By Rahil Nora Chopra
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has finally split again, and the move became apparent after six of the party’s nine MPs skipped a parliamentary party meeting, fueled with speculation that they are gearing up to join the ruling Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Only Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai and Rajabhau Waje were Lok Sabha MPs who attended the meeting, along with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut. The absence of the remaining six MPs – Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Omraje Nimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure – signalled strongly of a formal split. Sources said the six MPs have signed a letter seeking a merger with the Shinde-led Sena and submitted it to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Addressing a news conference in New Delhi, Sanjay Raut said the dissident Sena (UBT) MPs, have been given police security. He demanded that the cover provided to the lawmakers and to their properties be withdrawn. He also warned that the party would launch ‘Operation Tudwa’ (bash up) against the rebel MPs. Meanwhile, with sections of Trinamool Congress, AAP and Shiv Sena (UBT) having switched sides, amid speculation that the ruling BJP is attempting to cobble up numbers before bringing a Bill to amend the Constitution that alters the contours of delimitation again in Parliament. While the road to special majority in Lok Sabha is a long one, the NDA is closer to the threshold of two-third majority. The NDA numbers have now swelled to 314 in Lok Sabha with 20 Trinamool MPs defecting to its side, and it could touch 320 if Shiv Sena (UBT) rebels take the final leap. In Rajya Sabha, the NDA will have 152 seats and once bypolls to three seats in West Bengal are conducted, it would touch 155, just 8-9 seats short of two-third majority.
RAHUL GANDHI MEETS DISGRUNTLED STUDENTS IN RAJASTHAN’S KOTA
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi took a nationwide campaign and held its first mega rally titled “Chhatron Ki Goonj Maha Rally” in Rajasthan’s Kota. Addressing thousands of students, Rahul Gandhi talked about the country’s education model as a “rejection system, not a selection system,” while he, through a presentation, discussed at length the major nationwide examinations, including SSC, UPSC, RRB, JEE and NEET. He said lakhs of students are compelled to spend large sums on schooling, coaching institutes, uniforms and hostel facilities, with no guarantee of success in competitive examinations. During the programme, Rahul Gandhi communicated with five students — three girls and two boys — who were called onto the stage for a face-to-face interaction They were NEET, JEE and civil services aspirants. Moreover, Rahul is set to travel to Prayagraj and Patna and speak in Delhi next month on the same issue of exams and education. The Congress units, including the NSUI and the Youth Congress, will actively participate in the campaign. Gradually, his education-related campaign is picking up.
CONGRESS DEMANDS 100 SEATS IN UP, AKHILESH-RAHUL TO DECIDE FINAL TALLY
Political activity in Uttar Pradesh is intensifying with Imran Masood, the Congress MP of Saharanpur, saying that the party is prepared to contest 42 per cent of the Assembly seats in the state. According to sources, Akhilesh Yadav was not keen to give more than 60 seats to the Congress, but the Congress is demanding no less than 100 seats. Akhilesh Yadav seems to be facing a core challenge of reaching a consensus on seat-sharing with the Congress. The SP had won 111 seats while the Congress had won 2 in the 2022 Assembly elections. As for seat-sharing, the final decision will be made through direct discussions between Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi. While there will undoubtedly be some bargaining over the number of seats, leaders from both parties remain optimistic so that cordially with mutual concern an acceptable solution will be found.
CROSS-VOTING: CONGRESS LOSES JHARKHAND RAJYA SABHA SEAT
Cross-voting has led cost the Congress a seat in Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand, with the ruling BJP benefitting from the victory of NDA-backed independent Parimal Nathwani. He defeated Congress’s Pranav Jha, who is in-charge of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s office. Congress was prompt to blame allies RJD and CPI(ML) for betrayal even as CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya rejected any cross-voting from any of the two party MLAs. The CPI(ML) instead shared that the election outcome showed that Congress had failed to secure the support of all its own legislators, and cautioned that attempts to shift blame onto allies could damage the INDIA bloc. Despite the ruling INDIA bloc having the numerical strength to win both seats in the 81-member assembly, Congress could manage only 20 votes. Nathwani secured 28 votes, while JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram polled 30. Three votes were declared invalid. The outcome is being viewed as a significant political embarrassment for the Congress amid allegations of cross-voting within the INDIA bloc.
AFTER TMC, SHIV SENA (UBT), IS IT NOW SP’S TURN TO SPLIT?
After turmoil in West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress and split in Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena (UBT), speculation of a possible split in Samajwadi Party (SP) surfaced after Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar claimed that the Samajwadi Party was headed for a major split and that several of its MPs were ready to join the BJP. The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party minister posted on X saying that the SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav had submitted a letter to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah as the first move. Responding to the claims, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav took a sharp dig at the Uttar Pradesh minister, questioning on his statements and motives. BJP engineered splits in many parties, poached SP MLAs, MLCs in Uttar Pradesh before. Akhilesh Yadav said, “Dana aur gana, kab tak chalega yeh afsana (how long will their ‘benefits and songs’ continue)” On the other hand, another Uttar Pradesh minister, Sanjay Kumar Nishad, claimed that several SP and Congress MPs in the state were in touch with the ruling alliance and were seeking political opportunities. (IPA Service)
