File picture of an RSS rally in Delhi

Ahmedabad, Dec. 3: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has decided to remain “neutral” in the Gujarat elections. This means its workers are free to work for whichever party or candidate they like as long as they are not “anti-Hindu”.

Narendra Modi will especially be banking on the Sangh workers because Vishwa Hindu Parishad president Ashok Singhal’s indirect go-ahead to his organisation to work for the chief minister has not galvanised its workers.

“In 2005, at a meeting in Chitrakoot, the RSS decided it would not take part in any election. That position remains firm today, in Gujarat and other places. But a swayamsevak (Sangh volunteer) is independent — he can take part in any activity,” said Pradip Jain, the Sangh’s authorised spokesperson in Gujarat.

In 2002, the Sangh had held several “Hindu jagran (awakening)” meetings in the run-up to the elections. Its pracharaks (propagandists) canvassed for the BJP in public forums without the candidates being present to retain the appearance of neutrality.

This time there would be no jagran meetings, said Jain, a managing trustee of the Vishwa Samvad Kendra, the Sangh’s publicity front.

He refused to say whether the Sangh was keeping away from the polls because of its reported problems with Modi.

The Gujarat BJP is still assessing the possible fallout of the Sangh’s refusal to participate. Sources said it could hit the party hard in the Saurashtra region, which has 58 Assembly seats and where Modi is grappling with infighting and rebellion.

They added that since the Sangh had left poll participation to the “conscience” of the swayamsevaks, Modi had injected large doses of “Hindutva” into his campaign. He wants to assure the Sangh that he has not deviated from its ideology.

As for the Parishad’s lukewarmness, its local chief, Kaushik Mehta, was unavailable for comments. But Parishad sources said that in Gujarat, only one person mattered and he was Praveen Togadia, the general secretary.

Togadia fell out with Modi long ago and is believed to be backing the Patel dissidents and the loyalists of former chief minister Keshubhai Patel.

“Just as Uma Bharti’s conciliatory gesture (towards Modi) had no effect on her party here, Singhal’s appeal is a call to the deaf. If it had come from Togadia, it would have meant something else,” a source said.

Jain, asked if the Sangh’s decision could hurt the BJP’s prospects, said: “The RSS is not a political organisation; it is a social organisation. The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh has more members than the BJP, and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (the Sangh’s student arm) is the largest union in India. Yet the BJP gets the media attention because it’s a political party.”

He said that the 2005 decision was taken keeping in mind the overall national situation.

“The Sangh will not make an exception for Gujarat. It does not function in that manner,” Jain added.

“Elections are one part of democracy but the national consciousness is driven and shaped by a host of other factors. Politics will get the importance it deserves from the Sangh but we also have the nation to think of.”