The Congress was complacent, as it thought of the TINA (There Is No Alternative) factor. The party and its leadership knew that it would be impossible for any party or alliance to secure majority and it can always play the ‘secular’ card to put the BJP on the mat. To counter the Congress strategy and cash in on the anti-Congress mood, the RSS played its trump card, ‘Narendra Modi’. It had to face serious opposition within and outside the BJP. But the rebellion was curbed. LK Advani, MM Joshi, Sushma Swaraj and many others were silenced. The BJP did not bother when JD(U) left the alliance and others declined to join the NDA fold with Modi at the helm.
The RSS worked under a clear-cut plan with the help of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, who was put in charge of Uttar Pradesh BJP. From 10 in 2009, Amit Shah took the BJP to 71 (+2 for Apna Dal). And, he gives all credit to the grass-root workers. And, not surprisingly, they hailed from the RSS. The RSS asked all its cadres and pracharaks to go to villages, towns and cities to prepare the platform. While the Congress and other rivals of the BJP were relaxing, the RSS cadres were doing their hard work on the field.
In all states where BJP has a strong presence, the RSS wanted to explore the options. Many teams were formed, commanders were appointed. The BJP-RSS workers worked at the booth level. They created the ‘Modi Wave’. At the same time, some members of RSS think tank worked with Modi’s core team to create a big impact on social media and TV channels and newspapers. The media hype, social media campaign and awareness among youth of the country, worked positively and turned things in BJP’s favour.
At the same time, the RSS kept increasing its membership in all parts of the country. When the Congress and other parties realised what was happening on the ground, it was too late for them. They abused Modi, levelled allegations and tried to stop him by using all dirty tricks. However, Modi had already become a brand then and his opponents had to bite the dust. The Corporate India and Industry too supported for Modi with high hopes.
Modi knew he owed his success to the RSS. Soon after the campaigning was over, Modi met two leaders – former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, his idol, and RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat. The message was loud and clear – Vajpayee had installed Modi as the Gujarat CM, thus creating a solid platform for him and Mohan Bhagwat (RSS) boosted his image as the ‘Brand PM’ and contributed to his rise to the zenith. And, RSS continued to be the trouble-shooter for Modi even after 15 months and established a strong hold over the party as well as government.
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