After becoming the chief minister of West Bengal for the third term, Mamata Banerjee now has become the face of opposition leader for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024 and she is expected to launch a United Front against the BJP at the national level. Regional parties and leaders like NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, DMK chief MK Stalin, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav, Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal may support her candidature for Prime Minister against Narendra Modi. Mamata is in touch with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. In days to come the TMC and all opposition parties will try to put pressure on the Narendra Modi government and raise the issue of Covid 19, fall in economy, price rise of petrol and diesel and unemployment.
TURMOIL IN KERALA CONGRESS OVER DEFEAT
Congress, which suffered a crushing defeat in the assembly election in Kerela, is having a tough time with many leaders demanding a generational change in leadership within the organisation and also in parliamentary politics. Already the demand to replace KPCC chief Mullappally Ramachandran, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and AICC general secretary organisation K C Venugopal, who are responsible for the defeat in the assembly election in the state, has gained momentum in the party. State party leaders alleged that Venugopal accommodated nearly a dozen of his loyalists in the candidate list which has opened a Pandora’s box in the Congress and most of them have lost the election. However, there are speculations that Ramesh will not take up the post of the opposition leader. The Congress leaders are of the view that the entire machinery at the grassroots is defunct. Congress sources in the dissenting camp insist that Rahul Gandhi will have to do a rethink on strategy and form a new team as you can’t keep on losing elections after elections.
SAMAJWADI PARTY IMPRESSES IN PANCHAYAT POLL
In Uttar Pradesh panchayat elections the Samajwadi Party has almost decimated the BJP in its bastions of Ayodhya, Mathura, Varanasi and Prayagraj. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, expressing gratitude to the people of Uttar Pradesh, said that people choose SP-backed candidates in the panchayat elections and that’s a clear message from the public ahead of the 2022 assembly election. The SP claims it has won over 1,000 seats. The BSP is said to have won close to 300 seats, and Congress and AAP close to 70 each. The biggest victory, however, has been of independent candidates, who were not supported by any party, but whose votes will be crucial in the indirect elections of the top posts. While BSP chief Mayawati said that despite misuse of official machinery and use of money power by rival parties, the performance of her party has been “encouraging”. Congratulating the party workers, Mayawati said that most of the independent candidates who have succeeded in defeating rival party candidates are those backed by the BSP. In districts including Agra, Mathura, Meerut, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Hapur, Kanpur, Azamgarh, Prayagraj, Mirzapur and others, BSP has got very good results, she claimed. Meanwhile, the BJP is trying to reach out to 1,238 Independent candidates to wrest maximum posts of zila panchayat chairpersons, which would be held through indirect election.
CONGRESS LEADERS WANT PRIYANKA AS CM FACE
After the Uttar Pradesh Panchayat elections the senior UP Congress leaders are of the view that Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should be projected as CM candidate six months before the UP assembly election in March 2022. According to them, this will benefit the party and can play a crucial role in forming the government. Voices were heard during Priyanka’s panchayat rallies in western UP from the public that Priyanka should lead from the front andthe party should project her as CM candidate. According to political observers, If Congress projects Priyanka as the CM candidate it may consolidate its vote bank of Dalit, Muslim, Brahmin and Jats, who are now unhappy with the BJP government in the state. They might shift to Congress as an alternative of BJP in the state. Priyanka has been quite vocal on social media against the Yogi Adityanath-led government. She has been targeting the BJP government over various issues, including poor law and order, rising crimes against women and misgovernance. She has also attacked the state government over the handling of the coronavirus crisis. Whether Priyanka Gandhi will be the CM face or she may only campaign in UP and lead the party, the final decision will be taken by the Congress high command.
G-23 LEADERS ALL PRAISE FOR MAMATA
Some of the senior Congress leaders of G-23, the group that had written to Sonia Gandhi seeking reforms in the party are showering praises on Mamata Banerjee over her win in the West Bengal assembly election. While Ghulam Nabi Azad has called Banerjee the ‘Lioness of East’ for fighting and winning against the odds, Kapil Sibal described her as a courageous grassroots leader and a modern Jhansi ki Rani. Manish Tewari too described her as Rani of Jhansi who has rewritten history. Meanwhile, Mahrashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said Mamata Banerjee was fighting alone for the self-respect of the Bengali people. Her courage must be appreciated. In the end, she has won. The entire credit for this victory goes to Bengal’s tigress. (IPA)