The Sangh will rope in youths from Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya to connect with students in bigger cities. (Image for representation)

While the BJP scripted a historic performance last week in the Northeast elections, sources say much of the credit goes to its ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for its outreach programme aimed at lakhs of students from the region across the country.

Buoyed by the massive expansion of the Sangh in the northeastern states that essentially won the BJP youth support, the RSS will further intensify its spread in campuses and hostels in every nook and corner particularly in educational hubs such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Pune.

In the run-up to the assembly polls in Tripura, Nagaland, and Meghalaya, the RSS mobilised its cadre to visit campuses and hostels to connect to north-eastern students.

A large number of first-time voters in the three states were associated with the ideology that helped the BJP gain a strong foothold in these states. In Tripura, there were 47,000 first-time voters while in Meghalaya and Nagaland, this number stood at 45,000 and 26,000.

Sunil Deodhar, RSS Tripura in-charge since 2014, said during the last three years the Sangh launched massive student outreach programmes.

We visited hostels in major cities and connected to the northeastern students. The youth easily connected to the issues of resentment over unemployment, crime, and crumbling infrastructure. This helped us create a new BJP structure in the Northeast to take on the Left rule, Deodhar said after BJPs landmark show.

PROMOTING IDEOLOGY

Another functionary of RSS said a number of educational and sports programmes were rolled out for tribal youths. Many of them were sent to various events held outside the state.

In January, the RSS organised a mass contact and expansion programme in Assam which was named Lui Poria (sons of Brahmaputra). While the focus area was Assam, people from villages and cities from all the eight northeastern states joined it.

With the political fight in Karnataka scheduled for April-May, the RSS will target colleges and educational institutions in the state. Bengaluru has a large population of northeastern students whom the Sangh is seeking to associate with its ideology.

It may be noted that in 2012, a large number of northeastern students had to flee the city after hate attacks. Sources say even then RSS workers stood in support of the community and urged them to stay back.

Similarly, with the admission session soon to start in Delhi University, RSS student wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) will reach out to northeastern students in every part of the national Capital. The idea is to instill a sense of integration and social security among the Northeastern communities who often face discrimination and are subject to attacks.

The Sangh will also rope in youths from states such as Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya to connect the students in bigger cities with its ideology. These northeastern youth will share their experience of association with the Sangh and its agenda of nationalism.

At the same time, they will narrate their story of change in the state to northeastern students living away from their homes. Senior functionaries of RSS told Mail Today that a number of Sangh wings and affiliated organisations are closely involved with the expansion programme.

In northeastern states, organisations such as Ekal Vidyalaya, Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram, Rashtra Sevika Samiti and Vivekananda Kendra reached out to tribal youths and the exercise gained momentum during the last three years. Deodhars experience of teaching in schools also came as an advantage as he connected to the students.

The Sangh believes in one nation, one culture. Connecting northeastern communities with the mainstream and bridging the communication gap has been the prime objective of the RSS and its affiliates. Students Experience in Inter-state Living (SEIL) is one such initiative by the ABVP which has yielded positive results, said Rajiv Tuli, RSS Delhis Prachar Pramukh.

He said SEIL aims to forge a sense of belongingness and self-realisation of cultural similarities among the youth with a more practical approach towards national integration.

Through Yuva Vikas Kendra and other organisations, efforts are being made to bring together divergent lifestyles particularly of our border area people and other parts of the nation. The idea is to establish a cultural rapport and to provide opportunities to the youth of the country to experience art and culture of the northeastern region, Tuli said.

Also watch - Sunil Deodhar, architect of BJP's win, reveals how party took Tripura from Left