With the INDIA bloc parties showing an increase in the 18th Lok Sabha numbers, the lower house is geared to receive an official Leader of the Opposition (LoP) after ten long years. The opposition leaders also aspire that a Deputy Speaker would be elected soon, a post that has been vacant for the last five years. The 17th Lok Sabha, which was dissolved on June 5, did not have a deputy speaker for its full term, and it was the second consecutive term of the lower house without an LoP. Meanwhile, Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, who has widely been expected to shoulder the responsibilities of the Leader of the Opposition in the 18th Lok Sabha, is also not showing signs of being willing to take up the post. However, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) has unanimously passed a resolution requesting Rahul Gandhi to take the position of the LoP in Lok Sabha. With Congress winning 99 seats in the polls and emerging as the biggest opposition party after Rahul’s vigorous campaign against Modi, Rahul has now emerged indisputably as the biggest opposition leader. If he gets the LoP, his stature will undoubtedly attain an official stamp. Rahul Gandhi is expected to take more responsibility in Parliament. There has been paramount pressure on Rahul Gandhi from various leaders to take up the LoP post in Lok Sabha. The post would give him Cabinet rank, help coordinate better with allies in the INDIA bloc and also help the Congress project a stronger face by spearheading the Opposition attack on the Modi-led BJP in the Lok Sabha.
RAJNATH SINGH EMERGES AS THE NDA OUTREACH POINTMASTER OF BJP
There may not be any grand changes in the Modi 3.0 Cabinet, but one prominent difference quite visible is the emergence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as the key figure for coordinating with the NDA partners. Known for his warm ties with leaders across the parties, Singh has been assigned by the BJP to take up the frosty issues with the NDA allies to evolve a consensus ahead of the Parliament session beginning from 24 June. A coordination meeting of the NDA ministers was held on 18 June at Rajnath Singh’s residence, which was attended by S Jaishankar, Manohar Lal, Bhupender Yadav, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Kiren Rijiju, Annapurna Devi, Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘Lalan’ and Chirag Paswan. At the meeting, leaders’ suggestions for the Speaker’s post were discussed. BJP sources indicated that the election for the Speaker’s post is scheduled for June 26. Several names have been speculating while on discussion for the post, including that of Andhra Pradesh BJP chief D Purandeshwari. It is possible that the Deputy Speaker’s post will be offered to one of the allies.
JD(U), BJP MPs SAY WON’T HELP CITIZENS WHO DIDN’T VOTE FOR THEM
After Janata Dal-United MP Devesh Chandra Thakur shared openly that he would not entertain requests regarding help from either of the Muslim or Yadav communities because they didn’t vote for him in the Sitamarhi seat of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Union Minister and BJP’s Begusarai MP Giriraj Singh has backed Thakur and said Muslims did not vote for him either. He alleged a conspiracy had been hatched at a high-level to weaken the Sanatan dharma. Congress legislator party leader in Bihar assembly Shakeel Ahmed slammed Giriraj for his remarks. “What’s the point in talking about those who are against the spirit of the Constitution? They are speaking a language which doesn’t suit our Constitution,” Ahmed said.
CONGRESS DECISION TO FIELD PRIYANKA FOR WAYANAD BYPOLLS RATTLES CPI, BJP
The candidature of AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Wayanad Lok Sabha by poll has rejuvenated the rank and file of the Congress party in Kerala. However, the decision has apparently geared the Communist Party of India (CPI), a member of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, and the BJP in a quandary over fielding strong and influential candidates against her. Both the CPI and the BJP have indicated that they will field their nominees. However, Annie Raja, who contested the seat earlier against Rahul Gandhi, said that the decision on her candidature will be decided by the party. Senior CPI leaders believe that the party should field a local leader who can garner better support as being well acquainted with area and the people. On the other hand, BJP has not yet decided whether to field Surendran or a senior leader from Kozhikode for the Wayanad by-election. In 2024, the BJP has increased its vote share by over 62,000 votes. The by-election in the seat was necessitated after Rahul Gandhi decided to retain Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli seat, which he won along with Wayanad in the recently held Lok Sabha elections.
SHIV SENA (UBT), NCP (SP) CLAIM MLAs WISH TO RETURN TO ORIGINAL PARTIES
First, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut claimed that legislators of Eknath Shinde camp were in touch with his party. Now, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) leader Rohit Pawar claimed 18 to 19 MLAs of the ruling NCP led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will cross over to their side after the upcoming Monsoon Session of the state legislature. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) has won eight seats in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP could secure only one seat. The party is currently allied with the BJP and part of the ruling NDA. The results have also sparked grapevine about some leaders planning a return to the parties led by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. The Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra legislature will begin on June 27 and end on July 12. It will be the last session before the state conducts assembly elections in October. Notably, the three Maha Vikas Aghadi parties have already announced their intention to contest the upcoming polls together.
CONGRESS APPOINTS PANELS TO REVIEW WEAK PERFORMANCES IN 8 STATES
The Congress party has formulated fact-finding panels to review its weak performances in eight states during the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. At the CWC meeting held on June 8, the party discussed that it was going to have a thorough scrutiny of results in states where the party’s performance was below par. Among the states to be reviewed after poor show are Madhya Pradesh, where Congress lost all 29 seats; Chhattisgarh, where the party won just one out of 11 seats; Odisha, where it again won only one out of 21 seats; Karnataka, where it won 9 out of 28 seats; Telangana, where it won eight out of 17 seats; Delhi, where the party drew a blank in the seven seats; as well as Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, where it didn’t win a single seat. For MP, the committee will be headed by former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan and will also have MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani. The Chhattisgarh panel will comprise ex-Karnataka CM Veerappa Moily and Rajasthan MLA Harish Chaudhary. For Odisha, it will have MP Ajay Maken and MP Tariq Anwar. For Delhi, Uttarakhand, and Himachal, it will have senior leaders PL Punia and Rajani Patil. For Karnataka, it will have former MP Madhusudan Mistry, MP Gaurav Gogoi and senior leader Hibi Eden. For Telangana, it will have P J Kurian, former RS Deputy Chairman and senior leaders Assam MP Rakibul Hussain and Punjab MLA Pargat Singh. (IPA Service)
