As Narendra Modi gears up for his maiden prime ministerial visit to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur on Sunday, political corridors are agog with speculation whether he will yet again have his say in the choice of the next BJP president or the Sangh will claim a casting ballot.

The election of a new BJP chief has been inordinately delayed and the reason, according to insiders, is differences between the current dispensation of the ruling party and its ideological mothership.

Modi’s visit is being seen as an outreach to broker peace with the RSS. Sunday marks the start of the Vikram Samvat — the so-called Hindu New Year — the perfect occasion for the Prime Minister to pay his respects to Sangh founder K.B. Hedgewar in the centenary year of the organisation.

During the visit, Modi is expected to have an unscheduled meeting with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat to resolve the deadlock over who should replace J.P. Nadda as BJP president. The meeting, insiders said, is likely to take place before Modi and Bhagwat share the stage around 10am to lay the foundation stone for an annexe to an eye hospital.

“The Prime Minister’s visit to the headquarters is scheduled but there is no confirmation about a separate meeting with the Sangh pramukh (Bhagwat),” an RSS leader said.

The visit comes against the backdrop of critical comments made by the Sangh chief following the BJP’s underwhelming performance in the general election last summer.

Bhagwat had publicly castigated the “ahankar” (arrogance) of the “sevak” (Modi calls himself Pradhan Sevak). He had followed it up by saying that “no one should declare himself to be God”.

Both remarks were widely perceived as being aimed at Modi, who had during the poll campaign projected himself as a non-biological being, sent by God.

Modi’s maiden visit to Nagpur as Prime Minister is therefore being seen as an effort to mollify Bhagwat, regarded as the head of the Sangh Parivar, and get him to endorse a BJP president of Modi’s choice.

Since Modi assumed power in 2014, he and his confidant Amit Shah have exercised unbridled power in picking the party chief and running organisational affairs. The Sangh took a back seat in willy-nilly acknowledgment of Modi’s clout and popularity.

Many in the BJP believe that the RSS had consciously kept itself in the background during the Lok Sabha polls and this was reflected in the results, with the BJP left short of a majority.

With Brand Modi thus dented and the government dependent on allies, the Sangh has sensed an opportunity to reassert itself, insiders said.

The BJP leadership had reached out to the RSS for help during the recent Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi, and the ideological parent is now citing these victories to argue it should have a say in the party’s organisational matters.

Those being mentioned for the job of BJP president include several key ministers in the Modi government, such as education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, environment minister Bhupendra Yadav and urban affairs minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Sangh insiders, however, feel that the appointment of any of these three would signal that Modi has prevailed. The RSS, sources said, wants a “strong organisational leader” who would not be seen as a “rubber stamp” for the current BJP leadership.

There’s speculation about getting a party president from south India, given the BJP’s failure to expand significantly in the region.

The names of Union coal minister G. Kishan Reddy (Telangana) and consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi (Karnataka) are being discussed. Both, however, are seen as Modi-Shah loyalists.

Besides, the party has already had three presidents from the south -- Jana Krishnamurthy, Bangaru Laxman and Venakaiah Naidu -- without being able to gain a substantial foothold in the region, barring Karnataka.

“If the RSS succeeds in asserting itself, none of the names being tossed up in the media will become the next BJP chief. It will be a surprise and his profile would show that he is an RSS choice,” a BJP old-timer said.