What would the BJP’s strategy be for West Bengal now: Will the party again start attacking Mamata Banerjee, who has just returned from Bangladesh with Prime Minister Narendra ModiIJ Some say attacks on Mamata had been stopped as soon as the Central Government started working on the land Agreement Bill with Bangladesh. After the Bill was passed in Parliament, the Centre succeeded in taking Mamata to Bangladesh. This is a fact that the Central Government gained politically when it showed sympathy to Mamata.
But now the BJP will start preparing for elections. So, the leaders of the State committee and in-charge General Secretary can’t keep mum on Mamata anymore. The BJP and RSS have big expectations from West Bengal. But some BJP leaders feel that the party has lost its old advantage. Now, it will face problems in putting its cadres on the road against Mamata. On the other hand, if the Centre has utilised Mamata, then even she benefitted from it. She has succeeded in keeping middle class vote bank along with the minority, and will reap the benefits in the next elections. Now, if the BJP goes on an offensive against Mamata, it will not be of much help. Then there are also the compulsions of Delhi’s parliamentary politics. If the BJP has to get some important Bills passed in Parliament, it will need Mamata’s help. So, this is for sure that the BJP will not assume its earlier stance against her.
AllIANCE BlOW FOR BJP
lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar have finally joined hands for Bihar elections, and this has come as a major blow to the BJP. Party leaders had not expected the two to form an alliance. Probably, State and Central leaders were of the view that there are so many differences between the RJD and JDU, which would not allow them to come together. In fact, the BJP was certain that lalu would not agree on the issues of seat distribution and leadership of Nitish. It was also being said that the BJP’s central leadership had tightened the noose around Mulayam Singh and lalu. There was news that both leaders were being managed through Naresh Aggrawal and Prem Gupta.
Just before the final announcement, lalu and Nitish met in Delhi but the issue of leadership was not sorted out. Even then the BJP didn’t have any idea about what would happen the very next day. So, the BJP was disappointed when the announcement was made for an alliance between lalu and Nitish. Now, the BJP has to change its strategy. It is under compulsion to keep the old alliances together and take Jitan Ram Manjhi on board. But leadership will be the greatest problem: Who will be the face against Nitish, this is the biggest question.
RETHINKING NITI AAYOG
The Central Government has to think afresh on different aspects of Niti Aayog, such as its need, importance and functioning. It seems that the State Government is not taking it seriously. When the Planning Commission was changed into Niti Aayog, the importance of its chief lessened and its importance too decreased. Probably nobody knows what it has done in the past six months.
I am going to tell you story of a recent sub-committee meeting of Niti Aayog. Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal was the chairman of that sub-committee. But CMs of seven States didn’t turn up for the meeting. Of 10 CMs, seven were absent. The absent CMs were not even from Opposition parties. CM of BJP-ruled Goa was not present, just as the CMs of Tamil Nadu and Odisha — who have a soft corner for the Centre — chose to skip. CM of Puducherry was also not present. Three CMs of Congress-ruled States didn’t turn up for the meeting, while CMs of Assam, Himachal and Meghalaya didn’t think it was necessary to attend the meeting.
STATES REPORTS AWAITED
The Central Government is awaiting the reports of States to make consensus on the land Bill. The Joint Parliamentary Committee formed to discuss the Bill has got more than 300 suggestions. Right from Anna Hazare to RSS affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, all have sent their suggestions. But it seems that the chairman of the committee, SS Ahluwalia, doesn’t have any interest in these suggestions. No discussion has been done so far on the suggestions in the meetings of the Joint Parliamentary Committee. However, Congress MP KV Thomas has also not opposed the Ordinance of the Government.
Some say Ahluwalia is of the view that States should be asked for their views on land Bill by sending letters to respective Chief Secretaries. For this, he has sought permission from lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
In fact, the Centre is expecting most of the States to support the land Bill. After all, it has changed the Bill of Congress on the name of demands of States. But this time, the parties that are opposing the Bill, especially the Congress, are more cautious. This time no Congress CM will write a letter to change the Bill. Even Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Manik Sarkar and Arvind Kejriwal will not write against the Bill.
BIG BOOST TO RAHUl
The political events of Bihar have put the leadership of Rahul Gandhi in the spotlight. If the RJD and JDU have come together and an initiative has been taken to form a grand alliance, then the credit goes to Rahul. In fact, it was Rahul who put pressure on lalu to go with Nitish and form a strong secular alliance instead of a tie-up with Jitan Ram Manjhi. Rahul’s decisions proved to be fruitful.
It is said that Rahul had sent a message through the president of Bihar State Congress Committee Ashok Chaudhary that the party would fight Bihar elections under the leadership of Nitish. The Congress didn’t want to commit the same mistake of lok Sabha Elections. Even in the lok Sabha Elections, the Congress and JDU could have gone together, but it didn’t happen. This time, lalu got a clear message that the Congress wouldn’t commit the same mistake again.
Though, lalu had also tried to meet Sonia and tried to defer the decision, but didn’t succeed. So, out of fear of being isolated, he went ahead with the alliance. However, one thing is clear that Rahul’s leadership has been established after the way he has taken decisions for Bihar. Those who questioned his ability are now mum. People say Rahul will take tough decisions for Punjab too.
SUSPENSE OVER GANDHIS
Suspense continues over leadership in the Congress. When will Rahul be given the party commandIJ If Rahul is given the command, what will be Sonia’s roleIJ Will Sonia resign from lok Sabha also, and will Priyanka fight from the Raebareli seatIJ If Priyanka joins active politics, what will be her role in the partyIJ These are some of the questions which are never answered by Congressmen. Though it is a fact that most of them don’t know the answers.
Sources say Rahul will take charge of the party after the Monsoon Session. After that Sonia will be in the role of a mentor of the Congress. Sources in the Congress say Sonia initiated a patch-up between her team members and Rahul. Rahul is ready to work in coordination with old and new team members. So, Sonia will not be too active.
That is why it is being said that she can resign from the Raebareli seat. If she doesn’t resign, it is almost certain that she will not be contesting 2019 elections. And then, Priyanka can fight from the seat. There is also speculation that Priyanka will take the responsibility of campaigning in Rahul’s team.
MANJHI’S UNENDING DEMANDS
Former CM of Bihar Jitan Ram Manjhi is troubling the BJP with his ever-increasing demands. Though this is also true that after the announcement of an alliance between the RJD and JDU, Manjhi is on the backfoot and doesn’t have many options. He can’t take the risk of going with Pappu Yadav. So, he will be compelled to go with the BJP.
But even in the present scenario, he is demanding 50 seats from the BJP. He wants a helicopter for campaigning, and all other expenses for elections. He is also negotiating for a ministerial post for the post-poll scenario and demanding a Rajya Sabha seat for himself. His leaders are feeding him with new demands almost daily.
The BJP is now putting pressure on Manjhi. It is said that the MlAs who had gone with Manjhi from the JDU have been approached by the BJP, and might join the party directly. Rebels had filed an application in the Supreme Court, and the BJP is waiting for the verdict. If the SC endorses the verdict of HC and membership of rebel MlAs is terminated, then they would directly join the BJP. In that case, the BJP will put pressure on Manjhi to accept fewer seats. But if rebels join the BJP, who will be Manjhi’s candidatesIJ That is the reason why Manjhi wants the alliance as soon as possible.