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A state long seen as a Left citadel, where the Left continues to retain a significant vote share despite its recent electoral defeat, also hosts one of the country’s largest networks of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shakhas, comparable to several Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) traces its presence in Kerala to 1942, when Dattopanth Thengadi was deputed to the southern state by M.S. Golwalkar. From those early moorings, the Sangh claims to have built a network of more than 5,000 shakhas across Kerala today. Yet, this formidable organisational spread has rarely translated into a sustained electoral presence for the BJP. Even as the party expanded dramatically across much of India over the past decade, Kerala, along with most South Indian states outside Karnataka, remained a striking exception. |
