BJP and RSS: Fight for control

There seems to be another showdown on the cards between the BJP and its ideological parent, the RSS. 

Of late, the RSS has been rather peeved with the BJP, especially after the remarks of BJP President JP Nadda on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections that the BJP was self-sufficient and did not need the support of the RSS to win elections. 

Such a statement definitely could not have been made by Nadda without the tacit endorsement of either Narendra Modi or Amit Shah.

On June 30, the tenure of JP Nadda as BJP National President comes to an end. Nadda has already been inducted into the Union Cabinet and the hunt for his successor is now on. 

Apparently, the RSS is in favour of Rajnath Singh or Shivraj Singh Chouhan, however, and understandably, the Modi-Shah combo is preferring other candidates.

The Party President cannot be a Minister and the RSS is not averse to either Rajnath or Shivraj Singh resigning their posts as Union Ministers to become the National Party Head of the BJP. 

However, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have their own people in mind and this could lead to a showdown of sorts in the coming days. 

Sources close to both RSS and the BJP indicate that the selection of the new President might be put off for some time until tempers cool down and an acceptable ‘face’ to both Modi and Bhagwat is found.

An extension of sorts is being considered for JP Nadda, yet this is highly doubtful as the RSS has come to view Nadda as nothing but a ‘rubber stamp’ of Modi and Shah. 

The recent disappointing performance of the BJP in the elections might have sucked away some off the aura of Narendra Modi, yet, he is not a man who is used to bowing to the diktats of others. 

The election result will not transform him overnight into an Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the RSS can expect a ‘fight’ on its hands.