by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

7 lakh companies facing debt recovery proceedings, most shut shop

Nearly seven lakh companies have either been shut down or facing debt recovery proceedings under the stringent SARFAESI Act for their failure to repay debt taken from financial institutions and banks. As many as two lakh companies were taken to Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) by banks and financial institutions in the first year itself after the SARFAESI Act was amended by the Modi government in 2016. The largest number of companies, 2.35 lakhs, were taken to the DRTs in the year 2018-19. In all, 6.88 lakh companies have been taken to the DRTs across the country during 2016-17 to 2020-21 period. Though there is no official data available with the Corporate Affairs ministry that how many of these 6.88 lakh companies shut shop due to their failure to repay debt. But official sources say that most of these companies were either declared bankrupt or may vanish from the radar.

The Central Government administers the Secularization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act) which allows banks and financial institutions to recover their dues exceeding Rs one lakh by proceeding under its provisions. This act became stringent in 2016 through an amendment brought by the Modi government which allowed secured creditors to take possession over a collateral, against which a loan had been provided, upon a default in repayment. This process is undertaken with the assistance of the District Magistrate, and does not require the intervention of courts or tribunals.

The Modi government is flooded with requests to dilute the stringent SARFAESI Act. However, the same has been ruled out.

Year                     Debt Recovery cases

2016-17                199,352

2017-18                 91,330

2018-2019              2,35,437

2019-20                 1,05,523

2020-21                 57,331 (provisional)

Total :                     688973

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

PM summons Council of Ministers' meet

Modi Ministers keeping fingers crossed

Major shake-up in party, Raj Bhawans too

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has summoned a meeting of his 75-member strong Council of Ministers this weekend before the Budget session of Parliament begins on January 31. The buzz in the South Block is that this may be the last meeting of the present Council of Ministers before a major shakeup. The appointment of new governors and Lt. Governors in many states and changes in the BJP may also take place simultaneously.

Sources say that Modi has summoned this meeting to give pep talk to his ministerial colleagues signalling major reshuffle in team-Modi before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Obviously, the PM is giving final touches to his new “war team” and under performers may be shown the door.

No agenda of the Council of Ministers’ meeting has been circulated and nothing has been conveyed to the ministers either. However, Modi had told his ministers a couple of months ago that their performance was being closely watched and may question them on meeting targets.

The fact that the BJP leadership has increased the number of vulnerable Lok Sabha seats from 144 to 170 after extensive surveys indicates weakness in crucial states like Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and a couple of other states. The fact that former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh who is now Vice President of the BJP was deputed to hoist tricolour this Republic Day at the party headquarters gives a clue of how the pendulum is shifting.

There is a strong buzz that former Chief Minister of Punjab Capt. Amrinder Singh may be sent to Maharashtra as Governor in place of Bhagat Singh Koshiyari. However, sources say he may not be sent to a crucial state at this juncture and the party may be using his services to reap the harvest in Punjab to win Lok Sabha seats.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group



Every 9^th health sub-center without power in the country

UP worst, Maharashtra better, Haryana & AP winners

The Modi government has been shouting from the roof tops that it has provided electricity to every village in the country. But a report by the Union Health ministry revealed that electricity has not reached every 9th sub-centre in rural areas in the country. The number of such centers is around 18000. There are 1.58 lakh health sub-centers in rural areas across the country.

According to the report, UP is the worst performer where every 4^th sub-center is without power and the situation is relatively better in Maharashtra.  There are 20,781 sub-centers in UP out of which 5385 have no electricity which is 25%. The state headed by Sushasan Babu Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’ Bihar stood at number two in the country with 23.6% which are without power. In comparison, Maharashtra has 10673 centers and of them 1397 are without power which is 13.1%. But performance in the PM’s home state of Gujarat is commendable where the number of centers without power is just 2.9%.  The figure is shade better in Madhya Pradesh with 2.5%. But in large states, Mamata Banerjee is best where only 2.1% health sub-centers are without power. Haryana and Andhra Pradesh are the winners where all centers are operating with full power while in Punjab the number is poor with 6.3%.

