'Commitment and loyalty': Why Sharad Pawar wants NCP to build RSS-like cadre

NCP-SP president Sharad Pawar has stressed on the need for the party to create a commited and loyal cadre on the lines of the RSS. (File Photo: PTI)

The role played by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in securing a historic mandate for the Mahayuti in the Assembly elections held in Maharashtra last November has come in for rare praise from Maha Vikas Aghadi architect and NC-SP president Sharad Pawar.

At a recent meeting of NCP(SP) leaders in Mumbai, Pawar drew their attention to the push the RSS cadre provided in furthering the BJP's campaign in the run up to the polls in the state.

"The Assembly polls have demonstrated how the RSS cadre’s strong loyalty and commitment to their ideology work. Even we should work to build a strong and committed cadre that subscribes to the ideologies of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr B R Ambedkar," Pawar told the gathering of party leaders and workers.

While NCP(SP) leaders later clarified that Pawar's remarks were in praise of the "commitment and loyalty" of the RSS cadre and should not be seen as an endorsement of the organization's ideology, the need for a cadre-based push to the Opposition became evident after the reversal in the Mahayuti's performance from the Lok Sabha debacle to the resounding victory in the Assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Unlike the present scenario, several socio-economic fronts, including a robust cooperatives sector in Maharashtra, formed the political backbone of the Congress and undivided NCP from the 1960s to 2000s. However, their impact on state politics has since diminished, creating the need for a cadre-based approach to further the Opposition's agenda.

Pawar's remarks are an acknowledgement to the fact that while the RSS-BJP-Shiv Sena (Shinde) have managed to capitalize on the Hindutva factor to unify voters, a similar approach has been found lacking to capture the space for a more secular and social platform that subscribes to the ideologies of Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar.

Like the NCP, the Congress had the Seva Dal that acted as a pillar of the party but has gradually weakened. Founded in 1923, the Seva Dal played a pivotal role in the struggle for Independence but gradually lost impact.

The Shiv Sena, founded by Bal Thackeray in 1966, was initially formed to engage more in social work and less in politics, giving them a huge canvas to draw societal support from. However, both factions of the party today engage in full fledged politics and have hardly any imprint in terms of social work.

On the other hand, the RSS and BJP have remained ideologically aligned, while ensuring that the former never publicly engages in active politics and limits its visible role to social and ideological tasks.

Even after the Mahayuti's massive win in Maharashtra, the RSS has not once stepped to claim credit for the victory it virtually paved the way for. After the Lok Sabha debacle that saw the Mahayuti win just 17 of Maharashtra’s 48 seats, the BJP's state leadership including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reached out to the RSS and held several meetings to ensure their participation in countering the Opposition's "fake narratives".

In the Assembly elections held six months later, the Mahayuti won 235 of the 288 Assembly seats. The BJP won 132 of the 149 seats it contested, and alliance partners, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.