NEW DELHI — As India prepares for an intense election battle, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right-wing, paramilitary, volunteer Hindu nationalist group, is leaving no stones unturned to ensure a spectacular victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the country. The RSS, which has so far remained content pulling the BJP's strings, is now shedding its reticence and coming out openly to rally behind the BJP “in national interest”. The organization, known for its committed cadre base, is galvanising its members into action, getting them to reach out to potential BJP voters and ensure they reach the booth on election day. Shailendra, a RSS volunteer, says, “Other than Sharad Pawar's idea (of wiping off the indelible ink and voting again), we will do everything to increase the voting percentage. The strategy has been meticulously chalked out across the RSS' 44,982 blocks throughout the country. Districts have been divided into nagars and bastis (settlements). Each nagar has around 10 bastis, with about 10,000 families in each basti. A team of 10 volunteers is deployed for each neighborhood. Each of these volunteers goes door to door with the voter list and updates it. On his way out, he leaves behind a copy of the local RSS magazine, such as Rashtradeo in western Uttar Pradesh.
