Right from leaders of the main Opposition party Congress to DMK, which has four MPs, and the BSP which has no MP, all are in trouble. One or the other investigative agency is onto them. National Rural Health Mission scam is out of the box after four years and BSP supremo Mayawati is on the radar
Almost all big Opposition leaders have been facing heat in recent times. Right from leaders of the main Opposition party Congress to DMK, which has four MPs, and the BSP which has no MP, all are in trouble. One or the other investigative agency is onto them. National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam is out of the box after four years and BSP supremo Mayawati is on the radar. It is also being said that Enforcement Directorate (ED) has started an investigation against her and will interrogate her soon.
Some days ago, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had raided Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s residence, and now probably the ED is also leading an investigation against him under the Money laundering Act.
In the BJP regime, problems of the Congress have increased. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi along with almost half a dozen other leaders are on the radar of investigating agencies. ED is active against Sonia and Rahul in the National Herald case under the FEMA Act.
Karti Chidambaram and Sachin Pilot are facing allegations in the ambulance scam; former CM of Gujarat, Shankar Vaghela, is under lens for National Textile Corporation scam. Problems of Chhagan Bhujbal of NCP and Maran brothers of DMK have also increased. At the same time, some family members of Mulayam Singh are also on the target of investigating agencies.
SOFT HINDUISM OF CONG
Amid the controversy over beef, the Congress has said that it is in favour of a ban on cow slaughter. Party General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said that the Congress Government had passed the law in many States to ban cow slaughter in 1995 itself. As far as the cow issue is concerned, Digvijaya’s statement is an attempt to prove that the Congress is more inclined towards Hinduism than the BJP. Moreover, Digvijaya’s statement is a part of a well-thought-out strategy of his party.
The Congress is working in this direction ever since the results of the lok Sabha Elections came out. The party is well aware of the fact that any communal issue can push polarisation in favour of the BJP. The Congress believes that Narendra Modi has created such a situation that any communal issue will go in favour of the BJP. That is why Congress leaders seem to have forgotten the very issues they used to target Modi. They are also not raising the Gujarat issue.
Sources in the Congress say that the party has prepared a two-pronged strategy over Hinduism. First of all, it has to establish a pro-Hindu image, for which Rahul visited Kedarnath and Banke Bihari temple. The other strategy is to not emphasise any communal matter so that the BJP can cash in on it.
BJP PROBlEMS IN BIHAR
It seems all is not well for the BJP in Bihar. That is the reason why the party has decided to put more strength in campaigning. PM Modi has decided to hold more rallies and the BJP President has decided to spend more time in the State.
In fact, a report of RSS has increased the tension of BJP leaders. In its mouthpiece Panchjanya, RSS has published an election analysis, stating that the BJP will face problem at three levels. According to the article, everything is not right in the party organisation and leaders of the State are not united for election campaigning. Secondly, the BJP doesn’t have a strong base among the backwards and ultra backwards. Thirdly, forward voters might get angry because the party has given an indication that if NDA comes to power, the CM will be from the backward community.
These three things may mar the election prospects of the BJP. The party has maximum faith on forward voters. If this vote bank becomes indifferent and doesn’t come out for voting, then the BJP will face heavy losses. likewise, leaders of the BJP are confident about ultra backward voters. According to their calculation, ultra backwards will not go with the grand alliance. However, the report of RSS is not in its favour.
As far as party leaders are concerned, Amit Shah is himself seeking feedback on each and every leader, and trying to patch things up on the slightest indication of infighting. He succeeded in readying Shahnawaz Hussain and Ashwini Choubey to come together at Bhagalpur and also sorted out tension between MP of Aurangabad, Sushil Singh, and Ramadhar Singh.
In an interview, Sushil Modi had said that the BJP has a probable CM candidate from every community and it will be decided by the Parliamentary board; this statement was probably to maintain the enthusiasm of forward voters.
DISMENTlE, RECONSTITUTE
After winning Delhi elections in February, Arvind Kejriwal is continuously dismantling the party organisation in States. The recent one is AAP’s Maharashtra committee. Top AAP leader of Maharashtra, Mayank Gandhi, had opposed the move to oust Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from the party, and right from that time Kejriwal and his close aides were planning action against him. Now, the party’s Maharashtra unit has been dissolved and it is speculated that Mayank will not find any place in the new committee.
Kejriwal will also dissolve AAP’s Punjab Pradesh Committee soon. All four MPs of AAP are from Punjab, but two of them — Harinder Khalsa and Dharamveer Gandhi — have been suspended from the party. The most influential leader of the State, Daljeet Singh, has already been shown the door, and HS Phoolka has left active politics. So, there will be a new committee in Punjab.
In Haryana, Kejriwal has handed over the party reins to close aide Naveen Jaihind. Most of the supporters of Yogendra have been sidelined there. In Goa also, Kejriwal has suspended the party organisation because the leaders of the old committee have gone with Yogendra and Prashant. It is said that in the new committees, Kejriwal will include only those faithful to him.
AMARINDER SINGH’S FATE
All eyes are on the Congress over what it will do with former CM of Punjab, Amarinder Singh. He is abroad and will return in a day or two. As soon as he comes back, the political scene in the State will hot up. So, the Congress has to take a decision on him soon. On one hand there are some veterans of the party who are of the view that Amarinder must be given command of the Congress in Punjab. On the other hand, leaders of Rahul’s youth brigade think that Amarinder is indulging in pressure politics and this is nothing but blackmail. They say that if the party compromises at one point, then such issues will surface in almost all States.
So, the leaders are giving suggestions for a balance between Amarinder and Pratap Singh Bajwa. But Amarinder is not ready for such a compromise. Sources in the Congress say the party is thinking over a formula: Amarinder could be declared the party’s CM candidate right now. The other suggestion is that he must be given the command of election campaign committee. But he and his supporters are not ready to budge.
It seems that Amarinder and his supporters want to see Bajwa removed before taking any charge. They are of the view that it will not be good for them if Bajwa or any of his supporter remains on the post of State president. Amarinder wants to take the whole party unit under his command so that he can have control over everything — right from ticket distribution to campaigning. But Rahul is not ready for this.
POll PREPARATIONS IN UP
Panchayat and local body elections have been deferred in two BJP-ruled States — Haryana and Gujarat — due to various reasons. But the party is all set to put its entire strength in UP Panchayat elections. It is being said that the BJP has decided to fight the Panchayat elections with full might and an all-round strategy. Party in-charge Om Mathur is making the preparations and has instructed all MPs and MlAs to campaign.
Probably the BJP is considering it as a rehearsal for UP Assembly elections. With this, the party will get an opportunity to check its machinery. Party leaders have given a slogan: “Kamal khilega, upar neeche.” It means that before the Assembly elections, the BJP wants to capture the Panchayats, so that its agenda can be enforced in the right manner.
Sources say Mathur has instructed all leaders, who want a ticket for the Assembly elections, to work for the victory of the party in Panchayat elections in their areas. Tickets to sitting MlAs will also depend on the performance of the party in their areas. Party MPs will also be roped in for campaigning. Some leaders feel that recent events may polarise voters on communal lines and the party will benefit from it.