NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) plans to expand its student wing — Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — in the coming academic session, with a goal to induct 10 to 15 per cent of its enterprising as the BJP candidates in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The plan involves the young blood of the ABVP to play a key role in the poll campaign for the BJP. As a prelude to the exercise, the RSS is replacing Sunil Ambekar, the national organising general secretary of the ABVP who turns 50 on December 26, with Ramlal, the BJP’s organising general secretary. Both are the RSS ‘pracharaks’ (full-time volunteers).
The change will come next march after Dattatreya Hosbole, one of the three joint general secretaries and RSS coordinator with BJP, takes over as the general secretary (Sar-karyavah), the second-in-command in the RSS after its chief Mohan Bhagwat, and constitutes his own team, including those to man various RSS outfits.
Hosbole will be taking over in the next Pratinidhi Sabha of the RSS in February from Suresh Bhaiyaji Joshi, holding the post for the past nine yearshttps://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/Dattatreya-Hosbole. Though Hosbole was tipped to be the No 2 in the RSS in March 2015, Bhagwat has preferred to let Joshi have the run for another three years.
Worried over the BJP’s number slipping in Gujarat Assembly elections, though better than its own internal assessment of it stopping at 70 to 75 seats, the RSS wants to involve the ABVP cadres in a big way in the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh late next year since if the BJP loses in these states, there may be difficulty in the party securing a majority in the Lok Sabha as just Prime Minister Modi’s charisma will not work, a top RSS functionary said.
He said there is not much worry as regards Uttar Pradesh where the party had bagged 73 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats and 325 Assembly seats. The RSS is also confident that the BJP will win all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. It is also hopeful of the BJP coming into full control with getting back into power in the state assembly polls early summer to win most of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
