Change of leadership in the largest left part, CPM, is on the cards. A new General Secretary will be elected in place of Prakash Karat, and speculations are rife over the probable successors. The 21st Congress of the CPM is going to be held in Visakhapatnam in April. The agenda is ready and everybody knows that it has been broadly decided by Politbureau member of the party, Sitaram Yechury. He has changed the agenda prepared by Karat and company. This time, the party Congress is going to be held in Yechury’s home State. He has always been considered on par with Karat. Not only this, the West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh units support him totally.
But Karat and his close aides want the General Secretary to be from Kerala this time as well, and are backing Ramchandran Pillai. Pillai is also a senior member of CPM Politbureau. But Karat knows well that there will be strong opposition to the move. So, two more names are being discussed to stop Yechury. One is from Yechury’s home State Andhra Pradesh and the other is from West Bengal where Yechury has maximum supporters.
Some people have put forward BV Raghavulu’s name, who was the last Secretary of unified Andhra Pradesh. Though he is hesitant, his name is being floated to stop Yechury. Secretary of WB unit of CPM, Biman Bose, is also in the fray. Some say since the State will have elections next year, it would be appropriate to have the General Secretary from there. Though Yechury is a Rajya Sabha MP from West Bengal, he is originally from Andhra Pradesh. This game of cat and mouse in the CPM will continue till the Congress of the party is held in April.
FOCUS ON RAHUl’S IMAGE
The Rahul era in the Congress is about to start. Reliable sources in the party say Rahul will become the party president in April, and the branding of his image will start. For 10 years, ie during the UPA regime, Rahul had made his own distinct image. He projected himself as a friend of the poor and tribals. After Jayanthi Natarajan’s ‘expose’, it came to light that Rahul had instructed her to stop big projects in favour of tribals.
So, the Congress is expected to cash in on this image of Rahul. The party will revive its old slogan that it is with the common man. Its leaders feel that it is difficult to attract Hindu middle class voters now. So, the party will focus on the poor, tribals and minority. Sources say after taking command of the party, Rahul will revisit areas where he had gathered good media attention. He will go to Vidarbha, Bundelkhand, Niyamgiri and Bhatta Parsaul, and raise the issue of farmers and tribes. To attract minority voters, the Congress will also bring into focus the issues of Muslim reservation, Surya Namaskar and ban on beef.
RAHUl’S FAITH ON OlD TEAM
The Congress Vice-President has full faith on his old team. He will be fully dependent on it when he takes charge of the party. Two of his most loyal aides will continue in the AICC also. Sources say Bhanwar Jitendra Singh and Meenakshi Natarajan can be made General Secretaries. Many say Singh can be the Political Secretary to the Congress President. Rajiv Satav, Jyotiraditya Scindia and K Raju might get important responsibilities in the party.
Rahul is also finalising his team in States. Deependra Hooda, son of former Haryana Chief Minister, may be made the State party president. Hooda’s loyal aide Randeep Surjewala has been made national media in-charge. Kumari Shailja and Ashok Tanwar might also find a place in Rahul’s team. In Punjab, Partap Singh Bajwa will be removed under pressure from Capt Amarinder Singh, but the Captain will not become the State president. His loyalist lal Singh can be made president and two executive presidents can also be put in place. In Uttar Pradesh, Jitin Prasada can be made the State president. After that Sanjay Singh, RPN Singh and Salman Khurshid can be accommodated.
INDIA’S STAND ON lAKHVI
What will be the stand of the Government over the chief conspirator of Mumbai attack, Zaki ur Rehman lakhviIJ This question has been raised in Parliament vicinity during official debate. Some are saying that India has been very sensitive on the issue. When the court of Pakistan granted bail to lakhvi, the Indian Government objected strongly, and Pakistan had to impose PSA, and when he got relief on that also, the Government of Pakistan kept him in jail on a five-year-old kidnapping case. This means lakhvi could not be freed due to strong opposition from India.
lakhvi is an accused in the 26/11 attack in which 166 people were killed. But in India, Masarat Alam, who is facing charges for killing 120 people, has been released. It is being said that Masarat could have been kept in jail either for stone pelting, anti-India campaign or PSA. Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, who became the J&K CM with the help of the BJP, released him with unfazed confidence and there is no chance that he would be arrested again. Sayeed is also preparing to release some other separatists and terrorists. In this scenario, if Pakistan releases lakhvi, what would be India’s standIJ If India opposes it, what will be its valueIJ Can India now put pressure on Pakistan to arrest Hafiz SayeedIJ
CAMPAIGN WITHIN AAP
To establish the throne of Arvind Kejriwal, a campaign has started within the Aam Aadmi Party to oust his rivals. His supporters are not happy with the removal of Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav from PAC, and the removal of Yogendra from the spokesperson’s post. They feel that Yogendra and Prashant have become politically more active after their removal from PAC. It means whoever will be dissatisfied in the party will follow the two rebel leaders. This danger is more with the leaders of States.
So, the party is gearing up to oust Prashant, Yogendra and Mayank Gandhi. Apart from them, Prof Anand Kumar and Ilyas Azmi will be thrown out of the party’s National Executive. Anjali Damania was the first to oppose these two leaders, and then Bhagwant Mann and Naveen Jaihind demanded removal of Yogendra and Prashant from the party.
Sources in the party say PAC and National Executive will be restructured when Kejriwal returns from Bengaluru. It will be ensured that all nine members of PAC are hardcore Kejriwal loyalists. If Yogendra and Prashant continue in the party despite the pressure of the leaders, they can be removed from the National Executive. Conveners in the State who support the two will also be shown the door.