New Delhi: A former RSS pracharak, Sunil Deodhar, is the man who diligently planned and meticulously implemented the BJP’s election strategies in Tripura where the saffron party demolished the last standing citadel of the Left.
The trio of Mr Deodhar, who is BJP’s incharge of Tripura, along with the party’s Northeast incharge Ram Madhav and Northeast Democratic Alliance convener Himanta Biswa Sarma, not just scripted the campaign in such a manner that the BJP, which never had any representation in the state Assembly or was not even considered as a political force, managed to form its first government. Madhav himself is an RSS man.
A Maharashtrian, who had extensively worked in the region, Mr Deodhar got associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the 1980s and later got involved with the BJP. He was appointed as the state incharge in 2014 by party president Amit Shah.
Tripura, like many of the tribal dominated states, has been an active workground of the RSS and its many affiliates, including the Sewa Bharti and the Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram that had been working in the region for more than four decades.
Sewa Bharti alone is running more than 250 projects in the region. Though the RSS has a strong network in the region, its political wing, the BJP, was never considered as a credible alternative until now.
Also, Mr Modi’s “Act East” policy also made sure that the BJP was seen as a political alternative to reckon with, in the region.
BJP president Amit Shah’s unrelenting efforts and his focus on strengthening the organisation till the booth level made sure that the party not only got winnable candidates but also found a dedicated work force in the region, in particular in Tripura.
Most of the RSS leadership, including its supremo Mohan Bhagwat, had camped in Tripura recently, though these visits were scheduled months back. In fact, it was Mr Deodhar, who had suggested the name of Biplab Deb to the party leadership for the post of party’s Tripura unit chief.
Speculation has been rife that Mr Deb could be the chief minister of BJP’s first government in the state.
