Three-day meet of RSS ‘prant pracharaks’ begins in Ranchi; Assembly polls on radar, Sangh may loan workers to BJP

The three-day annual meeting of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) ‘prant pracharaks’ began here on Friday to deliberate on organisational expansion, upcoming centenary year celebrations and other issues.

Top RSS leaders including its chief Mohan Bhagwat, general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, national executive members and all ‘prant pracharaks’ are participating in the event, an office-bearer of the organisation was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The meeting will see key changes in the leadership of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in all states. The RSS may also assign its members to the BJP,  The Indian Express reported, quoting sources.

The meeting comes at a time when the BJP has returned to power at the Centre, albeit as the head of a coalition government. Assembly polls are due in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand this year where the INDIA bloc is expected to give the BJP a tough fight. The INDIA bloc won more seats than the NDA in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls 2024 in Maharashtra and Haryana.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda and party general secretary B L Santosh are also likely to attend the meeting.

Currently, there are 73,000 branches operational nationwide, with efforts underway to establish at least one branch in every ‘Mandal’ (a cluster of 10-15 villages) across the country, all-India publicity head of the RSS, Sunil Ambekar, said during a press conference on July 10.

Discussions on the upcoming centenary year (2025-26) celebrations of the RSS will also be held during the meeting. The organisation will complete 100 years on Vijayadashami in 2025, the office-bearer said.

The meeting will also address the travel plans of Bhagwat and other all-India office bearers for the year 2024-25, alongside the implementation of various organisational plans for the upcoming year.

Prant pracharaks, who oversee the Sangh’s 46 organisational provinces, are full-time RSS workers participating in the discussions. The meeting is scheduled to conclude on July 14 evening.