Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is not going to oppose demonetisation even though some JDU leaders want him to speak up. leaders of the two alliance partners of JDU — the RJD and Congress — are also putting pressure on Nitish for the same. But his close aides say he will not oppose this. That is why he has fixed January 23 to review the decision. Earlier it was being said that he would be taking an overview of demonetisation on December 30, when he would oppose it, citing the problems of the common man.
However, now it seems that he has changed his mind, and would continue to support the decision. Some of his close aides wanted to fix a meeting between Nitish and some economists of the country. The idea was to give an overview of the impact of demonetisation to Nitish and address some of the difficult questions related to it. But probably Nitish has refused to be a part of this meeting.
He feels that though people are facing some problems, it will be beneficial in the long run. When the decision to ban liquor was enforced, people were not happy, but now everything has been settled. In the same manner, he feels that people are now getting used to demonetisation. To support this decision is good politically as well because the BJP is winning everywhere in the local body elections. Secondly, Nitish’s clean image is being strengthened, and thirdly, pressure is being created on the Congress and RJD.
INTERNAl POlITICS AROUND PK
The benefits of the Congress internal politics might go to its political strategist Prashant Kishor. It is due to this internal politics that he is being kept away from UP elections. General Secretary of the party, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and some of his aides had opposed PK. They had complained about him to Sonia Gandhi, claiming he was crossing his limits. Sonia already had some doubts about Kishor, so his opponents were successful in ousting him from UP.
But before leaving the State, Kishor played his move and took the initiative to go into an alliance with the Samajwadi Party; Akhilesh Yadav has mentioned this many times. That is why the Congress leaders who had scripted his exit from UP are now opposing the possibility of an alliance. However, despite the opposition of these leaders, Rahul Gandhi has roped in PK for Uttarakhand and Punjab.
Team PK has started working in Uttarakhand and has already met Harish Rawat and Kishor Upadhyay to sort out their feud. His team is certain of the victory of the Congress in both States. If the performance of the Congress gets better in these States, and after the alliance with the Samajwadi Party in UP, the Congress performs well, then the credit will go to PK. If the performance is not up to the mark, he can save himself by citing the internal politics of the Congress.
AAP’S RAJYA SABHA CANDIDATES
Elections for three Rajya Sabha seats from Delhi are scheduled for next year, and the AAP is hoping to grab them all — that is if all goes well, because the membership of 27 MlAs is in danger. They have been appointed parliamentary secretaries by Arvind Kejriwal. These posts are being considered as office of profit and the Election Commission (EC) has almost completed its hearing against this. However, the EC’s decision can be challenged in court.
As present, it seems that all three seats will go to the AAP. That is why the number of probable candidates in the party is on the rise. Probably IAS officer Rajendra Kumar is the new candidate. Former Principal Secretary of Kejriwal has applied for VRS. If he is granted VRS, he would be sent to the Rajya Sabha just as Nitish has sent his former principal secretary RCP Singh.
With this new development, the leaders who were eyeing the Rajya Sabha seats since the AAP Government came to power have become worried. People are saying that former journalist Ashutosh, senior leader of AAP Sanjay Singh, chairman of DDC Ashish Khetan, and secretary of AAP Pankaj Gupta also consider themselves as probable candidates for the Rajya Sabha. The name of Kejriwal’s wife Sunita is also discussed on and off; she has taken VRS from the IRS.
KEJRIWAl’S CAMPAIGN IN STATES
Generally the regional parties don’t fight in other States, and if they do, it happens only as a formality. Not only this, regional parties usually don’t go to States for campaigning where they are not fighting elections. But Kejriwal and his party are exceptions. The AAP leaders have been instructed to go for campaigning even in those States where the party is not contesting. It is also being said that Kejriwal will hold rallies in these States.
Kejriwal’s party is fighting in Punjab and Goa this time. Apart from working there, he is also gearing up for campaigning in UP and Uttarakhand. He might go to Manipur also to campaign for Irom Sharmila. What is also working in his favour is that voting in Punjab and Goa will end on February 4, and voting in the rest of the States will begin later.
So, Kejriwal can go to UP and Uttarakhand and campaign against the BJP. Earlier also, he had held a couple of rallies in UP. He will give more time in UP after voting in Punjab and Goa is over. He will be raising the issue of demonetisation to oppose the BJP.
It seems Kejriwal already has Mission 2019 in mind and believes that by that time, his party would be in a strong position in five or six States and will also become a national party.
NEW MOTTO: NO PERSONAl ATTACKS
This time the BJP leaders are treading cautiously when it comes to attacking the Opposition parties. All senior leaders have been instructed to avoid personal attacks on any leader. They have also been told not to give any statement which can be interpreted as being divisive for society.
During Bihar elections, Narendra Modi had used the “DNA” statement against Nitish; PK, the then political strategist of Nitish, had given it a new interpretation — the “DNA of Bihar”. After that the three parties of the grand alliance campaigned against this statement of Modi. The statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on reservation and Amit Shah’s comment on Pakistan also played a crucial role in Bihar elections. So, during the ongoing election campaign in UP, no one is launching personal attacks on any leader of the Opposition. There will also be no comments on sensitive issues like reservation and communal polarisation.
THE DURATION OF SESSIONS
The duration of the Parliament Session as well as that of the Assembly is continuously on the decline. The Budget Session might be very short in comparison to earlier. The first phase of the Budget Session will be of 10 days only; earlier, it used to be for one month. Normally, the Budget Session was called on either February 22 or 23, and it continued for almost a month. After one recess, the second phase started, which also continued for a month. But this time, the first phase of the Budget Session will be from January 31 to February 9 — only for 10 days. The duration and starting date of the second phase has not been disclosed yet.
Many political pundits feel that this the Gujarat effect because the Assembly Session used to be short there. There is one more argument; if no work is being done in Parliament, what’s the need for a long sessionIJ Though this is not good for Opposition politics.
The Assembly Session of Jharkhand has also been cut short. Normally, it lasted a month. But this time it will start from January 17 and continue for only 15 days. This is also being said that there will be no work for those two weeks. The last Session was tumultuous in view of the CNT and SPT Act, and that will continue this time also. In Delhi also, the Assembly Session has been cut short for two days only.