There is a lot of speculation about who will Mamata Banerjee form an alliance with. She came to Delhi recently to participate in the international seminar organised by the Congress. She also met senior BJP leaders, lK Advani and Arun Jaitley. Didi also indicated she might shake hands with left parties to stop the BJP, at the same time hinting at a possible tie-up with the Congress. Some say there is a need to keep an eye on her party’s actions in the winter session as that might shed some light on her future course of action.
Mamata is badly trapped in West Bengal; her problems have increased with the growing strength of the BJP. That is the reason why she is looking for options both with the Congress and left. However, one of her close associates says she would not go with the left as that would shift her vote bank to the BJP. So, her only option is to go with the Congress. It is also being said that she can tie up with the NDA to save herself. In this scenario, the Congress and left are likely to team up.
STORMY WINTER SESSION AHEAD
Preparations are complete for the big confrontation in the winter session of Parliament. In the Budget Session, the Government was successful in accomplishing many works probably because the Opposition parties were still under the shock of defeat in lok Sabha Elections, and the Congress extended its support to the new Government because it was taking forward the agenda of the previous UPA Government. But this will not be repeated in the winter session. Though the Government is planning to bring in 40 Bills, two of these are very important. The Government wants to change the land Acquisition Act and wants to increase the FDI limit in insurance sector to 49 per cent. The Congress and non-NDA parties will oppose both Bills. Due to the protest of the Opposition in the last session, the insurance Bill had to be sent to the select committee. This time too, five parties of the Janata family will oppose the land acquisition and insurance Bills. They have 25 MPs in Rajya Sabha.
The Congress and its UPA partners — with around 80 MPs in Rajya Sabha — will also oppose the Bills. left parties will also oppose the Bills. If Mamata and Uddhav Thackeray don’t help the Government, the two Bills will not be passed despite the support of Jayalalithaa, Sharad Pawar and Naveen Patnaik. Still the Government will try its best to get the Bills passed.
INFIGHTING CAUSE FOR CONCERN
Assembly Elections are knocking on Delhi’s door, but the three major parties are battling infighting, giving nightmares to their respective high commands. The big challenge for the leaders of the BJP, Congress and AAP is to maintain unity in the parties before the announcement of the elections.
BJP president Amit Shah is taking initiatives in this direction. In fact, the tension in the party, which had started over forming the Government, persists. Jagdish Mukhi, who was the contender for the CM’s post, and his supporters have formed a group, and most of the leaders of the Punjabi community are in this group. On the other hand, Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay is playing his politics. The last time around, he was claiming stake from Mehrauli seat and forming strategies to get the CM chair. The third group belongs to Harsh Vardhan, who has become a minister at the Centre. Shah is trying to ensure coordination among these factions.
In the Congress, attempts are being made to bring Sheila Dikshit back. At the same time, some leaders are discussing Ajay Maken’s name for the CM post. Factions of Sheila vs Maken are fully active. Rahul Gandhi has met the leaders several times and is trying to make peace among them. Similarly, there is fierce infighting among AAP leaders. After lok Sabha Elections, Yogendra Yadav is not working properly, Shanti and Prashant Bhushan have also become less active, and Kumar Vishwas is openly praising Narendra Modi. Only Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Gopal Rai are active in the Aam Aadmi Party.
BJP PREPARATIONS IN PUNJAB
There is a chance that Maharashtra show will be repeated in Punjab. The BJP is looking for possibilities of fighting alone in Punjab. In the Punjab Assembly, the party has only 12 members out of the total strength of 117. Even in lok Sabha Elections, the party had received a big jolt when Jaitley lost from Amritsar. Most of the leaders believe the party will emerge stronger in Punjab. Strategists of the BJP feel that due to the aggressive Sikh politics, Akali Dal is popular among limited voters. The Congress also represents the same vote bank. In this scenario, Hindu voters can go with the BJP.
It is notable that the RSS has always been trying to tread on Hinduism. RSS and Akalis have been at loggerheads many times. That is why RSS has increased its activities in Punjab after the BJP came to power at the Centre. It is said that Mohan Bhagwat visited Punjab thrice in September, and in the last three months, RSS has started 200 new shakhas in the State. Though Modi had focussed on the Sikh riots and announced compensation, but BJP leaders don’t see the benefit. Now the question is if RSS puts pressure on the BJP to go it alone in Punjab, what would the party doIJ Jaitley will have to maintain coordination with the Akalis.
THE TAlENTED CONGRESS lEADERS
The talent of some Congress leaders was conspicuous during the UPA regime. Former telecom minister Kapil Sibal had started writing poems and his book was also published. Veerappa Moily too has written several books. Salman Khurshid had started doing shayari. But as soon as Congress leaders lost power, their talents became more refined. Almost a dozen leaders are busy writing books. Most of them don’t have any work, so they are utilising their time well. Khurshid’s new book, in which he talks about the UPA 2 Government, will be released soon. Till date people have heard the stories of UPA 2 only through CAG, CBI and courts. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is also said to be writing a book and her daughter Priyanka is helping her with it. Former PM Manmohan Singh is also writing a book; he will tell the stories of both his tenures. Hansraj Bhardwaj, former law minister and former Governor of Karnataka, is also writing a book. Natwar Singh, former leader of the Congress, had created trouble for the party when he wrote his autobiography. The Congress leaders are said to be writing their books in response to that.
CHANGES IN BJP AFTER ElECTIONS
After Assembly Elections in Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir, there will be big changes in Amit Shah’s team. Shah is currently busy with elections, and after completing his foreign tour, Narendra Modi will also be busy with poll campaigns. So the big changes are expected only after the elections. Reliable sources in the BJP say changes will be made even in the apex body of the party — the Parliamentary Board. At present, it has 13 members and two more members might be included. Party general secretary Ram Madhav and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar may be made a part of the body. Present members JP Nadda and Anant Kumar may be discharged of their responsibilities.
There is a chance that three new general secretaries and three new vice-presidents may be appointed. Syed Shahnawaz Hussain is a probable candidate for both the posts — general secretary and vice-president. Post may be different but it is certain that he is going to get some responsibility. Bihar leader Ashwini Chaubey may be made a general secretary. Anurag Thakur can also be given the general secretary post. In the soon-to-happen reshuffle, leaders of Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu will be given preference as Assembly Elections are scheduled in these States in the next two years.
WHO WIll ADVISE RAHUl GANDHIIJ
The number of advisors of Rahul Gandhi is on the rise. Congress leaders are puzzled and thinking of a way to stop people from giving advice to Rahul. Novelist Chetan Bhagat is writing articles on a daily basis and giving advice to Rahul on what he should and should not do. Many Congress leaders are unhappy about this. Former central minister Mani Shankar Aiyar also advised Rahul in one of his articles, asking him to be brave. The day he wrote this, the Congress advised its leaders to desist from giving such statements publicly.
But it seems that Congress leaders have not taken this very seriously. The recent example has come from Karnataka. CM Siddaramaiah has told Rahul that he must take new initiatives and meet people. He has also defended Robert Vadra, saying he is not burden on the Congress. He is the first minister to link Vadra to the Congress. Before this, even Digvijaya Singh gave regular advice to Rahul. P Chidambaram also told Rahul to be more vocal.