Four months after the Bharatiya Janata Party formed its first government in West Bengal, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has reported a sharp expansion of its grassroots network in the state. Functionaries say daily, weekly and monthly units that numbered about 5,000 before the May results are on course to reach 10,000 by Mahalaya on October 10.
The organisation is also preparing to inaugurate a new five-storey building, Keshav Smriti, in New Town on 26 September. The facility is intended to ease pressure on Keshav Bhavan, the long-standing state headquarters on Beadon Street in Maniktala, which has been in use since 1989.
“The Sangh and its operations have been expanding rapidly in Bengal. There were around 5,000 shakhas across the state before May. The count will reach 10,000 by Mahalaya,” Biplab Roy, RSS prachar pramukh for south Bengal, said. “Public participation is growing steadily and there is not enough space at Keshav Bhavan. We need a larger office. Keshav Bhavan will remain our primary headquarters. The new building will be an additional facility.”
Seniors from the organisation, including sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat and sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, are expected at the inauguration. A puja was scheduled at the new premises on Wednesday.
Officials said Keshav Smriti will serve as headquarters for the eastern division of Bengal, while Keshav Bhavan will handle the northern division. Plans exist to add southern and western divisions later. The New Town building will have parking on the ground floor, meeting halls on the first and second floors, and residential space on the upper floors for visiting workers. It will be managed by Dr Hedgewar Smarak Samiti.
The growth follows years of slower expansion. Before 2011 the RSS had fewer than 1,000 units in the state; by early 2025 the combined count of shakhas, milans and mandalis had risen to roughly 4,500. After the May 4 verdict, in which the BJP won 207 of 294 Assembly seats, interest in joining rose quickly. Affiliates have also reported higher membership in campuses, teacher networks and youth programmes.
RSS leaders describe the surge as a response to greater public willingness to participate after the change of government, rather than a top-down target. The new office, they say, is a practical response to that increase in activity, not a replacement for the older headquarters that has anchored the organisation in Kolkata for more than three decades.
