Strange are the ways of politics. Narendra Modi will be visiting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh headquarters this week for the first time since he became prime minister, some 11 years ago. Thereby hangs a tale.Though the visit is projected as a routine one to inaugurate the extension of a medical facility there, observers feel that there is more to it than meets the eye.It is not just a coincidence and less so a routine visit to have a photo op with the top brass of the RSS. Why did the prime minister never in the past feel the need to visit the Reshaim Bagh, the RSS headquarters?Is the visit a belated admission that the prime minister has realised the hidden strength of the RSS after he failed to secure a majority for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections last May?In fact, Modi had himself muddied waters in the midst of the last Lok Sabha polls through a statement from Nadda. The BJP chief had insisted that the BJP no longer requires the help and assistance of the RSS in contesting the polls. The statement was an affront to the Sangh leadership, as it meant a blunt message that the BJP has become more powerful than the RSS and it better focus only on the issues of ideology.Given the deep RSS influence on the party in the past, no BJP leader or the prime minister had ever dared make such an audacious statement.In the elections to Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi, RSS volunteers had gone the extra mile to help the BJP.Nagpur is not in the habit of tom-toming its influence when the time becomes ripe, nor is it in the habit of narrating its sob story when it is virtually ignored. Like a cool cat, the RSS bids its time.RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who has been projected as one without much influence since May 2014 in the BJP scheme of things, made his presence felt after the last Lok Sabha polls by dishing out some advice to the powers that be. His words were intended to convey to the BJP that RSS counts and undermining it would not be tolerated.Before the 2014 polls, it seemed Bhagwat, who had described Modi as “a good man and a good friend,” had himself picked the then Gujarat chief minister for the prime ministership, accelerating L.K. Advani’s political demise and the rise of a new generation in the BJP. At that time, the RSS had done precious little to address the concerns of an anguished Advani, who was not on the same page.Now, there is unsubstantiated talk that the RSS wants Adityanath as the next party chief. It was at the RSS’ insistence that Modi made the saffron-clad leader the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2017. No one can say how correct such an impression is, but those who know Modi insist that the past decade he has ensured only his ‘yes men’ are appointed in the post.In the past year, many names have been mentioned as possible successors to Nadda as the BJP chief. They include Manoharlal Khattar, Bhupendra Yadav, D. Purandreshwari, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. It is common knowledge that before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Rajnath Singh was brought in as the BJP chief as Nitin Gadkari was not pliable to Modi.Since Modi’s emergence at the national level, the PM has been playing his own game, signalling that no one else could call the shots when he is at the helm. At the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya early last year, Bhagwat had played second fiddle.The RSS had shown its authority in 2005-2006 when L.K. Advani was forced to resign as the party chief in the wake of controversy over his statement on Mohammed Ali Jinnah during a visit to Pakistan.This was despite the late BJP patriarch, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, announcing at a public rally that Advani was the “Ram” and the late Pramod Mahajan was the “Lakshman,” who would take the party ahead.March 30 will show whether and how the RSS reasserts its authority within the Sangh Parivar as it will have implications for the future of the country’s politics. The politics within the BJP and the Sangh Parivar are becoming interesting by the day. The long delay in the announcement of the next BJP president tells the story. One must also note that this is the centenary year of the RSS, in which it has resolved to expand and consolidate the work of the organisation.Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari are New Delhi-based journalists.
