Arun Srivastava

None of the warring factions, Narendra Modi and RSS leadership, is willing to concede even an inch of political space to other. Five hour long high level meet of the top leaders of the BJP and the RSS leaders on Sunday at the residence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh failed to yield any tangible result.

It was simply a sort of mood assessing exercise with leaders of both camps discussing relations between the party and the Sangh to the upcoming state elections.

The leaders of both, RSS and BJP, nevertheless were more concerned of the political developments in Bangladesh and its impact on the Hindus in India. Some RSS leaders however felt that saffron ecosystem, especially the BJP has not played proactive role.

The leaders also felt that the new BJP president would have to be more agile and adopt a farsighted approach to meet the situation emerging out of Bangladesh crisis. The new Bangladesh government has shown its keenness to have a better relations with India, but the new rulers are also taking account of the role of Jamaat E Islami and other pro-Pakistani parties and agencies.

A senior RSS leader said; “The Bangladesh situation is not just about protection of minorities. It is also a matter of our national security. The regime change there could have repercussions for our borders, our internal security. It could even cast its shadow on our domestic socio-politics.”

According to him, the new president must not be a rubber stamp, he must have a comprehensive knowledge of the geopolitical situation prevailing in the subcontinent. He strongly feels that the recent developments of Bangladesh would have a major impact on the politics of the country.

Though Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and Rajnath Singh from the BJP and second in command Dattatreya Hosable and Arun Kumar from the RSS participated at the meet and discussed the ways to improve the party-Sangh relations further, the meet could not be expected to make a decision about the next president in absence of Narendra Modi and Mohan Bhagwat. Unless they consent, it is impossible to select or elect the new president.

This meeting was held to narrow down the differences between the BJP and RSS leadership. While the BJP leaders favoured some dynamic person to head the party at this crucial juncture, who can thwart Rahul Gandhi’s challenges and cope up with the latest political situation, the RSS leaders are determined to have their own person who can integrate the BJP and RSS cadres.

Though some speculative attempt was made to identify the names, sources maintain that the RSS will come out with its name after its Kerala meet. Apart from the prospective changes in the BJP, there were discussions about the upcoming RSS meeting in Kerala, where the coordination between the party and the Sangh would be taken up for deliberations.

The meeting coming ahead of the crucial coordination meeting of the RSS in Palakkad, Kerala, scheduled to be held between August 31 and September 2 has wider implication.

Nonetheless names of senior BJP leaders like C R Paatil, Manohar Lal Khattar, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and Bhupender Yadav figured as replacement of J P Nadda. The other names that are being mentioned are of Vinod Tawde and of Devendra Fadnavis. Tawade comes from the OBC community and is currently the general secretary in charge of Bihar.

The new president would be faced with the daunting task of rejuvenating the BJP. The party has lost much of its charm and relevance under Nadda for taking the instruction from Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. RSS leaders feel that a systematic and phased approach is needed to turn the BJP’s organisational structure robust.

The most challenging task before the new president would be to ensure the victory of party at the coming assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand this year.. The RSS sources point out that the person best suited for the job is Tawade.

He is from Maharashtra and has wide acceptance in the state. As in the incharge of party in Bihar, he is also well acquainted with the developments in Jharkhand, as most of the politicians from the state have profound relations with Bihar and its politics.

Of late Nitish Kumar has also roped in a former senior BJP leader Sarju Roy and entrusted him with the task to counter the BJP in Jharkhand. The elections are crucial for the party as it prepares for future political challenges and opportunities.

The RSS does not favour allowing Modi and his colleagues to choose the candidates for the assembly elections to the three states. They nurse the view that like Lok Sabha elections,Modi may not give adequate preference to RSS cadres or to those leaders who are close to it.

In this backdrop, the selection of the BJP president has also become crucial. Moreover coinciding with the assembly elections,  Jammu and Kashmir, the first after the abrogation of Article 370, will also have its election.

Since the BJP will have its full-time president by December this year, the RSS leaders are toying with the idea of inducting a working president. In all probability the RSS will recommend the name at its August meet in Kerala. One thing is absolutely clear that Modi and his Gujarat lobby cannot choose the presidential candidate ignoring the RSS.

The consent of the RSS will be crucial in the appointment of a new president, especially in view of the hostility seen between the two organisations following the Lok Sabha debacle.

In a surprising development, some senior BJP leaders, enjoying the support of RSS have come out with the suggestion to appoint senior most leader Vasundhara Raje Scindia who was twice the chief minister of Rajasthan and has a long strong relation with the RSS.

Otherwise too, even a section of Modi’s colleagues have been clamouring with the idea of BJP choosing a woman with implementation of women’s reservation in Parliament and state assemblies still pending. Incidentally BJP has never had a woman president. She would be the ideal person to coordinate between the Sangh and the BJP, the sources believe. (IPA Service)