RSS intensifies outreach as BJP gears up for 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has undertaken an intensive tour across Uttar Pradesh

Over the past week, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has undertaken an intensive tour across Uttar Pradesh, holding a series of high-level meetings in Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, and Lakhimpur Kheri. His visit signals the beginning of a statewide organisational push aimed at reinvigorating the Sangh’s grassroots machinery and aligning with the BJP’s preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections.

In Lucknow, during a closed-door meeting with senior pracharaks and office-bearers, Bhagwat directed all units to reconnect with swayamsevaks who had become inactive over time. The aim is to re-establish contact with those who stepped back due to personal or professional reasons and bring them back into the fold.

Detailed lists of such individuals are being compiled, and volunteers are being tasked with reaching out personally. The effort, RSS leaders say, is not just about boosting numbers but about restoring ideological commitment and social presence at the micro level. Bhagwat also stressed the need to expand daily shakhas in villages, especially in areas where the Sangh has little or no footprint. Rural engagement, he maintained, will be crucial in shaping public sentiment in the run-up to the next election.

“Only 80% of our cadre is currently active,” said senior RSS leader Bholendra. “The Sarsanghchalak wants us to engage the rest so that no volunteer is left behind.”

Bholendra said that RSS is getting ready for centenary celebration. We need more of such active workers,” he told Moneycontrol.

During a four-day trip to Varanasi, Bhagwat met people from various walks of life, including students at IIT-BHU. Addressing volunteers at the Rajputana Shakha, he spoke about the importance of social harmony and unity within the Hindu community. “There should be no discrimination. All Hindus should share the same temples, water, and cremation grounds,” he said, underlining the Sangh’s long-standing vision of a united Hindu society cutting across caste and sectarian lines.

Coordinated strategy for Mission 2027

The RSS will also launch a door-to-door contact campaign — Griha Sampark Abhiyan — between November 5 and 30. Volunteers will distribute booklets explaining the history, ideology, and work of the Sangh, aiming to strengthen public connect and ideological awareness at the household level.

Parallelly, the RSS’s economic cell met in Lucknow under the leadership of joint general secretary Krishna Gopal. The meeting, attended by Sangh-affiliated economists and policy advisors, focused on growing public concerns around unemployment, inflation, and economic instability. Feedback collected by swayamsevaks at the grassroots revealed deep anxieties among youth, especially in smaller towns and rural areas, about the lack of job opportunities. Participants urged the government to give more attention to employment schemes, skill development, and support for small-scale industries. The Sangh, through its organisational channels, has formally conveyed these concerns and suggestions to the government.

In Ghaziabad, another key meeting brought together RSS and BJP leaders to ensure early planning for the 2027 elections. Discussions centred on unified messaging, coordination on sensitive ideological issues, and mobilising core social groups, including OBCs and Dalits. BJP state vice-president Vijay Bahadur Pathak said that both organisations expressed concern over attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh and elsewhere, and agreed on the need to urgently address Hindu interests.

The BJP, still recovering from its underwhelming performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections — where its tally in Uttar Pradesh dropped from 62 seats in 2019 to 33 — is now banking on early preparation and better alignment with the Sangh. One senior party functionary remarked, “What sets us apart from others is our ability to start early. The results of 2024 were a wake-up call, and we are not wasting time.”

Discussions also included upcoming organisational elections in the BJP, both at the national and state levels. A senior BJP leader said the idea was to strengthen internal bonds before heading into another critical electoral cycle. Meanwhile, an RSS functionary noted that coordination between the Sangh and the BJP was essential on issues like Kashi and Mathura. He referred to RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s recent remarks supporting the VHP’s work on the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi and Krishna Janmabhoomi issues, while cautioning against unnecessary controversies like the one around Aurangzeb’s tomb.

As the Sangh intensifies its outreach and the BJP recalibrates its strategy, both organisations appear determined to close ranks and build momentum for 2027. The combined approach — organisational reinforcement from the RSS and electoral planning by the BJP — is expected to form the core of what insiders are calling Mission 2027.