By Nora Chopra
KANHAIYA KUMAR WOOED BY ALL THIRD FRONT PARTIES
Kanhaiya Kumar, his supporters insist, has made a mark on the nation. Even the comrades have/ been forced to take note of the student leader and his speeches. Sitaram Yechury has been heard telling one and all that Kumar would be campaigning for the Left parties. Kumar, however, is playing it safe. He seems to be cautious when it comes to making a political debut or campaigning. He has stated that he would obey what the student’s council in the Jawaharlal Nehru University has to say on the matter. The stakes are high around Kumar. Even members of the third front are claiming credit for his bail. Nitish Kumar and Arvind Kejriwal have said that they played a role in getting a legal luminary to represent Kanhaiya Kumar. The Congress, which has been accused of ceding ground to Kanhaiya, has, however, kept mum. Is that because it has spotted the rise of yet another fledgling coalition that is against both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party
BHUPINDER SINGH HOODA SIDELINED IN CONGRESS BY RAHUL GANDHI
The former chief minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda is all set to float his own regional party in the state. Hooda, the then jat chief minister of the Congress had managed to survive as CM despite large scale resentment against him within the Congress and hundreds of complaints from Congress workers because of his proximity to the Congress high command. But now it seems that he is no more currying a favourite of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. Hooda is said to be upset with Rahul Gandhi for not only ignoring the cause of the jats but even for continuing with Ashok Tanwar, the dalit PCC chief in the state. But the recent provocation over the souring relationship with Rahul is after Tanwar issued a show cause notice to Hooda’s man Friday and political adviser Virender Singh after non-bailable warrants were issued against him accusing him of organising the jat protest. The schism between Hooda and Rahul has grown when Rahul did not join him in his dharna for peace in Haryana on Jantar Mantar. This is not the only reason for Hooda’s disillusionment. His supporters claim that Hooda has been upset with Rahul ever since Randeep Singh Surjewala, also a jat was made the head of the communication department. Initially Surjewala did not appear to be a threat to Hooda but as his importance and his proximity to Rahul Gandhi grew, he was seen as a potential threat to Hooda. Bhupinder’s desire to make his son Depender Singh Hooda, the future chief minister of Haryana has diminished. It has become clear to him that if the Congress returns to power whenever elections are held in the state and a jat is chosen to become the CM, Randeep Surjewala will be the CM and not Depender. It is evident from the fact that Rahul has started maintaining a distance from Depender who used to be closer to him earlier.
SMRITI IRANI ANNOYS UTTAR PRADESH BJP LEADERS
A section in the BJP is gunning for Smriti Irani because of her decision to take on Mayawati before the crucial polls in Uttar Pradesh. During the debate in the Upper House, Irani had pronounced that if the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party remained unhappy with her response, she was ready to present Mayawati with her head. When the debate ended, Mayawati insisted that she was not satisfied with Irani’s defence. Everyone is now watching what Irani does next. But many of her colleagues, who are now resigned to a poor showing in UP, say that Irani’s antics have left them with no other option but to put their hands on their heads.
RAHUL GANDHI DISCUSSES UP ELECTION STRATEGY WITH PRASHANT KISHORE
Rahul Gandhi on March 9 introduced his newly appointed political strategist Prasant Kishore to the Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders. At the meeting that was held in the Congress war room at The Gurdwara Rakabganj Road, Prashant Kishore was only a silent spectator at the meeting but he had already submitted a report to Rahul in the presence of Priyanka Gandhi. Rahul had given him 20 names of the top leaders of UP to conduct a survey about their popularity among the masses as well as their acceptability among the Congress workers. At the meeting, Prashant is supposed to have emphasised on the fact that Congress would need strong caste leaders as the PCC chief and the AICC general secretary .It also needs to project a strong leader someone like Priyanka Gandhi as the chief minister of the state. Because it is only Priyanka who can fight Mayawati and the BJP. Among the names he is supposed to have given to Rahul to consider is of Sanjay Singh a Thakur , Jitin Prasad Pramod Tiwari, Rita Joshi Bahuguna, all brahmins as also Fazle Masood and Zafar Abbas Naqvi, he is supposed to have suggested Rahul that the immediate need was to have a combination of an upper caste and a Muslim. If the high command appoints a upper caste like Sanjay Singh or Jitin Prasad then he should have a Muslim as the general secretary.
CONGRESS UPBEAT ABOUT ASSAM ELECTION PROSPECTS AFTER MODI MEETING
After Narendra Modi’s Assam visit to both Dibrugarh in Upper Assam and Lakhimpur .Congress party is suddenly finding itself upbeat. The reason is the PM’s personal attack on Tarun Gogoi, the chief minister and the overt projection of Sarbananda Sonawal in comparison. In their new survey, the Congress has two reasons for shift in political demographics. One, a large number of polarisation of Ahom vote which constitute 26 % of the 40 seats of upper Assam. Tarun Gogoi is seen as the only legitimate symbol of Ahom leadership. Whereas Sarbananda Sonowal comes from a very miniscule tribal community which has always been seen to be at loggerheads with the Ahom community. The polarisation of the Ahom votes is said to reap rich dividends for the Congress in Upper Assam.. With the aggressive Hindu positioning the Congress had found itself completely bereft of the Muslim vote which numbers approximately 37 % of the state’s population. The Congress has suddenly found a massive support among the Assamese Muslims which numbers about 65% of the total Muslim population. The tea garden labourers vote which is third in number after the Muslim and the Ahom community had also revolted in Prime Minister Modi’s meeting in Upper Assam due to non realisation of the two key poll promises to the community. One was three hundred rupees daily wages and the second was free health benefits for labourers. . (IPA)