The canvassing for the coming Bihar assembly election has started via virtual meetings in the state. The RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav has demanded for polls to be postponed in Bihar and said that it is the responsibility of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to hold elections after the Covid-19 pandemic is contained. At present, small parties cannot afford to organise virtual rallies and voters in Bihar are struggling to put food in their plate. At the same time, LJP chief Chirag Paswan wants polls to be postponed and he is reportedly unhappy with the seat-sharing formula being offered to the LJP within the NDA. It is not only the issue of dates but parties are busy in realignment of their alliances. Nitish Kumar is trying to bring back Jitan Ram Manjhi on his side, while the Congress is discussing with Chirag Paswan for a possible alliance. Rahul Gandhi wants to bring back the core Congress vote bank of upper castes, Dalits and Muslims. RJD is trying to hold on to their Muslim and Yadav votes, which is around about 28%, and Lalu Yadav had ruled for 15 years with this once potent combination. Tejashwi Yadav is now trying to convince the voters by admitting the mistakes committed during his father and former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav’s era. According to political observers, Chirag Paswan will remain with NDA as he wants more seats for his party, but Nitish does not want LJP in his alliance and wants to replace LJP with Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM party. Meanwhile, Congress wants to make alliance with the left parties, the new front of former minister Yashwant Sinha and other smaller parties in the coming assembly election in Bihar.
VASUNDHARA RAJE’S CONSPICUOUS SILENCE ON PILOT DRAMA
Rajasthan BJP leaders have been issuing statements welcoming Sachin Pilot, but one BJP leader has been conspicuous by her silence — the two-time chief minister Vasundhara Raje. Those voicing sympathy for Pilot include BJP vice-president Om Prakash Mathur, Rajasthan unit president Satish Poonia, Union minister Gajendra Shekhawat and former law minister P.P. Choudhary. Raje has not publicly aired her views on the current turmoil dogging the Congress government in the state, but she has also not made any mention of it in any of her social media posts. Sources in the BJP say Raje’s silence, and her considerable hold on BJP MLAs in the State unit, is also one of the reasons why the party has been proceeding rather gingerly with regard to toppling the Gehlot government and the BJP high command has not kept Vasundhra in the loop on this episode. That is the reason she is absent from the scene.
SHOULD MODI, SHAH BE WARY OF YOGI’S RISE IN HINDUTVA RANK?
The Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath appears to be emerging as the third pillar within the BJP after Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. The monk is winning the hearts of the Hindutva crowd. While it was Modi’s rise on the national platform that created a space for Hindutva voice in the mainstream, but the same crowd which was a part of the Modi fan club now appears to be idolizing Yogi. The elimination of the gangster Vikas Dubey in a police encounter saw many of these voices showering praise on Adityanath. Many called him the “best CM ever”, while some other said “never mess with the sanyasi. Many within the BJP senior circuit of Northern India feel that both Modi and Shah should be careful of the monk.
SENIOR CONGRESS LEADERS WANT RAHUL BACK AT THE HELM
Several Congress leaders on Saturday urged party president Sonia Gandhi to re-appoint Rahul Gandhi as the chief of the Indian National Congress (INC). The calls were raised during a virtual meeting of party leaders called by Sonia Gandhi to discuss latest developments and lasted for over three hours. Leaders interpreted the demand by the MPs as positioning considering that the party will face the leadership question again when Sonia Gandhi completes one year as the interim chief on August 10. Rahul Gandhi remained silent when party MPs Kodikunnil Suresh, Manickam Tagore, Anto Anthony, Gaurav Gogoi, Mohammed Jawed, Abdul Khaleque and Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka urged him to return as the Congress president. The meeting was attended by 45 MPs but the others did not join the chorus. Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor is said to have praised Rahul Gandhi. The similar demand was made by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at the Congress working committee last month and Senior leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh also put out a series of tweets for demanding president-ship for Rahul Gandhi. The speculation is that Rahul Gandhi will take over as party president after 10 August and will take the issue of reviving party institutions right from booth level to the All India Congress Committee.
BJP EYES TO FRONT MORE WOMEN TO COUNTER DIDI’S HOLD ON BENGAL
BJP has made fashion designer Agnimitra Paul as the president of BJP Mahila Morcha in Bengal, after seeing the success of Roopa Ganguly and Locket Chatterjee in the Panchayat election, wherein most of the BJP candidates were female. While BJP insiders acknowledge that their glamour and public appeal were a factor in bringing them to the forefront, they credit them with helping the party establish itself in a state where it’s yet to taste power. The think tank of Bengal BJP wants to make Mahila Morcha a strong wing, to counter the TMC-driven substantial vote bank of women due to Mamata Banerjee’s personal earthy appeal. In the coming West Bengal assembly election scheduled for 2021, the BJP is planning to give more tickets to women under the chairpersonship of Agnimitra Paul. (IPA)