India has never seen a campaign of this proportion straddling the length and breadth of the country before a Lok Sabha election: the Sangh Parivar and the BJP have pressed more than two crore foot soldiers in their ‘Mission 272-plus’campaign to crown Narendra Modi as India’s next Prime Minister. The massive workforce includes about two crore BJP members, 11 lakh RSS activists and 12.5 lakh volunteers of Modi’s ‘private army’ — the Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG).
All 187 organisations affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) have joined the giant political machine, including the 44,000-odd RSS shakhas each having an average of 25 volunteers. These 11 lakh RSS activists have become the nerves of the BJP poll machinery, party sources told Business Line.
These RSS volunteers work under nearly 4,000 full-time
The RSS also has some 2,000
The CAG volunteers are sometimes spotted wearing blue kurtas in Modi’s functions. Nearly 60 people control CAG across India and abroad, sources said.
Modi mentor Interestingly, CAG comprises whiz kids from sectors such as Information Technology, finance and government policies. Personally accountable to Modi, they form the core of the ‘Modi-for-PM’ campaign, with the RSS-BJP combine having only a peripheral role.
Interestingly, while raising his ‘private army’ of CAG, Modi virtually emulated his one-time mentor-turned-foe, Shankarsinh Vaghela.
After revolting from the BJP in 1996, Vaghela floated his own private force called ‘Shakti Dal,’ which was disbanded after he joined the Congress party.