It seems the Congress has already made up its mind: That food security will be the party’s main plank in the 2014 lok Sabha elections.
In 2009, too, the Congress had launched the MNREGA just before the elections and had vigorously campaigned for it across the country. In the same manner, this time the Food Security Bill will be taken to the electorate. It needs to be mentioned that the Government has already included the Food Security Bill in the second phase of its Bharat Nirman campaign.
Congress sources say that the Government will publicise this scheme till the election code of conduct is imposed, and after that the party will take it to the masses. According to experts, it will take at least six months to implement this scheme on the ground level. The Congress, however, will try to implement it within the next four months. One of the senior Congress leaders says there is enough food grains stocked in godowns, enough to feed the ‘poor’ at least till the elections. Others in the party are equally confident that if the scheme is implemented even in January and people get cheap grains for three months, it will ensure gains for the party in terms of votes.
SONIA'S GAME-CHANGER
It was an open secret that Congress president Sonia Gandhi would give a speech in Parliament on the Food Security Bill. She was not well and was suffering from fever for the past few days; yet, she spoke for 12 minutes, and in those 12 minutes, Congress MPs clapped in the House at least 24 times! Gandhi had also spoken at length in 2005 when the MNREGA Bill was introduced in Parliament. That was termed a game-changer by the Congress leadership as it helped the UPA come back to power for the second consecutive term. The Food Security Bill is also being touted as a game-changer and this explains why Gandhi’s speech was so significant.
BJP'S DIlEMMA
As far as setting the agenda for the coming elections are concerned, the Congress seems to have drawn first blood as its principal opponent, the BJP, is still in a dilemma on many fronts. The BJP leadership is busy zeroing in on issues that they feel would strike a chord with the masses. That’s the reason why its leaders adopted a cautious approach on the VHP’s ‘84 Kosh Parikrama’ in Uttar Pradesh. Of course, Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh gave statements, but those appeared mere formalities. On behalf of the BJP, only Yogi Adityanath raised this issue. And the party allowed him to speak because he has an image of a hardcore Hindutva leader.
The point here is: The BJP is trying to assess how much dividend it could accrue by raising the Hindutva issue. The other issues for the BJP are — inflation, corruption and economic mismanagement by the Congress-led UPA Government. Most BJP leaders feel that on these issues people can be polarised against the Congress. They are also confident that on these counts, Modi’s image as a clean and able administrator will give the party an added advantage.
PAWAR'S POST-POll POlITICS
NCP leader Sharad Pawar is gearing up to woo both the Congress and the regional parties at the same time. He is not going to break the alliance with the Congress, but there are clear indications that he is also preparing for a post-poll new front. According to sources, this new front will have those parties which are neither in the UPA/NDA nor the proposed Third Front. Pawar is eyeing six political parties in particular. He says that the Samajwadi Party, BSP, ADMK, Trinamool Congress, JD(U) and BJD will decide the next Prime Minister. Pawar knows it well that the leaders of at least four of these parties are themselves contestants for the Prime Minister’s post. Close sources of Pawar say that Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati, J Jayalalithaa and Nitish Kumar are in the race for the top post. And each of them will try to outdo the others.
Pawar, on his part, is in touch with these leaders. He thinks he can be the winner in the ensuing power struggle. This explains why he is maintaining cordial relations with the Congress and the regional parties at the same time.
MAOISTS FOR SMAll STATES
When the difficult decision on Telangana was being taken, there was one particular issue on which everyone was concerned: That the Maoists will become dominant in the new State. The examples of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh have proved that such apprehensions are not entirely wrong. Maoists were allegedly supporting the demand for separate Telangana and it was because of them that the movement at times turned violent.
After Telangana, Maoists are now supporting the demand for separate Bodoland in Assam and Gorkhaland in West Bengal. According to highly-placed sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs, senior Maoist leaders recently met in a dense forest of east India wherein they supported the creation of small States like Bodoland and Gorkhaland. So, one won’t be surprised if these two movements turn violent in the near future.
OPTIONS BEFORE AJIT JOGI
Ajit Jogi, the first Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, and his supporters are baffled. On the one hand, the Congress leadership is trying to coax them and, on the other, strategies are being prepared to sideline them. Recently, BK Hariprasad, the Congress general secretary in charge of the State, met him. There was a closed-door meeting between them and after that Hariprasad announced that Jogi would continue to be in the Congress. Recently, there were speculations that Jogi might join the BSP.
But the very next day changes were made in party organisations and Jogi was removed from being the president of the Congress’s SC/ST front. Thereafter, Jogi was thrown out of the AICC, and even in the State committee he could find place in the executive body alone.
YEDDYURAPPA'S GAMEPlAN
Senior Congress leader Veerappa Moily has recently said that the Congress will not go for a pre-poll alliance with BS Yeddyurappa’s KJP. This means that the party was in talks with Yeddy for a pre-poll alliance. Yeddy, on his part, has kept everybody guessing, with his statement (after the defeat of two JD(S) candidates in the recent lok Sabha by-polls) that the chances for an opposition alliance are not over yet.
In Karnataka, the most feasible possibility is an alliance of the BJP, the JD(S) and the KJP. Experts believe that this alliance could pose a big challenge to the Congress. But, if Yeddy is in touch with the Congress, then the talks of a grand Opposition alliance don’t seem too bright.