Chandigarh: It is not just the rank and file of the BJP that is sweating it out in Haryana, there is 85,000-strong workforce of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) that is quietly, but aggressively campaigning for the party in all 10 Lok Sabha constituencies of the state.
RSS volunteers are not only motivating electorate to reach polling booths, but are also trying to neutralise any effect of anti-incumbency due to local issues, by highlighting the concern for country’s integrity, India’s image in the world, and internal and external security.
The effort by RSS workers and its affiliates, like Vishva Hindu Parishad, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, is helping chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, his predecessor Manohar Lal Khattar and other BJP candidates deal with strong resentment among locals over issues like inflation, unemployment, etc. Besides the internal survey by BJP, a survey by RSS is considered to have formed the basis for a change of guard in Haryana in March. Khattar, who also has his roots in the RSS, maintains that it was he who recommended the change.
The RSS workers coming to shakhas every morning plan the day and reach out to voters in rural and urban areas. Lokmat Ka Parishkar (refinement of democracy) is the mission for all these volunteers, who have been on the move since March.
This story was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Read the full story here.
