By Rahil Nora Chopra
With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joining the Rajya Sabha, the avenue is now fully open for the Bharatiya Janata Party to appoint its own chief minister in Bihar for the first time. However, Nitish will formally enter the Upper House once the new Rajya Sabha term begins after April 9, when outgoing members will retire. Potential successors include Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary and Union minister Nityanand Rai, both considered as strong contenders if the BJP takes over the top post. However, speculation is doing rounds that Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar may soon formally enter politics by joining the Janata Dal (United). Political chatter has also speculated that if Nitish Kumar eventually moves to the Rajya Sabha, Nishant could even emerge as a contender for the post of Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister. Meanwhile, the Opposition has accused the BJP of carrying out a political abduction in Bihar, and said the core voter of Janata Dal (United) feels cheated now. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to enter the Rajya Sabha was a betrayal of the people’s mandate. He alleged that the BJP has always been opposed to Dalits and OBCs, and with Kumar leaving the CM’s post, it will seek to implement its agenda in the socialist stronghold. While the Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the elevation of Nitish Kumar was a conspiracy hatched by the big two in the BJP. “Through this conspiracy the G2 have captured power in the state. This is a betrayal of the people’s mandate,” Ramesh said.
MAHARASHTRA RAJYA SABHA ELECTIONS MAY BE UNCONTESTED IN ALL 7 SEATS
The Rajya Sabha elections to seven seats in Maharashtra are likely to be uncontested, because there are exactly seven candidates in the fray. The BJP’s candidates are Ramdas Athavale, party general secretary Vinod Tawde, Maya Ivnate, and Ramrao Vadkute. The Shinde Shiv Sena’s candidate is its firebrand speaker, Dr Jyoti Waghmare. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate is Parth Pawar (son of the late Ajit Pawar), while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has successfully managed to avoid a tussle and had supported the candidature of Sharad Pawar. The architect of this united front was Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, who took the initiative and she had a discussion with Uddhav Thackeray and Rahul Gandhi in order to secure support for Sharad Pawar’s candidature. However, Uddhav Thackeray is said to have put forth a condition that the NCP’s Sharad Pawar would not join hands with the BJP in case of a merger between the two factions. As a result, senior NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil made a statement that a merger was out of the question and he said, “The merger talks had been initiated at the insistence of Ajit Pawar. He is no more now. So, there is no possibility of a merger anymore. This issue does not exist anymore. I don’t think any of our alliance partners have any doubts about this.”
HARYANA RAJYA SABHA CONTEST HAS A DARK HORSE IN SATISH NANDAL
Election for two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana will take place on March 16 to see replacements for Kiran Chaudhary and Ramchandra Jangra, as their term is ending in April. Both BJP and Congress candidates have filed their nominations for the two seats. The BJP candidate is Sanjay Bhatia, while Karamvir Singh Boudh is contesting for the Congress. But it is the entry of an Independent candidate Satish Nandal that has added a twist and made the election interesting and has given rise to a concern about a reprisal of the state’s Rajya Sabha elections in 2016 and 2022. As per the Assembly strength, both BJP and Congress can win one seat each as they can easily cough up 31 first preference votes needed for victory. BJP with 48 MLAs have the support of three independents and also expects two INLD MLAs to vote for it. Even if BJP transfers its surplus votes, Nandal would be short of nine votes. With Haryana witnessing cross-voting, Congress managers have their fingers crossed, as the party central leadership chose little-known Karamvir Singh Boudh as its candidate, ignoring the claims of seniors like Uday Bhan and Ashok Tanwar. However, Nandal had unsuccessfully contested against former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda from Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi Assembly constituency as a BJP candidate in 2019.
FOURTH RAJYA SABHA SEAT FROM ODISHA LIKELY TO SEE NAIL-BITING CONTEST
A high-stake political confrontation has commenced with the contest for the fourth Rajya Sabha seat from Odisha, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) locking horns with a Biju Janata Dal (BJD)-Congress combine. The political temperature soar high after the entry of businessman-politician Dilip Ray as an independent candidate with the backing of the BJP and he had filed his nomination papers as the fourth candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. Ray will take on Dr Datteswar Hota, the joint nominee backed by the BJD, and Congress .In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJP currently commands the support of 82 MLAs, including three Independents, comfortably positioning it to secure two Rajya Sabha seats. Its official nominees — state party president Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar — are set to be elected, with a total requirement of 60 votes. The BJD, with an effective strength of 48, is well placed to ensure the election of its official nominee, Dr Santrupta Mishra. The fourth seat, however, has sparked intense political manoeuvring. The winning threshold stands at 30 MLAs. After electing two members, the BJP is left with 22 surplus votes. The BJD, after securing one seat, retains 18 surplus votes and has the declared backing of 14 Congress MLAs and one CPI legislator — placing the opposition combine within striking distance. However, If Ray manages to engineer cross-voting within BJD or Congress ranks, the contest could tilt in favour of the BJP. Meanwhile a victory for the BJD-backed candidate could inject fresh momentum into the party’s revival efforts.
CONGRESS-DMK REACH SEAT-SHARING DEAL AFTER HARD BARGAIN, SAVE ALLIANCE
After days of uncertainty and hard bargain, the ruling DMK and the Congress has finally signed the seat-sharing pact for the Assembly elections. As per the agreement signed by DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and TNCC president Selvaperunthagai, the Congress will contest in 28 Assembly seats. The Congress has also been allotted a Rajya Sabha berth. The 22-year-old alliance, which at one point, was about to collapse over demands for power sharing and higher seats, was saved once Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi stepped and by deputed senior leader P Chidambaram as their interlocutor. During the meeting with Chidambaram, Stalin offered 27 seats, which increased by one when Kharge spoke to the DMK chief over the phone. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi, though he gave his nod to Kharge, is not entirely happy with the deal since the DMK did not heed Congress’ request of restoring the 2016 figure of 41 assembly seats. During the negotiations, Congress also dropped its demand for a share in power after Stalin ruled out such a possibility. (IPA Service)
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