By Rahil Nora Chopra
The Indian Youth Congress national executive meeting unanimously passed a resolution to make Rahul Gandhi the party president once again. This resolution was adopted on the second day of the two-day national executive meeting of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), which was held at a resort near the Goa state capital. The meeting was presided over by IYC national president Srinivas BV, IYC In-charge and AICC joint secretary Krishna Allavaru. The opinion among Congress leaders remains sharply divided regarding the next president of the party. A large majority of leaders are in favour of Rahul Gandhi becoming the next chief, however, a group of senior leaders has been calling for an election. Meanwhile, the G-23 group of leaders, led by the Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad, has been demanding reforms within the party and reiterating their calls for change, chances are their expectations will be met accordingly. The speculation is rife that the G-23 leaders may put up a consensus candidate against Rahul Gandhi and will also fight the election for the CWC members post.
CHIRAG, TEJASHWI MAY TEAM UP, WITH RJD-LJP PITTED AGAINST JD(U)
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is gearing up for the by-election for two Bihar Assembly seats. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has claimed that the people will vote for the party. Tejashwi Yadav has said that the by-election to Tarapur and Kusheswar Sthan is scheduled in near future. “The candidates of Mahagathbandhan will win both the seats and make us stronger in Vidhan Sabha,” he has claimed. Meanwhile, Lok Janshakti Party MP Chirag Paswan met with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and revived the speculation about realignment in Bihar after a split in Paswan’s party engineered by his uncle and Hajipur MP Pashupati Kumar Paras. The meeting comes after RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav suggested an alliance between the LJP and his party, stating that Paswan should team up with his son Tejashwi. Chirag Paswan visited Tejashwi Yadav in Patna to invite him to a memorial for his father and former Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan’s first death anniversary on September 12. Both of them have emphasized on their fathers’ close ties and long association and the two youth leaders also jointly targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
WITH EYE ON UTTAR PRADESH POLLS, PARTIES COURT BRAHMINS
With an eye on the Uttar Pradesh 2022 assembly polls, the Samajwadi Party is trying to woo Brahmins through outreach programmes. Supporters of the SP have gone a step further. In Ballia on Monday, they held a “Shiv Sevak Sammelan” aimed at a section among the Brahmins — the influential Goswami community. The event was held under the banner of the “Goswami Samaj” at the local town hall. On posters put up at the convention site, Lord Shiva shared space with SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav and party president Akhilesh Yadav. Meanwhile, BJP leader Swatantra Dev Singh said that their leaders have now started visiting temples and offering prayers to woo the Brahmins community. On the other hand, BSP president Mayawati addressed a ‘Prabudh Varg Sammelan’ (meeting of intellectuals) at the end of BSP’s month-long programme to reach out to upper caste Brahmins across the state. The BSP, a Dalit-centric party, successfully reached out to Brahmin voters in UP in 2007, a combination that is attributed to the party reaching a majority mark in the assembly for the first time. Mayawati seems to be trying out the same formula for the 2022 polls, too. While the opposition Congress and SP have, however, said it doesn’t matter what the BSP decides, as the party isn’t in the race for the 2022 UP assembly elections.
IS NITISH KUMAR GUNNING FOR THE PM’S POST?
The remark as made by the JD(U) leaders for Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, saying that he is a “PM material” though he is not in the race for the post, has put Nitish in great unrest. Just few days after being anointed thus, CM Nitish went to inspect “Guru ka Bagh”, a memorial being constructed in Patna in honour of Guru Gobind Singh. A senior leader of his party asserted that the chief minister was on the right course of position himself as the future PM candidate by wooing the Sikhs. Nitish, however, expressed his annoyance in front of the media persons. The CM said that the leaders of his party brought forth the PM material issue without any reason. But everybody knows that nothing happens in the JD(U) without Nitish’s approval!
BYPOLLS FOR VACANT RAJYA SABHA SEATS IN OCTOBER: EC
The Election Commission of India has announced bypolls for seven vacant Rajya Sabha seats — one seat from Assam, one from West Bengal, two from Tamil Nadu, one from Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry and Maharashtra. Polling for all seats shall be conducted on October 4.The Bengal seat fell vacant after Manas Bhuyan decided to contest the assembly election as was the case with the Assam seat where Biswajit Daimary went on to contest assembly polls and is currently the speaker of the Assam assembly. The seat for Maharashtra fell vacant after Rajiv Satav died of Covid-19 related complications. Former union minister Thawar Chand Gehlot was made Karnataka governor just before the last cabinet reshuffle and therefore his seat has also fallen vacant. Two seats from Tamil Nadu are vacant since AIADMK leaders KP Munusamy and R Vaithilingam resigned to contest assembly polls. The biennial elections for one Rajya Sabha seat from Puducherry will also be held on October 4 as the term of N Gopalakrishnan, who represents Puducherry in the Rajya Sabha, ends on October 6.Besides, one vacant Bihar legislative council seat will also go to the polls on October 4. According to sources Congress turncoat Sushmita Dev, who joined TMC, is likely to contest for the vacant Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal. The Assam seat will most definitely be contested by union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who was brought in to the centre after being the chief minister of Assam for five years, and in 2021 handed over the reins to Himanta Biswa Sarma. (IPA Service)
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