Decline of caste: Proximity to Modi and RSS matters more in Haryana and Maharashtra CM stakes

With the anointment of dyed-in-the-wool RSS pracharak Manohar Lal Khattar as the BJP chief minister of Haryana, it is clear that RSS has a strong presence in the new Modi-led dispensation. This is not surprising given the extensive campaigning carried out by last-mile RSS workers not only in the general elections but also to an extent during assembly polls. Lacking cadre of its own BJP is crucially reliant on the extensive Sangh network on the ground. Even in Maharashtra two possible contenders for the chief minister’s post, Devendra Fadnavis and Nitin Gadkari, are lifelong RSS members and enjoy the confidence of the RSS leadership.

That Khattar is not only a pracharak but also a close associate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself is an important reason for his ascent. It also reveals changing power equations within Haryana. Khattar is a non-Jat in a state where Jats have held the reins of power since the birth of Haryana – barring the 15-year Bhajan Lal interregnum – a reflection of the extensive mobilisation of non-Jats and dalits by BJP and Sangh volunteers in the state.

Unlike in Haryana where the power game was relatively easy, kaun banega mukhya mantri is trickier in Maharashtra – perhaps because BJP has to take other parties along in the latter state. Devendra Fadnavis, 44-year-old state BJP president, represents the party’s younger generation and faces resistance from the old guard. Like Khattar, he is seen as a faction-neutral performer who’s given to plainspeak, instead of being a wheeler-dealer.

But he’s facing a challenge from Nitin Gadkari – who’s seen as a wheeler-dealer besides being a blue-eyed boy of RSS for years. The RSS leadership had even expressed some disapproval when he was removed as BJP president on allegations of corruption. Interestingly both Fadnavis and Gadkari are Brahmins in a state where upper castes have never really secured power and where chief ministers have mostly been Marathas. Both in Haryana and Maharashtra, it is evident that the importance of caste is sharply declining and matters far less in a party where a better barometer of influence is proximity to Modi.