NEW DELHI: The BJP will have a new RSS member among its office-bearers. The RSS, the ideological mentor to the BJP, has on Monday deputed its media-savvy spokesperson Ram Madhav to join politics.
“However, the party will decide on Madhav’s role in the political organisation,” both the BJP and RSS sources said. Madhav, a prominent face in TV news debates, has often been sent by the RSS to defend itself and to put forth the organisation’s point of view on national affairs from time to time.
The 49-year-old RSS man is expected to get a key position in the BJP, most likely as its general secretary, in the coming shake-up in the organisation. The reshuffle had been necessitated after the formation of the BJP Government at the Centre under the leadership of Narendra Modi and several top leaders from the party joining the government as ministers. BJP president Rajnath Singh, who is the Home Minister in the Modi Government, is likely to relinquish his post soon, paving the way for a new party president to be in place, mostly likely after the Budget session of Parliament.
According to party sources, Modi’s key aide Amit Shah is the front runner to take over as party president from Rajnath and in such a scenario, his position may go to Madhav. The decision to send Madhav to the BJP was taken at a recently concluded RSS meeting in MP. Sources said Madhav, who was till now a member of its national executive, has been sent to the BJP along with a few other ‘pracharaks’, including Shiv Prakash, to take care of organisational work.