UP polls: RSS aims to counter 'forward vs backward' narrative with Hindutva, nationalism

Wary of the recent exit of several important OBC leaders from the BJP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has chalked out plans to counter attempts made by rival parties to make the upcoming polls a 'forward vs backward' contest with a strategy of its own – 'Hindutva' and 'Nationalism'.

According to sources, the Sangh has taken upon itself to reach out to the electorate in the state to apprise them about the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya and the Kashi Vishwanath Dham project in Varanasi – the Lok Sabha constituency of prime minister Narendra Modi.

The strategy was formulated at a meeting chaired by a senior RSS functionary here a few days back.

Sources said that the Sangh was also in the process of preparing a booklet containing the works of renovation and beautification at important Hindu religious places, including Mathura, Chitrakoot, Prayagraj and other places. "The booklet will be distributed among the electorate," said a senior UP BJP leader, who was privy to the deliberations at the meeting.

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The booklet will also mention that 'Janmashthami' celebrations at the police stations across the state and the 'Kawad Yatra' were started during the Yogi Adityanath regime in the state since 2017.

"The pseudo Hindutva being pursued by some opposition parties will also be exposed before the people by the RSS workers," the BJP leader said.

An interesting feature of the booklet was that it had sought to expand its 'Hindutva' agenda by including Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism also. Sources said that it would enable the Sangh to seek support of the people who followed these religions. The strategy assumes significance as a sizable number of SC community members follow Buddhism.

Besides, the RSS would also seek to 'expose' the rivals on the issue of 'nationalism'. "The booklet will mention scrapping of Article 370 which ended the special status to Jammu & Kashmir, surgical strike and foreign funding to some NGOs," the BJP leader added.

The leader said that the objective behind the exercise was to minimize the impact of the caste factors on the election results in the politically crucial state.

The OBC leaders, who have left the BJP, have been trying to portray the saffron party as 'anti-backward'. The OBCs had played a crucial role in the massive victory of the BJP in the 214 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2017 assembly polls in the state.

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