LUCKNOW: Cautious of the recent defections in ruling BJP and the efforts of the opposition to giving the narrative of backward class versus upper castes in UP assembly polls, the RSS, the fountainhead of the BJP, has decided to take over the command of the party’s Hindutva agenda by roping in its frontal organisations.
As per the strategy chalked out recently in Lucknow, the development works done right from Ayodhya to Kashi will be taken to every Hindu household in the poll-bound state. The electorate will also be made aware of ‘pseudo-Hindutva’ of opposition and the efforts made during the previous governments to weaken the ethos of Hindutva.
A booklet in this regard is being prepared and it will comprise the details of the efforts made by PM Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath to glorify the places attached to Sanatan culture, said a senior RSS functionary. The plan is to go beyond Hindutva and expand it to Mahatma Buddha, Bhagwan Mahavir and Sikh Gurus in such a way that the religious narrative outsmarts the caste equations in the poll-bound state.
The RSS and its ideological frontal organizations are preparing to target the opposition over the issue of Hindutva coupled with nationalism. This would encompass abrogation of Article 370 and 35A from Jammu and Kashmir, surgical strikes, the law against foreign funding to reiterate sentiment of nationalism among the electorate.
The sources claimed that the plan was to establish the notion that a bit of slackness would hurt the pride of Hindutva putting it under threat. Recently, RSS Sar Sahkaryawahak Arun Kumar was in Lucknow where he convened a high-level meeting of all the Sangh frontal organizations and handed them over to help BJP in its poll campaign. He mandated the office bearers to go among the people and dispel the “misinformation” campaign being spearheaded by the opposition and seek votes for the BJP for another term in UP.
The ideological organizations of RSS roped in for this mega campaign programme are Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM), Sewa Bharti, Vidya Bharti, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Shakshik Mahasangh, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), Durga Vahini and Rashtra Sewika Samiti.
All these organizations have been activated till booth level.
This story first appeared on newindianexpress.com