Ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections in Karnataka, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) BL Santhosh was seen as a dark horse for the chief minister’s post. Even though he had confined himself to the backrooms of the party, his popularity as a non-corrupt leader with strong rooting in the organisation’s ethos had made him an alternate powerhouse to Yediyurappa.
While caste equations in the state ensured BS Yediyurappa’s ascension to the chief ministerial throne after a coup, Santhosh found himself in the spotlight of national politics. In July 2019, Santhosh was elevated to the position of National General Secretary (Organisation), BJP, making him the unofficial number three in the party hierarchy.
His predecessor Ram Lal, who had held the post for more than 12 years, was replaced with a vision to expand RSS’ ideological and moral influence in the BJP. Being a purist Sangh ideologue, Santhosh was an ideal choice of the party.
One of the biggest changes the party saw after this engineer-turned-RSS strongman took over the post was the BJP’s aggressive posturing on the social media, especially on issues such as the abrogation Article 370, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the protest against coordinated attacks in JNU campus.
Such a social media campaign was not surprising as Santhosh’s choices for prodigies – MPs Tejasvi Surya, Pratap Simha and BJP Karnataka president Naveen Kateel – had all, at some point or other, written inflammatory posts on the social media.
During his time in Karnataka, Santhosh had an unverified twitter account with around 8,000 followers, but in the last few months, his tweets have made national headlines.
Recently, his tweets claiming that RSS would interfere in the US elections, while replying to presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, had drawn a lot of flak.
Days earlier, he was called out by many for his statement on Jaffrabad metro station being cleared. “Game starts now,” he had tweeted.
These provocative statements were in stark contrast to his predecessor Ram Lal, who seldom said anything in public, let alone on social media. The aggressive, yet nonchalant approach of the party in taking on its opponents, is now being attributed to this RSS ideologue.
Engineer with a ‘Purist Complex’
A chemical engineer by training, Santhosh is a Brahmin with roots in Dakshina Kannada’s Puttur, who was born and raised in Bengaluru. His father ran a canteen.
Unmarried and a full-time RSS pracharak, Santhosh worked in Mysuru and Shimoga districts before becoming the state BJP's organisational secretary a decade ago. Since then, he has been known for his ability to mobilise the masses.
His campaigns to increase the party’s membership across the state and get working professionals to take sabbaticals to work for the BJP ahead of elections, have cemented his place in the party as a key strategist.
Among the rank and file of the BJP and the RSS, Santhosh is known as a dedicated party man with no selfish ambitions. But according to some party leaders, this is also his biggest problem. “He is self-righteous. He has a ‘purity complex’. Proud of his righteousness, he looks down on party leaders he doesn’t approve of,” said a BJP leader in Karnataka.
Still Holds Sway in State Politics
BL Santhosh has maintained that he has no ambitions in power-politics. He had also dismissed speculations about him being chief ministerial candidate for Karnataka in 2018. He, however, holds considerable influence in his home state’s politics. His control over the region became evident during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
After the sitting MP and Union Minister Ananth Kumar died in office, a proposal to give the Bengaluru south constituency ticket to his wife Tejaswini, had gained considerable traction.
After the then party state president BS Yediyurappa gave his assent to the move, Tejaswini began campaigning as well. However, in the wee hours of 26 March 2019, when the candidate list was announced, she was replaced by Santhosh’s prodigy Tejaswi Surya.
Similarly, when BS Yediyurappa stepped down as the state BJP president, RSS man Naveen Kateel bagged the post. This, too, many believe was a result of Santhosh’s power-play.
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