In an interesting pre-poll development, Bajrang Sena – a right-wing organisation dedicated to the cause of Hindutva and cow protection – has merged with the Congress in Madhya Pradesh.
The convener of the organisation – Raghunandan Sharma – is connected to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and is also a founder member of the BJP. The outfit has been involved in cow-protection activities and also in "unifying Hindus by breaking the caste-system" and has been known to openly support the BJP.
However, while merging the organisation with the Congress, the national president of Bajrang Sena, Ranveer Pateriya said, in the presence of Sharma, that they were wholeheartedly adopting the ideology of the Congress and the ideas of MP Congress chief Kamal Nath.
He also said that they were committed to upstaging the BJP government which is synonymous with cheating, treachery and deceit and to forming a Congress government under the leadership of Kamal Nath, through the 2023 Assembly polls.
The merger happened at a programme held at the Congress state headquarters in Bhopal on Tuesday evening and was preceded by a 'Bhagwa rally' (saffron rally) that saw the presence of hundreds of saffron scarves-toting and saffron flag-holding youth, some of whom also demonstrated traditional martial art forms to the beats of drums.
When asked whether there won’t be a conflict of ideologies when a right-wing organisation is merged with Congress, media department chief K.K. Mishra told The Week that the Bajrang Sena office-bearers clearly said during the merger programme that they have given up the old associations completely; are adopting the ideology of the Congress and will work accordingly. He said that since now they will be all Congress workers, there won’t be any conflict.
Speaking at the merger programme, Kamal Nath attacked chief minister Chouhan saying that he is now remembering sisters (women), youth and employees since it is the election year now. Chouhan has made more than 20,000 announcements till now and there is nothing on the ground. "However, his (Chouhan’s) machine of lies will not work anymore as the people have decided to do away with his rule of falsehoods. It has always been the history of Congress to take along the culture of the country and its constitution and I have full confidence that you (the newly merged outfit) will keep the future of Madhya Pradesh safe."
Deepak Joshi instrumental in the merger
Deepak Joshi, a former minister who left BJP to join the Congress last month, is said to be instrumental in bringing about the merger of the right-wing outfit with the Congress. He was present during the merger programme along with senior Congress leaders and the national and state office-bearers of the Bajrang Sena.
The organisation, though not as popular or controversial as the similarly named Bajrang Dal, is said to have a presence in almost all the districts of the state and its merger with the Congress is likely to hamper the BJP support base.
This is considered one of the major blows to the ruling BJP dealt by Deepak Joshi, who is the son of the former chief minister late Kailash Joshi, one of the most respected founder figures of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP is already facing a lot of internal dissent and the defection of Joshi was fallout of what the dissenters say is the change in attitude of the ruling party where long-time workers and leaders are being sidelined and ignored.
Bajrang Sena convener Raghunandan Sharma, while talking to a local digital news channel recently has also spoken about how their requests to meet the chief minister (Shivraj Singh Chouhan) were being ignored for the past two years. Also, the members of the organisations involved in cow protection were harassed by the police and implicated in false cases. No one in the government came out to help these activists, he said.
Sharma said that the organisation had always been a BJP supporter and the ruling party took advantage of the organisation's activities for its political gains. He said that the Bajrang Sena worked on the ground all across Uttar Pradesh for two years before the Assembly polls held last year.
Sharma said that they worked to unite Hindus and do away with caste discrimination and were much hurt by the statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat that the caste system was created by Brahmins. They were now determined to bring a government to power that would understand their ideas and also safeguard them, Sharma had said.
