For the past three months, there had been a buzz in the political circles of Delhi that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was actively participating in the Budget preparation. He had constituted several committees comprising senior bureaucrats and these committees gave suggestions on several issues. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has ensured that the Budget incorporated all major ideas of the PM.
From what Modi said at the Red Fort, to what he promised in the election as well as farmer rallies, his vision clearly reflects in the recently presented Budget. The PM had said that by 2018, rural electrification will be complete, and this idea has been well accommodated in the Budget. Similarly, he had announced that the income of farmers will be doubled, and taking the cue, the Finance Minster announced several schemes in the Budget to achieve this goal by 2022.
The PM had requested people to give up their subsidy on lPG so that it could be given to the poor. In this Budget, several measures have been taken to ensure that the poor get subsidised lPG connections.
KUMAR VISHWAS ON RADARIJ
Is Kumar Vishwas the next target of AAP’s convener Arvind KejriwalIJ The party’s founder members, such as Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha, have been thrown out of the party, but despite that there are many contenders for Rajya Sabha. Vishwas has openly claimed his candidature for Rajya Sabha and that is why conspiracies are apparently being hatched to pull him down.
Recently, in an interview Vishwas openly said that he wants to go to Rajya Sabha. He said he was ready to fight lok Sabha Elections but they are scheduled in 2019. Before that, elections will be held for three Rajya Sabha seats of Delhi in 2018, and these seats will go to AAP.
Following these statements, attempts are being made to prove Vishwas as a Modi supporter. When BJP leaders participated in his birthday function, AAP leaders raised questions. A few days ago, Vishwas said Modi supporters were bhakts and Modi was God. This didn’t go down well with AAP leaders and they registered a complaint with the party high command. Citing a statement of Vishwas, some people are trying to prove that he is against reservation and Kejriwal is giving a clarification on this. Some AAP leaders claim that all these events indicate that Vishwas’s future in AAP is bleak.
EYE ON 2017 ElECTIONS
So many analyses are being made on the general Budget, with Opposition parties calling it a political one. It is also being said that by talking about villages, the poor and farmers, the Modi Government is trying to change its image. Though this is also true that the image is not built and changed with one Budget, and continuous efforts are needed for this. That is the reason why it is being said that the Assembly Elections, which are scheduled for next year, are the immediate goal of this Budget.
Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections are scheduled for January-February next year and this was the last Budget before that. That is why all messages, such as those on villages, the poor and farmers, had to be delivered in this Budget. It is a well-known fact that UP and Punjab are basically agrarian States. Barring Noida, Ghaziabad and some other places near Delhi, UP mostly comprises villages, and the villagers — mostly farmers — have immense faith in Modi. Budget announcements have been made keeping in mind these farmers and farm labourers.
Punjab, too, is based on agro industries. In this Budget, provisions have been made for food processing industries along with provisions for aiding agriculture. When Jaitley was making announcements in Parliament, Minister for Food Processing Industries and leader of Shiromani Akali Dal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, looked happy. The political message is simple: Rahul Gandhi won’t be able to call the Modi Government “suit boot ki sarkaar” ahead of UP polls. In the past one year, Rahul and Kejriwal have time and again tried to prove that the Modi Government is working only for selective industrialists.
MISSION MlA IN TWO STATES
Bizarre politics is at play in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. In Andhra Pradesh, there is an ongoing war between ruling TDP and main Opposition party, YSR Congress. leader of YSR Congress, Jaganmohan, is saying that the Government is trying to break away his MlAs. He has alleged that his MlAs are being lured with the proposal of Rs50 crore. Till date, six of his MlAs have joined TDP. In the same manner, in Telangana, ruling TRS and main Opposition party TDP are fighting with each other. TDP has alleged that the Government is luring its MlAs. The situation in Telangana is interesting: Almost all MlAs of TDP have drifted towards TRS.
In fact, the real reason for this war is Rajya Sabha elections. This year, there will be four seats for Andhra Pradesh and two seats for Telangana. In Andhra, TDP is trying to win three seats, and in Telangana, TRS is trying for two seats. This will be possible only when the number of MlAs in the Opposition is less. Though it is true that the MlAs who leave their parties will not be able to cast their vote, after their resignation, the number required to win any Rajya Sabha seat will be less. That is why both ruling parties are trying to lure Opposition MlAs.
In both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the Congress is going to face a big jolt in Rajya Sabha elections. Two Congress MPs are going to retire from Andhra Pradesh and one from Telangana, but it will get none. It means the Congress will lose three seats. In Telangana, TDP will lose one seat while in Andhra Pradesh, it will take two and give one to the BJP. The last time around too, TDP had helped the BJP and only then Nirmala Sitharaman had won a Rajya Sabha seat.
RACE TO RAJYA SABHA
Many Congress veterans are trying hard to get a Rajya Sabha seat. They know that if they don’t succeed this time, they will have to wait for two more years. Even in 2018, the chance to get a Rajya Sabha seat will be less because they might be told to fight lok Sabha Elections in 2019. That is why they are trying hard to get a seat this time.
Names of four leaders are being discussed. Kapil Sibal was defeated in lok Sabha Elections and P Chidambaram didn’t even contest, while the tenures of Jairam Ramesh and Anand Sharma will end soon. Anand Sharma is from Himachal Pradesh but he is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan, while Jairam Ramesh is from Andhra Pradesh but he is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka. But the Congress is not going to get even a single seat from Rajasthan. The party will certainly get a single seat of Himachal Pradesh, but CM Virbhadra Singh is not ready to give it to Anand Sharma.
In Karnataka, CM Siddaramaiah is hesitant about giving any Rajya Sabha seat to an outsider. Jairam Ramesh’s seat is in problem. In the same manner, leaders from Punjab are also not ready to give any seat to an outsider because this is election year for the State. So, the probability for Sibal is also less. In Uttarakhand, the Congress has given a seat to Raj Babbar, so no other seat will go to any outsider. It was being said that Chidambaram might get a seat from Uttarakhand. Now, the Congress is facing difficulty in searching for seats for the four leaders.
RAHUl BACKS CHIDAMBARAM
Many Congress leaders have openly opposed Chidambaram and even the party has distanced itself from his statement on Afzal Guru. But sources in the party say PC still enjoys the support of Rahul Gandhi. However, it is also being said that Chidambaram gave that statement on Afzal Guru as part of a strategy. Some say that by his statement, the Congress has tried to give a message to PDP in J&K, and at the same time it has tried to woo Dalits and Muslims.
Congress sources say the party doesn’t care much about the medium class vote bank. It has to do politics for 30 to 40 per cent votes of the lower class, whose large chunk comprises Muslims and Dalits. Among this vote bank, the Congress is trying to present itself as a strong option against the BJP. That is why Congress leaders are seeing an advantage in the ongoing controversy on Afzal Guru.
When Mallikarjun Kharge announced that the Congress was officially distancing itself from Chidambaram’s statement in lok Sabha, senior leaders Veerappa Moily and Ashwini Kumar opposed it. However, nobody paid attention. The top leadership has not said anything to Chidambaram. The Congress is even trying to get him a Rajya Sabha seat.