A century-old salutation rang out in Nagpur on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, as Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Vijayadashami celebration — the RSS's own founding anniversary — at its spiritual and organisational home in the city where it was born.

Sharing images from the event, Fadnavis opened his post with the iconic RSS prayer: 'Namaste sada vatsale matrubhume, tvaya hindubhume sukham vardhitoaham' — 'I bow to you always, O beloved motherland; I have flourished in happiness on this Hindu land.' The lines are among the most recognised invocations within the RSS ecosystem, and their use signals not just attendance but a deliberate expression of cultural solidarity.

Nagpur: Where the RSS was born, and where it gathers every year

The RSS was founded on Vijayadashami day in 1925 by Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in Nagpur, which has served as the organisation's headquarters ever since. Every year on Vijayadashami, the RSS holds its most prominent public event at the city — one that draws senior leaders, swayamsevaks, and prominent political figures from across the country.

The Vijayadashami programme traditionally features a public address by the RSS Sarsanghchalak, the organisation's chief, which is closely watched for statements on cultural, social, and national priorities. For BJP leaders, attendance at the Nagpur event is a visible reaffirmation of the ideological lineage that runs from the RSS to the ruling party.

Gadkari at his home ground, Fadnavis at the political centre

Fadnavis tagged Union Minister Nitin Gadkari — himself a Nagpur-based BJP heavyweight with deep roots in the RSS — in the post, indicating both leaders were present at the celebrations. For Gadkari, the event is practically local; Nagpur is his constituency and political base. For Fadnavis, his participation as the sitting Chief Minister of Maharashtra underlines the continued alignment between the state's ruling establishment and the RSS's institutional calendar.

The gathering also drew attention to the tag #NagpurMahanagar, pointing to the Nagpur city-unit of the RSS as the specific host, a distinction the organisation makes for its network of urban shakhas and programmes.

BJP's RSS ties on annual display

The Vijayadashami event is one of the clearest annual data points on the BJP-RSS relationship. Senior party leaders attending in official capacities — Fadnavis as Chief Minister, Gadkari as a Union Cabinet Minister — reinforces that the connection is not merely historical but actively maintained at the highest levels of government. Critics read the attendance as the blurring of a political party with a cultural organisation; supporters frame it as leaders honouring civilisational roots.

Either way, the Nagpur ceremony on 20 October 2026 once again placed Maharashtra's top leadership in the front rows of the RSS's most important annual gathering — the same ground where the organisation planted its flag 101 years ago.

As the Sarsanghchalak's address sets the tone for the year ahead in RSS circles, all eyes now turn to what priorities he articulates for India's largest volunteer organisation.