According to the report, on an average, each sub-centre is responsible for the health of 5691 persons, but till March 2022. But there is a silver lining too as the number of allopathic  doctors in Primary Health Centers has increased by 50%  compared to 2005. The number has increased from 20,308 in 2005 to 30,640 in 2022.

But in terms of specialists, out of 21,920 posts 17,435 posts are lying vacant. There is also a huge shortage of radiologists, anesthesiologists, lab technicians, and nursing staff in rural areas.

 

HEALTH SUBCENTERS IN IMPORTANT STATES
state	SUBCENTERS			WITHOUT POWER SUPPLY (%)
Uttar Pradesh	20781			5385	25.9
Bihar	9375			2208	23.6
Rajasthan	13523			1750	12.9
Maharashtra	10673			1397	13.1
Uttarakhand	1785			538	30.1
Karnataka	8757			446	5.1
Gujarat	9132			262	2.9
West Bengal	10357			255	2.5
Madhya Pradesh	10287			219	2.1
Punjab	2951			185	6.3
Himachal Pradesh	2114			10	0.5
Goa	219			1	0.5
Haryana	2653			0	0
Andhra Pradesh	11073			0	0
All India/Total	157935			17967	11.4

,

 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Baffling absence of Nitish Kumar 

There is considerable shock and disbelief across political parties as to why Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not pay homage to the departed socialist leader Sharad Yadav. While the BJP deployed its top leadership including party president J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to personally go to Yadav's Chhatarpur residence and lay a wreath. The BJP also directed the Madhya Pradesh Chief Shivraj Singh Chouhan to receive his mortal remains at Bhopal airport and declared state mourning. A large number of BJP MPs also visited Yadav's home to mourn his death. Rahul Gandhi cut short his Bharat Jodo Yatra and flew to Delhi to pay his tribute. Several top Congress leaders including party general secretary Skahti Sinh Gohil, Bihar PCC Chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh and others were stationed at Yadav's residence to help in arrangements too. Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav paid his tribune. But those waiting for Nitish Kumar's presence were in for a shock as he and Sharad Yadav worked together in Janata Dal (U) for several decades. Yadav parted company with Nitish Kumar when the latter joined hands with the BJP after winning Assembly polls in 2015 in alliance with the RJD and Congress. Yadav was offered a Cabinet post in the Modi-led government which he flatly refused and paid a heavy price. He lost his Rajya Sabha seat and was subsequently evicted from his Tughlaq Road residence. He didn't have a house of his own and had to stay at his daughter's residence on a temporary basis. Nitish Kumar did not join Yadav's funeral at his native village in Madhya Pradesh either. Political analysts say that Nitish Kumar's absence may cost him dearly at a time when he is aspiring to be Opposition parties consensus Prime Ministerial candidate.

Strange Gag orders

 

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a rather strange gag order to all government authorities and scientific institutions including ISRO not to share details of their studies with the media relating to Joshimath which saw a rapid sinking of 5.4 cm in just 12 days. The ISRO report said the massive soil sinking at Joshimath occurred due to a “rapid subsidence event that was triggered on January 2.”  Prior to the ISRO report, a number of other institutions of the Central government involved in scientific studies of the Himalayas claimed that they had repeatedly issued warnings for the past 40 years to the power that be that all construction activities would be fatal for the very existence of the Himalayan range, but no one listened. These reports embarrassed the “double engine Sarkars" in Uttarakhand and New Delhi. In order to avoid further embarrassment, the NDMA was directed to issue a ‘Gag Order’ to the institutions. The BJP cannot blame the Congress for destroying the environment as it has been ruling the state for the past six years and in power at the centre for more than 8 years. But this is not the only gag order that the Modi government has issued. Ever since it came to power, there have been many such gag orders. Last year, the Modi government issued a strange ‘Gag order’ to former bureaucrats and persons who held key posts not to go public by speaking on TV channels or writing articles in newspapers. Modi firmly told his ministers and bureaucrats in 2014 not to go to 5-star hotels and waste time by going to parties. The restrictions on the movement of media men to government offices and even in Parliament was restricted making their task difficult. The Right to Information (RTI) Act, a key source of soliciting information, is dying a slow death as authorities are not following the law in letter & spirit. A new work culture is emerging and every now and then a new sermon comes into being.

