What do the Left parties have in common with their bête noire, the BJP? Cadre. The BJP’s dedicated cadre comes from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS ), the ideological fountainhead and command centre for a host of Hindutva organisations ranging from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal to the Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra and the Saraswati Shishu Mandirs. The number of foot soldiers these organisations can deploy for the painstaking task of getting the voters out on polling day is huge and represents an enormous force multiplier for the BJP The only other party that can boast of a similar set of dedicated volunteers is the Aam Aadmi Party , which has inspired many — young and old, professionals as well as unemployed youngsters, working women and housewives — to take time out to work for the new party they hope will transform the political landscape. Things are quite different for the Congress Congress netas are ubiquitous: they lurk about the corridors of power always on the lookout for the main chance. But party workers, of the kind who wear out their shoes trudging from house to house, are as plentiful as the one-horned rhino in normal times. But come elections, they swarm the party office. This makes it difficult for the party to maintain constant communication with the voters and deliver the party’s message in a consistent fashion. Nor do these seasonal workers carry the kind of credibility that marks genuine volunteers who work primarily out of commitment.The RSS, says a story in this newspaper, is worried that the BJP has taken the opinion polls, which sample some 80 people on average per constituency of a million people, a little too seriously and turned complacent. As it had in 2004. Hence, the call to its cadre to fan out to seek votes for Modi.