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Limaye, who left his job at a multinational company in his early 20s to become an RSS pracharak, is the one who worked behind the scenes to navigate the Maratha reservation-related agitation and its complexities, win the confidence of the community leaders, reclaim the BJP’s…Read More
Limaye has been instrumental in expanding the RSS’s influence through several Sangh affiliates that focus on various welfare initiatives in rural and tribal areas, creating synergies with urban middle-class concerns. File image/X
Atul Limaye, the 54-year-old shetra pracharak (region in-charge) of Maharashtra and the youngest joint general secretary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, emerged as one of the prime architects behind the RSS-BJP’s Mahayuti campaign, setting the stage for a transformative electoral victory on Saturday.
Limaye, who left his job at a multinational company in his early 20s to become a pracharak, is the one who worked behind the scenes to navigate the Maratha reservation-related agitation and its complexities, win the confidence of the community leaders, reclaim the party’s OBC vote bank, and successfully consolidate the voters over the Sangh’s Hindutva pitch.
Originally from Maharastra’s Nashik, he has been a prant pracharak for western Maharashtra and later rose the ranks fast to become a kshetra pracharak. His jurisdiction included Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa. In the RSS structure, six prants (zones) form a kshetra (region).
The pracharaks in the RSS structure also have their kendras or centres. Limaye’s kendra was shifted from Pune to Mumbai. Limaye has always been known for his sharp focus and grassroots engagement and worked in a pivotal role in transforming the complex socio-political challenges into opportunities for consolidating Hindu votes in the state.
Strategist par excellence
Limaye is known for his strategies that proved impactful over highly localised issues, building a strong connection at the grassroots level. His work gained huge traction in 2016-17 during the Shiv Shakti Sangam, a large-scale event celebrating the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
“Limaye ji has been the brains behind such a huge event that gathered around 60,000 Sangh volunteers from across districts. The event was instrumental in rekindling Hindutva sentiment across western Maharashtra and the Marathwada region. Even though the Bharatiya Janata Party saw an electoral slump during the 2024 general elections in the state, the RSS cadres led by functionaries like him mobilised Hindu voters beyond caste divisions,” said a senior Sangh functionary of Maharashtra, who has worked closely with Limaye in strategising. “We were confident of a sweeping victory even on the polling day by seeing the voting percentage. We knew that the Hindu voters had finally consolidated. We see this one as a victory of Hindu Samaj.”
The senior RSS functionary is credited for navigating the sensitive Maratha reservation agitation. By conducting multiple pravas (field visits) by senior functionaries and meeting influential community leaders, he built trust and assured them of the Sangh’s commitment to their concerns. His ability to address rural and urban grievances alike positioned the RSS as a mediator and problem-solver during the tumultuous period in the state.
Weaving Hindutva with social sensibilities
Limaye played a key role in designing the Sangh’s voter awareness campaign, “Sajag Raho”. This became a highly personalised door-to-door outreach initiative that mobilised voters across Maharashtra.
Under his leadership, the RSS engaged multiple think tanks and ideologically aligned sections of influential people to further its Hindutva ideology while tackling regional and caste-related divides.
His efforts ensured the seamless integration of their grassroots cadres with broader societal concerns.
Limaye has been instrumental in expanding the RSS’s influence through several Sangh affiliates that focus on various welfare initiatives in rural and tribal areas, creating synergies with urban middle-class concerns.
