Panicked BJP reaches out to RSS ahead of Haryana, Maharashtra polls

New Delhi: Fearing an imminent defeat in the forthcoming Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana, a panicked Bharatiya Janata Party is believed to have reached out to its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. 

The internal surveys of the BJP have predicted a loss for the saffron unit in both of these states and the party is hoping to win over the RSS to improve its prospects in these states. 

Sources stated that as a part of this outreach towards its ideological parent, there was a meeting of senior BJP leaders and RSS leaders last week.

It is learnt that BJP chief JP Nadda and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were part of the meeting, which was also attended by RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and its prachar pramukh Sunil Ambekar. 

Sources stated that at this meeting, the BJP has again sought the support of the Sangh in these crucial forthcoming polls. The meeting came days after RSS' Samanway Baithak with its affiliates in Palakkad. 

The BJP leadership has been on an edge ever since its less-than-adequate performance in recent Lok Sabha polls and has been trying desperately to rope in support of the RSS over the past few weeks. 

The relationship between the two saffron outfits has been strained ever since BJP chief Nadda courted controversy and upset the top leadership of the RSS after he had made certain unwarranted remarks during the peak electoral campaign on the BJP’s need for Sangh’s cadre in campaigning and support.

During an interview in the electoral heat of the general elections, Nadda had said, “We were less capable in the beginning and needed the RSS. Today we have grown and are more capable. The BJP now runs itself.” 

The comments by the BJP chief were not taken kindly by the Sangh leadership. It must be pointed out that the RSS had been instrumental in creating the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951 and later the BJP in 1980.

The Sangh’s anger over these comments is believed to be one of the crucial factors that led to the inadequate showing of saffron candidates during the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, as its cadres were found to be absent during crucial campaign days.

With polls due in Haryana and Maharashtra, apart from Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand, the BJP hopes to rope in RSS' support for these crucial elections. Amongst these states, the BJP is hoping to retain power in Haryana and Maharashtra, which are important states due to their cash-rich status. 

Any loss of these states won't augur well for the BJP as an already weakened Narendra Modi-led central government is expected to further weaken and face more attacks by a rejuvenated opposition. The repeated meetings between the top leadership of the two saffron outfits also point towards continued strain, which the BJP wants to resolve at the earliest or brace itself for more electoral defeats.