By Rahil Nora Chopra
The political buzz around the formation of a third front is revived once again. While talk of a third front has been recurrent, a key change this time is that Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has succeeded in getting top politicians from three other regional parties, including three fellow and former chief ministers, to share a stage with him at a public meeting in Khammam. Samajwadi Party president and Uttar Pradesh former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, CPI National Secretary D Raja, and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in front of a massive audience.KCR has been strategically working on a non-Congress and non-BJP alliance of regional parties. In the past, he had held a consecutive series of meetings with leaders of various political parties, including Shiv Sena, DMK, RJD, JMM JD (S) and left leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja, but no consensus or decisive indicative could be reached on forging a front as an alternative to both the BJP and the Congress.
CHIRAG PASWAN’S LJP MAY RETURN TO BJP-LED NDA FOLD
The speculation is rife that BJP is talking to chief of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), Mukesh Sahani, as well as Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan for alliance ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. The buzz is that before the announcement of alliance between LJP with BJP, Union Minister and president of Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) Pashupati Kumar Paras will go ahead for a merger of the party with his estranged nephew Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). The RLJP has five members in the Lok Sabha from Bihar. The erstwhile LJP had won six seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election in Bihar. But after a split in the LJP, five MPs went with Paras-led RLJP, while Ram Vilas Paswan’s only son Chirag Paswan remained the lone MP of the LJP (Ram Vilas).
KUSHWAHA UPSET WITH CM NITISH, MAY JUNK JD(U) FOR BJP
With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar categorically ruling out the possibility of appointing another deputy, other than Tejashwi Yadav, rumours are circulating that Upendra Kushwaha may leave the JD(U) and might join the BJP. Kushwaha, who started his political career in 1985, has switched parties seven times in the last 15 years. Kushwaha has been a Union minister in the Modi government, and has formulated his own party twice. The duo Kushwaha and Nitish is called the Luv-Kush in Bihar. Meanwhile, Kushwaha has also said that RJD had created a controversy over the Ramcharitmanas as part of a design to help BJP in lieu of leniency from the Centre in the corruption cases against RJD chief Lalu Prasad. On the other hand, Sushil Kumar Modi defended Kushwaha and also said out that JD(U) has no or bleak future.
KHARGE PICKS AMIT CHAVDA, AN OBC, AS CLP LEADER IN GUJARAT
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge appointed the former Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president and MLA from the Anklav constituency, Amit Chavda, as the Congress Legislative Party leader in the western state. Shailesh Parmar, MLA from Danilimda, will be the deputy leader. Chavda is from the OBC community and Parmaris a Dalit. With this latest development, party has indicated that very soon there would be a change of guard in the state organization. There is a possibility that the party might appoint the GPCC president from the tribal community.
TRIPURA POLL BUGLE: ROYAL SCION DEBBARMA DEMANDS ‘GREATER TIPRALAND’
CPI(M) and the Congress have a working alliance together in Tripura to take on the BJP. Discussions are already underway between CPI(M) and Congress to chalk out a seat-sharing agreement. Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress has announced that it will contest alone. TMC chief Mamata Banerjee is expected to launch the party’s election campaign in the state later this month. On the other hand, Tipra Motha, a newly floated tribal party that swept the autonomous district council polls within months of its formation, led by Tripura royal family scion and former Congress leader Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma, is expected to play a crucial and important role. Debbarma has said that he will not forge an electoral alliance with any political party, unless a written assurance of a separate state, ‘Greater Tipraland,’ is given to his party. The outfit had earlier declared that it would contest 40 seats in the upcoming polls. (IPA Service)
