It is widely believed that the Indian National Congress under Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi won the general elections with a landslide majority (to control about 80 percent of the Lok Sabha in 1984), thanks to the covert support provided by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), considered the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This is almost unthinkable in the current political situation in India, but the events of last week did remind one of this.
The RSS, whose leadership is often seen as a soft-spoken cabal of hardline Hindu nationalists, has an idealistic side that is often ignored in the outbursts of its everyday cadres and its extended arm, the BJP, whose activists target the Congress and its ideology regularly in every conceivable shape, size, and form. But the other side of the RSS is its shared interest in national unity and the capacity of its activists and leaders to put in time and effort in a self-effacing manner.
The rise of the BJP as a mighty national party that has ruled India for more than a decade under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a humongous challenge for the RSS to retain both its idealism and its perceived influence over the party.
Tongues wagged last week in the national capital as RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said in a broad statement, "A true sevak maintains decorum while working... There is no arrogance."
The inference among critics was that the Sangh was upset with Modi and his imperious style. The RSS has since denied rumours of its rift with the BJP. The Twitter/X feed of its mouthpiece Panchjanya is happily slamming the Congress party and showcasing Modi's trip to Italy.
But it is more than certain that the BJP's old-world idealism based on selflessness is showing some stress as political ambitions surge in its ranks. As idealist activism gives way to the spoils of power, the new kind of talent an organisation attracts is driven more by a desire to be in prominence than be a humble karyakarta (the BJP's description of a dutiful worker) or sevak (servant) that the RSS wants.
Last week, a video grab of a stern-looking home minister Amit Shah rudely gesturing to Tamil Nadu BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan went viral. It was widely linked to her squabble with state BJP chief K Annamalai.
She had, in the past few days, gone public about "criminal elements" in the state BJP in an act seen as targeting the former police officer, whose whimsical style is a matter of gossip and criticism after the BJP's Lok Sabha election debacle in the southern state this year. Their supporters also clashed on social media.
A firefighting act was evident after a patch-up photo opportunity between the two and a tweet by Ms Soundararajan against "unwarranted speculations" of infighting. But it is evident that murmurs surrounding disagreements within the BJP are out in the open, and are very un-BJP or un-RSS, one might say.
Even as elections were on, there was a caste-linked divide in the BJP unit of Gujarat, the Modi-Shah duo's home state, that undermined the party's credibility. The party's MP from Rajkot, Parshottam Rupala, has found himself out of the new Modi ministry unlike in the previous term.
The Patel (Patidar) community leader had stirred loud protests after his perceived derogatory remarks against the Kshatriya community's rule during British colonial rule. He has since said there are no specific reasons for not being given a ministerial berth, something critics won't accept at face value.
Several of Modi's past ministers are now out of his council, including some prominent and talented ones. They include Ravi Shankar Prasad, Jayant Sinha, Maneka Gandhi, and Prakash Javadekar. As Modi sinks into his third term, there is a big question — How long can talent be back-pedalled for compromises and ambitions contained in the party?
As individual ambition and clout in regions and communities rise, it is difficult for the BJP to sustain its old-world idealism. As Modi placates or pleases coalition allies like the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Janata Dal (United), its new president (whoever it is), set to replace outgoing leader JP Nadda, may have to contend with restive party ranks.
Some more evidence of restiveness in the BJP's ranks came after Sanjeev Balyan, a Union minister in Modi's last team, lost his west Uttar Pradesh seat of Muzaffarnagar. Balyan openly accused party colleague Sangeet Singh Som of sabotaging his re-election by supporting the rival Samajwadi Party. A caste divide similar to the one in Gujarat was evident as Balyan, a Jat leader, suggested that Som was behind a boycott of the BJP by the Rajput community in several villages of his constituency.
The events suggest that Modi 3.0 would have to deal with internal rivalries, caste divides, and coalition challenges. The prime minister's own perceived proximity to big business houses and his leviathan-style references to himself in the third person as a towering leader stand in stark contrast to the RSS-BJP's tradition of self-effacing patriotism and the glorification of simplicity.
Even as Bhagwat's remarks were being glossed over, RSS leader Indresh Kumar, whose comments were later subject to a U-turn clarification, made controversial headlines. He was quoted as saying, "The party which did bhakti of Lord Ram and became arrogant was stopped at 240; however, it became the biggest party."
The "A word" continues to hang in the air.
One man who should be recalled amid all this is former party president Lal Krishna Advani, who took the BJP to national prominence that led to Modi becoming the prime minister. Advani led a big movement to erect the Ram temple at Ayodhya at a spot disputed by Muslims. Now officially a Margdarshak (guide) for the BJP, there is barely any evidence of him being sought out for guidance or advice.
"The guiding principle of my life has been Nation First, Party Next, Self Last. And in all situations, I have tried to adhere to this principle and will continue to do so," Advani, now 96 years old, wrote in a blog in 2019.
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that with the infighting taking place in the name of the party's victory or defeat, the RSS-BJP's ranks are no longer a disciplined lot speaking with one voice outside their circles and gently airing differences within.
In the backdrop of the electoral bonds case that resulted in the BJP facing flak for collecting more than Rs 8,000 crore in party funds, the party is not what it used to be in resources or ambition. When you gain power, you lose your innocence. The BJP has to deal with it.
(The writer is a senior journalist and commentator who has worked for Reuters, Economic Times, Business Standard, and Hindustan Times. He can be reached on Twitter @madversity. This is an opinion article and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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