By Nora Chopra
CONGRESS LOSS IN DELHI ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS COVERED ALL SECTIONS
Congress is the biggest loser in the Delhi assembly elections 2015 not only because it failed to even open its account but even because it’s vote percentage has plummeted heavily. In 2013 when the Congress lost for the first time, it was said it was an anti incumbency vote. It had then polled 25 % votes. In 2014 l Lok Sabha elections, it went down further , the party polled 15 % votes but in this assembly elections in 2015, the party votes have gone down to a shocking low of 9.5 %. .,While the AAP party had poached over the dalits, the lower middle class and the poor and the poorest was the core vote of the Congress in 2013 elections and it retained its Muslim support due to which it got eight seats. All these 8 seats had a large concentration of the Muslim votes and had voted for the Congress with the hope that it can stop the BJP from coming to power but when the party failed, the Muslims in the last two elections, the Muslims shifted to AAP. As a result, all Muslim candidates of the Congress lost the elections. After the Congress defeat in 2013 elections when Rahul Gandhi was asked the reason for the Congress defeat, he had said the Congress lost because the balmikis moved over to AAP. The Congress has to recover these votes. But he did nothing to restore that base.
DELHI JATS VOTED AGAINST BJP IN FULL STRENGTH IN ASSEMBLY POLL
When Amit Shah organized BJP victory in Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by winning 71 seats , the BJP leaders could not stop bragging about his capabilities . The victory was attributed to the jat votes. . The jats after the Muzaffarnagar riots had consolidated totally behind the BJP.. They voted for the BJP in full force both in Haryana and Rajasthan resulting in the formation of the BJP governments. but after Haryana where the BJP has imposed a refugee Punjabi as the chief minister, the jats are seething with anger. The BJP’s massive defeat in Delhi elections is being seen as a result of this anger. Another reason being cited for their anger is that they were promised ministerial berths in the Modi cabinet, but they have been alleging that the BJP has not kept its promise. The jats have now ensured the defeat of the BJP. In 2013 the BJP had won all the 17 jat dominated seats of outer Delhi. But this time the entire lot of these jat dominated Delhi seats have gone to AAP. The BJP did not get even a single jat dominated seat.
RANJIT SINHA WINS IN HIS FIGHT AGAINST ANIL GOSWAMI
The war that began between the former Director of CBI Ranjit Sinha and the home secretary Anil Goswami over the appointment of Ranjit Pachnanda as add DG of CBI has finally ended with the sacking of the home secretary who is considered a close associate of the Sarada accused Matang Singh. Both the home secretary and Matang Singh were keen to get Pachnanda appointed but failed to get him the position because of Ranjit Sinha, the then director of CBI. Sinha opposed the appointment as he was aware of the corruption charges against Pachnanda. plus he saw through the game as the case against Singh was due to come to CBI and after Sinha’s retirement, Pachnanda would succeed him. Sinha made it a prestige issue and triumphed over Goswami. Later when Sinha was implicated in the diary case, Goswami made it difficult for Sinha. The government is likely to look into all the transfer and postings done by Goswami as the home secretary. Goswami and Matang Singh together had fought hard to get Pachnanda posted as ADG CBI but for Ranjit Sinha they failed in their attempt. Later Goswami got him posted in CISF as ADG. Just two months ago. the other two major appointments done by Goswami on the recommendation of Matang Sinh are Mehboob Alam and Pathak. Pathak is also a north east cadre officer.
SENIOR CONGRESS LEADERS AGAINST APPOINTING RAHUL GANDHI AS PRESIDENT
As revolt is brewing within the Congress against Rahul Gandhi, the party is heading for a major crisis. Recently two senior most party leaders called on the Congress president Sonia Gandhi and warned her against making Rahul Gandhi the president of the Congress party. They are supposed to have requested her to maintain status quo. but if Rahul is handed over power they are supposed to have told her the party would split thy are not the first to have told her that Rahul should be kept in the shadows for the time being Satyavrata Chaturvedi too had met her and had told her that after emergency when Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980, she told Sanjay Gandhi to lie low as he was being held responsible for the emergency and its authoritarian excesses and the popular mood was against him. Giving this example Chaturvedi is supposed to have emphasised upon her to do the same with Rahul. Let Rahul lie low for some time and she should continue to be the final word .she was advised. Rahul and his coterie have been under attack and much water has flown down the river. G K Vasan has quit the party, Krishna Teerath a former Congress minister from Delhi has joined the BJP and so has Jagmeet Brar. Congress loyalist Jayanti Natrajan attacked Rahul publicly before she quit the Congress. The revolt is likely to intensiy further with whole lot of senior party leaders objecting against the Rahul rule. .Amarinder Singh, P Chidambaram, Janardhan Diwedi Kamalnath Mohan Prakash, Jaipal Reddy, Manish Tiwari, Ajit Yogi are some of the present leaders who are most unhappy.
SUSHMA SWARAJ UNHAPPY WITH BJP TOP LEADERSHIP
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was very upset before leaving for China. She has expressed her displeasure to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sushma is upset as she was not allowed to campaign in Delhi which has been her bastion. She was even Chief Minister of Delhi for some time. The other reason for her unhappiness is that her protégé Shikha Rai was not given the party ticket .Rai was seeking a BJP ticket from Kasturba Nagar and Sushma was lobbying for her. (IPA)