By Rahil Nora Chopra
The Centre has stepped up political outreach over the proposed women’s reservation and delimitation exercise, involving with key INDIA bloc parties including the Samajwadi Party (SP), DMK, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction). Amid buzz that the DMK has softened its stance on the bill, much to the unease of the INDIA bloc, Udhayanidhi Stalin has clarified that the party had opposed delimitation from the very beginning and would continue to do so. The DMK has demanded that the 1971 Census and not the 2011 exercise should remain the basis for delimitation of the Lok Sabha for the next 25 years. Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju is learnt to have urged leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to support the proposal, while Gandhi reportedly told Rijiju that while there was no change in the Congress’s thought on delimitation, the government should call an all-party meet to discuss the Bill. In a meeting of INDIA bloc parties on Thursday, Rahul told the opposition MPs that the Congress aspired for the implementation of 33 per cent women’s quota in the present strength of the 543 seats in Lok Sabha. The government wishes to reintroduce the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill during the ongoing Monsoon Session. The proposed law seeks to operationalise 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies before the 2029 general elections through a fresh delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census. It also proposes increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha from 543 to 816 seats. However, Rijiju ruled out convening a special session for the legislation, indicating that any move to reintroduce the bill would be made during the current session.
AKHILESH LOOKS AT COURTING BRAHMINS AHEAD OF UP 2027 STATE POLLS
With the focus now shifting to the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has reached out to the Brahmin community, saying the party’s ‘PDA’ formulation also includes Pandits. He also accused the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh of targeting opposition workers, Brahmins and religious leaders, including a Shankaracharya. The formal launch of this new political experiment coincided with the birth anniversary of ‘Pandit’ Janeshwar Mishra, the veteran socialist leader, popularly known as “Chhote Lohia”. The party organised a special and grand ‘Prabuddhjan Sammelan’ (Conference of Intellectuals) aimed at reaching out to the Brahmin community. Akhilesh also changed the meaning of his party’s much touted ‘PDA’ (pichda, dalit and alpsankhyak) stating that ‘PD’ in fact was a short form for ‘Peedit (persecuted) Pandit’. While Akhilesh’s pro-sanatan push has caused unease within the BJP, with the saffron party leaders terming his attempt to woo the brahmin community as simply an election stunt.
DESPITE COCKROACH WIN, NCP(SP) UNSURE OF STAYING WITHIN INDIA BLOC
The massive popularity of the Cockroach Janta Party agitation in Delhi, and the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, has deepened the dilemma facing the Sharad Pawar-led faction of the Nationalist Congress Party—whether to join the BJP-led NDA or stay with the Congress in the INDIA bloc. In the same vein, the Sunetra Pawar-led faction of the party, which is part of the NDA government in Maharashtra, is seeing challenges to her leadership. Meanwhile, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) has dissolved the spokespersons’ panel, retaining only two of them—Mahesh Tapase and Vidya Chavan. The senior leadership of the party, including Pawar and NCP (SP) working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule are working on streamlining the communications system. The move comes amid not just organisational changes, but also speculations about the possibility of support to the BJP. On the other hand, election strategist-turned-Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders Parth Pawar and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar at the Devgiri bungalow to discuss the party’s future political strategy. While both sides were tightlipped on what transpired at the meeting, it set tongues wagging with Maharashtra politics again in a state of flux, especially over the direction the NCP would eventually take. As per sources, Kishor’s inputs would be valuable in helping the NCP rebuild the party organisation and redefine its electoral strategy. The NCP could go it alone in the coming zilla parishad panchayat elections, instead of as part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, with one topic of discussion at Thursday’s meeting reportedly being testing the NCP’s political strength on its own, under the leadership of Sunetra. Now both NCP and NCP (SP) have switched focus on restructuring parties, as the merger talks have shown no progress.
RAHUL GANDHI’S FUN-FILLED INSTAGRAM SESSON WITH GEN-Z GOES VIRAL
As a gesture to outreach GenZ, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched an “Ask Me Anything” session on Instagram, answering numerous questions, including one on the student protest in Jharkhand, and asserted that every government should pay heed to what the students are saying. Posting a link to his Instagram initiative on X, Rahul said: “Students, Gen-Z — I’m here to listen. Ask me anything on Instagram, and I’ll answer as many questions as I can.” The Congress shared out video clips of some of the questions he answered. Asked about the student protest in Jharkhand, which is governed by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, an INDIA bloc ally, Gandhi said the education system in the country has collapsed.
CJP, AISA LAUNCH PAN-INDIA TOUR CAMPAIGNS TO BETTER CONNECT WITH YOUTH
Cockroach Janta Party is expected to launch a youth-emphasised “Kya Bolti Public” campaign to communicate with people across India and understand their needs and expectations. The campaign is scheduled to commence in September 2026. The initiative aims to address issues such as education affordability, unemployment, and the perceived disconnect between the government and the public. The CJP also said that a delegation would go to Ranchi to talk with Jharkhand students protesting against job exam irregularities and provide them with whatever assistance they need. Meanwhile, All India Students’ Association (AISA), which also played a leading role in the recent students’ protest against paper leaks and demanding educational accountability, announced a nationwide outreach campaign — Gen Z Rising — under which its national president Neha Bora would tour several states to mobilise students and youth around issues of education reforms, unemployment and entrance examination policies. (IPA Service)
