RSS Dussehra event to have dalit as chief guest

New Delhi: In a move to consolidate the dalit votebank, the RSS has decided to invite a dalit religious leader, Baba Nirmal Das, to be chief guest at its annual mega event “Vijayadashmi Utsav” on September 30 in Nagpur.

The Dussehra function is significant in the RSS' yearly calendar as the organisation was established on Vijayadashami in 1925 and the “Sarsanghchalak” or the RSS chief addresses a gathering of workers to mark the day.

“Baba Nirmal Das, head of Sri Guru Ravidass Sadhu Sampraday Society in Jalandhar, will be the chief guest at this year's Vijayadashmi Utsav,” RSS prachar pramukh Manmohan Vaidya said.

In his Vijaydashmi speech, the RSS chief puts forth the organisation's views on various relevant issues and also sets its agenda for the next year.

Ahead of this, the RSS' national executive, also known as the “Deepawali Baithak”, will meet in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, from October 12.

Sangh parivar top brass, including senior leaders of its affiliates, will attend this meeting.

Speculation is rife that the RSS could decide deputing some more of its “pracharaks (volunteers)” to the BJP, as it prepares for the coming electoral battle in key states, including in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, among others. Speculation is also rife that an RSS pracharak could also take charge of the “vistaraks (part-time volunteers)” which the BJP has roped in ahead of the 2019 electoral battle. With RSS’s second-in-command Bhaiyya Joshi not keeping well, there are rumours that the RSS top brass could also discuss whether or not to relieve him.

Satyaprakash Rai, the head of RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Safai Mazdoor Sangh, was the chief guest last year. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who is also an MP from Nagpur, are also expected to attend the event.