Rahul Gandhi has already done rallies in three poll-bound States and this week he will be addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh. likewise, Narendra Modi has addressed one rally in all the four States where elections are going to be held this winter
While the BJP and the Congress are preparing a list of about 50 star campaigners for the Assembly elections in four States, the fact is that State leaders only want Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi to attend their rallies. There is no demand for any other big leader; even film stars are not being invited.
Rahul Gandhi has already attended rallies in three poll-bound States and this week he will be addressing a rally in Madhya Pradesh. likewise, Modi has addressed one rally in all the four States where elections are going to be held this winter. Seeing the enthusiasm during his rallies, BJP leaders are hopeful that the Guajrat Chief Minister can ensure victory for the party in all the four States.
Soon, the second phase of Modi’s rallies will start. He will be addressing a rally in the Adivasi-dominated area of Rajasthan this month. After that he will go to Chhattisgarh. Next month he will be in Delhi for four days.
OFFICERS UNHAPPY WITH SP
Officers of the all-India services are not happy with the Samajwadi Party Government in Uttar Pradesh. They were unhappy over the treatment meted out to Durga Shakti Nagpal; the recent suspension of Home Secretary Sarvesh Chandra Mishra has created even more unrest. Anger can also be seen over the way the Government has transferred some of the officers after the Muzaffarnagar riots.
It is interesting that almost all the officers are either being suspended or transferred in almost similar cases. The Government is giving only one excuse: There is danger to communal harmony. While Nagpal was suspended over the allegation of demolishing a mosque wall, Mishra faced the music due to a typing mistake. It so happened that a meeting of officers was called for a discussion to put a ban on the VHP’s ‘Sankalp Yatra’, but mistakenly it was written on the agenda paper that the meeting was being held to discuss the ways to build the Ram temple at Ayodhya.
Mulayam Singh Yadav is worried about his Muslim vote-bank and is leaving no stone unturned to showcase himself as the messiah of Muslims. One wonders how far these moves will help him.
UPA eyes next session
The Congress is quite enthusiastic with the results of the monsoon session of Parliament and is already preparing the agenda for the winter session. The Food Security Bill and the land Acquisition Bill have been passed in the monsoon session, and now the Government will try to get the lokpal and women reservation Bills passed in the winter session. Both these Bills are pending in Parliament for a long time.
Sources say that Anna Hazare has announced his hunger strike in Delhi on the issue of the lokpal Bill. It will begin on the first day of the winter session. If the Government doesn’t get the Bill passed, then Arvind Kejariwal’s Aam Aadmi Party will reap the benefits of Anna’s strike. If the Bill is passed, then the stand of Rahul Gandhi against corruption will become stronger. Also, the Congress will try to attract the women voters by getting the women reservation Bill passed this time.
PATNAIK’S Third Front POlITICS
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is busy resurrecting his Third Front dreams. In the process, he has expressed his reservations for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Sources close to him say that Patnaik has again come closer to the left parties and is seriously considering himself as a probable leader of the Third Front. Political analysts are keeping a close watch on the ‘Secular Sammelan’, which is going to be held in delhi on October 30. If Patnaik participates in this meeting, then it will be a clear indication of his left turn.
With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar being seen to be inching closer to the Congress, Patnaik is regarded as a natural choice to lead
the Third Front. Right from J Jayalalithaa to Mulayam Singh Yadav, almost all non-Congress, non-BJP leaders are facing some or the other charges. As for Mamata Banerjee, she can’t stand the left parties. In this scenario, the left Front has not many options either, but to bring in Patnaik. If the BJD performs well in the lok Sabha elections, then there will not be any surprise if he leads the Third Front.
It’s committee time
When the Congress Core Committee and the Congress Working Committee decided to create a separate Telangana, Congress president Sonia Gandhi formed a four-member committee under the leadership of AK Antony. The committee was supposed to hold talks with all groups in Andhra Pradesh and after understanding their concerns it was to make a recommendation. But before the committee could meet, Antony fell ill and was admitted in a hospital. Meanwhile the Union Government took the decision on Telangana and created a seven-member GoM (Group of Ministers) under the leadership of Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to look into the matter. One wonders what will the committee headed by Antony do now.
Congress’s grand hope
Both the Congress and the BJP are confident that they are going to form the Government in all the four States going to elections this winter. Recently Congress has got a survey done which says that it can win all the four States! Defying general perception, the internal survey of the party says that it is way ahead of the BJP in Delhi and Chhattisgarh. As for Rajasthan, it says that the party will have close fight with the BJP. In Madhya Pradesh, the survey says, the Congress may be 15 seats behind the BJP. But the party feels that with Jyotiraditya Scindia at the helm, its graph will only go up.