In Jharkhand, seven MlAs of the JVM, the party of former CM Babulal Marandi, are going to join the BJP. After meeting Amit Shah in Delhi, the seven MlAs announced their decision. It is being said that many MlAs from the JMM, AJSU and Congress are also eager to follow suit. In Haryana, this process had started even before the lok Sabha Elections
In States where Assembly Elections are scheduled, there is competition among leaders of other parties to join the BJP. The leaders are keeping their fingers crossed, awaiting the signal of BJP in Jharkhand, Haryana, Maharashtra and even Delhi. In Jharkhand, seven MlAs of the JVM, the party of former CM Babulal Marandi, are going to join the BJP. After meeting Amit Shah in Delhi, the seven MlAs announced their decision. It is being said that many MlAs from the JMM, AJSU and Congress are also eager to follow suit.
In Haryana, this process had started even before the lok Sabha Elections. Rao Inderjit joined the BJP after leaving the Congress and is now a minister. Another Congress stalwart, Chaudhary Birender Singh, will be joining the BJP shortly.
In Maharashtra, Narayan Rane would have joined the BJP if the Shiv Sena had not opposed. In Delhi, Vinod Kumar Binny — who was in AAP — wants to join the BJP. It is said that even Congress stalwart AK Walia might join the party. Many bigwigs of the Congress and AAP are said to be in touch with BJP leaders.
CONGRESS PlANS FOR AllIANCES
The Congress is talking about grand alliances in States where elections are scheduled. In Maharashtra and Jharkhand, it may tie up with many parties. In Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, the Congress doesn’t have any alliance partner, but its leaders are said to be in touch with small parties. Unlike the Congress, there are chances that the BJP might go alone instead of seeking alliance partners.
In Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar of the NCP, which is a partner of the Congress, has also started discussing the grand alliance. He wants the Samajwadi Party (SP) to be included in the alliance. In the State, the SP has some impact and little vote bank. The leader believes that if the SP fights alone, the minority vote bank will be divided. Pawar also wants to hold talks with Raj Thackeray’s MNS. In Maharashtra, the BJP has also tied up with the RPI and Raju Shetti’s Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana apart from the Shiv Sena.
The Congress in-charge of Jharkhand, BK Hariprasad, wants an alliance like the one in Bihar. He wants the RJD and JDU to also be included in the alliance of the Congress and JMM. In previous elections, the JDU and BJP used to fight together. Though it is not clear how the seat-sharing arrangement will be done, it’s certain that the four parties will form an alliance. In Haryana, too, the Congress wants to go into an alliance.
PROTOCOl FOR SONIA TO CONTINUE
Congress president Sonia Gandhi will be getting the old protocol in Government functions. During the 10-year tenure, the Manmohan Singh Government had made changes in laws to ensure she gets lifetime protocol. Sanjaya Baru, who was Manmohan’s media advisor, had given a detailed account of this in his book The Accidental Prime Minister. He wrote when Manmohan was going to deliver his first speech at lal Qila, it was learnt while analysing the protocol that Sonia could not get a seat in the front row. Then Rashtrapati Bhavan helped find a way to seat the Congress president in the front row.
After this, Sonia got front row seats in all functions of Rashtrapati Bhavan. For this, the rules had been changed and it was decided that the wives of former PMs will continue to get the protocol of former PMs. As Manmohan and his wife will be getting seats in front rows of Government functions, wife of former PM Rajiv Gandhi will also be accorded the same protocol.
So, this year during the Independence Day speech of Narendra Modi from Red Fort, Sonia will get a front row seat.
SPECUlATION around CM CANDIDATES
Speculations are rife over the CM candidates of States where elections are scheduled. There is chance that this time old traditions will be broken. If the conjectures in the BJP and Congress are to be believed, a non-Maratha in Maharashtra, non-Jat in Haryana, non-tribal in Jharkhand and non-Muslim in Jammu and Kashmir can be made CMs.
For several decades, a Maratha has been getting the post in Maharashtra. Sushilkumar Shinde was, of course, an exception. This time, the Congress and BJP are thinking of giving the CM post to either a non-Maratha OBC or Dalit. likewise, in Haryana only Bhajan lal was a non-Jat CM. In this election, almost all parties are thinking of a non-Jat CM except INlD.
For the past 14 years, after the creation of Jharkhand, only a tribal could become the CM of the State. Even this time, Arjun Munda is the most prominent candidate from the BJP. But except JMM, all other parties are discussing the names of non-tribal candidates. The BJP is hopeful that it will get so many seats in Jammu and ladakh that it will become impossible to form the Government without its support, and hence the State will get its first non-Muslim CM.
POSSIBlE AllIANCE OF AKAlI, INlD
There is an old alliance between the Shiromani Akali Dal Punjab (Badal) and BJP. They are fighting elections together since decades. In the last elections, they tried their Punjab friendship in Delhi as well. But it seems that in Haryana elections, both parties will be in front of each other. Chief of SAD, Parkash Singh Badal, had tried for an alliance between the BJP and INlD. He didn’t succeed in the lok Sabha and now there is no chance in the Assembly Elections also.
The BJP is gearing up to fight the election alone, though it might go with Kuldeep Bishnoi’s HJC. In this scenario, INlD and SAD might form an alliance to consolidate Jat and Sikh votes. There is no doubt that Badal and Chautala families are very close. When Haryana formed a separate Gurdwara Management Committee, the parties became even closer.
KHARGE NOT GETTING enough SUPPORT
Though Sonia Gandhi had made Karnataka’s veteran leader Mallikarjuna Kharge the leader of the Congress in lok Sabha, he is not getting the required support of Congress MPs. In fact, there was speculation that Kamal Nath could be made the leader of the Congress in lok Sabha. Veerappa Moily’s name was also considered, but Sonia gave the post to Kharge and made Amarinder Singh his deputy.
So, usually Kharge is a one-man army attacking the Government in the House. Sometimes, chief whip Jyotiraditya Scindia lends support to him, but he gets continuous support from Pappu Yadav and his wife Ranjita Ranjan. That is why it is being said that Kharge wants to go back to Karnataka politics. Probably, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah will be changed, and if that happens, Kharge could be given the post.