K.H. Hedgewar founded the (RSS) on the Vijaya Dashami day at Nagpur in 1925 ... The RSS saw parliamentary democracy as a corrupting influence. For Golwalkar the state as an instrument for social transformation was severely inadequate. Soon after the first ban on the RSS was lifted in 1949, a debate started in the organisation on the desirability of participating in the first general election.
"We will be as corrupt as the Congressmen if we become part of the system," Golwalkar, the RSS chief at that time, said addressing a meeting of the Swayamsevaks in Uttar Pradesh.
However, one section in the sangh argued that they needed a voice inside Parliament so that their viewpoints could be defended against attacks by others. That is how the Bharatiya Jan Sangh was created and it contested the elections in 1952.
It is interesting that the RSS did not back the Hindu Mahasabha, an existing political entity, and instead decided to set up its own political wing. Apart from Golwalkar's differences with the political line of V.D Savarkar, implicit in the creation of the Jan Sangh was an admission that while coming to electoral politics a secular facade was needed. ...
The party which was born with an enormous amount of self-doubt and cynicism about its role in the system, has travelled a long way and replaced the Congress as the mainstream of Indian politics. From 3 in 1952, the party emerged as the single largest party in 1996 with a tally of 161 seats ...
... For the BJP the turning point, it now appears, was 1986-87. Soon after the historic low of 2 Lok Sabha seats in 1984, the BJP began to look for a distinctive plank, an issue that would help it carve out some space it could call its own.
The unlocking of the Babri Masjid provided the BJP with such an issue. The Congress had still clung on to the issues of development and stability, V.P. Singh hit the road riding the anti-corruption bandwagon. The BJP's championing of the temple cause helped it create a new constituency, spread its support base. It was reflected in the 1989 election results, from two the party fortunes soared to 86 seats and 11.5 per cent votes.
Even when the Hindutva rage was on, V.P. Singh brought a new element into Indian politics by announcing his decision to implement the Mandal Commission report. Unfazed by the move, the BJP, lang perceived as the political platform of the upper castes, did not hesitate to embrace Mandal and overnight promoted a large number of Backward Caste functionaries in the party to prominent positions.
The same party in 1996 played down its temple appeal and tried to occupy the space being vacated by the Congress. It projected itself as a responsible, mainstream party ready to grapple with the national issues. And in 1998 it gave a call for stability and efficiency - issues so close to the Congress heart for such a long-time. The party ... today in charge of the ... South Block. (Source: The Times of India, 2 April, 1998)
