Much Ado About Nothing...

There are some questions which will never be answered to everyone’s satisfaction.  The question on the RSS-BJP relationship is one such. 

It haunted the Jan Sangh when it existed, it forced a split in the Janata Party in 1979 and it is still being  debated, when the BJP with a clear mandate under Narendra Modi is in power. Is the RSS creating problems for Modi? Are the controversies on ghar wapsi, love jihad etc being created to embarrass Modi? Are organisations like BMS, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, ABVP and Swadeshi Jagaran Manch not in sync with the Prime Minister’s governance agenda? And is the RSS fully behind Narendra Modi or not? These are the questions often heard. The simple answer is: Mutual respect and a broad ideological similarity are the essential aspects binding various affiliates of the Sangh.  

The questions about Sangh-BJP relations arise primarily because adversaries of the Sangh are really not interested in getting a straightforward answer.  The Sangh is an enigma for the elite establishment and they like it to remain so forever. Coming to terms with its ideology and organisational reach is not in their interests. Though the BJP has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, this class wants to believe that the BJP rule is only an interregnum. A passing phase. It is this obstinacy that lurks behind the audacious diatribe of the Congress and the Left against Modi and his government. For instance, the Congress reaction to US President Barrack Obama’s reference to religious intolerance in India or the burning of a Pakistani boat in the Indian Ocean.

RSS worked tirelessly for the BJP victory in the 2014 elections. Which means that the Sangh had a huge role in the BJP victory.  The corollary is that the Sangh will not do anything to rock the boat. The Sangh and its affiliates have a stake in the success of this government.  The BJP and the RSS exchange views on all major issues, but the Sangh keeps off when it comes to decision-making in the government. Sangh only wields a moral sway on its affiliates, it does not interfere in their routine functioning.   

Be it on ghar wapsi or love jihad or on economic policy, no senior Sangh adhikari has made a controversial statement. What occupied media space were utterances of certain persons who do not represent the mainstream opinion. Sangh works on the premise of advice and consent.  

Often media makes a mountain out of a molehill. Stray incidents are blown out of proportion. They certainly vitiate the atmosphere, create misunderstanding and damage the image. This is also because to understand the dynamics of consensus in the Sangh one has to be a keen and sympathetic observer. 

Too much is being made out of the 'big' defeat of the BJP in Delhi. Though the BJP almost retained its vote share there is a suggestion that the party did not get the full support of the cadre. In the same city, eight months ago, the BJP had won all the seven Lok Sabha seats with huge margins. The tendency is to understate BJP victories and overemphasise its defeats. This time Narendra Modi was not the candidate whose destiny was in question. Anti-Congressism that used to be the mainstay of Indian polity in the last century is now replaced by anti-BJPism.  And first time after 1977, when all opposition votes got consolidated under one umbrella against Congress, this time the anti-Modi votes got united to stop his winning spree. Add to this, the greed for free water, power and wi-fi offer made by AAP. A section who voted for Modi in the last elections also shifted.  

The same time, the BJP win in local body elections in Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan went unnoticed and the perception painted all around was that the Modi magic had vanished. In the Kolkata by-elections, in several constituencies, BJP replaced the Left in the second position.

In nine months the BJP was in power it won four state elections, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu Kashmir and lost one, Delhi. To analyse the national political scene based only on the Delhi election is not sufficient.

The question then are: has the agenda of sab ka vikas sab ke saath lost its appeal and will the alleged strain in the larger RSS umbrella phalanx affect Modi’s good governance mission for the rest of his term? 

These assumptions exaggerate the RSS interventions in BJP politics and misrepresent its involvement in the routine business of the State. The RSS does not control the BJP. It does not either micromanage other affiliate organisations. Each have their own autonomous style of functioning and their own list of priorities. It is often difficult for an outside observer to understand the working of this large familial and ideological brotherhood as autopilot entities. The spirit behind the BJP’s election promise of development for all by involving all in the process is essentially the goal param vaibhav of India the RSS is committed to. 

Modi’s 2014 election campaign that changed the format of contemporary political debate is an offshoot of this idea. His campaign speeches disappointed his critics as they did not find in them what they were looking for. A discourse on Ramjanmabhoomi, Article 370, Uniform Civil Code and so on. Modi presented a vision of 21st century India, propelled by the dividends of democracy, demography and demand. This was the chemistry that brewed the Modi mania. The Sangh was fully in tune with this plank. 

However, organisations working in different areas like labour, academia and among farmers have their sectoral priorities. It is natural that they give expression to these concerns and try to bring them to the forefront for an early solution. But the big picture is never lost sight of. By general consent, issues likely create friction are pushed to the backburner.  BJP is trying to widen its base, reach out to new areas and make life happier for the maximum number of people. In this it has the support of the entire Sangh family.

Nine months ago it was difficult to convince anybody that the BJP could come to power on its own. The new challenge is to prove that it can run a government successfully for a full term. Certainly, the party and its affiliates will prove the cynics wrong.

The author is former editor, Organiser weekly.