Over the past few days, there have been several opinion articles speculating on whether there is a growing rift between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and if so, what its impact may be. Speculation began when reporters on the ground noted a lacklustre campaign in which RSS cadres were virtually absent and has grown with BJP president JP Nadda’s recent remarks that the BJP no longer needs the RSS since it is now strong in its own right; the RSS is a cultural organisation that manages its affairs in its way, and the BJP is a political organisation that manages its affairs in its way.
Whether Mr Nadda’s remarks point to a rift is open to debate. A growing difference between the RSS and the BJP’s organisational practice has been noted since the beginning of the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign in the 1980s and increasing mobilisation by radical offshoots of political Hindutva such as the Bajrang Dal and Shri Ram Sene – not to mention the rapid proliferation of social media in the BJP’s toolkit to influence public opinion.
It is also true that the RSS, once critical in deciding the BJP’s general secretaries and electoral candidates, has far less influence over both, and especially the latter, now. Mr Nadda might be putting a brave face on the absence of RSS campaigning on the ground, but either way, it is evident that the BJP is not as dependent on the RSS as it was earlier. Very possibly, this diminishing dependence might make the RSS nervous.