Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat is set to visit north Bengal on December 18 to train a group of selected young men and women from Farakka to Cooch Behar to form a new outreach group for the Sangh.
The trainees, aged between 25 and 35 years, will be tasked with building grassroots contact across neighbourhoods, homes and temples. Individuals above 35 years have been barred from attending the session.
“He will address the youths in Siliguri on December 18. Only the selected men and women within the designated age bracket will be permitted to attend the session,” said an office bearer of the RSS.
Though the Sangh officially distances itself from direct political involvement, the timing and structure of this mobilisation underscore its strategic significance in the run-up to the Bengal elections.
In north Bengal, the BJP had won 30 of 54 Assembly seats in the 2021 elections. The party also has six of eight MPs from the region.
The youth-centric focus and the age restriction are intentional, said RSS insiders.
“We have given enough work to the older generation. Now it is time for the youth to work for the Sangh,” said a senior RSS member based in north Bengal.
Sources reveal that trainees have been handpicked from districts like Malda, North and South Dinajpur, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar.
“Among them, most are already aligned with the RSS ideology. The district-level selection process is complete, and preparatory orientation sessions are currently underway before the final training by the RSS chief,” the member added.
The Sangh is placing particular emphasis on fostering family values and deeper community engagement. The youth are being instructed to spend at least five days a week with their own or nearby families, share meals and discuss social issues, offer support during family or neighbourhood crises, pay regular visits to local temples, participate in “para (neighbourhood)" meetings and engage in community conversations without revealing their ideological alignment.
Political observers said that with the Assembly elections approaching, this newly trained youth group is expected to act as a shadow liaison force, quietly building public connectivity across neighbourhoods.
“Though the RSS maintains that its activities are non-political, the initiative indicates that the outreach may indirectly strengthen ideological support on the ground,” said an observer.