The political temperature is soaring high in Uttar Pradesh as the upcoming by-elections for nine Assembly seats in the state is getting closer where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav’s stakes are very high. SP has placed significant emphasis on caste diversity through its Pichde Dalit Alpsankhyak (PDA) strategy, which focuses on the unity among backward castes, the Dalits, and minorities. This approach is mirrored in its candidate lineup: two Dalits, four Muslims and three candidates from Other Backward Castes (OBCs). Yogi Adityanath aggressively is pitching for the Hindutva agenda with the hardline slogan of “batenge to katenge”, concerning attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, implying that a division of votes may have a disastrous impact in the polls. Additionally, the BJP s touting “good governance and improved law & order” during Adityanath’s rule to win voters. Meanwhile, Mayawati’s BSP is not standing idly, it has fielded candidates in all nine constituencies, making the bypolls a three-way race. BSP UP President Vishwanath Pal has taken the reins of the campaign, though Akash Anand, Mayawati’s nephew and the BSP’s national coordinator, has been notably absent. The Congress party has decided not to contest the by-elections and throw its weight behind the Samajwadi party candidates. A win for the SP buttresses its case as a viable alternative to the BJP in the state in the next state assembly polls in 2027. It will also elevate the SP’s position within the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. A BJP win will help Adityanath fend off criticism within the party.
CONGRESS LEADERSHIP MAY OPT FOR A NON-JAT AS LEADER IN HARYANA ASSEMBLY
The first winter session of the newly constituted 15th Haryana Assembly had commenced on November 13, 2024 but the principal Opposition party Congress has not declared its Legislature Party (CLP) leader giving political ammunition to the ruling BJP to target the Congress. The delay in choosing the CLP leader has yet again brought the focus on the internal factionalism in the party’s State unit, which the party repeatedly continues to hide and deny. The division in the party among the camps of Hooda and Lok Sabha MP Kumari Selja was evident and on public display in the run-up to the assembly polls. Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the Leader of Opposition in the previous House. However, even after a month of the election results, the party has failed to choose its legislature leader. According to party sources , they are expecting an announcement only after the elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand on November 20. However, the Congress high command is not keen on naming Hooda as CLP leader. The dismal results were attributed to Congress’ pro-Jat electioneering and it has made leadership think about bringing a non-Jat to the legislature party leadership.
AJIT PAWAR PITCHING FOR A COMMON PROGRAMME FOR MAHAYUTI BEFORE POLLS
As the campaigning for the Maharashtra assembly elections enters the final lap, Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP leaders have highlighted their unease over the ‘batenge toh katenge’ (divided we fall) pitch of the BJP campaign and even called for a common minimum programme for governance should the ruling alliance returns to power. MVA, consisting of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), and Congress, has declared a wide range of promises under ‘Loksevechi Panchasutri’. It includes a Direct Cash Benefit of Rs 3,000 per month and free bus rides for women. The alliance also promised to waive farm loans of up to Rs 3 lakh, and an additional Rs 50,000 for farmers who repay the loans. They have also promised a ‘benefit’ of Rs 4,000 for unemployed youth, and health insurance coverage of up to Rs 25 lakh for the poor. The Mahayuti alliance, led by the BJP, and including Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, has been giving out cash doles for a while now. But under pressure from the MVA promises, the Mahayuti has increased its Ladki Bahin offering from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 per month for women and senior citizens, along with Rs 10,000 per month in aid to students and Rs 15,000 in financial assistance for farmers, which was earlier Rs 12,000.
AAP, BJP AND CONGRESS GETTING READY FOR ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN FEBRUARY 2025
With only three months to go for the Delhi Assembly election, scheduled in February next year, all three parties AAP, BJP, and Congress have geared up in election mode by launching their own outreach programmes. Congress leader and five-time legislator Mateen Ahmed joined Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) while former Delhi Minister Harsharan Singh Balli quit the ruling party and joined to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Ahmed was among eight Congress MLAs who managed to secure their seats in the 2013 assembly polls when AAP won over a sizable votes of the grand-old party in its debut election. His son, Chaudhry Zubair Ahmed, and daughter-in-law Shagufta Choudhry, who’s a sitting municipal councillor, joined AAP in October this year. The shifting loyalties of Ahmed and Balli are indicative of co-existence of old-style politics in Delhi after the dilution of AAP’s preference for new faces. By raking up the liquor ‘scam’, the BJP hopes to have successfully blemished Kejriwal’s image as crusader against corruption. AAP, however, hopes that with little headway in investigations and tardy court proceedings, with all arrested AAP leaders granted bail, including Satyendra Jain, accused of personal misdemeanour, the BJP’s tactics would be seen as misuse of investigating agencies. (IPA Service)
Centre’s Ultimate Insult To Victims Of Wayanad Tragedy 