RSS leader’s article triggers war of words between BJP, NCP in Maharashtra

All is not well in the ruling alliance in Maharashtra after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections. The INDIA bloc won almost double the number of seats that the NDA won in Maharashtra – 30, compared to only 17 won by the BJP and its allies.

This poor performance in the state by the NDA has caused a lot of heartburn and blame game. And to make matters worse, a recent article in the weekly Organiser, a publication known to be close to the RSS, has criticised the BJP for allying with Ajit Pawar’s NCP in the elections. This has led to a war of words between the BJP and the Ajit Pawar-led party.

In the article, senior RSS leader Ratan Sharda wrote, “Why was this ill-advised step taken? BJP supporters were hurt because they had fought against this Congress ideology for years and were persecuted. In a single stroke, BJP reduced its brand value. Maharashtra is a prime example of unnecessary politicking and avoidable manipulations. Well-performing parliamentarians were ignored to accommodate such late comers.”

The article triggered an outburst from NCP youth wing leader Sooraj Chavan who said the RSS was given the credit when the BJP performed well, but a defeat was blamed on Ajit Pawar.

NCP’s Rajya Sabha MP and senior leader Praful Patel tried to placate the BJP saying, “An article in a weekly does not reflect the BJP’s stance. It should not be interpreted in that manner.”

However, BJP leader Pravin Darekar condemned Sooraj Chavan for his statement, and said the RSS was like a father figure to all of them and there was no need to make any comments about the organisation. He said the BJP had not commented about the NCP, and that the ideal place to discuss such issues would be in NDA meetings.

Even before the publication of this article, there were signs of discord between the two parties, with the NCP rejecting the Minister of State post offered to it by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the new NDA government at the Centre. The NCP argued that the party’s nominee for the minister’s post, Praful Patel, is a senior person who already held a cabinet minister’s post in the earlier UPA government and could not therefore accept a junior minister’s post.

“I was earlier cabinet minister, and being made minister of state is a demotion,” Praful Patel told reporters.

Ajit Pawar also said that his party was ready to wait for a cabinet berth.

There is speculation that after the dismal performance of the NDA in Maharashtra in the recent general elections, the BJP is seriously considering whether to continue the alliance with the NCP, which managed to win only one Lok Sabha seat this time.

The BJP is going through a difficult period within the “parivar" too, with its parent organisation, the RSS, finding fault with the party for its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections since 2014. The BJP’s tally in 2024 is 240, a massive 63 lower than the 303 seats it won in 2019. It’s even much lower than 282, its score in 2014, when it managed to form the government on its own with a simple majority.

The Congress, on the other hand, has been growing stronger, winning 99 seats in 2024, compared to 52 in 2019 and a low of 44 in 2014.

The latest salvo at the BJP from the RSS came on Thursday (June 13) when RSS leader Indresh Kumar, speaking at an event in Kanota near Jaipur, said the BJP’s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections was due to “arrogance”.

“Those who did bhakti of Lord Ram gradually became arrogant. That party was declared the biggest party but was stopped at 241 by Lord Ram due to arrogance,” he said.

His comments came just days after an admonition by the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat when he preached about the importance of humility in public service.

“A true sevak maintains dignity. He follows decorum while working. He does not have the arrogance to say, ‘I did this work’. Only that person can be called a true sevak,” said Bhagwat.