Amit Shah is toiling day and night to broaden the party base in North-Eastern and South Indian States. This is also true that he has put a special focus on 120 seats of the lok Sabha. In the last elections, the BJP had lost these seats. But this time around, the party has set a target to win all of them. The BJP has high hopes from Hindi-speaking States, where it has had a good hold traditionally. That is why, along with forming a strong base in new States, the party is also hopeful of winning all seats of Hindi-speaking States, especially Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.
It is being said that the BJP leaders have been given a target of clinching all 40 seats of Bihar and 80 seats of UP. The last time, the NDA had won 31 seats in Bihar and 73 seats in UP. At a time when the Opposition believes the NDA’s seat share will dip in these States, the BJP has set eyes on winning all 120 seats.
The BJP leaders also discussed this in the recently held National Executive meeting. But the target was set when Amit Shah was on a three-day tour to UP. Recently, he held a meeting of the core committee of Bihar leaders and set the target to win 40 seats. The BJP leaders feel that the party had won 31 seats without Nitish Kumar and now that he has come into the fold, it will not be difficult to win all seats.
In the same manner, the BJP firmly believes that the Yogi Adityanath card will be helpful in UP. Sources say that in the last elections, there was polarisation due to Muzaffarnagar riots and Narendra Modi’s fight from Varanasi. But this time, polarisation will happen due to Yogi and it will be more intense. It is also being said that the construction of Ram temple will start from next year. The BJP leaders are also saying that the party has made its social equation strong while the Opposition is still not united.
CONG’S BYPOll EFFORTS
The Congress is expected to give its 100 per cent in the byelections for seven seats in five States. At some places, the party will not field its candidate and will try to pitch a consensus candidate from the Opposition. But at places where there is no presence of other parties, the Congress will take the lead. The party’s seriousness can be gauged from the fact that it is ready to put its senior leaders at stake.
For example, the Congress has put forward its State president Sunil Jhakhad from the Gurdaspur seat of Punjab. Jhakhad is said to be the most loyal aide of Captain Amarinder Singh. After becoming the Chief Minister of Punjab, the Captain ensured the State president post for Jhakhad. Earlier it was being said that either the brother of Partap Singh Bajwa, who is considered a confidant of Rahul Gandhi, or his wife will fight from the Gurdaspur seat. But at the last moment, Jhakhad’s name was finalised. The Captain also said that he would ensure his victory.
In the same manner, it is being said that the Congress will field two young turks for two seats of Rajasthan. From Alwar, Jitendra Singh, former Minister and confidant of Rahul, had fought last elections and lost. The other seat is Ajmer, from where the Congress is planning to field State president Sachin Pilot. When Sachin Pilot and Jitendra Singh will come into the race, the elections on these two seats will become interesting.
The Congress will probably not contest on Bihar’s Araria and West Bengal’s Uluberia seats, and is trying for consensus candidates of the Opposition. For two seats of UP — Phulpur and Gorakhpur — the Congress will again try for consensus candidates. This must be noted that Phulpur has been a traditional seat of the Congress and was for the first time won by the BJP. Earlier, PM Jawaharlal Nehru used to win from this seat. That is why the Congress can make a claim for this seat. However, if Mayawati decides to fight from here, the Congress might coax the Samajwadi Party to help the Bahujan Samaj Party.
THE BIHAR GAME PlAN
Ashok Chaudhary, the former State president of Bihar Congress, is gearing up to become a part of a big political strategy of Nitish Kumar. Sources say Nitish is gearing up for the next elections and preparing strategies, and the Mahadalit votes will play an important role in this. In the past few years, Chaudhary has emerged as a recognisable face of the Mahadalits. He has also benefitted from the legacy of Mahavir Prasad. In fact, Dalit votes have been divided into many parts in Bihar. Some are with Ram Vilas Paswan, some with Meira Kumar, and others are with Jitan Ram Manjhi. Nitish doesn’t seem to have a share in this vote bank.
This must be noted that Nitish had efficiently handled the ultra OBC and Mahadalit politics. He is trying to do the same once again. He is also said to be in touch with two components of the NDA — the lok Janshakti Party (lJP) and Rashtriya lok Samta Party (RlSP) — and if need arises, he can form his own front. To handle the BJP, he is preparing a different strategy, and Chaudhary holds an important place in the scheme of things. One can expect big changes in Bihar politics in the days to come.
WHY ISN’T CONG AGITATINGIJ
Why isn’t the Congress agitating on the issues which are being raised by spokespersons and senior leaders on a daily basisIJ Party spokespersons have been alleging that the economy of the country is deteriorating. Randeep Surjewala, chief of the party media wing, and senior spokesperson, Anand Sharma, have several times raised the issues of unemployment and price rise. P Chidambaram is also writing on these issues in his columns in various newspapers. But the Congress is keeping mum.
Recently, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee had made a human chain to protest against the price hike of petrol and diesel, but the leaders are of the view that a massive agitation is required over these issues and small campaigns will not suffice. When Kapil Sibal was asked about this, he said the party will soon start an agitation against unemployment, inflation, and slowdown in the economy. But sources say the party doesn’t have any such plans currently.
There are two reasons for this: The party will soon decide to alleviate Rahul to the post of president, and the Congress leaders say they don’t want to change their focus. On the other hand, they are of the view that if the agitation starts now, it will be difficult to continue it till the elections. So, it is being said that in October, Rahul will take charge, and in November or December, it will be officially declared in the plenary session of the Congress. Only after that will a big agitation start under the leadership of Rahul. That means the Congress will go into a protest mood against the BJP only around the beginning of the next year.