At its session in Nagpur next month, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s highest body for policy formulation and decision-making, is likely to replace Sangh general secretary Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi with Dattatreya Hosabale, a leader close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A source in the RSS said Mr. Modi and Mr. Hosabale share a good equation that dates back to their days together in the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the Sangh’s student wing. Mr. Hosabale, who is much younger than Mr. Joshi, and is now a joint general secretary, is also tipped to succeed Mohan Bhagwat as the Sarsanghchalak (RSS chief) in future. He was one of the senior-most Sangh officials involved in coordinating the RSS’s voter mobilisation campaign in the 2014 elections, in which the organisation and its affiliates openly put their weight behind Mr. Modi’s prime ministerial pitch.
The general secretary or Sarkaryavah is head of the RSS executive and second only to the Sarsanghchalak, considered the chief mentor. The Sabha, scheduled to meet in Nagpur in the second week of March, will also fill vacant posts of joint general secretaries.
Apart from the vacancy that will be created by Mr. Hosabale’s possible elevation, another position fell vacant when K.C. Kannan was “relieved of his charge upon request” last year.
The other joint general secretaries are Krishna Gopal, who acts as a coordinator between the BJP and the RSS, Suresh Soni and Suresh Rao Ketkar.
The changes at the top in the Sangh are expected to lead to better alignment between the Sangh and the BJP in the decade leading up to the RSS’s centenary in 2025, for which the Sangh has grand plans.
Every three years, the Sabha elects the Sangh general secretary or Sarkaryavah. The position has been held by Mr. Joshi for the last two terms, a Sangh official in Nagpur told The Hindu .
A source in Nagpur said it is rare, but not unusual, for the general secretary to step down and make way for a joint general secretary. Mr. Joshi is expected to continue to work in the Sangh.
