With more than a year to go for the 2026 Assembly elections, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has already intensified its efforts in West Bengal. This comes soon after securing consecutive electoral victories in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi for the saffron unit.
The Sangh aims to double its presence in the state before the 2026 elections. The RSS has reportedly grown its branches from around 530 to over 2,500 in the past 14 years, sources said. This expansion is not merely numerical; it’s about embedding the RSS’s ethos in Bengal’s socio-political fabric.
Sources stated that one of the RSS’s primary strategies in West Bengal is expanding its grassroots network. The organization has historically had a limited presence in the state compared to northern and western India, where its Hindutva ideology has deeper roots. However, recent years have seen a significant push to increase the number of shakhas across Bengal.
With the RSS playing a pivotal role in shaping the BJP’s electoral strategies, the organization has also ramped up its organizational and ideological outreach to the voters.
A stronghold of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) under Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal represents a critical battleground for the BJP, which seeks to expand its influence in eastern India.
The RSS’s relationship with the BJP in West Bengal has faced challenges, notably a lack of coordination that contributed to the BJP’s reduced tally of 12 Lok Sabha seats in 2024, down from 18 in 2019.
To address this, the RSS has initiated high-level “samanvay baithaks” (coordination meetings) with BJP leaders and its affiliate organizations. A two-day meeting in Howrah, concluded on March 2, 2025, and focused on finding ways to counter TMC’s dominance.
Sources indicate the RSS urged its affiliates to lean on its basic Hindutva ideology and “safeguard the Hindu homeland,” signalling a proactive role in shaping the BJP’s campaign narrative.
Central to the RSS’s efforts is promoting a Hindutva-centric narrative tailored to Bengal’s demographics and recent events. The organization has seized on incidents like the alleged atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh to argue that Bengal’s Hindu identity is under threat.
Mohan Bhagwat’s 11-day visit to Bengal in February 2025 emphasized uniting Hindu society. By framing the BJP as the protector of Hindu interests against TMC’s perceived “appeasement” policies, the RSS seeks to shift voter sentiment.
This coordination is crucial as the BJP prepares for 2026. The RSS aims to bridge internal factionalism within the Bengal BJP—between original leaders and newer Trinamool turncoats like Suvendu Adhikari—ensuring a cohesive strategy. The RSS is also laying the groundwork for electoral success by influencing BJP’s leadership and strategy.
By doubling its presence, aligning with the BJP, and pushing a Hindutva narrative, the RSS aims to erode TMC’s stronghold by 2026. Whether this translates into electoral success depends on how Bengal’s voters—steeped in a legacy of secularism and regional pride—respond to this saffron surge.
