RSS-linked weekly blames tie-up with Ajit-led NCP for BJP's poor show in LS polls

Mumbai: A Marathi weekly linked to the RSS has sought to blame the NCP for the BJP's poor performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, stating that public sentiments completely went against the saffron party after it joined hands with the Ajit Pawar-led outfit.

According to it, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members and others it interacted with said they did not approve of the party's move of joining hands with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). It added that the unrest among the party cadre was just the "tip of the iceberg".

It also said that coordination and the importance given to party workers in decision-making and governance helped the BJP sweep the Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh.

In the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP's seat tally in Maharashtra came down to nine from 23. Its ally Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena won seven seats, while another Mahayuti constituent - Ajit Pawar's NCP could just bag one. The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) and Congress, performed better by together winning 30 out of the 48 seats.

The weekly, Vivek, linked to the BJP's ideological fountainhead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has published an article based on an informal survey of over 200 people from Mumbai, Konkan, and western Maharashtra. It states the reasons behind the BJP's loss in the Lok Sabha elections.

"Almost every person who is either in the BJP or affiliated to organisations (Sangh Parivar) cited that he does not approve of BJP allying with the NCP (led by Ajit Pawar). Before writing this piece, we interacted with more than 200 industrialists, traders, doctors, professors and teachers. The unrest among the party cadre because the BJP allied with the NCP is the tip of the iceberg," it said.

The BJP's alliance with Shiv Sena was always perceived as natural because of the common thread of Hindutva, irrespective of some minor complaints against each other. People accepted the then MVA minister Eknath Shinde's rebellion against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, which brought down the government. The BJP later supported Shinde, and the MLAs backed him in forming the government, making him the state chief minister, the article said.

A year later, the then leader of the opposition Ajit Pawar claimed the support of his party MLAs and workers and joined the state government as the deputy chief minister. The Election Commission of India (ECI) and legislative assembly speaker later upheld his claims.

"However, the sentiments went totally against the party (BJP) after it joined hands with NCP. The question also arises about the future plans of the party when political arithmetic went against it because of NCP," it added.

The BJP got the image of inducting leaders from other parties, completely ignoring the organisational process of grooming leaders, which in the past existed and benefited in the form of Atal Bihari Vajpayee or at the state level with Gopinath Munde, Pramod Mahajan, Nitin Gadkari and Devendra Fadnavis. All of them were humble party workers and later became leaders, and they always knew this fact, the article said.

It made an indirect reference to state BJP functionary Shweta Shalini's legal notice to YouTuber Bhau Torsekar, who propagates Hindutva ideology through his channel. In one of the recent posts, he made a critical remark against Shalini, following which she issued a legal notice to him. However, she later withdrew it.

"The opposition created a perception that original party workers will always remain humble while turncoats will get plum postings. The action of some people against those who propagate Hindutva on social media also increased the unrest among the party workers. The workers also started wondering whether their opinions have any value within the party or not," the article said.

The weekly also underscored the limited acceptance of the Ram temple and the sacrifice of the RSS and BJP workers during the Emergency.

"There is no doubt about the sacrifice of party workers during the Emergency period as well as for the Ram temple movement. How much does it resonate with educated people under the age of 45 when it comes to voting? Even if the person is pro-Hindutva, he would not feel any connection with the incidents that took place three to four decades back," the article said.

It also credited coordination and the importance given to party workers in decision-making and governance with the BJP's success in Madhya Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP won all 29 Lok Sabha seats in that state.

After the Lok Sabha polls results were declared on June 4, RSS-linked magazine 'Organiser' had said the polls outcome came as a "reality check for overconfident" BJP workers and many of its leaders as they were happy in their "bubble" and enjoying the glow of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's aura but not listening to the voices on the streets.

An article in the magazine also noted that though the RSS is not a "field force" of the BJP, the party leaders and workers did not reach out to its 'swayamsevaks' (volunteers) seeking their cooperation in electoral work.