In Uttar Pradesh, political strategist Prashant Kishor will have to go with a new face of the Congress as he can’t pitch the names of either Rahul or Priyanka Gandhi. Sources say the reason is that the party thinks Rahul is ‘PM material’ for 2019, and it can’t afford to make him the chief ministerial candidate for UP. In the same manner, Priyanka is thought to be the Congress’s trump card that can’t be wasted in these elections.
A leader close to Rahul says the party doesn’t wish to make UP elections ‘do or die’. The reason is simple: The Congress lost the 1989 lok Sabha Elections and 1990 Assembly Elections in UP. So, for the past 26 years, the party is out of power in UP, but has enjoyed power at the Centre for 15 of these 26 years. Hence the realisation that power at the Centre is possible even without UP. However, if Rahul and Priyanka fail in the State, it will be nothing short of fatal for the Congress.
There is another reason as well; recent surveys show that Priyanka’s popularity lags behind that of at least three leaders. According to a survey, the real fight is between SP and BSP. Around 26 per cent people said Mayawati is the best candidate for the CM post, while 22 per cent backed Akhilesh Yadav. In the same survey, 20 per cent people were in favour of Varun Gandhi, while Priyanka barely garnered 12 per cent support.
A Congress leader said Kishor wanted to go with either Rahul or Priyanka, but the party is against this.
MYRIAD MERGER TACTICS
RlD leader Ajit Singh is in the labyrinth alone. His rendezvous with Nitish Kumar is over now, and he has organised a rally of his son Jayant Choudhary at Gorakhpur, parallel to that of the Bihar CM, which will be held in Varanasi on May 12. Earlier they were talking of a merger, but now the matter has become complicated.
On the other hand, alliance scenario with the BJP has also become hazy. It is said that due to the conditions put forth by Ajit Singh, senior leadership of the BJP has not moved forward with the tie-up. He was demanding a Rajya Sabha seat, a ministerial berth, 45 seats to fight Assembly Elections, and an important role for his son in UP politics. He was also said to be eyeing the Ministry of Agriculture.
It is being said that two Jat leaders from Western UP have put obstacles in the path of his ambitions and foiled attempts to merge his party with the BJP. Sanjeev Balyan, MoS Agriculture, and Satpal Singh, who had defeated Ajit Singh in the last lok Sabha Elections, are said to have opposed the merger of RlD and the BJP. They claimed that Jats of Western UP came towards the BJP on their own; hence Ajit Singh is not needed for this vote bank. Though the options before the BJP have not closed, but the party’s strategy is to push Ajit Singh on the back foot to ensure the merger on its own terms.
PUNJAB POlITICS HOTS UP
Though Capt Amarinder Singh has returned from Canada, his tour and his attempt to attract NRI Punjabis were indicators of the Congress’s concerns. It is also true that the Captain didn’t get any success in his endeavour. He could not organise a single function in Canada and returned immediately. Now, his election strategist will organise contact programmes with NRI Punjabis in a different manner; the Captain will meet and greet them via video conferencing.
However, the Captain is worried over what he has been witnessing upon his return. It is being said that in all pre-poll surveys, AAP has a clear lead, and as a result the Captain has sharpened his attack on AAP and its leader Arvind Kejriwal. He alleged that Kejriwal has looted Rs528 crore from the people of Delhi and has wasted that money in ads and campaigns. In fact, the Delhi Government is running its campaign through radio, TV and other mediums. The Captain claimed Kejriwal is even running his campaign in Punjab and other parts of India on the hard-earned money of the people of Delhi.
The news that AAP is taking lead in Punjab has made the Congress and its leaders restless. And now Prashant Kishor has probably made plans to put the Captain before the public again. The people of Punjab say the leader refuses to work before 11 am and after 6 pm, but he is apparently trying to change that image. He has started meeting people in the morning and till late in the day. It is being said that ‘Coffee with Capt’ will be started again so that people can interact with him.
The Congress and Akali Dal are both keen on keeping AAP away and that is why they are targeting each other instead of attacking AAP. Recently, CM of Punjab targeted the Congress for the suicide of farmers when it is a fact that he himself has been running the Government for the past 10 years.
DIlEMMA OF OPPOSITION
The Delhi University (DU) has banned the book which claimed Bhagat Singh was a terrorist. One wonders whether this has been done under the Government’s strategy or if the newly appointed Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi has done it as per academic suggestions.
The book in question, India’s Struggle for Independence, was written by noted historian, the late Bipan Chandra, and was co-authored by Mridula Mukherjee, Aditya Mukherjee, and Sucheta Mahajan. They have also written about the history of the Congress, and are considered close to the party.
When the book was banned in DU, several noted historians such as Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib and DN Jha issued statements against this step. Interestingly, nobody said this was an attempt to saffronise the history of India, which was the oft-used allegation any time a change was made.
During the last NDA regime, many controversial references to Sikh gurus were removed. At that time too, prominent historians leveled charges of saffronisation against the then HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and NCERT Chairman JS Rajput. Also, when controversial statements about Jats were removed, the same allegations had been leveled.
However, since the issue is related to Bhagat Singh, historians close to the left and Congress are in a dilemma. It is difficult for them to support what Chandra wrote and have to oppose it only for the sake of opposition. Hence, they are raising the issue very cautiously.
RIDING HIGH ON BAN
Nitish Kumar has taken such a step that leaders from all over the country are talking about liquor ban. Nitish is trying to become the PM candidate for the next elections and liquor ban will be his core issue. He might get the support of women voters from all over the country. That is why it is being said that liquor barons of the country are in search of parties that can take a stand against the ban.
Kanhaiya Kumar, President of JNUSU, has raised questions over liquor ban in Bihar. So, possibilities can be seen among left parties.
However, almost all regional stalwarts are supporting the issue. The highest liquor consumption in the country is in Kerala, but leaders have started talking about the ban even there. Ramesh Chennithala, senior leader of the Congress and Home Minister of the State, has said that his party has drawn a blueprint to implement the liquor ban over the period of 10 years. He also said that the Congress also has the support of women voters.
In the neighbouring State of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa has announced that if she comes to power, she will implement the liquor ban in a phase-wise manner.
After Bihar, Nitish has set his eyes on UP and Jharkhand, where he plans to launch his anti-liquor campaign soon. This could well become a big issue in Punjab elections too, where liquor and drugs have become an epidemic. Apart from the kshatrapas, national parties such as the BJP and Congress are yet to decide on their stand on the issue.