Amit Shah’s new card in Jharkhand?

 

Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in Jharkhand the other came as a bolt from the blue. It gave an impression that something is cooking up between the ruling JMM and the BJP. Amit Shah distanced himself from the toppling game and blamed the state BJP  leaders. Amit Shah went to the extent of saying that it was Babulal Marandi who wanted to topple the Hemant Soren Government. But he nixed it as the BJP doesn’t believe in the toppling game. Insiders in the BJP high command say that the statement signals that something is cooking between the JMM and the saffron party. After all, JMM and BJP were together in ruling the state. After all, the BJP is ruling Manipur, Goa, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka only by engineering defections. 

 

New DG for India Habitat Center

The sixteen-member governing council of the prestigious India Habitat Centre on January 6, 2023, decided to constitute a Search Committee to find out the successor of former President G. Parthasarathy (IFS) who completed his second extended term on August 31, 2022. The BJP leadership is gearing up to install a person of its choice for the coveted post. The BJP leadership is nowadays is keen to install persons of its choice in all such institutions including India International Center, Gymkhana Club and Delhi Golf Club and others in Lutyen’s  Delhi. It has already installed an administrator at the Delhi Gymkhana Club.

 

 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Misuse of Central Govt. Schemes funds

Modi orders thorough probe, ministries send teams to states 

Prime Minister Modi has directed all Union ministries to launch a nation-wide drive to identify pilferages and misuse of funds being given to people under Central Sector (CS) schemes.

Though there are over 100 such schemes which are fully funded by the Union Government and the Prime Minister’s Office and ministries are flooded with the complaints of their misuse of funds and ineligible people getting all sorts of benefits. According to a report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the total developmental expenditure by the central government was a whopping Rs 90,89,233 crore (Rs 90.9 trillion) in eight years (2014-15 to 2021-22).

The PMO is particularly upset after initial scrutiny that in many states benefits have been passed on to wrongful beneficiaries.

The major amount of subsidy is given to PM Awas Yogna (Grameen and Urban) poor, PM-Ujjawala Scheme, PM-KISAN, MGNREGA, PM Poshan and several others.

It was also discovered that massive misuse of funds and benefits are being given to ineligible people in PMAY-Grameen in states like West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Telangana and others.

The PMO also asked the states to constitute ‘Audit Committees’ to probe utilization of those  schemes where 100% funding is provided by the Centre. As part of this exercise, a couple of Union ministries have flown its high-level teams to states to physically check as to what’s happening on the ground.

 

For example, the PMO has directed the Rural Development ministry to complete construction of  2.74 crores houses under PMAY-G by December 31, 2023. As on January 6, 2023,  the ministry said that 2.10 crores houses have been completed out of 2.74 crores houses to be built. The government has provided Rs 28,000 crores to the Rural development ministry to complete houses by December, 2023.

A team of ministry’s top officials including one from the PMO landed in West Bengal last week and discovered many instances of benefits enjoyed by ineligible people in connivance with the Panchayats and district administration. The state government suspended a couple of officers and notices were given for the recovery of funds. Similar teams are being sent by other ministries as well to states as complaints are pouring in.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

BJP worried as Vulnerable LS seats go up

 

