Each of the 288 seats will have three mid-level Sangh functionaries whose job will be to keep an eye, coordinate between RSS, BJP and NDA allies, soothe local tempers and undo local disenchantment, if any
With a week left for the Maharashtra election and much at stake, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has enforced its final-round push for a BJP-led NDA victory. From asking its Swayamsevaks to be available round-the-clock to call for mock meetings in the dead of the night to check preparedness, the Sangh is virtually leaving nothing to chance this time in Maharashtra, News18 has learnt.
All RSS cadres have been asked not to switch off their mobile phones from now till the last ballot is polled. The order is not just for the low-ranking Swayamsevaks deployed in the state, but also the four area in-charges of Maharashtra — technically the highest-ranking Sangh official deployed in the state right now for election purposes.
The senior Sangh functionaries have already checked the preparedness of the Swayamsevaks in various constituencies, say informed sources. News18 has learnt that a call goes out at midnight on their phones to assemble at the local temple — a test to ensure they are keeping their phones on 24×7. Once assembled at the temple, they recite the Hanuman Chalisa, which instils a sense of team spirit following which they disperse, News18 has learnt.
FOUR CATEGORIES OF BOOTHS
The RSS has divided all the booths of Maharashtra into four categories — A, B, C & D. The first category is where the Sangh aims at 100 per cent polling in favour of the Mahayuti candidate whereas in the second category, it will aim to perform substantially better than last time. In both A and B category booths, apart from BJP cadres, RSS has planned to deploy two groups of Swayamsevaks who will assist people from their homes to the polling booth and back to their homes.
As for the category C booths, the Sangh aims to increase the voting percentage by 10 per cent while the D category is marked as those where the BJP or its allies received nearly no votes last time. The Sangh will operate in smaller numbers in these booths, just like it operated in such booths in Haryana this time, say sources.
3 SANGH HANDS IN EACH SEAT TO KEEP AN EYE
Maharashtra has 288 assembly constituencies, each of which will have three mid-level RSS functionaries. Their role will involve coordinating between RSS, BJP, and NDA allies, addressing local issues, calming tensions, and resolving any local discontent that could affect the NDA’s electoral prospects.
One of their primary jobs, say sources, will be to act on real-time inputs and feedback from various villages that the Swayamsevaks will bring. Several Swayamsevaks have been on the ground for months now and they report to Sangh functionaries who are coordinating an assembly seat with their two colleagues.
In the last week, the Sangh has its hands full. It has to reach out to the Marwaris of Vidarbha so that they don’t press NOTA, remind the Buddhist community that it is the Narendra Modi dispensation that made a Buddhist a law minister, and reach out to Jains through community leaders to name a few.
