After crisscrossing the noisy lanes and bylanes that lead to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur’s Mahal area, an unusual quietness awaits inside the heavily guarded structure bathed in bright sunshine. Across the sprawling precinct where RSS sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat resides, life on a Friday morning is anything but routine.

As the political campaign outside continues at a fever pitch — the city is dotted with multicoloured posters of parties vying for public attention; minivans and auto rickshaws wheeling across the streets with loudspeakers blaring out the message of the parties that have hired them, and sometimes campaign songs. Amid this hubbub, the RSS presence on the ground is not conspicuous. Neither are there posters nor are groups of swayamsevaks, clad in their traditional “ganvesh (uniform)”, canvassing for the BJP. But, both the BJP and Sangh insiders said swayamsevaks were going door to door across the state to convince voters to back the ruling Mahayuti alliance of which the BJP is a part.

“The RSS decision to play a proactive role in Maharashtra Assembly elections was part of meticulous planning keeping in sight the larger aspects and concerns confronting the Hindu society and its people. Unlike in the past, this time the campaign is rigorous where individual swayamsevaks in smaller groups are reaching out to people across segments with an appeal not only to ensure 100% voting but also how and whom they vote,” said an RSS functionary who did not wish to be named.

A divide between the Sangh and the BJP came to light during the Lok Sabha elections, with the Sangh said to have been unhappy with BJP president J P Nadda’s statement during an interview to The Indian Express that the party was capable of running itself and did not require the RSS as much as it did earlier. A lack of coordination was blamed for the party’s performance in the elections in which its tally dropped from 303 to 240. Among the states where the BJP suffered a setback was Maharashtra where it won only 9 seats.

Looking to course-correct, the BJP increased coordination with the Sangh, with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis leading the efforts. BJP insiders said Fadnavis held at least half a dozen meetings with the Sangh leadership to draw a road map complete with the agenda for the Assembly polls. The RSS deployed its cadre in seats where the party finds itself on the back foot. “A mechanism has been in place where regular inputs between the BJP and RSS are being shared daily along with course-corrective measures,” said a source in the BJP.

“The RSS and the BJP are two different organisations with different roles,” said an RSS functionary. “Though our affiliation is for each other as we share a common ideology, we do not tell the BJP whom to give tickets in the elections and they cannot dictate terms to the RSS.”

Another RSS leader said, “There is a clear distinction between the BJP and RSS’s styles of working. Our swayamsevaks are not holding any public rallies or appealing to the masses to vote for certain candidates. The RSS in its characteristic style has activated its network to create awareness amongst people on crucial issues that are threatening the unity of Hindus. Our goal is to unite a strong Hindu Rashtra that will cater to the welfare of every individual rising above caste, community, and religion.”

This emphasis on Hindu unity has been reflected in the BJP’s campaign rhetoric, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi using the slogan “ek hai toh safe hai (Together, we are safe)” in his appeal to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Dalits, and Scheduled Tribes (STs) to guard against what it sees as the Congress’s divisive agenda. On the campaign trail, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also warned voters, telling them, “Batenge toh katenge (divided we fall).”

During the Lok Sabha polls, the “Save the Constitution” narrative of the Opposition saw a significant number of Dalits shift towards the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s demand for reservation for the community also dented the ruling Mahayuti alliance. The consolidation of Muslim votes behind the MVA has also resulted in the BJP alleging “vote jihad”.

“In the Lok Sabha polls we have all seen how dangerously the consolidation of caste and religion have taken place which was detrimental for the society at large,” said an RSS leader. “Our role is to impress upon the people the dangers of such consolidation that not only leave Hindus divided but also vulnerable. The underlying theme in the RSS campaign is, that Hindus should rise to the challenges and put up a united front to defeat the designs of those trying to gain dominance over the majority in Maharashtra.”

In a recent interview to The Indian Express, referring to the Sangh Parivar’s role in the campaign, Fadnavis said, “We appealed to organisations working under our ideological umbrella that if you don’t have to come into politics, don’t come, but nationalist forces will have to respond to anarchist forces and you will have to talk against anarchy. Today, they have helped us and because of their help, they have countered the Bharat Jodo narrative of the anarchist forces. It started immediately after the Lok Sabha results in June. We kept meeting with them but this time we made a special appeal to the nationalist forces.”