda. He is still the best option for implementing the remaining programmes of the Sangh Parivar. (IPA Service)