New Delhi: The power equation between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – its parent organisation – has undergone a complete turnaround in the past one year.The best example of the tussle between the current BJP leadership and the RSS is the party’s inability to elect a new national president so far. The tenure of J.P. Nadda, who was appointed as the party’s chief in January 2020 for a period of three years, had ended in 2023. However, in January 2023, he was given an extension till June 2024. But even though more than a year has passed since June 2024, Nadda has continued to hold the post.From the RSS being termed a “cultural and social organisation” by Nadda in May 2024 to the Sangh putting its foot down in July 2025 when it comes to the appointment of Nadda’s successor, a lot has changed since the saffron party under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah failed to secure a majority on its own in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.The fact that the world’s largest political party has not been able to find a suitable candidate despite the names of leaders close to Modi and Shah such as Dharmendra Pradhan, Bhupender Yadav, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Manohar Lal Khattar doing the rounds as the potential contenders for the post since a long time, indicates that the Sangh, after a gap of 11 years, is finding its voice back.Ever since Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014 with the BJP securing a majority of its own in the Parliament, the writ of Modi and Shah has been considered as the last word in both the party and the government.When the BJP won a second term in 2019 with an even bigger majority, there was no scope of dissent left in the party. The Modi-Shah duo changed chief ministers at will, veteran leaders close to the RSS or politicians from the Vajpayee era were replaced with first-timers.Not even once, in these 11 years did Modi visit the RSS headquarters in Nagpur.An apt reflection of the RSS’s shrinking role during this one decade between 2014 and 2024 is the statement made by Nadda in May last year that that the BJP can manage its affairs on its own.BJP’s electoral setback and the RSS finding its voice backBut the BJP’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha election was going to change the tide in favour of the Sangh. The outcome of the election revealed that the BJP’s election-winning juggernaut had suffered a setback after being in power for a decade, with the party’s tally going down to 240 seats in the Lok Sabha, from 303.Soon, the RSS struck a cautionary note, right after the election results were declared. It was clear that the Sangh was willing to take back its lost authority over the party when RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat didn’t mince words, and in a barely-veiled jibe at Modi, said that a ‘true sevak’ does not have arrogance.Bhagwat’s words were carefully timed for a moment when the Modi-Shah duo had suffered their biggest electoral setback since 2014.A piece in the RSS mouthpiece Organiser also said that the electoral outcome was a “reality check” for overconfident BJP workers. It claimed that the BJP leadership did not reach out to RSS swayamsevaks to seek their cooperation in electoral work.In the year that followed, the BJP couldn’t elect a new national president as a result of the failure to build a consensus with the Sangh on the subject.Bhagwat’s remarks on retirement age, and RSS loyalists getting preference in state appointmentsSources say that while Modi and Shah want a loyalist of their own to take over the reins from Nadda, the RSS prefers a leader with strong organisational roots who can function independently.Even as the impasse over the post of the party president has not ended, the RSS has continued to mount the pressure on the BJP.Recently, Bhagwat again sparked a debate with his remarks on stepping aside at the age of 75. Bhagwat’s remarks led to speculations that if his words were meant for Modi, who along with Bhagwat will turn 75 in September this year.In March this year, when Modi visited the RSS headquarters in Nagpur for the first time since he became the Prime Minister in 2014, the event reflected the increasing importance of a resurgent Sangh.Bhagwat’s statement about retirement age was also followed by frantic reactions from BJP leaders such as MP Nishikant Dubey, who recently told a news agency that he can see Modi at the helm for 15-20 years, if Modi is not the leader, the BJP won’t win even 150 seats and it is not Modi who needs the BJP but the BJP that needs him . The response of BJP leaders such as Dubey indicates that Bhagwat’s statement has resulted in creating ripples within the party.Subsequent organisational changes in the BJP have also indicated towards the growing say of the RSS in party matters.Most of the new BJP state presidents elected during June-July are not among the prominent leaders of the state units, but are known for their close affiliation to the RSS.With the RSS not giving its approval so far for the candidates suggested by the BJP under Modi and Shah, the deadlock over the election of the national president continues to embarrass the party. It is unlikely that the party will be able to elect a new national president before the end of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, which begins from July 21.A year later, Nadda’s assertion that the BJP can manage its own affairs, has come back to haunt the saffron party.