Participants from US, Europe, Carribean, Southeast Asia, Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria and some Gulf countries are likely to attend the event that ends on Jan. 3.

Deshpande said that the RSS conclave will continue to woo young blood with the previous conclaves’ efforts in targeting youth having seen an increase in membership form foreign shores. “The RSS is keen to expand its base to more countries and would be inducting Green Card holders with nearly 70 percent being youngsters. Our organization would be more than happy to increase its reach to foreign shores,” Deshpande added.

“Our objective is to focus on Indians born in foreign countries. The members attending the conclave from abroad are affiliated to Hind Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS). Though there is no direct membership, we share the same ideology as the HSS members have been attending our weekly meeting,” Deshpande said, adding that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi will address the gathering.

Shankarrao Tathwawadi, the leader of the international wing of the HSS said that the five annual conclaves in India have drawn tremendous response from foreign countries and we expect families to attend the Pune conclave.

In another development, an editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna on Thursday slammed its alliance partner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for hosting a tea party for Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray at its state headquarters in Mumbai two days ago.

The Sena working President Uddhav Thackeray, cousin of Raj,  protested to BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani, and threatened that unless the BJP clarified its position on the meeting, the Sena would boycott the National Democratic Front Alliance anti-corruption rally in Delhi on Wednesday. Only after senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Gopinath Munde spoke to Uddhav and gave a clarification did Uddhav relent and agreed to the Sena’s participation in the rally.

Slamming the state BJP chief Sudhir Mungantiwar for entertaining Raj and violating the alliance policy, the editorial questioned whether a person smoking a cigarette at a petrol pump can plead innocence by stating that he did not cause a fire. In politics those who offer drinks stagger more than those who drink. Our ally the BJP slipped, the editorial stated, while continuing to attack Mungantiwar. It also reminded him that it was he who had stated two months ago that Raj was a test tube baby of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo and federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.