One factor the Bharatiya Janata Party’s unexpected victory in the Haryana assembly elections was the outreach by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the ideological parent of the party, which conducted around 20,000 small meetings, described by a person familiar with the matter as “drawing room” meetings, each with around 8-15 people in attendance.
HT learns that enthused by this approach, and aware that the coming Maharashtra elections pose one of the biggest challenges the BJP has faced in recent times, the RSS plans to hold around 60,000 of these in the state.
In Haryana, it was these meetings that, in part, moulded public opinion -- reminding voters of the Jat-centric administration of the Hoodas when the Congress was in power; addressing grievances related to the Agnipath recruitment scheme for the armed forces; and dealing with farmer angst.
The RSS has always been seen as the BJP’s secret weapon in elections, although leaders of the former have always maintained that they do not dabble in electoral politics.
To be sure, the “drawing room” meetings conducted by RSS workers who are part of the community -- and therefore, familiar faces to the voters -- don’t overtly urge people to vote for the BJP . Instead, they focus onissues such as continuity, national interest and welfare. These closed door meetings also provide the party with invaluable feedback.
“ The Sangh always works for Lok Jagran (people’s awareness) and will continue to do so,’’ said Sunil Ambekar, the official spokesperson of RSS. But the fact that these meetings are taking place is an affirmation from the Sangh Parivar that they are enthusiastically backing the BJP unlike the general election campaign where party workers reported that the Sangh’s participation was lacking enthusiasm. Some of this may have also had something to do with the BJP’s confidence that it could manage without such assistance, which was perhaps reflected in party president JP Nadda’s statement where he said that the BJP’s dependence on the RSS had reduced and the party could run itself.
{{/usCountry}}“ The Sangh always works for Lok Jagran (people’s awareness) and will continue to do so,’’ said Sunil Ambekar, the official spokesperson of RSS. But the fact that these meetings are taking place is an affirmation from the Sangh Parivar that they are enthusiastically backing the BJP unlike the general election campaign where party workers reported that the Sangh’s participation was lacking enthusiasm. Some of this may have also had something to do with the BJP’s confidence that it could manage without such assistance, which was perhaps reflected in party president JP Nadda’s statement where he said that the BJP’s dependence on the RSS had reduced and the party could run itself.
{{/usCountry}}But RSS workers have the advantage of being embedded in the community -- the Sangh’s timelines are long. They are also self-motivated and adept at organisational work. And unlike the BJP (or for that matter, other parties), that now rely heavily on external agencies that use modern tools to analyse data, trends and voter behaviour , the Sangh focuses on personal interactions and feedback.
What brought back the RSS’ enthusiasm? One theory is that the Sangh saw what happened when the BJP loses an election. In Karnataka, people familiar with the matter say, the Sangh believes that the Congress government has been vindictive.
The return of the Sangh has served as a boost for Maharashtra BJP workers, amid the general optimism in the air after Haryana, the people added. The key factor now for determining which way the state goes is ticket distribution for the 288 assembly seats. In that too, the RSS is expected to give the BJP its own ground reports on candidates.