The hype created by the BJP leaders in public notwithstanding, findings of internal surveys have made the leadership slightly worried. A brain-storming session held recently at the party headquarters, the BJP raised the number of vulnerable Lok Sabha seats from 144 to 170 plus. It was only after this marathon exercise that top BJP leadership including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP chief J P Nadda and others started touring states after states where the party found chinks in its armory. The number of vulnerable seats went up to 170 plus as Opposition parties are moving in the direction of pitching a common candidate in at least 350  Lok Sabha constituencies against the BJP. Prime Minister Modi’s growing charisma, BJP's organised war machinery, massive pumping of funds and diatribes has made even the regional parties worried. These parties are working hard to reach a tacit understanding to field a common candidate against BJP in majority of states. The BJP high command has to rejig its strategy in many states including Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan apart from southern states to retain its present strength in Lok Sabha. The Prime Minister has already directed the ministries and BJP-ruled states to prepare a detailed list of beneficiaries of various Central government fully-funded schemes so that BJP workers could go house-to-house in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls in May 2024. 

 

Breather for Shivraj Singh Chouhan!

 

Contrary to reports, there are signs that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan may survive. The party high command was in the process of bringing a new face to avoid anti-incumbency as Chouhan is serving his 4^th term as CM. Even in the 2018 Assembly polls, the BJP had lost the state to the Congress. But it regained the state after Jyotiraditya Scindia walked over to the BJP along with 22 MLAs. The high command explored the possibility of installing a new face and search began too. However, it developed cold feet as Chouhan is an OBC and finding another leader from backward classes is becoming difficult. Therefore, it is contemplating to make Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar as Madhya Pradesh BJP president in place of Vishnu Sharma who is a Tomar protegee. Tomar is a seasoned party man and commands considerable respect in the state. He has a considerable clout. The change of guards may take place only after the Assembly polls in the event of BJP emerging victorious. 

 

Congress’ big worry too

If the BJP leadership is fixing nuts & bolts in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress is also facing its Waterloo in many states. The BJP’s focus is how to win Muslim votes while retaining its Hindu vote bank. Similarly, the Congress is wanting to gain a pie among the Hindus while retaining its Muslim vote banks. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) may have succeeded in earning praises but he has a long way to go. The Congress Party’s Hindu vote bank which late Indira Gandhi retained, has been withered away by her successors. The disaster followed when it lost its Muslim vote bank as well in states after states beginning with UP. Earlier, Indian Muslim League was confined to Kerala and AIMIM in Hyderabad. Lately, many parties have come into being promising to take care of their interests. In Assam, Badaruddin Ajmal’s  AIUDF sprang up in a big way and Assaduddin Owaisi expanded his wings outside Hyderabad and gained ground in Maharashtra, Bihar and other states. As if this was not enough, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has sprung up in Karnataka to protect Muslims’ interest. Therefore, Rahul Gandhi’s purpose of his BJY is to bring back the majority community to the party's fold and hope to bring Muslims into its fold. His numerous visits to temples during the course of yatra has even earned laurels from a Ram Temple trustee and Mahants. Rahul’s re-birth and emergence of a “Tapasvi" and claims that he has read Ramayan, Mahabharat, Vedas & Puranas, are aimed at sending a message that he is a devout Hindu. He struck a spiritual note in Kurukshetra gladdening the hearts of even RSS leadership.

 

 Falling like ninepins

Rahul Gandhi's team faced great difficulty in selecting 120 ‘Yatris’ capable of walking 3000 km with Rahul Gandhi for 150 days from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. They were selected not only because of their unflinching loyalty to the party but also their physical stamina to take the arduous journey. In this test of survival of the fittest, a few of them failed too. But many senior Congress leaders had to cut a sorry figure as they couldn’t keep pace with Rahul Gandhi and even lost their balance. Nitin Raut of Maharashtra, Haryana’s PCC chief Uday Bhan, and Kiran Chowdhary lost their balance and had to leave the Yatra midway. A large number of senior leaders including Ashok Gehlot, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Siddaramaiah, Kamal Nath, Jairam Ramesh, Bala Saheb Thorat and others could walk only briefly and had to beat a hasty retreat. But Rahul was extremely happy that the Rajasthan and Haryana leg of Yatra was very well organised.  

