Some people want that Rahul Gandhi should be made only the executive president of the Congress and that Sonia Gandhi should continue as the party president. However, some others want Rahul to be the president and Sonia assume the role of a mentor. Apparently, this decision will be taken in the course of this week
The Congress Vice President is going to take over the responsibility of the party very soon. Although this has been the subject of speculation for years, Congress sources now say that due to Sonia Gandhi’s deteriorating health, it is necessary that Rahul Gandhi take command of the party, even though he has displayed unwillingness.
Reliable sources in the Congress also say that some procedural issues have to be sorted out before that. Some people want that Rahul should be made executive president and Sonia should continue as president of the party while some others want Rahul to be the president and Sonia a mentor. Apparently, this decision will be taken in the course of this week.
However, if Rahul is to become president, announcement will be made towards the end of this month. In September, a Congress session will be called for the purpose. Sonia’s one year tenure is going to end in December and the decision has to be taken before that in any case. It is being said that Rahul has already created a team comprising experienced people from Sonia’s team and youth from his own old team.
PM MODI’S I-DAY SPEECH
Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned Balochistan in his Independence Day speech at Red Fort and it was like a googly to not only for Pakistan but also for the Congress. Salman Khurshid called it a blunder and Kapil Sibal said its consequences would be very dangerous for India. But, in the social media people criticised Khurshid for his stand and then the Congress immediately qualified the same. Within hours, Congress communications in-charge, Randeep Surjewala supported India’s stand on Balochistan.
Incidentally, Balochistan was mentioned in the joint statement issued by India and Pakistan at Sharm el-Sheikh. At that time, the BJP had expressed strong objection against it and had called it a diplomatic blunder. Sources say that when the media started mentioning that incident, Congress leaders advised its spokespersons to keep mum on that.
It is said that Congress leaders have now understood that there is a difference between Sharm el-Sheikh and Red Fort. At Sharm el-Sheikh, it was Pakistan which had raised the issue of Balochistan and India’s alleged interference in that area. At Sharm-al-Sheikh, it was Pakistan which had put pressure to include Balochistan in the joint statement. That, in fact, pointed to a weakness in India’s position but to raise the issue from Red Fort by the PM is altogether different. When PM raised the issue, Baloch leaders started thanking him.
MAYAWATI AND DAlIT POlITICS
It’s speculated that Mayawati is worried about the Dalit politics of the BJP and Congress. After several cases of Dalit atrocities in the news, she thinks she has all rights reserved on this vote bank, a reason why she becomes restless when any party tries to attract Dalit votes. Out of her restlessness, Mayawati is continuously targeting her rival leaders and the recent one is Amit Shah. Over a week ago when Amit Shah had lunch with Dalits at the house of one of the Dalit MPs, Mayawati called it drama. Prior to that when Modi raised the issue of Dalit atrocities and attacked the Gaurakshaks then too Mayawati had expressed her unhappiness. She said the PM was like Kumbhakarna. Earlier too when Rahul Gandhi would dine at Dalit homes, Mayawati would react in the same manner.
However, sources in the BSP say that Mayawati is not worried for her core vote bank, the Jatav. She has a good hold over 13 to 14 per cent vote of the Jatav vote. But, the non-Jatav vote bank also constitutes around eight per cent. That is why she is reacting sharply over the manoeuvring of the BJP.
One of the leaders close to BSP divulges hat Mayawati is also worried about communal politics. She is apprehensive that if polarisation happens in western UP then Jatavs can go with the Jats. To attract the Muslim vote bank Mayawati has decided to field maximum number of Muslim candidates but her close associates are apprehensive that this would also harm Mayawati.
GAURAKSHA AND GAURAKSHAKS
Although the Prime Minister has given a direct warning to pseudo Gaurakshaks, it is also true that the Home Ministry has issued directions to take action against them but the issue will not die down so easily. It will be raised time and again by the ruling and opposition parties. On the one hand there are Hindu organisations and on the other there are secular communities. Both sides seem to be weighing their gains over this issue.
Tehsin Poonawalla, who is affiliated to the Congress, has filed a PIl in Supreme Court. The SC has agreed to hear the petition. It must be noted that Poonawalla is a relative of Priyanka Gandhi. So, in all probability his PIl will be seen as a petition by the Congress. However, many leaders are said to be unhappy with the stand. They are saying that on the issue of Gaurakshaks, political salvos are alright but attempts to give it a legal angle can prove fatal for the party. The Congress does not want to send out a message that the party is against Gauraksha. It is a fact that when Muslims were targeted in the name of Gauraksha, the Congress did not emphasise the issue.
On the other hand, VHP’s Pravin Togadia has directly hit PM Modi. Togadia is of the view that such statements will harm the campaign of Gauraksha. He went further ahead and said Hindus are being discriminated and the PM’s statement emphasises racial profiling.
CHANGES IN PARTIES IN UP
As the Assembly Election draws near, the race has started to change parties in Uttar Pradesh. Generally, leaders change parties out of apprehension of defeat or if they sense victory but this time the major reason for such a party changing spree in UP is the caste factor. MlAs and leaders are changing their parties keeping in mind which party their vote-bank is inclined towards. This trend can be seen in the steps taken by Swami Prasad Maurya, RK Chaudhary, Bala Prasad and Rajesh Tripathi among others.
In UP, this time it’s being said that non-Yadav voters will go with the BJP. That is the reason why Swami Prasad Maurya has joined the BJP, after talking and judging SP and Congress both. Maurya had sensed that he could not get votes of his caste for the Congress and SP.
likewise, three Muslim Congress MlAs have joined the BSP. One Muslim MlA from SP has also joined the BSP. People are saying that this time Muslim voters can go with the BSP in place of SP. They are of the view that only the BSP can stop the BJP. That is the reason why Muslim MlAs are joining the BSP.
likewise, Brahmin MlAs of the Congress and BSP are inclined towards BJP. Recently, two MlAs joined the BJP. Two more Brahmin MlAs were supposed to join but they could not reach the function. It is said that next week they will join the BSP. After Dalit atrocities and abuses against Mayawati, forward castes are inclined towards the BJP.
COMPlAINTS IN BIHAR CONGRESS
Some of the leaders of Bihar’s Congress party have complained to the party’s high command in Delhi. They have said that almost all the big shots of the party were absent from the road show of Sonia Gandhi held at Varanasi. Right from the State President Ashok Chaudhary to any MP and MlA, they were not part of the road show. This, despite the fact that so many districts of Bihar have common boundaries with Varanasi and yet the leaders from Bihar were not asked to motivate people to rush to Varanasi.
It is said that Bihar’s leaders were busy in the Assembly Session. But disgruntled leaders are rejecting this argument outright. They say that some leaders could have gone, emphasising that the State committee could have assigned some leaders to go to Varanasi but this too was not done.
One of the Congress leaders of Bihar says that some days ago when Nitish was in Varanasi, Ashok Choudhary spent four days there. It is also being said that Choudhary was there only for Nitish’s rally but he could not go there at the time of Sonia’s rally. However leaders close to Choudhary maintain that he had gone there to have a darshan of Baba Vishwanath.