BJP has been blaming the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand for allegedly allowing Bangladeshis and Rohingyas to enter Jharkhand to purchase land and marry into the local tribal population.
New Delhi: Ahead of the much-awaited Assembly elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its allied outfits, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) are working tirelessly to inform the voters about the alleged ‘mass conversion’ and ‘infiltration’ in the tribal areas. According to the people aware of the matter, VHP has also started holding conferences of saints and sages from all over Maharashtra.
VHP in Jharkhand
In Jharkhand, where out of a total of 81 Assembly seats, 28 are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), VHP has been holding small conferences, and door-to-door campaigns to inform the tribal voters about the threats to their culture due to ‘mass conversion’ and ‘infiltration’, and the good governance model of the Modi government. This comes in the backdrop of BJP raising the issue of demographic change in Jharkhand and promising that if it comes to power, it will start the process of creating a national register of citizens and will also deport those who entered the state from outside.
BJP in its campaigns has been blaming the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand for allegedly allowing Bangladeshis and Rohingyas to enter Jharkhand to purchase land, marry local tribal population and through that, change the makeup of the local population and its customs.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been consistently accusing JMM-led coalition government for supporting Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators for vote bank politics, and has also alleged that the tribal population is ‘rapidly decreasing’ in Santhal Parganas.
VHP Joint General Secretary Surendra Jain said, “There is a wrong perception created by the anti-Hindu opposition that the BJP has the lowest number of tribals MPs. But if you’ll analyse the data, BJP in totality has the highest number of tribal MPs and we understand their issues, customs and problems. JMM-Congress duo due to vote-bank politics has been banking on conversion and infiltration which is a huge threat to the tribal culture and customs.”
He further added, “We have (VHP) a good presence in Jharkhand and our workers who are voters as well, are taking up these initiatives and are engaging with people at the ground level to let them know what is good for them and what is against their centuries old culture and customs.”
Similarly, efforts are being made through workers to make people aware and motivate them to vote in larger numbers.
RSS in Maharashtra
Nagpur, which falls in Maharashtra is also the place where RSS has its headquarters. With RSS being considered as the ideological backbone of BJP, winning Maharashtra is a must for them. Ahead of the high voltage November 20 elections, the issues of ‘love jihad’ and ‘deceitful conversion’ is making a lot of echoes. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, a few weeks back while targeting the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, claimed “vote jihad” was witnessed in 14 of 48 constituencies in Maharashtra in recent Lok Sabha elections.He also pointed out instances wherein women were tricked into inter-faith marriage and subsequently abandoned after they gave birth to children.
Amidst this and to recover from the big setback that the saffron party faced as its seat tally came down from 23 in 2019 to just nine in the Lok Sabha elections, RSS through its affiliates and Pracharaks has been working tirelessly to consolidate the Hindu voters.
“What we are seeing in Maharashtra and in its few tribal areas is a very concerning aspect. We are seeing a lot of mass conversions and love jihad and there are patterns of demographic changes as well, but we will not let that happen. Our workers there are actively engaged at the ground level and are keeping the voters aware” said VHP’s Surendra Jain.
It is pertinent to note that while RSS and its affiliates do not involve itself directly in electoral politics, its workers and Pracharaks always maintain their presence at the ground level and try to shape public opinion.
A source also claimed that the RSS has a huge presence in Maharashtra because of the fact that it’s headquarters is based in Nagpur, and added that they are conducting thousands of small meetings and other outreach programs through its volunteers organised into groups, indicating the strong network of Sangh which is likely to benefit BJP.