 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Akalis may rejoin NDA, Cabinet

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is preparing to rejoin the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) sooner than expected. The Akali Dal had quit the NDA and Union Cabinet in September. 2020 in protest against three farm bills. The SAD said that the "Modi govt is being stubborn and insensitive towards the issues of farmers, Sikhs and Punjabis."

After a prolonged agitation, the Modi government withdrew the three Farm bills in December 2021. It was speculated that Harsimat Kaur Badal who held the Food Processing ministry portfolio, will be re-inducted into the Cabinet. But BJP's hardliners in Punjab were against the move and said it's time to come out of the shadow of the Akalis. The BJP and Akalis contested the Punjab Assembly polls separately and paid a heavy price as AAP swept the polls. The BJP was heavily relying on defectors from all the parties to win the polls including former Chief Minister Capt. Amrinder Singh. But nothing worked for the BJP and feelers were sent to the SAD to return to the NDA.

Informed sources say that US-based billionaire Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, who was deported from the Delhi airport in October 2021, played a key role in the BJP-Akali Dal patch-up bid. Dhaliwal may have been deported back to the USA from the Delhi Airport itself as he funded “langar” to agitating farmers in Delhi. But the Modi government wooed him profusely and even honoured him with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award. This is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians.

It is also learnt that veteran Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal had asked PM Modi to intervene. Accordingly, Indian ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu met Dhaliwal in the USA and invited him to a book release function on Modi unveiled by Sri Sri Ravi Shanker. It is said that Dhaliwal is now playing a key role in the patch up bid between BJP and Akalis.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly On the Wall

 Modi’s biopic before 2024 polls

 

 

If reports emerging from Mumbai are any indication, a biopic on the life and works of PM Narendra Modi is being planned before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. A Mumbai-based producer Mahaveer Jain, who is considered close to the PM, is quietly working on the project with leading actors and a producer. Jain has already made two films on Modi, the last being,  Mann Bairagi, described as an  “untold story of Modi’s life”. It has been co-produced by him with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Mann Bairagi, termed an ‘untold story’ is expected to trace the journey of the Indian Prime Minister from his early days, and how he rose to fight against the odds and overcome several hurdles before being elected. This feature follows the heels of Vivek Oberoi essaying the Prime Minister in the film PM Narendra Modi, while a TV mini-series called Modi: Journey of a Common Man has also been made earlier. It may be recalled that a 10-episode web series, 'Modi: Journey of a Common Man’ was released just a day after the producers of PM Narendra Modi postponed the movie's release in 2019. Five episodes of the web series, produced by Eros International, were released. The streaming was put on hold due to impending general elections. This time, the producers won’t take a chance and are planning much in advance.  The first look of Mann Bairagi was released on Modi's 69th birthday by actors Prabhas and Akshay Kumar who had asked the Prime Minister how he liked to eat mangoes in the middle of the elections.The film’s release is being planned in early 2024, long before the announcement of the General Elections.

Karnataka leaders in queue 

Come 2023 and a season of biopic may be witnessed in Karnataka too. The first glimpse of the biopic may be witnessed in Karnataka which will go to polls in May this year. Reports emanating from the state suggest that veteran Congressman, PC Siddaramaiah, could soon be seen both offline and online. A biopic is being planned on the 75-year-old leader and former Chief Minister. Though Siddaramaiah did not reveal anything more about the impending biopic on his life. But his confidantes signaled that the project is on track. The name of a Tamil actor, Vijay Sethupathi, is being considered for the role of a young Siddaramaiah. Some fans of Siddaramaiah have even registered a company to produce the film on the socialist youth leader who went on to become the chief minister. When the news of the Siddaramaiah project surfaced, supporters of veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa also jumped in. They are also planning to come out with a biopic of their leader.

