How the RSS is helping BJP fight the Bihar elections

Hundreds of RSS cadres are helping the saffron party counter Lalu-Nitish’s campaign on the reservation issue in Bihar polls, observes M I Khan

Sensing serious trouble over reservation issue in ongoing Bihar assembly polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party is taking help of hundreds of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh cadres to reach out to thousands of villages, particularly of Dalits, Other backward Classes, Extremely Backward Classes.

This is to counter the aggressive campaign by Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that painted the saffron party as anti-reservation, following RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's reported remark suggesting a review of the reservation policy.

Though BJP top leaders including Shah have tried to distance themselves from the RSS chief’s remark, Lalu and Nitish used it to garner support among traditional supporters.

Later, the BJP as well as the RSS have come out with a clarification saying Bhagwat had been misunderstood.

JD-U and RJD leaders said that RSS chief’s remark on reservation proved blessing in disguise for them.

“The RSS chief’s remark helped the grand alliance to consolidate its social support base among Dalits, OBCs and EBCs,” JD-U spokesperson Nawal Sharma said.

Lalu and Nitish played the issue as ‘anti-reservation and anti-backward and anti-Dalit’ in a state where the caste factor plays a major role, and  it is giving sleepless nights to top the BJP brass as reports suggest that it damaged the BJP’s campaign.

“The reservation issue has pushed a large number of fence-sitters among the backward castes and Dalits into the fold of the grand alliance,” said Irshadul Haque, a Dalit Muslim activist.

Haque said Lalu-Nitish also spread the word that RSS and BJP were keen to end reservation in the state if they come to power in Bihar.

BJP leaders have been privately admitting that there is confusion over the reservation issue after Bhagwat's remark, and it has badly hit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the first and second phases of assembly polls that were held on October 12 for 49 seats and on October 16 for 32 seats.

“In view of remaining three assembly polls, the BJP has re-worked its strategy by taking help of hundreds of RSS cadres to visit thousands of villages spread in nearly two dozen districts in Bihar. The party has been stressing on its micro-management to counter the Lalu-Nitis campaign on reservation,” said a senior leader, who is considered close to BJP president Amit Shah.

Shah has himself directed most of the party leaders barring few star campaigners including Union minister to camp in different districts and assembly constituencies to counter rivals and ensure success of the micro-management until the end of polls.

Senior BJP leader and in-charge of the party in Bihar Bhupender Yadav has been looking after the booth level management in Kosi and Seemanchal regions, where polls will be held on November 5 for 57 assembly seats in the fifth phase.

It forced the BJP chief to claim that the BJP was in support of the exiting reservation policy for the Dalits and the OBCs and repeatedly said that the party would not end reservation in the state.

At some places during his election rallies, Shah also projected the BJP as the real hero, saying that his party has given more OBC chief ministers in the country, and even an OBC prime minister such as Modi.

According to polls watchers, the reservation issue is important in the remaining three phases of Bihar assembly polls as major parts of Kosi, Seemanchal and Mithilanchal have a sizeable population of OBCs, EBCs and Dalits along with Muslims.