By Partha Maitra & Vaibhav Ganjapure
NAGPUR: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said that after BJP’s setback in the state in the Lok Sabha elections, he had sought the Sangh’s help to fight ‘anarchists and vote jihadists’ in the assembly elections.
In an exclusive interview to TOI, when asked about his frequent meetings with RSS office-bearers after the Lok Sabha polls and whether the ideological fountain would come to BJP’s rescue in the assembly elections, Fadnavis said: “I am in constant touch with swayamsevaks. Remember, RSS doesn’t overtly work for any political party.”
Fadnavis added that BJP and its allies are not fighting Congress, but the “anarchist and anti-national forces embedded in the grand old party’s machinery. And the Sangh affiliates are aiding us to counter the anarchist narrative”.
This is in sharp contrast with BJP national president J P Nadda’s remarks in May, when he had said: “In the beginning, we would have been less capable, smaller and needed the RSS. Today, we have grown and we are capable. BJP runs itself.” Nadda’s remarks during the course of an interview given before the Lok Sabha polls results had led to speculation that not everything was smooth between BJP and its parent body.
This story was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Read the full story here.