Nitin Nabin hits the ground running, aims to boost BJP-RSS ties ahead of key state polls

While the BJP’s newly-appointed national working president Nitin Nabin, 45, is expected to be formally elected as the party chief later this month, he has already stepped up to lead the party that faces crucial Assembly elections in states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam in the first half of this year.

One of the key tasks Nabin has been mandated with is to improve the relations and coordination between the BJP and its ideological fountainhead RSS, party sources said. As part of this objective, he is set to hold a series of meetings with the heads of several RSS wings and Sangh-affiliated outfits. Sources said Nabin is soon going to meet with the chiefs of several Sangh Parivar groups as well as their organisation secretaries and joint secretaries. The youngest leader to occupy the top BJP organisational post, Nabin, the five-time Bihar MLA and ex-minister, is also expected to ensure “active coordination” between the BJP-led Centre and the party-led state governments.

In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the ties between the BJP and the RSS had come under strain. In an interview with The Indian Express in May 2024, BJP national president J P Nadda, while answering a question on the BJP-RSS relationship, had said: “Shuru mein hum aksham honge, thoda kam honge, RSS ki zaroorat padti thi… aaj hum badh gaye hain, saksham hain… toh BJP apne aap ko chalaati hai (In the beginning, we would have been less capable, smaller and needed the RSS. Today, we have grown and we are capable. The BJP runs itself).”

While the Lok Sabha poll results saw the BJP stalling well behind the majority mark, at 240 seats, forcing it to rely on the NDA allies, such as the N Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP and the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U), for its government at the Centre, there had been buzz then that a “demoralised” RSS cadre had shied away from playing a “pro-active role” in the poll campaign for the BJP.

Subsequently, following a series of talks between them at various levels, the BJP and the RSS restored their equations, sources said, adding that “the result of the RSS cadre coming back to active groundwork for the BJP” was seen in the party registering resounding victories in the Assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra.

Last year marked the centenary of the formation of the RSS, during which top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah made several public statements lauding the RSS, its ideology and its role in nation-building.

Some BJP insiders pointed out that a close coordination between the party and the Sangh is required “not only in the long run but is also important for the crucial upcoming Assembly elections”.

“Improved relations with the Sangh has always given an advantage to the BJP in the elections. The party needs stronger ties and coordination with the RSS for the elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala,” said a party insider, pointing out that these states are ruled by the Opposition INDIA bloc parties, where the BJP would face formidable challenges.

Another senior BJP leader said, “The BJP has Modi as its face and it has excellent strategists like Amit Shah and charismatic leaders like Yogi Adityanath. What the party needs now is to strengthen its network on the ground. Alignment between the party and the Sangh would be significant for this purpose.”

While Nabin does not have an RSS background like many of his predecessors, he is said to have fulfilled the Sangh’s criteria for the top party post. He belongs to the upper caste Kayastha community and

is a low-key leader known for “easy accessibility” among common party workers. “Nabin can work from the position of a neutral leader. The Sangh wants collective leadership and is not in favour of the organisation becoming individual-centric. A young leader with clean image and disciplined conduct can work better when it comes to working together,” said a BJP leader who had a long stint in the RSS.

Significantly, the RSS leadership is also considering proposals to revamp its structure, which could also lead to ensuring “better coordination” with the BJP. A Sangh committee, constituted on the occasion of its centenary to recommend changes to its organisation, has given a number of suggestions, sources said. These proposals include reorganising the Sangh structure and replacing prant pracharaks with in-charges of a state or region, sources said.

Currently, the Sangh has divided its structure in big states into multiple prants with each one operating under a prant pracharak. “Instead of having about 50 prant pracharaks, a rajya pracharak for each state or a region will be better for making the best of a teamwork. The BJP leadership will then be able to coordinate with them in a much better way,” said a source.