RSS focus to gain foothold in Northeast
Agencies
NEW DELHI, March 3
The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has shifted its focus to Northeast, since the electoral process in Jammu and Kashmir has been completed. The ideological fountainhead of BJP is in the process of formalising a strategy for the region, starting from Assam, the gateway to northeast.
RSS joint general secretary Krishna Gopal, an expert on the region and pointsperson for BJP, is spearheading the strategy. RSS feels that BJP can wrest the state from Congress control when Assam goes to the polls in 2016. The Lok Sabha results, where BJP won seven of the 14 seats, and the J&K polls have spurred the Sangh into a war-like mode in Assam. “The Sangh believes that it can actualise its Akhand Bharat dream by getting Assam and making further inroads into the region,” a RSS leader told ET.
Another RSS leader in BJP, Ram Madhav, has also been active in Assam. “He was a regular in Assam before he was diverted to J&K. He is expected to be sent back there,” the leader said.
Sources claimed that RSS had played a crucial role in causing a rift in the Tarun Gogoi government by hobnobbing with Himanta Biswas Sarma. “Scam accused Sarma’s impending entry into the party has not gone down with the local party cadres.
It has been put on hold. However, he is likely to be inducted in the party next month, when Amit Shah visits the state,” a senior BJP leader said. RSS is believed to have played a crucial role even in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections and largely responsible for BJP’s impressive vote share of 36.6%.
“The Sangh organisations have been working in the state for quite some time and it was their contact with the community that helped BJP improve its performance in the Lok Sabha polls,” said the RSS leader.
