New Delhi: Amid indications that 2019 could see one of the fiercest political tussles, with the battlelines already drawn, the Ram Mandir issue seems to be on a revival path. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), through affiliates like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), has decided to go all out to push its core “Hindutva” agenda before the general election to galvanise its core votebank.
The VHP’s high-powered committee of saints and seers, “Sant Uchchadhikar Samiti”, is meeting on October 5 to discuss the future course of action on the issue, which could also see fresh efforts to revive the campaign for the construction of a “grand Ram temple in Ayodhya”.
The RSS’ crucial working committee meeting, due to be held from October 31, is also expected to take up the Ram Mandir issue, along with the contentious issue of Article 370 and fine-tuning the Sangh Parivar’s election-related strategies for the coming Assembly polls in key states as well as the Lok Sabha polls. The working committee meeting will be attended by the Sangh Parivar top brass and BJP president Amit Shah. Other senior BJP leaders are also expected to attend the three-day working committee meeting in Mumbai. RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat had recently said that the contruction of the Ram Mandir at the disputed site in Ayodhya at the earliest would ease the friction between Hindus and Muslims and asserted that the “Ram Mandir will be built at any cost”.
The RSS’ working committee meeting, sources said, will deliberate on the feedback gathered from its affiliates on key political, social and economic issues that may impact the coming Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. The Sangh Parivar’s top brass, sources said, will also deliberate on the main suggestions given by the RSS to the BJP for the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, including replacing a large number of sitting MLAs and MPs. The Sangh Parivar leadership, the sources said, would also give final shape to its strategy related to the Assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, now under BJP rule. Many political pundits have predicted it will not be an easy for the BJP to retain power in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, where the Opposition Congress is said to be in a revival mode.
