Washington, May 7
The Bharatiya Janata Party's sweeping victory in West Bengal marks a decisive turning point in Indian politics, strengthens Prime Minister Narendra Modi nationally and internationally, and reflects the organisational depth built by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) over decades, noted American scholar Walter K. Andersen said in an exclusive interview with IANS.
Andersen, one of the world's foremost scholars on the RSS and co-author of landmark books on the organisation, said the BJP's rise in West Bengal was not a temporary electoral surge but the result of long-term groundwork, institutional expansion and political strategy.
"It was a terrific victory in West Bengal," Andersen said, pointing to the BJP's rapid rise in the state. "They went from, what, 77 seats… which was an increase from the previous time from three before that none. So, you know... they've obviously made a major impact within Bengal itself."
The Johns Hopkins University scholar argued that the BJP's success rested on three pillars: PM Modi's leadership, organisational infrastructure and anti-incumbency against outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
"They built an administrative structure in West Bengal," he said. "And something people often don't write about, and is, the RSS is relatively strong. They have 4,500 Shakas in West Bengal."
According to Andersen, the RSS network provided the BJP with an organisational advantage unmatched by any other political force in India.
"In fact, no other parties today in India have that kind of strong infrastructure they can rely on like the BJP," he said. "The shakas, the local units, when election time comes up, provide volunteers to bring out the vote and to pass out literature and provide a kind of infrastructure support for the BJP."
He said the BJP had particularly expanded its reach in tribal regions through sustained outreach programmes.
"They've made a focus on Northern West Bengal, which has the tribal area," Andersen said. "And the BJP did very well in the tribal area. And I think that's the consequence of the Van Ashram, which is their tribal group, which has been focusing a lot of effort in that area."
Andersen also highlighted the party's gains in Kerala and the broader south, areas traditionally seen as difficult terrain for the BJP.
"Kerala also has a strong RSS contingent," he said. "There are also something like 4,000 shakas in Kerala, and that gives the BJP an infrastructure."
While acknowledging the BJP remained weaker electorally in southern India, Andersen said the RSS had already laid substantial groundwork there.
"The south is where the BJP is weakest," he said. "It's not where the RSS is weakest, interestingly enough."
The scholar repeatedly stressed that the BJP's expansion could not be explained solely through Hindu nationalism.
"I don't agree with those who say, well, it's all Hindu nationalist," Andersen said. "No, there are other reasons as well that give it strength."
He argued that economic growth, governance and organisational discipline had become equally important political factors.
"It certainly has grown significantly in terms of economics," he said of India under the leadership of PM Modi. "You have a Prime Minister who is kind of pro-business and pro-economics."
Andersen described Home Minister Amit Shah as one of the central architects behind the BJP's electoral machinery and political expansion.
"He's clearly Modi's tough guy," Andersen said. "Not only is he a tough guy, but he's also a shrewd, tough guy."
The scholar said Shah's repeated visits to West Bengal and close management of candidate selection had played a major role in the outcome.
"He pays attention to what's happening," Andersen said. "He has a kind of sociological mind. You know what will win. And he goes after it."
Andersen said the electoral setback had significantly weakened Mamata Banerjee nationally and further fragmented the opposition.
"What does she bring to the group opposing the Prime Minister?" he asked. "That whole group has been weakened by these elections, and the Prime Minister has been strengthened."
He also pointed to what he described as the continuing decline of the Congress party and the Left.
"The big losers in this have been the Left in India," Andersen said. "The Left has collapsed in India."
According to him, the Congress leadership had failed to inspire confidence among voters.
"It doesn't seem to Congress, it doesn't seem to be stirring the same kind of support," he said.
Andersen said the Congress party's organisational weaknesses contrasted sharply with the BJP-RSS ecosystem.
"The RSS continues to support the BJP at least informally support the BJP," he said. "I think that is gonna be strengthened."
He noted that the RSS had evolved into a vast network of affiliated organisations dealing with labour, students, women, education and rural development.
"Almost every aspect of Indian society has a group which the RSS is focused on," Andersen said. "Labour, students, families and other things."
The veteran scholar rejected suggestions that the RSS functioned as a dictatorial or anti-democratic force.
"I haven't seen any of its leaders arguing that we need to eliminate all the opposition," he said. "I think that still, in a sense, you need to win the votes of the people."
He said one of the RSS's greatest strengths was its ability to mediate internal differences and maintain unity.
"It has had some people filtered away, but it hasn't had a single explosion from within," Andersen said. "And that's rather remarkable."
Andersen also spoke about the BJP's growing appeal among sections of Christians, tribals and even minority communities in parts of India.
"The BJP has also begun to establish groups that kind of focus on Christians," he said, referring particularly to outreach among Syrian Christians in Kerala.
He said the party's gains in the border districts of West Bengal suggested that sections of Muslim voters may also have shifted toward the BJP.
"The vote for the BJP went up in all of those, even though some of them had significant Muslim populations," Andersen said.
On India's international standing, Andersen argued that PM Modi's strengthened position would be closely watched in Washington and other global capitals.
"The Prime Minister has been strengthened," he said. "India has shown itself to be a stable democracy in an area that has a lot of instability."
He said the Trump administration was carefully following developments in India through diplomatic and intelligence channels.
Andersen added that US President Donald Trump had already recognised the significance of the BJP's victory.
"President Trump actually sent a note of congratulations to Modi about how well his party had done," he said. "Our president likes a winner, and Modi clearly is coming out as a winner."
Looking ahead to the 2029 general elections, Andersen said PM Modi remains firmly positioned as the BJP's undisputed leader.
"He certainly will be the leader of the BJP," Andersen said. "He certainly will want to be the Prime Minister."
He predicted the BJP could return with an even larger mandate if economic growth continued and the opposition remained divided.
"Will it get a majority on its own next time? I think the chances now are very good," he said.
Andersen has studied the RSS for nearly five decades and is widely regarded as one of the leading Western scholars on the organisation. He is Senior Adjunct Professor of South Asia Studies at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of The Brotherhood in Saffron and The RSS: A View to the Inside.
