For the past three weeks, the Opposition had been creating a ruckus in Parliament over demonetisation, but now they have completely scattered. Around one dozen parties have one by one quit their united stand and are now supporting the debate on demonetisation. That is why the Congress, TMC, and left have put their guns down and agreed that work should be started in Parliament now.
Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was the first to take his party out of this issue. Though Sharad Yadav is against demonetisation in the Rajya Sabha, in the lok Sabha, both MPs of the JDU are against the Opposition’s stand.
After Nitish, the BJD excused itself. Its leader, Bhartruhari Mahtab, has given consent for debate under Rule 193. After that, the TRS also started singing its own tune. The party is ready for a debate under any rule, and the Speaker started the debate with TRS MP Jitendra Reddy.
The AIADMK was supporting the Opposition on demonetisation, but its MPs are not going to turn up in the House. On Monday, there was not even a single MP of the AIADMK in the House. So, only the Congress, TMC, and left are opposing demonetisation now. When around a dozen parties are ready for debate on the issue, these three parties have changed their stand.
PRESSURE POlITICS AT PlAY
The Congress and Samajwadi Party are playing hide and seek. Both parties are playing pressure politics to increase the number of seats. last week, Akhilesh Yadav had given an indication for an alliance with the Congress, saying that if both parties come together, they would get around 300 seats. Not only this, he also said that some sacrifice would be necessary for the alliance. In his reply, Congress state president Raj Babbar said there would be no alliance in UP and his party would go alone.
Sources say that the SP wants sacrifice from the Congress. But Congress leaders are saying that since July, the popularity graph of the party has gone up. Rahul Gandhi’s Kisan Yatra and “27 saal UP behaal” Yatra have attracted people towards the Congress, they claim. The Dalit Yatra of the Congress is still on. And on that basis, Congress leaders are hopeful of getting around 100 seats, whereas SP leaders can leave maximum 60 to 65 seats. The leaders who are taking part in the discussion for alliance say that going with the Congress will not suffice. They have to take the RlD and JDU along, and will have to leave seats for them also. If the Congress is ready, the SP might leave around 100 seats, but these will have to be distributed among the Congress, RlD, and SP. This formula will be discussed after the Parliament Session.
NITISH IS lOSING FRIENDS
Nitish Kumar is rapidly losing his friends, it seems. The leaders who were present at his swearing-in ceremony are now maintaining distance from him. He has supported demonetisation and due to this there is dissatisfaction within his party. But what is worse is that Rahul, Mamata Banerjee, and Arvind Kejriwal, who were his staunch supporters, are now drifting away.
First, Kejriwal parted ways with the Bihar CM. Nitish has understood that it is not possible to maintain friendship with the Congress and Kejriwal simultaneously, clearly because both have similar ambitions. Nitish is playing politics in Delhi that can dent Kejriwal’s migrant vote bank.
There is also a widening gap between Rahul and Nitish. State leaders of the Congress have said Rahul will be the PM candidate in the next lok Sabha Elections. That is why Nitish has stepped away from the alliance. The card which Nitish played in the form of support to demonetisation has made Mamata unhappy too. She attacked Nitish over this when she organised a protest in Patna. After that, JDU leaders pounced on her. At present, lalu Prasad Yadav, Ajit Singh, and Sharad Pawar are Nitish’s only friends.
POll SCHEDUlE IN STATES
The whole machinery is gearing up for the PM’s idea to hold lok Sabha and Assembly Elections together. Sources say that after the biennial elections of the Rajya Sabha in 2018, the Government might take a big decision on this. At present, the Election Commission is taking stock of the necessary resources to implement this decision. But the political initiative will be taken in 2018.
The BJP leaders are saying that the Assembly Elections of States, which are scheduled from 2018 to 2020, can be held along with the lok Sabha Elections of 2019. In 2019, Odisha, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh elections are scheduled with lok Sabha Elections. The same year, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim will go to polls. Two to three months after this, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Maharashtra will go to polls. Before that, ie in 2018, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Tripura, and Mizoram will be going to polls, whereas Bihar and Delhi elections are scheduled for 2020.
In 2019, Assembly Elections of 16 States might be held along with lok Sabha Elections. For this, the State Governments will be taken into confidence, and if necessary some legislative changes can also be made.
After 2018 Rajya Sabha Elections, the picture of the Upper House will change. The BJP will be the largest party of the House. So, the Government will not encounter any hassles in taking the necessary legislative changes for this. It will be good if even half of the States go to polls at the same time as the lok Sabha Elections.
RAHUl’S WORKING STYlE
It seems that there will be Rahul-style politics in the Congress. Though Sonia Gandhi had taken part in the meeting of the election committee for Punjab polls, sources in the Congress say that almost all decisions will be taken by Rahul. In the meeting of the Congress parliamentary board, Rahul’s command was obvious, and there was a clear indication that Team Rahul was taking all decisions.
Though Rahul’s team of young advisors is active in the Congress, P Chidambaram has become the greatest advisor. In the meeting of Congress parliamentary board, Rahul asked him to deliver a speech. Party veterans say that generally other leaders don’t give a speech in the meeting of parliamentary board, but Rahul has changed this.
Not only this, usually the media is not allowed in such meetings and is briefed afterwards. But when Rahul was presiding over the recent meet, the media was invited.
There is one big problem in Rahul’s working style though — he does only one thing at one time. When he was a taking out a Yatra in UP, he was doing just that. He must hone his multitasking skills because when he becomes the party president, he will have to do many things at the same time.