The RSS and BJP Equation
Ram Madhav spoke to NewsX about the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent comments that have been taken as a tone-down message from the RSS to the BJP. While he clarified that the rebuke on ‘ahankaar’ (arrogance) was a suggestion to all karyakartas and no leader was singled out as “the RSS Chief does not target any single person” About Bhagwat’s comments on low level of discourse during the campaign, Ram Madhav said that both sides ran a high voltage discourse that created social divisions, but the mandate is to run the country on the basis of consensus. Interestingly about Manipur he pointed out that this was not the first time that the RSS Chief had raised the issue but now the two states have also sent a direct political message to the government.
As to Nadda’s comments made right in the middle of the elections, that the BJP does not need the RSS anymore, Ram Madhav observed that, “It is true that the RSS doesn’t directly involve in electioneering in favor of any political party, what we do at the most is Lok Jagran, except in rarest of rare occasions. One was in 1977 to restore democracy and the other was in 2014 at a time when there were efforts to create myths of hindu terror and implicate the RSS as a terror organisation.. As a RSS man, Nadda understands that. The way Naddas statement was presented and taken out of context, it did create confusion. There should have been an immediate clarification that this was not what he meant. Mr Nadda is a very senior leader, I am sure he would have understood the consequences of stating things which could be misrepresented. There is no point in now talking about this.” Clearly not, for there seem to be little consequences as Nadda has been given a plum portfolio in Modi’s cabinet, given the fact that his term as BJP Chief finishes at the end of this month.
Who will be the Next BJP Chief
With JP Nadda’s term coming to an end various names are doing the rounds as to this replacement. The key question really is will Modi and Shah have the upper hand or will the RSS have its say. Prior to the results it was rumoured that ML Khattar, the former Haryana CM who shares an excellent rapport with the Prime Minister would be made the party chief. Or else it would be Bhupender yadav, who is close to Amit Shah. However both have been inducted into the Modi cabinet as has Nadda himself. This has led to speculation around the names of Devendra Phadnavis who is a Nagpur favourite, or else Vinod Tawde. It would be interesting to see who finally makes the grade as with Modi’s BJP the names that come up for speculation, rarely make it to the finishing line.
The Leader of Opposition
Will Rahul Gandhi accept the leader of Opposition’s post? The Congress MPs are keen to see Rahul take this position that will pitch him directly versus the Prime Minister in parliamentary politics. But the post of the LoP comes with some additional administrative duties which Rahul Gandhi may not be keen on. Plus, his preferred political venue seems to be the streets and villages where he can connect directly with the people rather than the floor of the house. So in all likelihood Rahul would appoint one one of his favourites -Gaurav Gogoi’s name is doing the rounds for he has proved to be an exceptional bilingual speaker on the floor of the house. And Rahul could still lead the debate and be the star speaker on issues that he wants to rake up in parliament. But a final decision on this is still awaited.