(Rana Ayyub is an award-winning investigative journalist and political writer. She is working on a book on Prime Minister Narendra Modi which will be published later this year.)
Addressing a gathering of 11,000 karsevaks at the railway grounds in Kanpur, Mohan Bhagwat in the last two days has made two important statements which reflect on his agenda for the BJP. In the first statement, Bhagwat, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh or RSS, sought to appropriate the father of the Indian constitution when he said "Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, believed in the ideology of the Sangh and had called its workers symbols of social unity and integrity". He added, "We need to take steps to minimize the gap among social communities. Ambedkar, who worked in this direction, believed in the ideology of Hinduism."
The statement is significant ahead of the Bihar elections and the current rebellion in the state by Jitan Ram Manjhi, who hails from the backward classes. It is a different matter that the Sangh has always taken pride in its upper caste lineage, and that Ambedkar detested the RSS and its ideologues including Veer Savarkar.
In another statement made at the venue, Bhagwat struck a reconciliatory note with the socialist and secular frame of the country by invoking Ram Manohar Lohia, stating that all Indians were children of patriots.
Around the same time as Bhagwat made these statements suggesting a more inclusive approach, Satish Upadhyay, the head of the BJP in Delhi, where the party was routed last week, made what seemed like an indirect attack on PM Modi when he told a newspaper "Arrogance is a liability. Delhi has its own culture, we need to be careful with words."
The comment, if party insiders are to be believed, was hinted at Amit Shah's 'political jumla' statement on the black money issue. Upadhyay used the occasion to further suggest that poor decision-making at the very top for the Delhi elections cost the BJP the capital.
Upadhyay gave sentiment to an increasing resentment against the Modi-Shah style of politics not just by leaders in the BJP but by a huge section of the RSS leadership which allegedly includes Bhagwat and other disgruntled leaders who are opposed to what is being perceived autocratic style of functioning.
Sample this: a month ago, a senior RSS leader called upon a left-wing intellectual and asked him his opinion on the current government. The intellectual, who was surprised at the sudden call by the Sangh leader, sought to please him by suggesting that corruption was nowhere to be seen. He was however shocked when the leader suggested that corruption was now taking place behind closed doors and hence could not be seen.
In an unofficial chintan baithak held a day after the Delhi results, RSS ideologues expressed their anger at PM Modi's pompous display of power and money - the 10-lakh suit allegedly being among the irritants - which it believed went against the very idea of the Sangh whose karyakartas are asked to lead a modest life. A leader who was part of the meeting refused to comment on record, but said that the session urged Modi to take learnings in humility and social politics from Arvind Kejriwal whose apology to the Delhi public for his resignation last year endeared him to the masses which gave him a thumping majority.
"He must not forget that he will always have to be a swayamsevak and the pradhan sevak that he claims to be cannot contradicted himself with his display of designer brands," said the attendee, speaking on condition of anonymity.
It's a known fact that the RSS leadership has been divided on Narendra Modi with many like Suresh Soni, Sanjay Joshi seeking to neutralize the Modi-Shah combo in recent times. Another disgruntled Sangh leader told this journalist "Not everyone in the Sangh is like some spokespersons who claim to be karyakartas but drink expensive champagnes and are a part of high-profile parties."
A similar sentiment was echoed by the RSS rebels in 2012 when it became clear that Modi was to lead the Bhartiya Janta Party, but Bhagwat quelled the opposition as he was confident that Modi was the trump card that would deliver victory to the BJP.
Now with a possible change in guard in the RSS - General Secretary Dattatray Hosabale is among the frontrunners to take over the Sangh in 2015 when Bhagwat's term ends, there is an increasing chant that an insider from the parivaar should be appointed to be a part of the decision-making process for the BJP's political matters along with PM Modi and Amit Shah who have also been at the receiving end for allegedly being vindictive towards veteran BJP leaders as well as those who were opposed the duo in the past.
According to Sangh insiders, the chintan meeting which took place post the Delhi debacle in Nagpur, it ensured that besides Ram Madhav, who is considered close to the Modi-Shah duo, another team of leaders will be deputed by Hosabale and Bhagwat to look into the affairs of Kashmir and Bihar.
With his relations with America and China striking a controversial note (Obama's comments on religious tolerance is a contributor as is China's concerted efforts to cosy up to Pakistan), questions are also being asked of the Modi-Shah duo and their foreign affairs team.
The guiding hand of the RSS seems poised to get a (tighter) grip. Perhaps it's not just the honeymoon with voters that has ended for Modi and Shah.
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