NO ONE CAN IDENTIFY THE PERSON

NO ONE CAN IDENTIFY THE PERSON

28-MAY-ENG 2

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA--------------------------I wager that, without having read this article, it is highly unlikely that anyone would know who he is! Before I introduce him and describe his work, I have a question for you: Do you believe that the BJP’s victory in West Bengal was achieved through merely four days of hard work?

Do you think the BJP wins solely on the strength of rallies held by prominent leaders like Modi, Yogi, and Amit Shah? Or—as the opposition claims—does the BJP owe its victories to the Election Commission, the ED, the CBI, and the EVMs? Or is there something else entirely—individuals who quietly serve as the foundational stones upon which the edifice of the BJP's victory is built?

There are hundreds of thousands of people eager to pose for photographs after a victory—waving flags and bursting firecrackers—but those who spend ten years standing atop a powder keg, laying the very foundation of that victory through their own struggles, rarely ever make it into the pictures! We, as a society, crave credit even for five minutes of work; yet, men like him never pause to seek recognition—once a mission is accomplished, they simply move on to the next one!

So, I thought to myself: why not shine a spotlight on one such unsung "stone" hidden beneath the edifice of the BJP's victory in Bengal? ?

You might be surprised to learn that the man behind the late former President Pranab Da’s attendance at the RSS event in Nagpur in 2018 was an unsung—yet formidable—RSS *Pracharak* (full-time worker). His name is Ramchandra Pandey.

Pranab Da—the most prominent Congress figure hailing from Bengal—making that journey to Nagpur lit a spark of trust toward the RSS and the BJP within the Bengali *Bhadralok* (the cultured middle class)—a demographic that had historically been dominated by Leftist ideology!

While there are, of course, many architects behind the BJP's victory in Bengal, the world typically only recognizes those who operate on the front lines. Pandey Ji’s name, however, remains as obscure today as it was in the past. Yet, consider this testament to his significance: it was Ramchandra Ji who first inducted the current Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh, into the organizational fold—appointing him as the RSS *Zila Karyavah* (District Secretary) in Mirzapur—thereby launching his active career within the organizational system.

Now, let us turn our attention to his contributions in Bengal. Following the 2016 Assembly elections, the RSS established Kolkata as the central hub for this veteran *Pracharak* (full-time campaigner) and entrusted him with the command to keep the organization across the entire state in top operational order. This man was Ramchandra Pandey, who began the task of connecting the scattered links of BJP and Sangh workers—often hidden among the general populace—spanning from Siliguri to Bardhaman and Asansol, and from the narrow lanes of Kolkata to the districts of Murshidabad and Malda. He reached out to individuals within the Congress, the TMC, and the Left who, disillusioned by the plight of Bengal, had grown discontented with their own organizations. Employing his sharp intellect, Ramchandra Pandey established connections ranging from Suvendu Adhikari—one of the most vocal figures within the TMC—to Manoj Kumar, a key contact of 'Pranab Da' (former President Pranab Mukherjee). He went so far as to facilitate former President Pranab Mukherjee's attendance at an RSS event in Nagpur, thereby instilling a profound sense of trust and reassurance regarding the RSS and the BJP among Bengal's *Bhadralok* (elite gentry) as well as the cadres of the Congress and the Left. It was during this period that the blueprint for the future of Bengal was, in essence, crafted through Ramchandra Pandey's extensive network of contacts. The RSS headquarters in Nagpur brought this entire endeavor to fruition, leveraging the connections cultivated by Ramchandra Pandey.

Ramchandra Pandey is no ordinary name. In 1967—the very year Modi *Ji* embarked on his life as a *Pracharak*—Ramchandra Pandey bade farewell to his ancestral village in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh. He came into contact with Prof. Rajendra Singh and, from that moment on, dedicated his entire existence to the RSS. From 1967 to 2000—a span of 33 years—Ramchandra Pandey devoted the prime of his youth to strengthening the RSS across regions ranging from Eastern UP to Awadh, Bundelkhand, and beyond. Indeed, numerous Organizational General Secretaries of the BJP have been trained under Ramchandra Pandey's mentorship.

Even today, Ramchandra *Ji* continues to live a life of anonymity. He makes do with just two pairs of clothes to last him the entire year. His humble footwear and his indomitable will to remain constantly on the move have positioned him as the most grassroots-level figure among all RSS *Pracharaks*. There is scarcely a lane in Kolkata—nor the home of any RSS or veteran BJP worker—where Ramchandra Pandey has not stayed or held a meeting. In this endeavor, an entire brigade of young RSS *Pracharaks* (propagators) worked tirelessly, day and night, in close coordination with him. He serves as the national guiding director for the RSS team of *Ghoshvadaks* (band players). Moreover—if anyone played the most pivotal role in grooming the vast majority of RSS workers across the Awadh, Gorakhpur, Kashi, and Bundelkhand regions of Uttar Pradesh—it was Ramchandra Ji Pandey, during the period spanning from 1967 to 2000.

Sources indicate that within the BJP—from the selection of leaders to the allocation of election tickets—Ramchandra Pandey meticulously hand-picked young individuals to bring them to the forefront, while simultaneously providing accurate and vital intelligence to the central leadership. Over the past decade, Ramchandra Pandey has scoured every single nook and cranny of West Bengal. It is, in part, on the strength of such dedicated RSS workers that the BJP has successfully ushered in a wave of change in Bengal.

This is not a success achieved overnight; rather, it is the culmination of ten years of silent, arduous penance—a labor of devotion undertaken door-to-door, amidst the most adverse circumstances in Bengal, by thousands of young *Sangh* and BJP workers under the leadership of Ramchandra Ji Pandey! I offer my repeated and humble salutations to such unsung Sanatani warriors!