Celebrations at the BJP’s UP headquarters in Lucknow after the unprecedented victory in the assembly election, Saturday. Tashi Tobgyal Celebrations at the BJP’s UP headquarters in Lucknow after the unprecedented victory in the assembly election, Saturday. Tashi Tobgyal

The BJP’s massive victory in the UP elections has been followed by the RSS registering its highest growth ever. Within a fortnight of the March 11 result, the Sangh saw a flood of online applications seeking entry. Sangh records accessed by The Indian Express show it received 22,432 online applications between March 16 and March 31, a fortnightly record so far. Of these, 8,919 applications, or over a third, were from UP and 1,680 from Delhi. From April 1 to April 15, the Sangh received 9,205 online applications, of which 2,778 were from UP.

“This is the highest growth we have ever achieved. This is just online. Add to this those who joined us through efforts of swayamsevaks at the shakha level and this growth is phenomenal,” said a senior RSS functionary. For the last three years, since Narendra Modi became PM, the Sangh has received around 7,000 applications a month. In the month since Adityanath’s appointment, said a Sangh leader, it has received 31,637 applications, over four times the surge recorded after Modi’s election. From January 1 to March 31, it has received 41,134 applications.

This year, the Sangh also registered a record growth in West Bengal, where it received 3,422 applications from January 1 to April 15. The RSS has divided West Bengal into two prants (states) — uttar (north) and dakshin (south). “We are growing fast in Bengal. Our central body passed a resolution on Bengal this year,” said the leader, underlining expansion plans in the state.

With the Sangh receiving a modest 28,424 applications in 2013, its first major push came after the 2014 Lok Sabha results, when it saw a sudden spike in applications, receiving 97,047 of them that year, followed by 81,620 in 2015 and 84,941 in 2016. This year, it has already got 50,339 applications until April 15.

“Our popularity is increasing across states — Kerala, the Northeast and Bengal. This confirms that people are accepting our ideology and work,” said a leader.

At present, the RSS holds 57,233 shakhas across the country, besides smaller units of milans (14,650) and mandalis (7,790). In terms of shakhas, the Sangh had registered its highest growth in 2015-16. The year saw 5,527 new shakhas at 3,644 places across the country.

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