After the liquor ban, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is now toying with the idea of a slogan asking people not to take or give dowry. He is said to be planning to activate the police and administrative departments to implement the campaign against dowry. Meanwhile, Sharad Yadav is going to organise a dalit maha panchayat in Nandan village on 31st January to protest against the arrest of 29 dalits, including 10 women, and filing of cases against 99 others in the wake of the stone pelting incident during the chief minister’s visit to Buxar district. Sharad Yadav has demanded an inquiry by a high court judge on the arrest and assault on dalits.
SURPRISE APPEARANCE AT CONGRESS LUNCH
A lunch hosted by Congress communication department head Randeep Surjewala last week had a surprise guest: boxer Vijender Singh. The event was attended by top Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal and Motilal Vohra. Also in attendance were Ajay Maken and Sushmita Dev.
SCINDIA PUTS ALL STAKES IN BY-ELECTIONS
BJP politics in Rajasthan is warming up as the by-elections for the two Lok Sabha and one assembly seats are coming close. The BJP government is worried that if the party loses any seat, it will be interpreted as a big loss of face. BJP’s central leadership has given a free hand to chief minister Vasundhra Raje in the selection of candidates and this puts additional pressure on her. In Alwar, she has nominated her minister Jaswant Singh Yadav, but all the six MLA of this parliamentary constituency have demanded that he should not be given ticket. In Ajmer, she is aware of the risk of Muslim votes going against the party candidate; so she is said to be planning to field Muslim independents to divide the votes. According to BJP sources, the RSS workers are unlikely to put out their best for the success of the party candidate.
BJP EXPLORES TRIBAL ALLIANCES AGAINST LEFT
BJP is looking up to alliance with tribal outfit Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT). It is inching closer towards a formal electoral alliance, ahead of next month’s assembly polls in the Left-ruled northeastern state. The party has expanded rapidly in the region since 2014 and is in power in four states, such as Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, either in alliance or independently. Although IPFT has been demanding a separate state as Tripuraland, BJP does not seem to subscribe to the idea in the talks between the two parties. According to indications, the party will only agree for more autonomy for the tribal dominated areas of Tripura. The Indigenous Nationalist party of Tripura (INPT) is negotiating with both Congress and the BJP, hoping to put a strong fight against the CPI-M.
UTTARAKHAND BJP INFIGHTING TURNS SERIOUS
The fight between BJP groups in Uttarakhand is once again on the rise. Not only the MLAs, but most senior ministers are also said to be unhappy with chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. There are open fights in the party core committee and the Vidhan Mandal Dal. One of the main issues of contention is extension of areas in city corporation and municipal committees. It is alleged that the government is extending the limits of corporation, municipal committee and town areas at the expense of nearby villages so as to benefit the builders. The government wants to merge nearby villages to the corporation, municipalities and town areas. Housing minister Madan Kaushik has denied the charges. Ministers such as Yashpal Arya, Harak Singh Rawat and Satpal Maharaj are opposed to the chief minister. (IPA)
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