When I met Shyamsunder (name changed), a full-time loyalist and Man Friday of a certain political heavyweight cabinet minister from New Delhi, he was bursting with enthusiasm. He confided that his boss had been holding very important closed-door meetings with prominent leaders of key political parties in Maharashtra last week. One meeting he admits stretched well for over two hours, and if things go well as planned, his boss may be the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
The two-hour meeting of this cabinet minister, he says, is part of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s plan to bring his boss to Maharashtra to collaborate with another heavyweight Maratha strongman in the state to form the new government post the upcoming state assembly elections. The base of this collaboration is not political compromise or newfound trust but a business joint venture of supply of auto components with foreign investment between the companies of both the cabinet minister and the Maratha leader, which, according to Shyamsunder, is valued over crores. With the two already in a business partnership with each other, it makes sense for them to politically align as well.
Not hard work, not talent, but dynasties and connections will once again play a role in the appointment of the next Chief Minister of one of the richest states of the country. The cabinet minister, with strong connections to Nagpur (the base of the RSS), is interestingly also said to be the nephew of one of the key leaders of the RSS and is expected to take over the new position once the assembly state elections are over.
Maharashtra has been and will always remain an important state for the BJP, as it brings in well over 40% of the revenue of the entire country. The status of a Chief Minister of Maharashtra, says Shyamsunder, is almost equal to that of being a Deputy Prime Minister of India, and with the list of contenders rising within the BJP and its coalition partners, it was time to devise a new plan to stop this ‘race’ by bringing in a veteran face that would not only be accepted across all parties (even new coalition partners) but would also put in place any ambitious leaders within the BJP.
If this happens, one can expect to see changes in the political fortunes of many prominent leaders not only within the BJP and RSS but also with other political parties and their factions as well.
With the delay in seat-sharing formulas between political parties of both Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi and Mahayuti taking longer than expected, more leaders within the BJP are expected to defect over the next few days. The exit of BJP leader Samarjitsingh Ghatge to Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party is only the beginning.
The RSS has always been known to be one step ahead in planning and executing political strategies both for the organisation and the state. The BJP has been largely supported by the RSS, its parent body. Although RSS office bearers may deny the relation between the two, a large number of BJP party workers over the years have been promoted and elevated to various political positions with the support of the RSS. A book by the organisation titled ‘About RSS—Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’ mentions that the RSS was established in 1925 and conducts social work across all states and districts of the country through its 40,000 shakhas.
Interestingly, an excerpt from the book reads, ‘The RSS has its own vision and concept about our national development. And our Swayamsevaks naturally are inclined to political parties who share this Sangh view and will be supportive of them.’ As the BJP shares this vision of the RSS, naturally, it receives the cooperation and the backing of Swayamsewaks. And judging from the plans currently in motion, it looks like the whole nation is Maharashtra for now!
(The is a senior jounalist. Views personal.)
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