By Deepak Karthik, Ram Sundaram

For decades, Tamil Nadu politics has remained a duopoly, dominated by DMK and AIADMK, parties with roots in the shared ideology of Dravidam. BJP, with its Hindutva-oriented nationalism, has struggled to gain a foothold here, but the state remains one of its weakest grounds.

Now in its 100th year, RSS, the head of the family of more than 50 organisations of which BJP is one, is hoping to change that. As Tamil Nadu heads into an assembly election, the political contest could shape up as a four-cornered fight. Ideologically, however, the contest is down to three —Dravidam, nationalism centred on Hindutva, and Tamil nationalism. Newer entrants such as the TVK draw from Dravidam and Tamil nationalism, while positioning Hindutva as the ideological adversary. While voices confronting Hindutva have grown louder in Tamil Nadu, RSS has continued to make steady inroads, often away from the spotlight.

Now, the ‘sangh’ has adopted a twin strategy to build on its ideological base and help expand BJP’s political base. And BJP, especially its ‘Yuva Morcha’ (youth wing), is eager to work closely with the ideological parent. At a recent zonal-level meeting in Trichy, BJP youth wing president S G Suryah asked functionaries to attend RSS camps.

“I attended an RSS ‘shakha’ in Coimbatore when I was seven and learned a lot. All our district-level functionaries in the youth wing must attend these camps,” Suryah said.

BJP now plans to send its functionaries for a week-long RSS training programme later this month. These ‘prathamik’ camps include lectures on nationalism and organisational discipline.“RSS is to BJP what Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) is to DMK,” says Aseervatham Achary, BJP’s national coordinator (documentation and library).

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, who was in Chennai recently, said the organisation’s centenary outreach is aimed at presenting its work “authentically and factually” to the public, as perceptions about the organisation were formed by secondary sources rather than direct engagement.

This story was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Read the full story here.