With UP as the sole objective, Priyanka will not campaign in the entire country and instead concentrate on Amethi and Rai Bareilly as she wants to safeguard the family bastion. This is why she has inducted Aditi Singh, daughter of Rai Bareilly’s most powerful leader Akhilesh Singh, into the Congress
As per reports, Priyanka Gandhi was supposed to start campaigning in Uttar Pradesh starting September. Many Congress leaders had divulged as much, off the record, and indicated that she too would participate in road shows like her mother Sonia Gandhi. However, this plan has been deferred for a month. Meanwhile, road shows have been organised for Rahul Gandhi according to which he will move from Deoria to Delhi and will hold meetings in all major cities en route.
Reportedly, the Congress wants to use Priyanka as its Brahmastra. If she is roped in before the announcement of the UP Assembly elections, opposition parties will get ample opportunity to attack her in light of the submission of the Justice SN Dhingra Commission report on Robert Vadra’s land deals to the Haryana Government this week. If there is any action initiated in this regard after the announcement of election dates, Congress hopes to appeal to people’s sympathy for Priyanka.
With UP as the sole objective, Priyanka will not campaign in the entire country and instead concentrate on Amethi and Rai Bareilly as she wants to safeguard the family bastion. This is the reason why she has inducted Aditi Singh, daughter of Rai Bareilly’s most powerful leader Akhilesh Singh, into the Congress. Akhilesh has been a three-time MlA, defeating a Congress candidate twice. Party sources assert that Priyanka will campaign only after October or after a formal announcement of elections.
PRESIDENTIAl ElECTIONS
Election for India’s President is scheduled for July 2017. Mr Pranab Mukherjee’s tenure comes to an end on July 25, 2017. Observers are of the view that the forthcoming Assembly Elections in five States, scheduled for January-February next year, will impact the presidential election. However, BJP strategists and the Government reject this apprehension. They are of the view that the equation of votes is in favour of the BJP and it does not need the help of any other party to get its candidate elected.
In a presidential election, MlAs and MPs are voters, an electoral team which comprises 4896 members. According to the BJP, the NDA has around two per cent more votes than what is required for a majority. The party feels this percentage will increase after election in the five states.
In fact, the value of votes for a UP MlA is more than the value of MlAs from any other State – to be precise the value of one UP MlA vote is 208. Presently, there are only 41 BJP MlAs in the UP Assembly. But, most political pundits feel this number will go up. In Punjab, the numbers may go down but the UP numbers could balance out Punjab and Uttarakhand, it is felt.
KEJRIWAl TO REPEAT STRATEGY
Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal is seeking to replicate his Delhi strategy in the States as well. The only difference is that in Delhi he unveiled his strategy after the elections and in Punjab he is preempting that. In Delhi, immediately after the elections he removed the likes of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan. At that time, a sting operation was employed to frame them in anti-party activities.
In the same manner, Punjab’s convenor Sucha Singh Chotepur has been cornered on the basis of a sting operation. He has been removed from his post following allegations of taking a two lakh rupee bribe. Although the people who allegedly gave him money insist that Chotepur has returned their money, party sources say Kejriwal wanted to get rid of Chotepur in any case.
Since Chotepur has been responsible for appointing all district level leaders Kejriwal was apprehensive of a coup in the party alongside two suspended MPs Dharamveer Gandhi and Harinder Singh Khalsa. While Chotepur has been removed, Siddhu too has been kept out.
INTERROGATION OF GEElANI’S SON
life is gradually returning to normalcy in the Valley. Curfew has been lifted from all areas except two or three police stations. Meanwhile, there is news that the NIA has called up Dr Naim Geelani, son of Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, for interrogation. The NIA is investigating the possible foreign funding of stone pelting and terror attacks in the Valley. The Hurriyat leadership is obviously worried and is not able to understand how to move forward. This is the first time a family member of a separatist leader has been called for investigation.
Separatist leaders have so far kept their children away from Kashmir, most being educated abroad. Right from Geelani to Mirwaiz and lone, children either study in Delhi or abroad. There are only a few leaders whose children are in the Valley and who do not indulge in separatist activities. This exposes the dual mentality of the separatists. While keeping their own children away from the Valley they are pushing other youth into terror activities.
CONGRESS IN TRIPURA
Congress has received a huge jolt in Tripura. The Speaker has rejected the proposal to quash the membership of six rebel party MlAs. In fact, the rebels have joined the TMC and have got recognition as a separate group with separate seats in the Assembly. After this decision, the TMC is the main opposition party in the Tripura Assembly. In the last Assembly elections the CPM had got 49 seats in a total of 60. Its alliance partner CPI had won one seat and the Congress 10. The Congress did appeal for action against its rebel MlAs under the anti-defection law but now the Speaker has rejected that. With the Congress down to the number three party in the Assembly, there is speculation that some more equations will be formed and changed.
Sudip Roy Burman has been a strong leader of the Congress. He is hopeful that the TMC’s performance in 2018 will be excellent. After West Bengal, TMC leaders feel they can demolish this CPM bastion also.
SHAH’S STRATGY FOR UP
BJP president Amit Shah is gearing up for a direct fight with the Samajwadi Party in UP. In tune with this strategy Shah insists that the BSP is already out of the race. Earlier as in-charge of UP he had claimed the BJP was in a direct fight with the BSP and that the SP was out of the race. The motive in both cases is to cause a division in the Muslim votes. This time, however, he is also trying to attract the Dalit vote. Muslim voters cast their votes to defeat the BJP even as Dalits cast their vote to ensure the defeat of the SP. If the Dalits feel the BSP is out of the race then they might go with the BJP. likewise, the division of Brahmin and forward votes will stop only if it felt that the BSP is out of the race. Only when the Muslims are polarised in favour of the SP will the BJP benefit.