At a time when the Left has locked horns with the UPA government over the nuclear deal, the RSS has taken a strategic decision of “phased withdrawal” from the day-to-day affairs of the BJP leaving decision-making primarily with the triumvirate of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani and party president Rajnath Singh, in that order.

Also, keeping the Gujarat Assembly elections later this year in mind and the growing dissension within the party, the RSS has directed mobilization of its cadres in support of Narendra Modi.

These decisions were communicated to Advani at a meeting this month with RSS general secretary Mohan Bhagwat, joint general secretary Madan Das Devi and Suresh Soni, Joint General Secretary and the liaison man between the Sangh Parivar and the BJP.

According to the RSS leadership, the Sangh wants to opt out of “micro-management” of the BJP as has been the case since the appointment of Rajnath Singh as party president.

In fact, the RSS has signalled to the BJP leadership that it will not have any objections if “Sangathan (organization) mantris” who have seeped into BJP’s day-to-day affairs right from the district level are gradually replaced.

The top BJP leadership confirms the crucial steps except that Advani wants the Sangh to go public with this shift.

For, it was the RSS that forced Advani to take a backseat after his Jinnah remarks.

When contacted, Bhagwat declined to comment but a senior RSS functionary said: “Once the Sangh has taken the decision to withdraw from politics, do not drag us back by asking us for a reaction to these directives.”

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