RSS To Take Full Charge Of 2026 Assembly Elections In West Bengal

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat visiting Bengal for ten days is certainly not such a big news to draw attention. But his stay this time attains importance for the reason that he would discuss the state of the BJP and RSS in the state and give direction to the RSS workers to take up full responsibility for campaigning in 2026 assembly polls in the state. Apart, the RSS chief will also discuss with his senior RSS colleagues the functioning of the Narendra Modi government and the choice of the candidate for BJP president.

Bhagwat has been a regular visitor to West Bengal, but his proposed ten day visit has evoked keen interest in the political circles. His visit which commences on February 7, is being watched with caution and curiosity. He will be in the state till February 17. This is the longest stay of Bhagwat in the state. And precisely this has given rise to many speculations especially in the saffron circles. Bhagwat would be meeting the RSS’s nine-member top decision making body in Kolkata on February 8. These members are general secretaries and main officials. In a normal situation these leaders would have met in Nagpur or Delhi. But Bhagwat has chosen Kolkata.

Modi’s reluctance to accept RSS’s nominee as the party’s new president to replace J P Nadda, has been primarily the main concern. The manner in which Modi and Shah are trying to gain majority in Lok Sabha by splitting Sharad Pawar’s NCP and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) has caused enormous consternation in the RSS. The RSS leaders nurse the impression that Modi is unwilling to make way for new leader to head government, he also likes Nadda to continue as the BJP president. Name of the new BJP president ought to have been finalised by December 31, but it is yet to be decided. Nadda continues to be the party chief but even his extension has so far not been announced officially.

Though the primary focus of the meet would be to chalk out the electoral strategy for the 2026 West Bengal assembly election, the sources maintain that the top leaders would adopt the resolution for continuance of Bhagwat as the RSS Bhagwat will be 75 on September 11 this year while Narendra Modi will also touch 75 on September 17 this year. Some BJP leaders close to Modi had been indulging in whisper campaign that since RSS leadership is for Modi quitting the office of prime minister as he would attain 75 years of age, Bhagwat should also quit as he too would be completing 75 years of age in September this year.

Nevertheless RSS sources outright reject this. They maintain that the 75 year criteria was finalised by the BJP leaders which was held at the initiative of Modi, who had undertaken the exercise simply for clearing the party of his potential enemies and adversaries. This principle is not at all applicable to RSS. It is said that BJP leaders close to Modi were raising this issue simply for creating confusion in the saffron camp. They also hold that any such move would simply jeopardise the relationship between RSS and BJP..

The sources maintain that Arvind Kejriwal’s recent letter to Bhagwat had provided the opportunity to discuss this issue. Kejriwal in his letter to Bhagwat sought to know “all of you together made a law that BJP leaders will retire after the age of 75 years. This law was widely publicised and under this, many veteran leaders like Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Now Amit Shah says that this law will not apply to PM Modi. Do you agree that the law under which LK Advani was retired will not apply to Narendra Modi? Shouldn’t the law be the same for everyone?”

During his stay in Kolkata he would be meeting important state leaders and dignitaries on February 9. On February 10, he would shift to Bardhaman and for next six days important discourses will be taking place to decide the electoral strategy for the 2026 state election. I The meeting would also lay down its strategy for strengthening the party and bringing in new faces in the party.

Bardhaman is going to be main operational ground. There Bhagwat would be separately meeting the functionaries from ten districts. At least two issues which would receive attention are role of the state BJP leaders and the impact on the miseries and plight of the Hindus in Bangladesh. Bhagwat had personally appealed to Modi government and also to the international fraternity to ensure the safety of the Hindus there.

In a significant development, the state RSS unit has started targeting the state BJP leadership. An article in ‘Swastika’ mouth piece of state RSS, blamed weak organisation and poor people’s connect as reasons for failure of the party to catch the imagination of the people and strengthen its support base. The article mentioned that the people of Bengal voted for the TMC out of fear, and not organically as was being perceived. The article argues that people didn’t wish to provoke the ruling dispensation until the 2026 assembly election.

The RSS leadership nurses the view that the state BJP leaders are more interested in their personal gains. They sought to know why the BJP leadership has failed to complete the membership target at least in two states Bengal and Bihar, which are crucial for the expansion of the BJP.

State units of both these states are run by the protégés of Modi and Amit Shah. They have failed to motivate the state leaders, on the contrary these leaders are busy in factional feuds. Bengal is the worst case. The party is vertically split in two groups’; one of loyalists and another of turn coats. The leader of turn coats Subhendu Adhikari is more interested in building his own image and emerge as alternate to TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. He is close to Amit Shah which is not liked by the state RSS leaders.

The RSS leadership is also concerned of these two states units not having leader who can match Nitish Kumar and Mamata Banerjee. The RSS leaders hold that it is due to this the BJP had to tolerate Nitish. It feels that Modi and Amit Shah should take lessons from Nitish and Mamata and try to find news faces which can emerge as their alternatives. RSS leaders feel that Modi and Shah are not taking proper care to strengthen the party in these two states. In Bengal Shah had claimed that the party would enroll one crore members by October 2024, but till January 5, 2025 it could enroll only 40 lakh.

Even as the membership campaign exposed the infighting and organisational weaknesses of the BJP in West Bengal, the RSS has conveyed its displeasure over the failure of leadership. The RSS leaders are quite angry on the failure of the state BJP leadership to maintain a close connect with the state RSS unit. The BJP has even failed to check the desertion of a section of the members in the suburban areas of Kolkata to TMC in the recent days. (IPA Service)