By Rahil Nora Chopra
Ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the race for the opposition candidate for the post of Prime Minister has commenced, with the recognisable names such as those of Sharad Pawar, Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi doing the rounds. But after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut asserted that Uddhav Thackeray was fighting the BJP in Maharashtra and affirmed that he could be seen as the face of the Opposition for the prime minister’s post, there’s much commotion in the opposition corridors. In this context, former Maharashtra CM Thackeray said that he did not dream of becoming the prime minister in 2024, but reassured of putting his best foot forward to bring about a political change in the next Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, Congress conveyed a clear message to the regional parties, expressing its willingness to work with like-minded parties and forge a viable alternative with them to take on the BJP. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge asserted that it was their common agenda to unitedly fight against divisive forces and indicated that the question of a PM candidate of such a bloc was not the primary question of the moment.
CONGRESS LEADER RAJEEV SHUKLA TO BE PROMOTED, CWC TO SEE FRESH FACES
A major organisational reshuffle in the Congress will be undertaken soon, as per sources. After Congress wrested Himachal Pradesh from the BJP, the AICC state in-charge of Himachal Pradesh, Rajeev Shukla, has been credited for the win. The grapevine is that Rajeev Shukla is likely to receive a new prestigious assignment within the party. The Congress high command will offer Shukla a bigger role, and he is likely to be made a general secretary in the party. According to sources, Imran Pratapgarhi, Syed Naseer Hussain, Jitu Patwari, Sachin Pilot, Deependra Singh Hooda and Amarinder Singh Brar too are likely to get a place in the Congress Working Committee. In addition, Salman Khurshid and Tariq Anwar will be retained in the CWC.
MVA UNITED, BUT NCP GAINS SEATS VACATED DUE TO SHIV SENA SPLIT
NCP Chief Sharad Pawar has pledged to remain united and collectively contest assembly and Lok Sabha elections under the MVA banner. Pawar shared that he has made efforts to ensure that Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) stick together and fight the two elections. The NCP is aggressively pursuing an outreach plan focused on the youth, women and farmers. The party will work on a two-pronged strategy to exploit any pro-Uddhav sympathy to consolidate its own foothold on territory vacated due to the Shiv Sena split. While the Congress is entangled in an in-house power tussle, and Thackeray is fighting for survival, the NCP seems to enjoy a lot of scope, of making deep inroads beyond its bastion in West Maharashtra into Marathwada and North Maharashtra.
SAMAJWADI PARTY’S NATIONAL EXECUTIVE IN KOLKATA SOON
The Samajwadi Party will be holding its two-day national executive in Kolkata from March 18 to 19 with the aim to discuss the party’s policies and strategies for assembly elections in the three Hindi heartland states, viz., Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan as well as for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The party’s national executive will be organised in Kolkata after a gap of 11 years. Samajwadi Party founder, the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, had flown down to the city before his demise to chair the previous meeting in the eastern metropolis.
CONGRESS, LEFT KEEP OUT OF OPPOSITION CHIEF MINISTERS’ LETTER TO PM
Congress, JD(U) and Left parties have not been signatories to a letter which was written by nine leaders of eight Opposition parties to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, condemning the arrest of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy case. The letter alleged that the misuse of Central agencies means that the country had transitioned from being a democracy to an autocracy. NCP chief Sharad Pawar asserted that he had not spoken with these parties in this regard. Opposition leaders who were signatories to the letter are such as NCP Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Telangana CM K. Chandrashekhar Rao, Trinamool Congress head Mamata Banerjee, National Conference (NC) chief Farooq Abdullah, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, and Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav.
VASUNDHARA ONCE MORE? RAJE WANTS TO BE BJP’S CM FACE IN STATE POLLS
Former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje is once again attempting to project herself as a potential CM face for the BJP. Of late, a slogan has been heard booming in Rajasthan: “Kaho dil se, Vasundhara phir se”. Raje organized a public meeting in Rajasthan’s Churu district, which saw a footfall of over 80,000 people, a massive and powerful show of her strength ahead of the crucial assembly polls later this year. The Raje camp claimed that at least 10 sitting BJP MPs, including PP Chaudhary, Devji Patel and Vasundhara Raje’s son Dushyant Raje, were at the public meeting apart from 30 to 40 BJP MLAs, former state BJP President Ashok Parnami and more than 100 former MLAs. Chants hailing Vasundhara along with slogans such as ‘Kesariya Mein Hara Hara, Rajasthan mein Vasundhara’ and ‘Abki Baar Vasundhara Sarkar’ could be heard at the public meeting where Raje unequivocally lashed out at the Gehlot government on several prominent issues pertaining to the state, especially the recent exam paper leaks. (IPA Service)
