Bhagwat warns against garnering votes by inflaming emotions ahead of 2024 polls

Speaking on the 98th foundation day of the RSS, which is also the ideological fountainhead of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the RSS chief said that RSS members will urge the people to perform their national duty of voting in large numbers in the upcoming state elections and also during the national polls.

“The country is going to hold elections to the Lok Sabha in the early days of 2024. Attempts to harvest votes by inflaming emotions are not desirable, but they still keep happening. Let us avoid these things, as they hurt the unity of society. To cast a vote is the duty of every citizen, and we must follow it. Cast your vote keeping in mind the vital issues of unity, integrity, identity, and development of the country,” said Mohan Bhagwat, the Sarsanghchalak of the RSS at the foundation day ceremony in Nagpur on Tuesday (October 24).

Election season

The upcoming state elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh are crucial for BJP, as the party will try to retain power in Madhya Pradesh, while trying to regain power in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

The state elections are crucial because the three states will witness a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress, which managed to defeat the BJP in Karnataka earlier this year. With less than seven months left for the general elections in April-May 2024, the elections are crucial because they will decide if the BJP under PM Modi will get a third consecutive term and become the first non-Congress government to have received the mandate for three consecutive terms.

“People have seen the work of those in power and people who were earlier in the position of power. People will make the right decision and think about the best available option at the time of voting. It is our national duty to vote, and we must all perform this duty in large numbers. People should vote keeping in mind the unity, integrity, identity, and development of the country,” Bhagwat said.

The timing of the appeal to “vote for the available best candidate” comes just a month after the Samanvay Baithak, or coordination meeting of the RSS, which was held in mid-September, and members of the ruling BJP were also present at the meeting to discuss some important national issues.

In support of the Union government

While talking about the need for casting votes as a national duty, Bhagwat also came out in support of the Union government and said that the success of the recently concluded G20 Summit was a sign of the growing importance of India in the global order.

“With every passing year, the respect for Indians is increasing in the world, which we are all experiencing ourselves. When the G20 Summit was organised here (in India), the hospitality of Indians was immensely appreciated,” Bhagwat said.

The RSS chief also backed the various initiatives of the Union government, like saving water, avoiding single use plastic, increasing greenery, Bhagwat said there was a need to make India self reliant and the Union government was working towards it. He said that there was a need to strengthen reliance on ‘Swa’, or self, through Swadeshi.

Bhagwat also emphasised that the Union government has succeeded in making India the fifth largest economy in the world.

“Employment opportunities in the country should rise, and the country’s money should be used within and in the interest of the country itself. Law and order and responsibilities as citizens, should be followed by all. A climate of harmony and cooperation should prevail in society,” said Bhagwat.

Attempts to divide society

Talking about the alleged attempts to divide the society and create hindrance in the growth story of the country, Bhagwat further said that there were some people in India who did not want the country to move forward and were working to create disturbances in the society.

Bhagwat said that because of the elections, different attempts will be made to get votes by inflaming emotions ahead of the 2024 polls. The RSS chief also emphasised that people who wish for the unity of the country cannot insist that all problems should first end before they will work towards the unity of the country.

He said that people will have to simultaneously work peacefully and with restraint without getting distracted by the sporadic events happening in different parts of the country.

“There are some people in the world and in India who do not want India to move forward. They try to create factions and clashes in society. It is because of our unawareness and lack of belief that we sometimes get entangled in it, and unnecessary nuisances are created. If India progresses, they will not be able to play their games. It is for this reason, such people continuously oppose and adopt particular ideologies just for the sake of opposing,” Bhagwat added.

Without taking the names of any individuals or organisations, Bhagwat said that people have started coming forward to express their concerns after witnessing the attempts to divide society. The RSS chief said that most people feel that there should be peace and cooperation in society rather than differences and contests among each other.

“Sections of society will have to shed the sense of victimhood, stop looking at each other with suspicion, and avoid manoeuvres for political dominance. Sadly, politics only becomes a hindrance to such noble initiatives. But when we call upon the people to shed their sense of victimhood or ask them to shun mutual distrust, this is not a form of surrender or compulsion,” Bhagwat said.

A political speech

Political analysts believe that the speech given by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is important because it is the last speech before the 2024 general elections, and he has praised the Union government for its work in the last nine years.

“This is like a political speech before the crucial elections, and the support of the RSS workers will be needed by the BJP members to counter the INDIA alliance that has united against the ruling government,” said Ashutosh Kumar, Chandigarh-based political analyst and professor at the Panjab University.