BJP asks booth managers to be in 'regular touch' with RSS cadre

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat may have emphasised that the organisation does not control the BJP, but the ruling party has directed its booth managers to be in "regular touch" with the Sangh Parivar, party sources revealed Sunday.

In the 24-point action plan drafted for its booth managers, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has underlined that the booth workers should be in regular touch with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) cadre and its affiliates in their respective regions, they said.

Get in touch with the heads and priests of mutts, temples and ashrams in the region, the party said in its directive to the booth managers, the sources said.

The action plan was shared at the BJP's national executive organised earlier this month, they added.

This assumes importance as last week in his three-day lecture series here, Bhagwat had said that the Sangh never asks it volunteers to work for any political party.

The Sangh does not give advice but offers suggestion if it is sought, he said, without naming the BJP or any of its leaders.

Speaking at length about the organisation's stand on politics, the RSS head said the Sangh does not dictate the BJP's politics or policies of its government, but asserted that it pushes for what it believes to be in the interest of the country.

The impression is "absolutely wrong" that calls from Nagpur (where RSS is headquartered), are made and talks (between it and government functionaries) are held because the likes of President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have links with it, he noted.

Senior leaders in the BJP, clearly stated that booth management has been the focal point of the party's poll strategies in various states and it is important for booth workers to maintain coordination with the entire Sangh Parivar.

The party leaders said from time to time top leadership of the BJP and its ideological mentor the RSS meets and discusses the pertaining issues of national importance.

The party takes feedback from the Sangh to get a better idea about the ground realities, a leader said.

The BJP borrows its organisational secretary from Sangh both at the state and the central level.