RSS cautions BJP against divisive discourse, asks party to tone down shrill campaign

NEW DELHI: A day after the BJP’s crushing defeat in Bihar, its ideological mentor RSS cautioned the party against divisive political discourse and said there was perhaps a need to tone down its shrill campaign strategy that it had employed in the state.

BJP president Amit Shah met RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday morning with his preliminary assessment of the Bihar elections fiasco. Sangh leader Krishna Gopal was also present at the meeting. Shah told Bhagwat that the “social combination” of the Grand Alliance proved to be unassailable, people privy to details of the meeting said.

Bhagwat is believed to have agreed with Shah’s assessment but told him the campaign could have been “less shrill and more discreet” on communal front. Bhagwat suggested the party should keep this in mind in the coming assembly elections in Assam and West Bengal, said one of the persons.

BJP leaders said the fact Bhagwat was discussing upcoming assembly elections with Shah was significant. They told ET that this was a near-certain indication that Shah would continue as party president after his current term gets over.

“Anyway, when Shah was made party president, he was not the night watchman, appointed only to complete Rajnath Singh’s term. He was appointed with a long-term vision. He has delivered Maharashtra, Haryana and J&K. The party has no doubt lost Delhi and Bihar under him but the balance sheet is still in his favour,” said a senior party leader.

“It is a fact that he was handling the campaign and driving the strategy. However, the elections were fought under the leadership of PM Modi, who addressed nearly 30 rallies. There is no way action can be taken against Shah,” the leader said.

Hukmdev Narayan Yadav, BJP MP from Madhubani in Bihar, was more direct in his attack on the RSS. According to him, Bhagwat’s remarks on reviewing the quota policy for backward classes caused much harm to the party in the polls.