Sorry, this entry is only available in Hindi.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Hindi.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Hindi.

It has always been a tradition of the Congress in Punjab that if its Chief Minister is a Sikh during the Congress rule, then a Hindu is placed on the post of the state president, as till now even under Captain’s rule, the responsibility of the state president before Sidhu took charge, was fulfilled by Sunil Jakhar, a non-Sikh. So, now the speculations are rife in Punjab that in the next few days, Captain Amarinder Singh may be retired citing his old age and Navjot Singh Sidhu may be made the new Chief Minister of Punjab in his place. In such a situation, a non-Sikh, that is, a Hindu can be made to sit on the chair of the state president vacated by Sidhu so that a balance can be reached in the ratio of Sikh and Hindu voters of the state. Anyway, when Sidhu took charge on Friday, he made it clear to Captain, in a way, that they are not going to get along with each other. Sidhu and Captain sat together for one and a half hours during the program, but the relationship was so tense that even after sitting together for so long, they did not talk to each other. When Sidhu stood up to speak at the Punjab Congress Bhawan, remembering Waheguru, followed by a cricket shot-hitting action, he ignored Captain and Harish Rawat sitting to his right and took his blessings by touching the feet of senior leader Lal Singh and former Chief Minister of the state Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. Therefore, in a way, Sidhu challenged Captain and said – ‘My heart is not like the heart of an irritable person, those who oppose me, they will make me stronger’ i.e. in a way Sidhu Has declared war with the Captain.

Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee has given clear instructions to her party MPs in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha that they have to cover a large ‘vacant space’ of opposition in both the houses. It was only after their leader’s input that the TMC MPs were so dominant inside and outside the House that they overshadowed the main opposition Congress as well. The question is whether it was the result of these instructions that when the new Railway and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav was going to give his statement in the Upper House in the Pegasus espionage case, Trinamool MP Shantanu Sen snatched the copy of the statement from his hands, tore it into pieces and threw it in air. At the same time, Mamata has also started her national mission past Wednesday on the occasion of Martyr’s Day. Apart from Bengal, through her virtual rally, she also addressed states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Gujarat, wherein Mamata gave most of her speech in Hindi and said that till the BJP is cleared from the whole country, till then ‘Khela hobe’ in all the states. This means it was, in a way, a declaration of Mamata’s national ambition.

Don’t make the mistake of treating former IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad’s rhetorical arguments and incoherent speeches as a lost chapter. Keeping that tradition of Prasad alive, many ministers of the Modi government are following it. In the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, one would have seen a fierce form of Hardeep Puri, a senior minister of the Modi government, who, like the ‘fire’ in petroleum prices, was also seen raging on the Trinamool MPs in the House. You must have also heard the Minister of State for External Affairs and BJP’s leadership’s favorite’ Meenakshi Lekhi calling the agitating farmers ‘Mawali’. That is, it is decided that any minister of the government who defends the government with some ferocity and sharp aggression, their numbers will increase in ‘M Darbar’. When the PM was evaluating the performance of all his ministers before this major reshuffle of his cabinet, a presentation was also made by Giriraj Singh, even though that presentation may have got low numbers on the PM’s mark sheet, the PM was given the status of his ministry. The minister may not have been able to answer two or three questions in a satisfactory manner, and when it seemed to everyone that Giriraj Singh was going to be dropped from the cabinet, he was promoted and an important ministry like rural development was handed to him. Therefore, the ‘exam paper’ is out, for the MP or minister who knows how to cross the limits in the defense of the government and for them the possibilities are limitless in this government.

Sorry, this entry is only available in Hindi.

If sources are to be believed, PK has got a proposal from Rahul Gandhi that he should join Congress, he can get a big responsibility here. If Prashant Kishor joins Congress now, he can be made in charge of Gujarat, where assembly elections are due in 2022. Once Gujarat is conquered, they can start preparations for the 2024 general elections. But in Gujarat, veteran Congressmen like Shakti Singh Gohil, Arjun Modhwadia are still hesitant to accept the guidance of PK. At the same time, many big leaders of Congress like Kamal Nath, Digvijay Singh, P Chidambaram, etc. are also said to be a little uncomfortable with Rahul giving so much importance to PK. So, PK will also have to take this decision for himself carefully.

Recently, in New Delhi, election strategist Prashant Kishor met Rahul Gandhi and introduced him to many of his innovative suggestions regarding the 2024 general elections. For example, PK told Rahul that there was a need to form not one but two separate fronts in the 2024 elections. PK’s request was that a Second Front should be formed under the leadership of the Congress, wherein, apart from the old allies of the UPA, the doors should also be opened for some new parties. In addition to the Congress, the parties that can join the second front can be parties like NCP, DMK, RJD, JMM, AIUDF, CPM and CPI. There are some parties that cannot join the UPA due to their regional compulsions, then they can bet on a third front that will take shape. These are regional parties, which do not accept the leadership of Congress, so the parties, which can choose the Third Front for themselves, may be parties like SP, Trinamool, Jagan’s YSR Congress and TRS. PK is said to have advised Rahul that in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress need not field its candidates in bulk, instead, it will contest in winning states like Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and North East and contest with the support of strong allies in the states of Bihar, UP, Jharkhand or South. In such a situation, even if their share of seats is less, the chances of winning will be much higher. Like in this election, DMK left just 8 seats for Congress, but Congress won all these seats.

Jharkhand is battling with a political storm these days, which is also quite suitable for saffron aspirations. In the coming days, problems may increase for the Chief Minister of the state, Hemant Soren. Soren’s party has 30 MLAs and Congress has 16, Congress also has four ministers in the government, despite this, Soren doesn’t give much importance to Congress in running the government. BJP has been active here for a long time for Soren’s overthrow. Recently, six angry Jharkhand Congress MLAs suddenly reached Delhi, it is also being heard that two of these MLAs also met Amit Shah. The party High Command entrusted the responsibility of persuading other angry Congress MLAs in Ranchi to their senior leader Subodh Kant Sahai. After talking to these angry MLAs, Sahai boarded the flight to Delhi, where six angry MLAs are already stationed. Soren’s problem is that if there is a break in the Congress in the state, then his party may also come under its control as his late elder brother Durga Soren’s wife, Sita Soren, who is also a JMM MLA, has been greatly annoyed by her neglect in the government and she feels that Hemant shows more confidence in his brother Basant Soren. Senior party leader Stephen Marandi is already annoyed. The BJP needs a pro-active leader to topple the Soren government and then form its government there. Babulal Marandi is calm, courteous, and decent, so things are still not working out with him.