After the by-polls to 29 assembly and three Lok Sabha seats where Congress scored a surprise victory in Himachal Pradesh, and notable wins in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka, senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala tweeted: “BJP has lost 2 out of 3 Lok Sabha seats. In Assemblies, BJP has lost at most places in direct contest with INC. HP, Raj, Karnataka & Maharashtra have witnessed it. Modi ji, Shed arrogance! Repeal 3 Black Laws! Stop Petrol-Diesel-Gas Loot! Disdain for people’s pain is harmful”. “Every victory for the Congress is a victory of our party worker. Keep fighting hate. No fear!” tweeted Rahul Gandhi. The incremental Lok Sabha seat for Congress came from BJP-ruled Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi where late Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s wife Pratibha wrested the seat from the BJP in a close contest. It also won all the three assembly seats in Himachal, which included a sitting BJP seat. For the BJP, the defeat in sitting Jubbal-Kotkhai was a shock as it was pushed down to the third position and lost deposit after a party rebel emerged second. While Congress is upbeat after the by-poll results and their leaders are claiming that in the upcoming assembly elections in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur the Congress has an edge over BJP and other parties. UP Congress leaders are claiming that no party can form the government in the state without the Congress support. Although Congress would go to the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections without a CM face, it will fight under the watch of general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, whom the state party chief Ajay Kumar Lallu described as a storm that will help sweep the polls. Lallu said the way Priyanka Gandhi is raising various issues in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government is feeling insecure.
CONGRESS IN ALL-OUT BID TO WOO RLD AWAY FROM AKHILESH
Ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, The Congress is making all efforts to take Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) on board and the party has asked Haryana leader Deepender Singh Hooda to reach out to RLD leaders. On 31 October Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had met the Jat leader and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary at the VIP lounge of the Lucknow airport. After addressing the ‘Pratigya Rally’ in Gorakhpur on 31 October, Priyanka Gandhi had reached Lucknow to take a flight to Delhi, and it was during the same time that Chaudhary also reached the airport. Both of them took the same chartered flight to Delhi. According to sources, Congress has offered an alliance with RLD in Uttar Pradesh if SP-RLD parleys fall through. Till now Akhilesh Yadav has maintained that Samajwadi Party will ally with the RLD. The meeting has become significant in view of reports that relations between SP and RLD have lately been under strain over seat sharing.
TMC, AAP PLANS FOR GOA HAVE BOTH BJP AND CONGRESS WORRIED
The Aam Aadmi Party and Trinamool Congress have been trying to spread wings across the country and are looking to rope in potential leaders of BJP and Congress. Many BJP and Congress leaders have been approached by TMC and AAP. Internally, BJP strategists are happy that the efforts of the two parties will hurt their principal rival Congress. The latter has already accused TMC of providing cover fire to the BJP in Goa. Congress has urged Trinamool Congress to introspect on whether it was strengthening the BJP by contesting the Goa Assembly election next year. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that he respected their decision to fight the elections independently. However, he added that Trinamool needed to understand…what are they fighting? BJP leaders are said to be more apprehensive of AAP than Trinamool as AAP poses a threat as it has been playing both the trump cards of the BJP nationalism and Hindutva.
AKHILESH PATCHING UP WITH UNCLE SHIVPAL YADAV
In another development, Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday announced that his party will form an alliance with his uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav’s party and give him due respect. Akhilesh told reporters that the party will work together to bring Shivpal into the alliance on SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav’s birthday on November 22. Shivpal Yadav is an MLA from Jaswantnagar (Etawah) and Mulayam’s younger brother. While Shivpal Singh Yadav has been waiting for a nod from his nephew Akhilesh on the alliance. Shivpal Singh Yadav formed Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP) last year after leaving the Samajwadi Party. Shivpal left after Akhilesh Yadav took over the reins of the Samajwadi Party from father Mulayam Singh Yadav. Political observers say Shivpal and Akhilesh coming together may not guarantee a clean sweep for SP in the polls but it may be a able to form the government in the state.
BY-POLL DEFEAT TRIGGERS BLAME GAME IN HIMACHAL BJP
After BJP lost the Mandi Lok Sabha seat as well as three assembly seats to Congress in Himachal Pradesh in the October 30 by-polls, the blame game has started and sources close to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur say the bypoll defeat was a result of too many power centres in the state unit. Besides national president JP Nadda, Union minister Anurag Thakur has been strengthening his position in the state and supporters of Jai Ram Thakur said that the chief minister was not allowed to take decisions freely when it came to candidate selection and campaign strategies. A BJP leader in Delhi said that price rise was a pan India concern and there was a perception within the party that Thakur could not gauge public anger and come up with interventions. The defeat has raised questions whether the BJP can afford to go to the 2022 assembly polls with Jai Ram Thakur as the party’s CM face as it considers its election strategy in the hill state. (IPA)
Akhilesh Yadav’s SP Gaining Ground In Uttar Pradesh To Challenge BJP 