Former members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh who quit the organisation over 15 years ago have joined hands to float a new party ahead of the Assembly elections in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh. Named Janhit, the outfit claims to break the duopoly of Congress-BJP politics in the state and offer a new alternative to the people.
Janhit, which held its first meeting on Sunday with over 200 people in attendance, comprises members most of whom left the RSS around 2007. Janhit states that the BJP has “strayed from its core ideological beliefs”. The party, it claims, has become undistinguishable from the Congress.
The formation of Janhit comes just three months after another Hindu outfit, the Bajrang Sena, merged with the Congress claiming disenchantment with the BJP. The developments come as the Congress itself has launched an aggressive push towards Hindutva to counter the BJP in the state.
However, Janhit members said that they harbour no intentions to unite with the Congress, like the Bajrang Sena. “It is out of the question. We are not politicians at heart, but missionaries. We can’t go to the BJP or the Congress. We will fight independently,” a Janhit leader said.
Former RSS pracharak Abhay Jain (60), a founding member of the Janhit, says their focus is on issues of governance, moving it away from capitalists towards “people-centric” goals while retaining the core elements of Hindutva.
On Janhit, the Congress says its formation reflects the growing disillusionment within the BJP. “This is like showing a mirror to the BJP. Even RSS members are disillusioned with the BJP, which has become a centre of corruption,” Congress spokesperson Piyush Babele said, according to The Indian Express.
The BJP, on the other hand, claimed that the BJP will continue to work on its agenda of development and welfare. “Everyone has a right to take their ideology to the public,” BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said.
Another BJP leader said the formation of Janhit only helps propagate the message of the RSS further. “You don’t leave the RSS, in your hearts, it is always there. They (the former RSS pracharaks) too will carry forward the message of the sangathan. They can join any party they want; in the end, our agenda is carried forward,” the leader told IE.
Jain, a founding member of Janhit, says that though they are a small organisation and are unsure of cutting into BJP’s votes, they will still give it a try. “We are a small party and it is true that the BJP has a vast organisation with vast resources, they won’t be scared of us. But we will still try,” Jain said.
Janhit is yet to register as a political party but its leaders said they have started the process and engaged a lawyer. Of the 200 people present at the launch on Sunday, most were former RSS members from Bundelkhand, Vindhyachal and Gwalior-Chambal regions of the state, and others associated with the founders since 2008.
