The Congress is focussed on getting back its traditional voters and there is a conscious push to woo back the Dalit community through events like Jai Bheem, and making attempts to make a dent into the vote bank of BSP supremo Mayawati. Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that every Dalit in the country is Ambedkar, even as he reiterated his charge that an attempt was being made to scrap the Constitution. Rahul also questioned Mayawati’s current political stance, saying, “I wanted Behenji to fight alongside us against the BJP, but for some reason, she did not. This was deeply disappointing. If all three parties had united, the BJP would never have won.” Rahul, made the remarks while interacting with a group of Dalit students during his visit to his Lok Sabha constituency Rae Bareli. However, Mayawati was quick to respond, accusing the Congress of having a “dual character and casteist mindset”. The Dalit community accounts for 21 per cent of the voting population in UP and are going to have a big effect in the 2027 assembly polls. The Congress is trying to relink the Dalits who, the Congress thinks, are their traditional voters, before they were hijacked by the BSP.
BJP MAY PICK OBC/SC NATIONAL PRESIDENT IN NEXT ORGANISATIONAL REJIG
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is rapidly progressing with its internal organisational elections. Senior BJP leaders are optimistic that by February end, state president elections will be completed in half of the states, paving the way for the election of the national president in March. JP Nadda is heading the party since January 2020, and his three-year term was extended to facilitate the process to elect his replacement. As per the party constitution, the term of the national president is three years after being elected generally by consensus. Additionally, the “think tank” of BJP is keen on an OBC or SC national president, as due to this, they hope to improve their strength in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The new national president will be chosen with the approval of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat.
RJD POSTERS SHOW ‘DOCTOR TEJASHWI’ TREATING AILING BIHAR UNDER NDA
Political activity in Patna is heating up, with the RJD erecting posters showing the NDA government lying on a ventilator as a patient while the leader of the opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav as a doctor to treat illness. The posters also put light on promises made to the people of the state by Tejashwi during his recent meetings with workers of the party. They discussed about 200 units of electricity free of cost, enhancing the old age pension scheme from Rs 400 to Rs 500 and cash benefits to women under Mai-Bahin Samman Yojna, besides other poll promises.
KHARGE CHASTISES CONGRESS LEADERS, WARNS OF TURNCOATS INSIDE PARTY
After the significant electoral defeats in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told top party leaders that they would be held accountable for election results in the future and warned them against turncoats. Addressing the new office-bearers at a meeting held at the party’s headquarters at Indira Bhawan, he urged party leaders to work at the grassroots level and strengthen the party from the booth level and promote such people who are ideologically committed to the organisation. Kharge also hinted at some more changes in the organisation.
VETERAN BJP LEADER VIJENDER GUPTA NAMED DELHI ASSEMBLY SPEAKER
The BJP is back in power in Delhi after 27 years and veteran BJP leader Vijender Gupta has been named the next Speaker of the Delhi assembly. Significantly, both the former Speaker, Ram Niwas Goel, and former CM Arvind Kejriwal are no longer part of the Assembly. Vijender Gupta, who won in 2015 and 2020 amid the massive Kejriwal wave, where the AAP swept Delhi with successive brute majority, will now chair the proceedings of the House. Gupta, who belongs to the Baniya community, won the Rohini Assembly seat for a third consecutive time, defeating AAP’s Pradeep Mittal by over 37,000 votes. The veteran BJP leader, who was the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, has also served as the president of the Delhi BJP unit. Now Gupta geared to begin another journey in his political career as Assembly Speaker. (IPA Service)
Mystery Over The Use Of USAID Funds In India Is Deepening 