RSS to beef up BJP in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, January 11

Not taking results of recently concluded assembly polls in five states as last verdict of voters and knowing that a gap of five months is sufficient to change their mindset about their favourite political party, Rashtriya swyamsewak Sangh (RSS) has decided to consolidate BJP’s position in states in installments and in the process has picked Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh first.

According to information, Sangh will not only beef up the state organisations by fixing responsibilities of the office-bearers, but also increase mobility of the workers and do image-makeover exercise, especially in those areas where BJP is losing its ground.

In this connection, Sangh has sent Vishnu Dutt Sharma to Chhattisgarh and Sunil Bansal to Uttar Pradesh. Both Sharma and Bansal are young faces and have long been associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). Sharma has held the post of regional organistional general secretary while Bansal was ABVP’s national joint organisational general secretary.

The Sangh’s latest move is said to be warning bell for BJP’s organisational general secretaries with controversial image in few states as either they would be replaced by newer ones or their existing states would be changed.

The basic job of organisational general secretary in state units is to coordinate with BJP and Sangh in keeping the party united. It is learnt that Sangh has received several complaints against organisational general secretaries of few states including that of Chhattisgarh pertaining to their weak performance. These office-bearers are also alleged to have established their own factions.

In Chhattisgarh BJP, Sharma will represent RSS as the main coordinator. He will work in tandem with BJP’s State incharge Jagat Prakash Nadda and frame poll strategy for the organisation. Presently, the post of organisational general secretary in State is held by Rampratap Singh.

Sangh is said to be dissatisfied by Rampratap Singh’s performance in last two years or so as he did not take any step in improving BJP’s tarnished image after names of CM and his cabinet ministers flashed in a host of graft cases. Since, Rampratap is close to CM Raman Singh, he is said to be concurring with the latter on every significant decision. He is also likely to get Rajya sabha berth from the State this time.

Two years back, RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat too had alerted the State BJP about its activities and had said that leaders were outnumbering workers in the party, a bad omen for saffron brigade.

Considering all these factors and watching growing ambitions of Aam Aadmi Party to expand and contest Lok Sabha polls, Sangh has decided to press its firebrand leaders in dealing such situations and maintaining BJP’s tagline – “a party with difference” by working at grassroot level.