Mohan Bhagwat Gives Voters Check-List for 2019, But Doesn't Want Them to Pick NOTA

New Delhi: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat delivered a politically charged Vijayadashami speech on Thursday, the last before the Assembly and Lok Sabha battles, urging citizens to vote in full strength against those want to “break India".

In his speech, considered to be a policy document for RSS cadre, Bhagwat also appealed to all Sangh workers, the swayamsevaks, to see to it that 100% voters turn up during polls and vote for those working for “national integration".

“Five-yearly elections are approaching. In a way, through this right, we become kings but only for a day — when we vote. But, we also know that the decision we make on that single day of the election makes us bear the brunt sometimes for the rest of our lives. Voters will have to rise above self, parochial feelings, petty egos of caste, language and provincial affiliations, keeping in mind that the national interest is supreme," Bhagwat said at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur.

Bhagwat also called upon voters to vote for the party “which knows India and whom India knows". “We have to see who is best for India. Kaun hai jo Bharat ke akhand ekatmiyata ke liye kaam karega, aur kaun hai jo swarth ke liye Bharat ke tukde karne se bhi peeche nahi hatega (Who will work for national integration, and who will, for their personal gains, not even desist from breaking India apart]," the RSS chief said.

The Sangh chief suffixed his appeal by saying this is what the Election Commission of India also recommends. “For all this to happen," Bhagwat added, “RSS workers will have to put in their efforts… swayamsevaks keep making such efforts (to bring in the party that works for national interests). They will do the same this time as well."

Bhagwat also warned voters against press the button for the None of the Above Option (NOTA) on EVMs. “None of the parties has all the virtues (working for national interest, being 100% transparent etc). So all I’m saying is choose the best available… If you opt for NOTA, you will lend support to the party which will work against national interest. So voting NOTA will be like choosing the worst available. Don’t take such suicidal step," he added.

The BJP is likely to have a tough fight on its hands in the five states where polling is due in the upcoming weeks — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Telangana — before the general polls scheduled later next year.