Anil Anand
Whatever Prime Minister Narendra Modi, particularly on the political front, does, it has to have three important rather compulsory ingredients- selection of day, date and timing as it has to be related to some important event or occasion. This is closely followed by symbolism which in fact remains high on his priority list- a trend which can be traced to his 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, and thereafter it assumed a magnifying dimension.
Thirdly and most importantly it has to have a co-relation with coming electoral, political or governmental events. All three must have formed the core of planning when he had decided to embark on a visit to his “alma mater”, the RSS headquarters in Nagpur.
Whatever Mr Modi does, the developments during the last decade bear it out, he tries to do it from a pedestal of strength. No matter what the political or economic circumstances are, his convincing communicational abilities cover it all to help him create an impression that he is in full control of the situation. Rather dictating terms to his adversaries- both in the opposition camp and more importantly within the Sangh Parivar, more so the RSS.
In this backdrop of his visit to RSS headquarters, first by him as the Prime Minister, and sharing the dais with the Sangh head Dr Mohan Bhagwat, ought to have set the political corridors on fire and left the tongues wagging. For, his visit has come months ahead of both RSS chief and the PM attaining the age of 75- a standard setup by Mr Modi for political leaders to retire and take resource to “Margdarshak Mandal”, the contentious issue of electing/selecting a new BJP president hanging fire for months now, the elections to nearly two dozen state assemblies due in the next three years. Also, the 2027 Presidential and Vice-Presidential polls. Of course, followed by the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.
Not that in his brief visit to Nagpur he could have discussed all these issues threadbare but these topics would not have escaped attention. This is just a brief-outline of the political/electoral course ahead which not only RSS but its political arm, currently led by Mr Modi in its entirety, will have to follow. The challenge will be to maintain, and if possible, increase the tempo by ensuring victories in the hitherto ideologically forbidden territories such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and maintain the pace where BJP is already ruling. Incidentally, all the three states will face assembly elections in the coming time.
The underlying challenge, the ostensible reason behind Mr Modi’s visit, must have been to ensure RSS-BJP coordination which has, of late, shown signs of cracks. The gaping hole emerged when the party chief J P Nadda had in an interview to a national English daily indicated that BJP was “self-sufficient” and that it was “Saksham” (capable) to run its own affairs, having grown from the time it “needed the RSS”. It was a path-breaking statement by any BJP chief, including the all-powerful A B Vajpayee, L K Advani and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, as none in the 45-year history of BJP had dared to do so.
Mr Nadda has completed two terms as the BJP chief and has already completed one-year as an extension with the potential of continuing in the not- too-hot-a-seat, since he is overshadowed by a powerful leadership, on course to setting a record of sorts.
Is Mr Modi’s visit to RSS headquarters a sign of reconciliation, compulsion, strategy or is there something more to it than meets the eye?
There might be chasm between the RSS and the BJP, primarily could be, owing to Mr Modi’s style of functioning that runs contrary to the RSS’s dictum of collective leadership with Sangh getting an upper hand, notwithstanding the fact that Sangh’s functioning is pyramidical, the fact remains even after a decade’s solo-authoritarian run, he and the BJP needs Sangh more. This is more so after the Modi-dispensation’s failure to secure even a simple majority in the 2024- Lok Sabha elections with Uttar Pradesh, accounting for 80 Lok Sabha seats, being lorded over by Yogi Adityanath every now and then, giving an impression of looking the other way round.
The vital question is whether Mr Modi will follow his own rule of calling it quits when he reaches 75? The immediate response will be a nay. Even then, and as mentioned above, linked to his Nagpur visit is the possibility of drawing and rolling out a plan for future which will still have the RSS’s main agenda at its core.
The fact that Mr Modi’s dominance has been exemplary, which showed signs of wearing out in the last Lok Sabha elections, since 2014. He has single-handedly stirred the party to new levels of electoral victory, at times becoming reminiscent of late Mrs Indira Gandhi’s dominant style of functioning for which the over a century old party is still paying the penalty.
Will the BJP head the same way in near future?
If Mr Modi decides to adhere to the 75-year age dateline, the vital question is who will lead the charge in his absence. As of today, there is none in the entire Sangh Parivar who could be as good a communicator and charismatic as him. The fact of the matter is the last one decade has seen muzzling of the second and third rung leadership in a systematic manner unlike the Vajpayee-Advani era who groomed next generations of leadership of with Mr Modi being one among them. This is going to prove costly for the BJP, if, as and when Mr Modi decides to quit. May be, the famous There Is No Alternative (TINA) factor may come into play here.
Clearly, Mr Modi’s brief but significant visit to RSS headquarters is not without an important political purpose. It certainly was high on optics which has acquired great significance in today’s political parlance and the current BJP dispensation has used it more effectively than any other political party in the game.
If there is no alternative to Mr Modi in the BJP, fact remains that the RSS also has no replacement of Mr Modi who has implemented the Sangh Parivar’s core Hindutava agenda domineeringly, in the process, at times, not caring for constitutional and social niceties.
With Mr Modi on the scene, there could still be many more surprises in store in relation to the futuristic political contours of RSS-BJP combine. Creating an impression of Sangh-BJP bonhomie, after recent reports of differences, is in line with a continuous focus on the Hindutva plank of which the RSS claims to be the sole torchbearer.
However, some lingering doubts seems to have been created due to BJP’s unimpressive performance in the last Lok Sabha elections. With pressure increasing on economic and diplomatic fronts due to internal and external reasons, it must be weighing heavily on the minds of Hindutva strategists as to how far can they go ticking the “Aurangzeb-like” controversies with the 75-age barrier staring everyone in the eye. Now, with the contentious Waqf Amendment Bill passed hurriedly past midnight, at a time when US President announced levying tarrif duties on India, many experts see it as a diversionary tactics, all eyes will be rivetted on how the amended law is implemented.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
