The BJP and BSP are closely following the ongoing talks related to an alliance between the Congress, RlD, and JDU. The BJP leaders are said to be happy about the possibility of this alliance. This was also probably discussed during a BJP meeting held to chalk out the election strategy. A leader says it was being said from the very beginning that the BSP is out of the race, and that the BJP would have a direct fight with the Samajwadi Party. If the alliance is finalised, then the minority votes would go to the Samajwadi Party. In this scenario, the BSP has more to lose if a tie-up is indeed formalised.
That is why the BSP is worried; Mayawati is saying that the alliance will prove beneficial for the BJP. Bihar’s CM Nitish Kumar is well aware of this danger and that was why he had advised bringing the BSP into the alliance as well. But this is not possible.
On the other hand, the Congress and RlD don’t see this danger because the alliance will prove beneficial for them. leaders of both parties want such an alliance. However, amid all these developments, Akhilesh Yadav has a different concern. He is of the view that the alliance will send a message that the Samajwadi Party has become weak.
BSP MUllS ITS STRATEGY
If the Samajwadi Party goes into an alliance, what will be the BSP’s strategyIJ BSP leader Mayawati thinks that the proposed alliance will not be good for her party, and the BJP will take advantage of it. That is why some say she is seriously thinking about the possibility of a pre-poll alliance. Though this is also true that the BSP has a history of going alone into elections and forging post-poll alliances. But this time the situation is different. There is a three-cornered fight and her party might get a big jolt.
Sources say some Congress leaders are thinking of a separate alliance apart from Prashant Kishor’s plan, and are said to have contacted some BSP leaders. The leaders from Punjab and Uttarakhand have taken the initiative. They are saying that in both States, an alliance with the BSP will prove good for the Congress. They want that the BSP should be taken into confidence in UP as well. These leaders believe that if an alliance is finalised, it will be a game-changer for these three States.
One of the distant possibilities can be that to stop the alliance of the SP, the BSP might go along with the BJP. Though both parties have rejected the idea of a pre-poll alliance, they have kept mum on post-poll possibilities.
SIDHU’S DECREASING MIGHT
Former BJP leader and cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu is himself responsible for his diminishing clout. It is being said that Pargat Singh and Bains brothers, who had come along with Sidhu, have started looking in separate ways. Bains brothers are worried as Sidhu is only talking about himself and his wife. This is the reason why no alliance is being finalised.
Sources say that Sidhu is not able to decide on his future course of action. So, he is talking to both the Congress and AAP at the same time. Meanwhile, some people are saying that he has started taking to the BJP also. Some say there is apprehension that the BJP and Akali Dal might face some problems over seat distribution. In this scenario, Sidhu might prove useful for the BJP. It is with this thought that Sidhu is in contact with the BJP leaders.
On the other hand, he has demanded 40 seats from the AAP and Congress. It is not a surprise that no party will give him 40 seats out of the total 117. That is why the matter is stuck. His colleagues are worried on another aspect also; Sidhu is not ready to leave the world of television, neither is he ready to devote all his time to politics. This could be why no party is taking him seriously.
CONG’S MUlTIPlYING WOES
Next year Assembly Elections are scheduled in seven States. Five States will go to the polls in the beginning of 2017, and two States will face elections towards the end of that year. Though some experts say that in Gujarat, elections could be held well before schedule.
However, in all these seven States, the Congress is facing one or the other problem. In many States, the party is encountering leadership crises, while in others, its leaders are facing legal problems. Though the leaders feel that there is sympathy because of the legal crises, nobody knows if it would really help the party at the time of elections.
Goa will be going to polls at the start of next year, but before that, former CM Digambar Kamat is facing problems. He is facing corruption charges and his problems might increase in the louis Berger bribery scam. Also, investigation against Virbhadra Singh is in its final stage and a chargesheet might be filed against him. It is being said that the CBI and ED have evidence against him.
In UP, the Congress is facing the crises of strategy and leadership. The party and its strategists are moving in separate directions. The party’s CM candidate, Sheila Dikshit, is not showing special interest in UP, and Rahul Gandhi will concentrate more on other States. Now, everybody is keeping their eyes on Priyanka Gandhi’s campaign.
In Uttarakhand, CM Harish Rawat and State president Kishor Upadhyay are at loggerheads. Due to this infighting, preparation for elections has not started yet.
In Punjab, the tussle between Captain Amarinder Singh and Pratap Singh Bajwa is far from over. Bajwa wants Sidhu to be brought into the Congress, while the Captain is of the view that Manpreet will suffice. In Manipur, Congress MlAs are leaving the party, and in Gujarat, Arvind Kejriwal has increased the worry of the Congress.
KEJRIWAl PlAYS RIOTS CARD
The CM of Delhi knows how to play politics over emotional issues. Kejriwal’s politics over the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case in Delhi had put the Congress on the back foot. Though this is also true that he has not fulfilled any of the promises made to the people of Delhi at that time. In the same manner, he has started playing the card of 1984 Sikh riots before Punjab elections.
In Delhi, Kejriwal had started raising this issue a long time ago; he constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the 1984 riots and demanded justice for the victims. He also put forward HS Phoolka, who is fighting for riot victims, in a bid to seek sympathy from Sikhs. Although Phoolka lost the elections, he could well be the main face of the AAP in Punjab.
Earlier, Kejriwal wanted to fight Punjab elections on the issue of Badal and Majithia. He also raked up the drug menace issue and corruption of Badal’s family. But when he felt that the Akali Dal is out of the race and his main fight is with the Congress, he changed his strategy and was quick to highlight the issue of Sikh riots. Now, the AAP is expected to hang on to this issue for the upcoming elections in Punjab.
RAHUl’S ROAD POlITICS
leaders of Congress are amazed with Rahul’s style of politics. When the Congress vice-president was stopped at Ram Manohar lohia Hospital when he went to meet the family members of Ram Kishan Grewal, all Congress leaders came onto the road. That day, even the political secretary of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel, sat on a dharna, and Ghulam Nabi Azad went on an agitation too.
The next day, Rahul went to Bhiwani for Grewal’s last rites. When he returned, he went to Jantar Mantar for a candle march. This, however, did not go down well with Congress leaders. A senior party leader said Rahul is neither a leader from the Janata Parivar nor is he a Communist leader, who will go on the road over every petty issue. leaders of the Congress are of the view that Rahul should behave like a big leader.
The Congress veterans are also not happy with Ajay Maken and Randeep Surjewala. Next year, MCD elections will be held in Delhi, and these will be crucial for Maken. So, he organised a candle march to give a befitting reply to Kejriwal’s politics, and pushed Rahul into it. On the other hand, Surjewala has to prove himself in Haryana against Hooda and Kiran Choudhry. This was the reason why he included Rahul in the matter.