But in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the VHP is clearly working against the BJP, while the RSS is supporting the party only halfheartedly.
Traditionally, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have actively worked for the BJP during elections, involving themselves in the electioneering and planning processes.
But in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the VHP is clearly working against the BJP, while the RSS is supporting the party only halfheartedly. Sources say though the RSS has
instructed its workers to support and work for the BJP, it has not developed any systematic plan.
For its part, the VHP is attempting to impede the BJP’s run not only in Gujarat, but also across the country. However, sources apprised of the intricate allegiances in the Sangh said that the VHP workers were lending their support to some BJP candidates, such as the party’s contender from Ahmedabad (East), Harin Pathak.
In Gandhinagar, the Congress candidate Suresh Patel has apparently garnered the saffron wings’ support, and Shailesh Parmar has done so in Ahmedabad (West). “RSS members still have a strong grassroots connect with the loyal saffron electorate. If they are activated, there can be a significant vote swing,” a source said.
On the other hand, the president of the Mahagujarat Janata Party (MJP) Gordhan Zadaphia, said that his party has the full support of both the saffron branches which are disenchanted with the BJP. In fact, he said that his nascent party will be the new face of the Sangh. Zadaphia has political roots in the VHP and is considered very close to Dr Pravin Togadia, the VHP’s international general secretary. Zadaphia said, “I have their support because I have not abandoned my ideology in the quest for power.”
Zadaphia, the home minister in the Modi government who broke ranks with the BJP before the 2007 assembly elections, is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Bhavnagar. The MJP has fielded 18 candidates.
Top officials in the RSS refused to comment on the organisation’s role in the elections. Amrut Kadiwala, Prant Sanghchalak (president) of the Gujarat RSS said, “We have decided not to talk to the media till the elections are over.”
Kadiwala, however, said that the organisation would spread the awareness of voting rights among people. An RSS official, who did not wish to be identified, said, “In earlier elections, there used to be a systematic plan in place to support the BJP. But in this election, there is none.”
As for the VHP, its stand is clear-cut. “There is a clear undercurrent of hostility against the BJP in the organisation,” an insider said. “There has been some dispute between the top brass of the BJP and the VHP [read Narendra Modi and Pravin Togadia]. The quarrel is not with the party, but with a certain personality.”
Sources in the BJP have also confirmed the estrangement. A BJP official deployed on election duty said, “It is true that the VHP is working against the BJP and supporting other parties.”
The official said that the VHP’s international president, Ashok Singhal, had no issues with Narendra Modi. “But the VHP is not supporting the BJP in this election because of the differences between Modi and Togadia,” he said. The official said that the VHP was showing video clips of temple demolitions in Gandhinagar, across the country to undercut Modi’s image as a strong Hindu leader.
“If the BJP ends up with fewer seats in states that have been assigned to Modi, his image will take a beating within the party both at the state and national level,” the official said.
He said that the RSS had instructed its workers to support the party, but its efforts were passive.
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