Bhagwat wants to keep Modi under check, says new biography

New Delhi: A new biography of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat by Kingshuk Nag argues that the BJP coasted to power in 2014 only because of the RSS and if it does win in 2019, that too, will be because of the RSS.

In 'Mohan Bhagwat: Influencer-in-Chief', biographer Kingshuk Nag, who has authored eight previous books, including a biography of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, contends that "Modi's future is in Bhagwat's hands".

The author, quoting sources from the top echelons of the Sangh, writes that the RSS 'seriously believes' that it was neither Modi's popularity, nor the UPA's goof-ups that brought the BJP to power.

"Rather, it is the social change wrought by the continual work done by the RSS over years that created an environment conducive for the BJP. This being the case, Bhagwat believes in keeping Modi under check," says the book from Rupa publications.

"Though things might be different in 2019, Modi was not Bhagwat's first choice for the 2014 elections. Modi was promoted as the BJP's prime-ministerial candidate by the RSS only after the realisation that he was the only man in the party who could possibly lead them to victory. Before the 2014 elections, the RSS seriously doubted that the BJP would win a clear victory but the performance exceeded their most optimistic expectations," the author notes in the 240-page book.

Nag says that if it was "a do or die battle for Modi, it was the same for Bhagwat" but the reasons were different.

"For Modi, it would be the crowning glory of his political career and ambitions, but for Bhagwat it was a necessary (but not sufficient) condition to create a Hindu Rashtra."