Political debate have been flying since the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Nagpur, and how it would impact the relationship between BJP and its ideological parent organization. This visit, lined up right at the cusp of an important political moment, outlined some early trends in how these powerful entities are adapting. This visit happened much more in the backdrop of current political scenario however has given us glimpses of evolving relationship between Sangh and rise above it all the Jana Sangh-BJP.
Modi is at RSS headquarters i.e. a place that is steeped in the history and ethos of these organizations and that move to underscore the historic nexus between the BJP and the Sangh has already been taking place before. With the BJP having just consolidated its hegemonic prominence in politics, and with RSS been grooming successive prime minister-readies into nation’s ideological alumni on a regular basis — this is mere ABS distance between their camp.
He also paid his homage in the SSR memorial at MS Golwalkar, a relevant figure in the history of this organization. Their shared ideology was thus made very visible in the relationship between the BJP and the Sangh by this gesture. Allegedly, the visit led to a conversation on national and not-so-national issues that hint at the close coordination between the two parties.
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That the BJP President JP Nadda was also present during Modi’s visit to further underline how tight this relationship was. Such a joint appearance illustrates parallels between the party and ideological goals, not unlike what we need in national not fixing issues. Political experts opine that Modi’s visit served various functions. First of all, it repeatedly reminded the RSS cadre that claimed otherwise, that the party was staying true to its ideological foundations (BJP). And secondly it allowed both the organizations to align their strategies on a few national issues and then go implement governance & social initiatives together as one unit. The visit also helped in weakening the myth and those questioning continuity beween the BJP and RSS have been allayed. Even as the BJP gets more and more independent of its kind, the visit drove home that double Bind of perennial ideological and strategic alignment between the two parties. The Indian Express and a few other newspapers have been busy analyzing the visit politically for its far reaching consequences. This is seen as strategically important to BJP as it helps maintaining close nexus with the RSS for continued support from vast network of RSS volunteers as also its ideological influence. The visit also indicates that the RSS is something real in Indian politics.
