SANGH’S EXPANSION IN WEST BENGAL

The Sangh Parivar (literally, family of organisations) is the term for the group of parties and associations that are either part of or draw upon the founding ideology of the right-wing Hindu body, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) In West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party has gone from being a marginal force in 2011 to a strong challenger to current chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress Erosion in the Left and Congress support bases are helping the BJP get non-Trinamool Congress voters into their fold One of the means of expanding their base is organising large religious processions. The Ganesh festival, not traditionally celebrated in the state, is now a big deal too, says political analyst Subroto Moitra.