The success in the Karnataka Assembly elections has charged up the Congress. But what is important is whether the fighting spirit exhibited by the partymen will last till the 2014 lok Sabha pollsIJ The battered image of the Congress as a result of a series of scams in the UPA-II Government has left the party leaders on the defensive. Most of the time, these leaders are busy shielding the Ministers involved. However, Karnataka victory may be shortlived as the chant for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s resignation is growing louder daily.
Now, all eyes are on the revival package of the Congress, especially Uttar Pradesh, which has been lagging behind on the poll score. The Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief Nirmal Khatri was conspicuous by his absence even at a time when the party was celebrating its victory at the UPCC office. No wonder a party insider remarked: “Perhaps the PCC chief is busy with more important matters than celebrating this win in Karnataka.”
However, the question doing the rounds is whether UP will be able to do a Karnataka in the coming lok Sabha electionsIJ Even the expectations seem to be far-fetched since nothing can revive the sagging morale of the partymen, who have been subjected to a persistent bashing at the elections in the State.
Though the party High Command had appointed Khatri with the hope of revitalising the party ranks, much needs to be done in this direction as the mood of the party workers remains unchanged. The sunken spirits of the party workers added to the infighting in the ranks has more or less pushed the party out of reckoning position in the electoral ladder.
Worse still is the fact that the visits by the party’s national vice-president Rahul Gandhi and sister Priyanka Vadra are mainly restricted to Amethi and Rae Bareli parliamentary constituencies. Questions are being raised as to why the top leaders are ignoring the remaining parliamentary constituencies in the StateIJ After all, every seat counts in the upcoming General Elections.
But so far, the UPCC is has not even authorised to appoint members of the party’s district committees. Recently, Priyanka was in Rae Bareli for this purpose. A disappointed senior party leader remarked: “If the party High Command is overstepping and appointing district committee members what then is the role of the UPCCIJ Are the Congressmen only there to show their faces during the visits of their top leadersIJ What about the party’s preparations for the 2014 lok Sabha polls vis-a-vis the other regional parties like the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party which have already finalised their prospective candidates, many of whom have started making preparations in their respective constituencies.”
A senior Congress leader explained: “Rahulji is personally monitoring the poll process in UP so it is now up to him to select candidates for the elections and bring back the party on track.” The journey from Karnataka to UP to the Centre is a fairly long one. One needs to just keep the fingers crossed.
Tale Of Two Gandhis
The 2014 lok Sabha election is likely to throw up many surprises. If all goes well, the BJP is likely to field the party’s national general secretary Varun Gandhi from Sultanpur, adjacent to Rahul Gandhi’s Amethi seat. Earlier Sultanpur, Amethi and Rae Bareli were considered Congress bastion. However, now Amethi is not a part of Sultanpur district.
It is believed that the BJP was considering of shifting Varun Gandhi’s lok Sabha seat from Pilibhit to Sultanpur so that his mother Animal rights activist and founder of People For Animals Maneka Gandhi can return to her home seat in Pilibhit. The contest will be interesting if Varun contests from Sultanpur just next to Rahul Gandhi’s Amethi seat.
The people are now waiting for the two Gandhis to confront each other at the polls.
Over A Cup Of Coffee
Politics, it is said, is discussed over a cup of tea. But theses days, it is the Coffee House in the city which happens to be the favourite hub of all political parties. So, cutting across party lines we find them all gathered here.
Recently, a book by a senior journalist on lucknow’s Coffee House contributed in reviving the erstwhile culture of the place. Some of the senior’s frequenting the place include veteran politicians like four times Chief Minister and former Andhra Pradesh Governor ND Tiwari, senior Cabinet Minister in the Akhilesh Yadav Government Rajendra Choudhary, sitting BJP MP lalji Tandon. Senior CPI leader Atul Anjan and several other former BSP leaders.
Of course, it goes without saying that the hot topic of debate is the coming 2014 lok Sabha elections and the poll preparedness of various political parties.