No major change is likely in the RSS hierarchy, sources in the organisation hint ahead of its Pratinidhi Sabha in Nagpur between March 13 and 15. Over 1,400 are expected to participate in the conclave of all RSS representatives, elected or otherwise.
Sources dismissed a theory doing the rounds about second-in-command sarkaryawah Bhaiyyaji Joshi making way for his deputy (sahsarkaryawah) Dattatreya Hosbale. “There is no reason for any such change,” a source said. “Bhaiyyaji has been very active and there is no reason for any major change in the top body, The only time this has happened in the past is when Rajju Bhaiyya was the sarkaryawah. It was decided to swap his position with that of his deputy H V Seshadri since Rajju Bhaiyya wasn’t keeping well. Of course, some changes do usually occur in every special conclave.”
In fact, three years ago at the last conclave that saw such elections, there had been talkabout Hosbale replacing Joshi, now 67. Joshi remains a key figure in coordination between the RSS with the BJP.
There has also been talk about the RSS changing its uniform. “We don’t comment on such speculation,” Manmohan Vaidya, media in-charge of the RSS, told The IndianExpress. “As far as changes are concerned, it is a fact that RSS has always adopted many changes whenever needed.”
Asked about possible changes in the hierarchy, he said, “That again is a matter of speculation. Every time, there will be some changes but those are decided by the sabha through elections. Till date, in RSS history, no voting was necessitated for any changes and every change has happened by consensus.”
As a prelude to the sabha, heads of various parivar organisations, including the BJP, meet the RSS top brass, On Friday, BJP president Amit Shah was closeted with them. Sources said the RSS has told the BJP to take up the move by J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to release separatist leader Masarat Alam. The RSS is also believed to have rejected the contention that the BJP lost in Delhi because of aggressiveHindutva campaigns such as “love jihad” or “ghar wapsi”; it attributes the defeat to transfer of non-BJP votes to the AAP.