RSS steering campaign for saffron camp in Varanasi, Gorakhpur regions

GORAKHPUR: The saffron campaign in two high profile constituencies of Varanasi and Gorakhpur — associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath — is not steered by BJP alone. The cadres of Rashtriya Swayemsewak Sangh (RSS) and its offshoots too are actively involved, raising the pitch against the opposition, primarily the Samajwadi Party (SP), though without naming them.

The Sangh has deployed thousands of volunteers in over 27,000 booths for the sixth phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections for two reasons. One, people should come out to vote in large numbers, and two, they vote judiciously, the RSS functionary said.

Saffron volunteers are seen distributing pamphlets detailing why and whom to vote in both rural and urban pockets of Varanasi and Gorakhpur. A pamphlet (TOI has a copy of it) of Lok Jagran Manch states “Mera Matdan – Desh ka Samman (My vote is country’s honour)” and “Mera Matdan, UP ka

Uthaan

(My vote is UP’s development)”.

Such pamphlets are being distributed in every district, which goes to polls on March 3 and 7, RSS insiders told TOI. Besides, each booth has been mapped by the RSS workers and divided into various categories as per the availability of voters.

Pamphlets further state that each voter should think before voting: whether they would vote for those who stood for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya and launched movements in its favour or for those who were against it and batted for the construction of a hospital or mosque at the disputed site.

Pamphlets also state that people should also think: to vote for those who ensured the safety of women and children or those under whose rule (veiled reference to the SP regime) women and children could not step out freely even during daytime.

A source told TOI that a group of three to four women in each booth have been given the responsibility to convince the voters to vote for the BJP. Similarly, RSS offshoots have been asked to form groups of youth, labourers and traders to convince the voters.

Other appeal made for voters in the pamphlets is to ponder over tourism. Think whether to vote for a government which is developing Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vindhya Shaktipeeths and generating employment by promoting Jain and Buddhist circuits or one, which neglected these religious spots and focussed on making Taj Mahal a brand.

The pamphlets also mention the construction of Ram Temple and development of Kashi Vishwanath Corridor. They state that people should choose between the one, which developed these sites or those (SP) who were busy constructing boundary walls around Muslim graveyards.

Such pamphlets are being distributed in Goraksh and Kashi region by the RSS functionaries, a senior office-bearer of the group told TOI, adding that the idea is to ensure that the Yogi government returns to the state.

For RSS, Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a laboratory of Hindutva, both nationally and internationally, and it doesn’t want to derail the momentum gained in the five years of Yogi rule. It is for this reason that special thrust is being given by the RSS for the BJP to win across Uttar Pradesh, with special focus on Gorakhpur and Varanasi regions, an insider told TOI.