By Nora Chopra
NAJMA HEPTULLAH LOBBYING FOR VICE PRESIDENT’S POSITION
The billion dollar question in the country’s politics is who would be the next president and the vice president of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to throw a googly which can take the BJP and the opposition both by surprise. Despite pressure from within the BJP veterans, he has indicated that neither L K Advani nor Murali Manohar Joshi can become the president or vice president of India and neither Kalyan Singh will be the BJP nominee for the vice president unless they are exonerated by the CBI . Modi is said to be planning an out of the box candidate. The names making round are of Meera Kumar, the daughter of the dalit Jagjivan Ram. She was the ex speaker of Lok Sabha in the UPA regime. Though Congress has other names in mind including the former Chief Justice of Supreme Court, TS Thakur. Another name that is making rounds is of Mulayam Singh Yadav. MSY whose dream was to become Prime Minister has no option but to lobby for the President’s post. Till date, there has never been an OBC president. If MSY becomes President, then Modi’s OBC constituency will be complete and he would emerge as the sole leader of the OBCs. But the real googly that Modi can throw is to have a Muslim vice president replacing the present Muslim VP Hamid Ansari. Najma Heptullah the governor of Manipur, has been in line for the post of president even when she was in the Congress. Heptullah was recently in news when she got the BJP government made in Manipur. Sources claim that Heptullah has been given the assurance of becoming the VP. She will also have the support of the BJP veterans.
MULAYAM SINGH YADAV IS SEEKING HELP TO BECOME PRESIDENT
The Samajwadi Party is again heading for a split. While Akhilesh Yadav, the current SP chief, has already declared the name of Balia MLA Ram Govind Choudhury, a yadav by caste , as leader of his party in Vidhan Sabha by virtue of which he will hold the post of leader of the opposition, Mulayam wants to make Azam Khan the LOP. Azam Khan, being the senior most is more deserving. But perhaps the Samajwadi Party leaders have not learnt from their past mistakes. MSY has always been accused of being hand in gloves with the BJP and has helped the BJP in polarizing the situation. Again if Azam Khan is made the LOP, then there is bound to be a Hindu polarization i as it is Azam once known as a rabid speaker. But unless there is Hindu polarization in Adityanath’s Uttar Pradesh, how can Mulayam become the messiah of the Muslims. The general perception in the Samajwadi Party is that Netaji is only interested in becoming the President.
PRESENT AICC GENERAL SECRETARIES ARE READY FOR EXIT
The news of the Congress overhaul is likely to become a reality now. The permanent AICC faces are now packing up. Janardhan Diwedi is said to have bought a house in Nev Sarai to move out as his Rajya Sabha term too is coming to an end. Digvijay Singh whose exit is almost final, is learnt now to be putting the blame on Rahul Gandhi about the Goa goof up. He is supposed to have said in close circuit that the delay was caused because Rahul Gandhi had given him a name of some AICC secretary. And he was trying to build a consensus on that name but no one agreed on that name. Even Mohan Prakash who had no property when he turned a Congressman is a man of millions. He travels in a Skoda.
DELHI CONGRESS MAY GIVE TICKETS TO DISGRUNTLED BJP WORKERS
The Congress is waiting for the BJP list before releasing its own list for municipal polls in Delhi. An internal survey done by the Congress gave just 53 seats to the Congress out of 272 seats and has given 65 such seats. Where the Congress is likely to get the second position. Ajay Makan, the PCC chief of Delhi has convinced Rahul Gandhi to give the tickets to the BJP sitting members who are likely to be denied the tickets by the BJP. BJP has declared that it will cut the tickets of sitting Corporates particularly those who are above 50 years of age. Ajay Makan wants to give tickets to these corporators. But now Kuldeep Bhishnoi who was appointed the observer, has given an independent report to Rahul Gandhi against Makhan thus forcing the Congress Vice President to constitute a 3 member committee comprising of Anand Sharma , Manick Isagore and Randeep Surjewala who will look into the complaint.
MULAYAM SINGH YADAV TRYING TO IMPRESS PRIME MINISTER
It may have been Yogi Adityanath’s day, but the person who stole the show at the Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s swearing-in ceremony, was Mulayam Singh Yadav. In fact, the bonhomie between Narendra Modi and ‘Netaji’ was so great that someone even remarked that they were ‘ jodi number one’, in other words, the star couple. Seated close to Modi, Mulayam is believed to have given a running commentary of sorts on each of the MLAs taking oath as minister. Going by the account of those present, Modi appeared to have been amused by Netaji’s description of the former Samajwadis, Congress wallahs and others who had switched sides to be part of the winning party. Apparently, Mulayam’s commentary was laced with colourful details. There was also something for Modi’s ears only. That may have something to do with Mulayamji’s long-cherished dream to move into Rashtrapati Bhavan. According to some, this is the reason why Mulayam has been praising Modi as an icon for the past few months. But will words of praise be enough for Netaji to cross the ideological and political divides and reach the coveted presidential chair?
PAURI GARHWAL IS THE DISTRICT OF TWO NEW CHIEF MINISTERS
Pauri Garhwal may be merely a district in Uttarakhand, but it is calling the shots now, so to speak. The chief ministers of both Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh – Trivendra Singh Rawat and Yogi Adityanath – hail from villages in Pauri. The district is also the birthplace of the current RAW director, Anil Kumar Dhasmana, and of the army chief, Bipin Rawat. But the person who brought Pauri on the map was the national security adviser, Ajit Doval, who belongs to Banelsyun village in Pauri. (IPA)