Braving resistance from a section of party cadres, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is embarking on a revamp of the Bharatiya Janata Party State unit from the grassroots level, to wrest total control of the organisational machinery ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections.
Party sources told The Hindu that the revamp, being implemented in phases, was the outcome of a series of deliberations held after evaluating the 2011 Assembly election results and aimed at bolstering the organisational apparatus to better the party’s prospects in the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
To start with, drastic changes would be made at the mandalam and ward committees soon. This approach had been envisaged for strengthening the machinery at the grassroots level. Most of the incumbents would be eased out and the Sangh’s confidants would hold pivotal positions to run the micro-level campaign.
Some of the committees in the party strongholds where it could not put up an impressive performance in the last Assembly elections too would be subjected to a thorough overhaul.
Defection threats
The leadership is reported to have resolved to ignore threats of defections from incumbents for effective execution of the revamp plan.
Some of the local leaders are reported to have expressed their resentment against the overhaul allegedly being implemented in an arbitrary manner and cautioned the leadership of a mass erosion in the rank and file to the CPI(M) and other parties. But the decision is to ignore such threats, the sources said.
Eventually, the district leaderships too will come in for a close scrutiny and drastic changes are in the offing in many districts. The RSS has been imposing its will firmly by designating soft-spoken and mild-mannered leaders such as M.Ganesh to hold pivotal positions for toning up the organisational machinery and bringing it under its command.
Leadership unhappy
The national leadership is reported to be far from satisfactory in the party winning one Assembly seat and losing many others by wafer thin margins.
The new experiment is expected to address such deficiencies. But resentment is reported to be strong among a section of the party cadres for easing out regional leaders who had been managing the affairs without seeking their consent, the sources said.
In for change
Revamp aimed at bolstering organisational apparatus to better prospects in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections
Drastic changes will be made at mandalam and ward committees soon
Sangh’s confidants to hold pivotal positions to run micro-level campaign
