Capt Amarinder Singh, Virbhadra Singh, Harish Rawat, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury are some of the kshatrapas who are doing things their way. By some or the other means, they have told the Congress high command that there should not be any interference in their work
These days, almost all regional veterans of the Congress are functioning unrestrained. By some or the other means, they have told the Congress high command that there should not be any interference in their work. Capt Amarinder Singh, Virbhadra Singh, Harish Rawat, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury are some of the kshatrapas who are doing things their way.
Amarinder, the Congress President of Punjab, is said to have put pressure on his party to declare his name as the CM candidate. He has given an indication that if his wishes are not fulfilled then he might form a separate party. He said that last time, he was just going to form a party, taking 37 MlAs with him. By saying this, he made it clear that he has a good grip over the party. He has also taken his relative Asha Kumari on board as in-charge of the State.
In the same manner, Virbhadra has clearly indicated to the party high command that they should not be in any confusion. He has said that he is neither going to leave politics nor will he surrender his claim for power. This was Virbhadra’s salvo on the attempts to present Anand Sharma as the party leader in Himachal Pradesh.
Also, Rawat has made it evident that despite the sting operation, the party should not consider any other name. Hooda has shown his might in Rajya Sabha elections, and Chowdhury has displayed his valour by way of the alliance with the CPM in West Bengal.
KISHOR’S cm PREDICTION
Congress leaders as well as leaders from other parties were taken aback by the recent statement of election strategist Prashant Kishor. Nobody has been able to understand on what basis did he claim that the next CM of Uttar Pradesh will be from the Congress. Many leaders and political analysts take him seriously. During Bihar elections, he was the only person to claim that the JDU and RJD would win 180 seats, and the alliance did win 178 seats after all.
Hence, many people are taking his statement on UP CM also seriously. They feel that he can boost the performance of the Congress, and the party can play a pivotal role if there is a hung Assembly. But all this will depend on who the CM candidate will be.
Sources in the Congress say Sheila Dikshit has refused to be the CM candidate in UP, and the party high command is more than relieved by this. It
is being said that now the name of Priyanka Gandhi can be discussed. Kishor has probably got a green signal from Sonia Gandhi to project Priyanka’s name before the elections.
SP MOVES BACKFIRE
leaders of SP are not sitting idle, neither are they harbouring any confusion. Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and CM Akhilesh Yadav have been making some or the other statements continuously. That is the reason why the scenario is changing so quickly. Some days ago, people were saying that the SP was out of the race, but now they are of the view that the party will be in the main fight. Though this is also a fact that all moves of the party have not only failed, they have backfired as well.
To expand and consolidate the vote base, SP leaders had recently tried two things, which failed. First was that they had to take Swami Prasad Maurya in the party. Swami was supposed to become a minister in the reshuffle, which was scheduled for June 27. That was why Akhilesh praised Maurya, calling him a strong leader, when he had left the BSP. He also said that Maurya was a good leader but unfortunately was in wrong party. But the very next day, Maurya said that the SP was a party of goons. After that Shivpal Yadav became very angry and said Maurya had lost his mental balance.
Secondly, to consolidate Muslim votes, the SP was to take Mukhtar Ansari and Afzal Ansari in the party. Shivpal made an announcement of the merger of Ansari’s Quami Ekta Dal with the SP. But later, the merger was cancelled.
Even before that, Ajit Singh’s party RlD was supposed to merge with the SP. But that could not materialise as Ajit was adamant on a Rajya Sabha seat. Though this is also a fact that he had supported the SP in the Rajya Sabha elections. Now, both parties have started talks again.
AAP CANDIDATES OF PUNJAB
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has prepared a list of candidates for almost all seats in Punjab. At the same time, this is also a fact that the party has not been able to find a CM candidate. Party leaders were expecting Navjot Singh Sidhu to leave the BJP. AAP leaders were gearing up to project him as the CM candidate. But the BJP made a smart move; Sidhu was first made a Rajya Sabha member and then a member of the State core committee. His opponents were moved out of that core committee. Despite the opposition by the Akali Dal, the BJP will ensure that Sidhu will campaign for the alliance.
Now, there is no possibility of Sidhu joining AAP. So, the party will have to project someone else as the CM candidate. Sources in AAP say that
the leaders are discussing whether the CM candidate should be announced first or should the party first announce the names of the candidates. Some leaders want that names of candidates for all constituencies should be announced first, so that they can start working in their respective areas. So,
it is said that AAP can release its first list of candidates in August.
Reliable sources say the Congress has also decided to release the names of its candidates at least six months before the elections. So, the Congress can also release its first list in July or August.
KEJRI’S REFERENDUM RAGA
Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, has once again started singing the referendum raga. In September 2014, when there was a referendum on the issue of separation of Scotland from Britain, Kejriwal had said that a referendum should be conducted here also on the issue of full Statehood for Delhi. By that time Kejriwal had enjoyed the power of Delhi for 49 days.
Recently, when people resorted to a referendum to decide the fate of UK with EU, Kejriwal was again harping on the issue of full Statehood to Delhi. Though, he has not given much emphasis after that, but probably he is discussing the issue with his party leaders.
People are saying that Kejriwal is singing the referendum raga only to ‘expose’ the BJP and Congress. What’s interesting is that these two parties have also been demanding full Statehood for Delhi. And if Kejriwal sticks to this move, both parties will be in dilemma.
But right now, Kejriwal himself is in dilemma. He can’t opt for a referendum on his own. If he does so, it will set a bad precedent; the people of J&K and the Northeast will also demand the same.
However, the Central Government will not allow him a referendum. He has another way out — he can have a survey and ask people about full Statehood of Delhi, just as he had asked them before taking the support of the Congress in his first term. Surveys are a peculiar tool of his, while opponents deem it useless.
ONGOING TUG OF WAR IN SP
A tug of war is going on among the SP leadership, and the second round has gone in favour of Ram Gopal Yadav and Azam Khan. The two leaders have once again proved their mettle after the decision on merger of Mukhtar Ansari’s Quami Ekta Dal with the SP has been reversed. The first round was won by Amar Singh and Beni Prasad Verma.
On the issue of their return to the SP, Azam and Ram Gopal were on one side, while Shivpal Yadav was leading the opposite front. That round was won by Shivpal. He was successful in persuading Mulayam that in the election year, the party would benefit from the entry of Beni and Amar. And then, despite the resentment of Azam and Ram Gopal, Amar and Beni not only got an entry into the party but were also sent to the Rajya Sabha.
The other round started over the merger of the Quami Ekta Dal with the SP. If that had happened, and Balram Yadav had been out of Akhilesh’s Cabinet, then the importance of Ram Gopal and Azam would have lessened. So, people are saying that Ram Gopal persuaded his ‘loving nephew’ Akhilesh to oppose the decision, and at the same time he briefed Mulayam about the ill-effects of the merger.
After that, there were many leaders in the Parliamentary Board who thought that the merger of Ansari’s party would give a chance to the BJP for polarisation of votes, and the party would also sharpen its attack on the issue of law and order situation in the State. So, under the strategy to polish the image of Akhilesh, the decision of a merger was reversed. Now, the third round of the tug of war has started in the party.