Rebuilding RSS: Sangh Shifts Focus to Grassroots Unity Amid Caste Divisions, Political Challenges

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is resurging and reclaiming control systematically by focusing on organisational coordination among cadre and emphasising on ‘Hindu’ unity.

Amid overwhelming caste narratives by the Congress, which it sees as a threat to this unity, senior Sangh leaders are renewing their focus on grassroots organisation and BJP-RSS coordination.

In the past one month, the RSS has held state-level coordination meetings in at least four states — Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana and Maharashtra. A senior RSS functionary confirmed that at least five such meetings are in the offing over the next few weeks. Some of these states will be heading to polls this year.

The RSS will be holding its crucial Samanwaya Baithak (annual coordination meeting) in Kerala later this month. According to sources in the RSS ranks, Arun Kumar, joint general secretary and the key person for RSS-BJP liaison, was present in almost all coordination meetings which took place over the last few weeks.

Cadres to Caste: Everything On the Table

Apart from cadre mobilisation, ground-level organisational collaboration, confidence-building measures among cadres through involving them into more socio-political-cultural activities, issues related to caste politics and the current discourse were also discussed.

A senior RSS functionary said discussions are underway based on an analysis of booth-level data from states where the party faced a drubbing and lost its past gains, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Bengal, and in pockets of Gujarat.

“The Opposition and other forces are succeeding in what they have been trying to do for years. They always tried to divide the Hindus. Over the past few years, the efforts were seen to unite the Hindus, if not an absolute consolidation. They united in the interest of the nation,” said the functionary.

“However, the efforts seem to be faltering now. Hindus are now divided across caste lines, which is a very bad omen for the country. The election results reflect the divisions among Hindus, and it is not about political alignment, it is about an entrenched casteist bias,” he added.