Bengaluru: With the 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections still two years away, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has reportedly begun early groundwork aimed at strengthening the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) social base and expanding its outreach across the State.

RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr. Mohan Bhagwat, who has been in Bengaluru for the past five days, is learnt to have held a series of meetings with senior RSS leaders on organisational strategy and preparations for the next Assembly polls.

Sources said brainstorming sessions are underway at Channenahalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru, where top RSS functionaries are discussing ways to expand organisational activities and improve the BJP’s electoral prospects in Karnataka.

BJP leaders, however, have reportedly been kept away from the meetings.

Expanding voter base

According to sources, Dr. Bhagwat advised RSS workers to focus on steadily expanding the BJP’s vote base instead of concentrating only on elections. Strengthening the party’s social acceptance and grassroots outreach, he is believed to have said, would naturally improve its electoral prospects.

The RSS is also said to be keen on shedding the perception that the BJP is largely an upper-caste party. During the discussions, concerns were reportedly raised over what the organisation described as misinformation about inadequate representation for Dalit and marginalised communities within the RSS and BJP.

Sources said Dr. Mohan Bhagwat urged cadres to actively engage with Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and backward communities, particularly in reserved constituencies and counter such perceptions at the grassroots level.

Focus on backward communities

The RSS leadership is also understood to have stressed the need to build stronger ties with backward communities, which form a significant share of Karnataka’s population.

According to sources, the organisation believes many backward communities feel politically under-represented despite lacking adequate reservation benefits and independent political influence. RSS leaders are said to have urged cadres to emerge as a voice for these communities and intensify outreach efforts among them.

Sources said the RSS leadership reviewed how outreach to Dalit, backward and Adivasi communities influenced electoral outcomes in these States.

With Karnataka having a large backward community population, besides influential Lingayat and Vokkaliga voters, the RSS is said to be preparing a broader social outreach strategy ahead of the 2028 Assembly polls.

As part of the plan, Karnataka has reportedly been divided into three organisational regions: South, North and Karavali. Senior RSS leader Mukund has been entrusted with overseeing the implementation of the strategy.

Sources added that Na. Thippeswamy, G.S. Umapathy, Raghavendra Kagawada, Rajesh Padmar and Ekka Chandrashekar have been assigned key responsibilities.

Teams of around 60 members are also expected to function in every Assembly Constituency to coordinate with Dalit, backward and Adivasi leaders and regularly report developments to the                 RSS leadership.