The Rajputs seem to have made a comeback as the ruling clan under the BJP. With the swearing in of Jairam Thakur, Himachal Pradesh is the fifth BJP-governed state with a Rajput chief minister after Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje has in the past called herself a ‘Kshatrani’ while in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP’s top man and deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh is also a Rajput. The BJP is apparently veering round the view that a Thakur-OBC combination will make a winning combination for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The party feels that a Thakur-OBC combine, while being aggressive, also maintains good relations with the minority and non- jatav dalits.
KEJRIWAL MAY SHIFT ARENA TO RAJYA SABHA
Delhi chief minister and Aam Admi Party crusader Arvind Kejriwal is believed to be weighing the advantages of shifting his arena to the Rajya Sabha, where as the leader of the party bloc in the house he would get a good platform to air the party’s views more effectively. The Rajya Sabha election from Delhi will take place on January 16 and the party has the strength in the Delhi Assembly to win all the three Rajya Sabha seats. AAP seems to be divided on the choice of the other two Rajya Sabha seats as senior leader Kumar Bishwas continues to mount pressure for a nomination. But Kejriwal is known to prefer the two seats going to people with a non-political background.
PUNJABI-BANIYAS LOBBY RE-ASSERTS HOLD ON DELHI BJP
The Punajbi-Baniyas lobby in the Delhi BJP is re-asserting its hold, giving a new twist to the infighting within the state party unit. These two sections traditionally form the support base of Delhi BJP and the state party president used to be invariably from one of the two interest groups. But with the increase in the Purvanchal vote base, the central leadership last time appointed Manoj Tiwari as the chief, which has upset Punjabis and the Baniyas. The state leaders are now mounting pressure for Tiwari’s ouster, which manifests in the open infighting within the state party. But as Purvanchalis are increasing their influence, the central leadership is believed to be facing a dilemma on whether to persist with Tiwari or appoint a more acceptable choice from the dominant communities.
MAMATA’S APPEASEMENT POLICY ON TRIPLE TALAQ
Trinamool Congress, which is the fourth largest party in the Lok Sabha, is likely to oppose the triple talaq bill on the direction of party chief and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The communist party is also against the bill. Trinamool’s stand is based on the party’s perceived need to placate Bengal’s Muslims, who form nearly a third of the state’s population. Mamata Banerjee has told Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to consider the sensitivity of the issue while taking a decision. (IPA)
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