The 24-year-old alliance which was started in 1996 between the BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal came to a halt recently after an emergency core committee meeting of the Akali Dal was conducted, in which it was unanimous decided that the party could no longer be a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Its president Sukhbir Singh Badal declared that the core committee had decided unanimously to pull out of the BJP-led NDA alliance because of the Centre’s stubborn refusal to give statutory legislative guarantees to protect assured marketing of farmers’ crops as per MSP. Moreover, the Modi government’s continued insensitivity towards Punjabi and Sikh issues showcased through moves like excluding the Punjabi language as one of the official languages in Jammu and Kashmir, along with issues of the farmers, the Sikh community, the state of Punjab and the Punjabi language. Last week, the SAD’s Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned as a Union minister for food processing in protest against the three farm bills that were later passed in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament. According to Badal, new laws on agricultural marketing were lethal and disastrous for farmers.
BIHAR POLLS: ODDS AGAINST NITISH KUMAR’S RETURN FORMIDABLE
Bihar will go to polls in three phases from October 28 to November 7. This will be the biggest election since the outbreak of Covid-19 in February/March this year. However, the Covid-19 pandemic is not the only factor which could matter this election; there are other issues which could shape the poll outcome in the state. The perception of the ruling JD(U)-BJP alliance led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at present is radically different from the 2015 election, when the JD(U)-RJD combine won the polls decisively. This time, the JD(U) and RJD are fighting against each other. Moreover, JD(U)’s alliance partners, BJP and LJP, are demanding more seats sensing the anti-incumbency against Nitish Kumar. On the other hand, JD(U) too wants to contest more seats as JD(U) had bagged 16Lok Sabha seats in 2019; therefore, the party wants to contest half of the assembly seats this time. In atleast two assembly elections since 2019 Lok Sabha polls, i.e., Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the BJP has paid a heavy price for having failed to sort out the seat division with its respective alliance partner. While Jharkhand saw pre-poll fallout between the BJP and the All Jharkhand Student Union, in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena broke with the BJP and walked out of the NDA. It seems possible that the distribution of seats will make neither Nitish Kumar nor Chirag Paswan particularly pleased. Secondly, the number of Muslim votes which Nitish Kumar’s party JD(U) got in the 2015 Assembly elections may not suffice to return JD(U) back into the seat of power. Chief reason is BJP’s politics of Hindutva, because of which the Muslim voters prefer the RJD-Congress alliance. However, All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is to watch out for, whether the party can divide the Muslim vote as it has managed to win a by-election in the Muslim-dominated northeastern region of the state. Any significant gains for AIMIM will definitely dent the Muslim support to the RJD alliance. The big factor is the Covid-19 induced loss in remittances from Bihari migrant workers, a share of 35% in Bihar gross state domestic product, which has severely impacted consumption at the household level. Another factor is the poor health infrastructure which has affected the whole of Bihar and people are visibly annoyed. Large sections of the socioeconomic elite in Bihar are NDA supporters, but increase in the spread of the virus will definitely make them stay indoors and prevent them from participating in the voting.
BEYOND SURJEWALA, CONGRESS LOOKING FOR A NEW MEDIA HEAD
The Congress is looking for a new media department head after Randeep Singh Surjewala became the general secretary in-charge of Karnataka. The choice was supposed to be among the three obvious candidates, who have been at the frontline of Congress’ media handling for long; including Manish Tewari, Abhishek Singhvi and Anand Sharma. All of them are competent and experienced; however, the high command could be looking beyond them. While Anand Sharma and Manish Tewari might have earned themselves some negative points by signing the infamous letter to Sonia Gandhi on the drift within the party, Singhvi is too busy a lawyer to spare time for this 24×7 assignment. One name that reportedly cropped up was that of Sachin Pilot, who has the ability to handle this job, but giving the role of party chief spokesperson to a leader who was perceived to have rebelled so recently could be a problem. The easiest option could be to continue with Surjewala, but he is said to be reluctant after doing this difficult job for years.
DESPITE SIGNING ON THE SONIA LETTER, WASNIK REWARDED
In the recent Congress party re-organisation, most of the 23 party seniors who signed the letter to Sonia Gandhi for introspection into the party functioning were not included, except Mukul Wasnik who was appointed to the powerful six-member committee which would take decisions in Sonia Gandhi’s absence along with Ahmed Patel and KC Venugopal. Mukul Wasnik was also made general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh where the by-election will be held soon. Also, his name was included as a member of the CWC. Now, many are left wondering what was Wasnik’s grudge against the party high command to have signed on the dotted line, given he has been so handsomely rewarded by the Congress top guns.
REMOTE HAMLET IN HIMACHAL GETS ITS FIRST TAP WATER CONNECTION
A hamlet in Spiti, which has the distinction of having the world’s highest polling station, has now got its first tap water connection. Tashi Gang, a village of six households which lies at around 4,650 metres above sea level, was provided water connection under a gravity scheme from a water source up the hill a few days ago. Spiti is a remote region but even within Spiti, Tashi Gang is one of the remotest inhabited places. Villagers used to fetch water from the spring and other sources in the area using jerrycans, but now a functional household tap connection has been installed in all the six houses using those same water resource. According to Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur, under the JAL Jeevan Mission, the state has set a target of providing a tap water to all households in Himachal by August 2022. (IPA)