The Congress is in no hurry to set up an alliance at an all-India level. Under compulsion, the party has gone into alliances in some States, but its experience has not been good. That is why the party has deferred the decision on Nitish Kumar’s proposal. After a lot of discussions, senior Congress leaders have reached the conclusion that the party should wait.
Sources say senior Congress leaders discussed at length Nitish’s proposal to forge a national alliance. They are of the view that since the party is not in a strong position at present, regionalkshatrapas are trying to suppress them. That is why the Congress is rejecting the possibility of any alliance at the national level.
In Tamil Nadu, DMK has given it only 41 seats, and P Chidambaram is saying that there are only a few seats on which the Congress can score victory. The Congress is also toiling hard to get the Jangipur Assembly seat from CPM. Pranab Mukherjee used to be the MP of Jangipur and now his son Abhijit represents it.
However, the strategy of the Congress is this: Maintain good relations with all kshatrapas and go for UPA III after 2018 elections. Congress leaders are of the view that the party’s performance will be good in Gujarat elections, which are scheduled by the end of next year. After that, the party aims to win in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Only after that will the Congress start thinking about an all-India alliance under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.
CHANGES ON the CARDSIJ
The biennial elections of Rajya Sabha are scheduled in June-July. It seems that the Government will take a decision on the seats of nominated quota at that time only. Two seats of nominated quota have been lying vacant for the past year, and five seats have been vacated on March 21. Apart from this, elections are scheduled for more than 60 seats, and the BJP might get a good chunk of these seats.
That is why it is being said that before these elections there will be changes in the party organisation and Government. BJP sources say two or three ministers of Narendra Modi Government might become nation officials in the organisation. To give more representation to Dalits, backwards and Adivasis, at least one big face from Bihar, UP and Jharkhand might get a place in Amit Shah’s team. Some of the leaders who are not MPs can be given ministerial berths; they could be given tickets for Rajya Sabha. Changes in the organisation and the Government will be made according to the results of the five Assembly Elections.
DEFENDING HOODA
The problems of former CM of Haryana, BS Hooda, are continuously on the rise. The SN Dhingra Committee, which is probing land deals in Hooda’s tenure, has put some uncomfortable questions before him. Many experts feel that there will be no problems in the cases pertaining to Gurgaon land deals, but Panchkula deals will prove problematic for Hooda and some of his officials.
But one thing that is sure is that if Hooda faces any problem, either due to Gurgaon or Panchkula deals, the Congress will defend him. The reason is simple: If questions are raised on the deals in his tenure, problems of Robert Vadra’s company will increase too. At the same time, there is a political reason also. Some of the close aides of Rahul say that if the party doesn’t defend Hooda, then he might form a new party. It is obvious that the Hooda family is not comfortable with the preferential treatment being given to Randeep Surjewala.
It is being said that some of the close aides of Hooda have told the Congress high command that when the party defended Virbhadra Singh in Himachal Pradesh, Siddaramaiah in Karnataka, and Oommen Chandy in Kerala, then Hooda can’t be deserted. They are saying that the Congress should also toe the line as the BJP is targeting its opponents selectively and with a sense of political rivalry.
NITISH’S lATEST SlOGAN
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has given a slogan of “Sangh-mukt Bharat”. He coined this slogan last week and defended it last Monday while talking to journalists at Janata Darbar. Some of the parties, including the Congress, have welcomed this slogan, but a majority of parties are keeping mum.
Secular parties of States where elections are being held have also kept quiet; they have neither spoken in support of the slogan nor have they opposed it. Even lalu Prasad Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal have not uttered a word on this. One of the MPs of JDU is of the view that the parties have kept mum because they think that Nitish is moving ahead and they are afraid that they have fallen out of the race.
Sources in JDU say this slogan has not been given to polarise the common voters, but to polarise political parties. This slogan will not have an appeal for the common people as the real problems for them are inflation, unemployment and corruption. There are very few people who consider RSS a threat and JDU knows this well. But this slogan could help take anti-BJP parties on board. At the same time, ambitions of leaders of these parties are so high that they will not come under one roof easily.
Meanwhile, there is a war-like situation on social media against Nitish over his slogan. It is amazing that some people, who are supporters of regional parties, are mocking Nitish. Nitish was minister at the Centre during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s regime and was the CM for eight years with the help of the BJP. Nitish has justified this by saying that when the BJP was in alliance with him, issues like Article 370, Ram temple and Common Civil Code were left behind. But in reality, the BJP is not raising these issues even today. The Kashmir issue has been left behind due to PDP, and the issue of Ram temple has been kept aside as the matter is sub judice. The court is also considering the Common Civil Code.
PK TO DECIDE PCC CHIEFSIJ
There was a time when Sonia Gandhi was apprehensive about Prashant Kishor, the strategist of Nitish Kumar. After the lok Sabha Elections, when Kishor tried to contact her through someone, she expressed her doubts and asked why a person who was close to the BJP wanted to meet her. But in two years, the situation has changed completely. Kishor is not only responsible for the election management of the Congress in two States, it is being said that PCC Presidents will be appointed on his advice only.
Sources in the Congress say that first of all, President of UP Congress will be appointed. It was being said that the Congress might go for an OBC face to counter BJP’s OBC President in the State, but Kishor wants a Brahmin for the post.
It is also being said that Kishor will have a say in who will be the Gujarat PCC President also. The Congress says Kishor has worked for Narendra Modi for several years in Gujarat, so he is well aware of the weaknesses and strengths of the Congress in State. It should be noted that PCC President of Gujarat, Tushar Chaudhary, is not well.
Next year, elections are due in Punjab, UP, Gujarat, Himachal and Goa. If a Brahmin face is put forward in UP, then changes will also be made in Uttarakhand. Even in Himachal and Goa, new party Presidents will be appointed on Kishor’s advice only.
BUZZ AROUND RAM TEMPlE
Senior BJP leaders Subramanian Swamy has been giving several statements on the Ram temple, which are making some of the party leaders apprehensive. It is being speculated that he is saying all this with a motive of polarisation in UP Assembly Elections. That is why he said in Mumbai that the next Ram Navami will be celebrated in Ayodhya temple.
Before this, he submitted an application in the Supreme Court and became a party to it. He also said that if Rajiv Gandhi had become the PM for the second time, he would have built the Ram temple. It is obvious that he is trying to create a buzz for Ram temple.
But there is a lot of debate on social media on what he had said in Mumbai. He said it would take three months to build the temple after the decision of the court, and the next Ram Navami will be celebrated in that temple. After his statement, questions were raised on how Swamy knows about the decision of the court. The Allahabad High Court has already given its verdict, but both parties are not satisfied with it and that is the reason why the matter is pending before the apex court.