The fight for Maharashtra assembly elections has commenced, with ruling alliance Mahayuti, comprising Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, BJP, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP, aiming to retain the power. While the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (Sharad Pawar) and Congress, eyeing to secure a majority and overthrow the present government. The MVA has so far agreed on the distribution of 160 seats among its constituents; these allocations have been primarily based on factors such as existing legislators, the party’s strength in the constituency, and the perceived ability of the candidate to win. But the remaining 128 seats are a point of contention. The primary flashpoints are in Mumbai and Vidarbha. The Congress is demanding 42 seats in Vidarbha, which the party sees as a vital battleground for securing power in the state. In Mumbai, Congress could fight in around 14 seats, while two seats could be given to the NCP (SP) and one seat to the Samajwadi Party. The Sena (UBT) is fighting in around 19 seats out of the total 36. On the other hand, in a two-day visit to Maharashtra, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has held meetings and talks with alliance partners on seat-sharing agreements. As per reports, the tentative seat allocation has been that the BJP is set to contest on around 155 seats, the Shiv Sena gets 85-90, and the NCP gets around 45. The final agreement is expected to be announced soon.
LALU YADAV, JITAN MANJHI SPAR OVER CASTE ORIGINS, ANCESTRY
The political temperature is soaring high in Bihar as RJD president Lalu Prasad and Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi engaged in a spat questioning their respective caste identity. The exchange commenced as and when Manjhi responded to accusations from Lalu Prasad about his political alignment with the RSS, asserting he had abandoned his Dalit identity as a Mushar and adopted an upper-caste surname, Sharma. In retaliation, Manjhi questioned Lalu’s true caste, suggesting he should clarify whether he is a Yadav or a Gaderia (shepherd). Lalu, in his characteristic style, seemed to dismiss the enquiry, questioning Manjhi’s identification as a Mushar. Manjhi then took to social media to assert his identity, declaring, “I am a Mushar-Bhuiyan,” emphasising pride in his ancestry. Leaders from Manjhi’s party Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular (HAMS) also challenged Lalu to come forward with his family tree for the past three generations.
HIMACHAL PRADESH CONGRESS REPRIMANDED BY PARTY HIGH-COMMAND
Congress government led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu distanced itself from minister Vikramaditya Singh’s statement and shared not any decision regarding the mandatory display of names by stalls and eateries has been taken by the administration. Meanwhile, Vikramaditya Singh was summoned to Delhi and reprimanded by the Congress high command over a controversial order issued by his department mandating food outlets across the state to display the name and address of their owners. This development followed once the Congress came under scrutiny on social media as well as within the party over the move, as it had duly criticised a similar move by the Uttar Pradesh government during the Kanwar Yatra a few weeks back. According to sources, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress high command was quite upset with Vikramaditya Singh, CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the Himachal Pradesh in-charge Rajeev Shukla. Meanwhile, the whispers in Congress that after the assembly election of Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand, the Cabinet reshuffle might take place in Himachal Pradesh. Sources indicate that the Congress high command is also looking to change the in-charge of Himachal Pradesh Rajeev Shukla, where the party failed to win any of the four seats in the parliamentary elections, and despite having numbers to win the Rajya Sabha seat in the state, the Congress lost.
RAHUL BRINGS INFIGHTING HARYANA CONGRESS FACTIONS ON ONE PLATFORM
As the Haryana assembly elections are drawing closer, the infighting between the two factions of Congress could be seen brimming to the surface. Haryana Congress is well known to have two warring factions, one led by former chief minister (CM) Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the other by Lok Sabha Member (MP) Kumari Selja. However, Randeep Singh Surjewala and former union minister Birender Singh was considered a part of Selja’s faction. The Selja faction is known as “SRB” (Selja, Randeep, and Birender) in Haryana politics. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala has asserted that the central leadership would decide who the Chief Minister would be if the party won the October 5 polls. “Who will become the CM? Everyone aspires to become a chief minister,” Surjewala told reporters in Kaithal. “(Sirsa MP Kumari) Seljaji also wants to be one, why not? She is my elder sister. Chaudhary Bhupinder Singh Hooda would also like to be the CM. Besides the three of us, some other party workers can also have this aspiration. But, the final decision will be taken by Rahul Gandhi ji and Mallikarjun Khargeji. They will decide and whatever decision they take will be acceptable to all of us,” Surjewala added. Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi’s first election rally in Haryana brought the two key warring factions in the state unit together on one common platform in Karnal, following which sulking Sirsa MP Kumari Selja began electioneering. Selja and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda shared the stage at the election rally in Karnal’s Assand area.
KHATTAR ASKS CONGRESS’S KUMARI SELJA TO JOIN BJP, GETS REBUKED
The political temperature is soaring high in Haryana as the BJP, which is attempting to woo Dalit voters in the state, and the former state CM and now Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar has asked Dalit leader Kumari Selja to join the saffron party. But Selja has rebuffed Khattar and took potshots at the BJP and said she was a committed Congress worker and strongly dismissed speculation about any discontent within the party. However, the Sirsa MP did not hide her displeasure with her own party leadership over ignoring her advice and suggestions during the candidate selection process, and the preference bête noire former CM Bhupinder Hooda gets from them. Khattar seems to have become the latest headache for the Haryana BJP and his absence from PM Modi’s rallies in Sonepat and Kurukshetra on September 14, with state BJP leaders conceding that Khattar is being kept away because of the negativity associated with him. Ironically, the party is going to the polls on the strength of “No parchi, no kharchi” (no cash for jobs) and good governance principles propounded during Khattar’s tenure as Haryana’s first BJP CM. To deal with anti-incumbency, the BJP replaced Khattar with its OBC face, Nayab Singh Saini, as the CM on March 12, to cash in on the over 30 percent OBC votes in the state. Saini is also the Chief-Ministerial face of the party for the upcoming elections. (IPA Service)
Akshay Shinde’s Encounter Killing By Thane Cops Is Mired In Confusion 