 

Modi  vs Vajpayee

 

The BJP leaders were somewhat taken aback when Rahul Gandhi decided to pay homage to late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s Samadhi on December 26. Though some sarcastic comments were made by the BJP spokespersons following this visit. But it didn’t cut much ice as Rahul Gandhi explained later to the media that Vajpayee never believed in the politics of hate and vendetta. Yashwant Sinha joined in the controversy soon saying that Modi undermined the achievements during the six years of Vajpayee's rule and listed them in an article in a leading English newspaper. This was immediately followed up by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who remembered the good old days of the NDA. 01 during the Vajpayee era. While participating in the anniversaries of departed BJP stalwarts, Nitish praised Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Arun Jaitley and others. Nitish Kumar lamented the lack of magnanimity and liberality in the BJP leadership at present. A few days later, he offered tributes to Jaitley on his birth anniversary and, once again, became nostalgic about his friendship with the stalwart. Asked to compare the BJP regimes at the Centre then and now, Nitish gave a wicked smile and said, ‘let it go’. The BJP leadership is also concerned about reports that some of its leaders like Varun Gandhi may desert the party before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. 

 

Azad worried

 

Democratic Azad Party (DAP) president Ghulam Nabi Azad has reasons to be worried as National Conference, PDP, CPM and other small groups may join hands with the Congress to fight Assembly polls in J&K together. With Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra preparing to enter Kashmir and the Gandhi family scion to hoist tricolour at Srinagar, Azad is trying to grapple with this new development. Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have signaled that they will join Rahul's Yatra. Abdullah even joined Rahul Gandhi's yatra in UP and surprised many. Rahul's yatra has rejuvenated the otherwise laid back state unit of the Congress. The main worry of Azad is that his own party is riddled with dissidence and he had to expel many senior leaders from the party itself. Azad is also worried many of his own party leaders may cross over to the Congress as the mood is changing in the valley.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Over 3 lakh vacancies exist in Railways, no hurry to fill them either

 

Claims by the Railway Ministry notwithstanding that it is working hard to fill vacancies, more than three lakh vacancies existed as on December 1, 2022. It is learnt that vacancies include gazetted and non-gazetted categories in various departments of Railways including security and traffic divisions as well.

 

According to the Railways, the precise number of vacancies stood at 3.11 lakhs. No time frame has been set by the Railways as to when it will be able to fill these vacancies. Interestingly, the Railways recruited 18,463 apprentices under the apprenticeship program over the last five years. However, none of these apprentices have been made permanent during this period. When asked whether Railways is proposing to restart the Special Class Railway Apprenticeship program as recommended by the Ministry of Finance, the ministry officials said that “no such proposal is under consideration in the Ministry of Railways.”

Insiders in the government say that Prime Minister Modi is keen to trim the size of the workforce as technology is evolving fast and employees need to re-orient themselves and be trained in a changed environment. The PM has constituted a three-member task force under former Infosys CEO SD Shibu Lal, to implement the PM's concept of 'Karmyogi' in the bureaucracy. There are more than 10 lakh vacancies in the central government including three lakhs in the Railways for the past several years. This shows that the government is in no hurry to fill them either.

 

The details of vacancies are as under:

Department Vacancies Account 12455

Administration 4227

Civil 87654

Electrical 38096

Mechanical 64346

Medical 5193

Personnel 3944

Security 9068

Signal & Telecommunication 14815

Store 8881

Traffic Transportation 62264

Miscellaneous 578

Total vacancies: 311521

 

 

 

 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

 

Assembly Polls in 9 states in 2023

No Cake walk for BJP

 

The ‘Modi magic’ notwithstanding, the BJP leadership is finding it difficult to implement its “Gujarat Model” in some of the poll bound states in 2023. Of the nine states set to go to polls this year, the BJP is in power in Tripura, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh while in Nagaland and Mizoram, the ruling NDPP and MNF are part of the NDA. In Meghalaya, Chief Minister Conard Sangma's NPP walked out of the NDA leaving the BJP in a lurch.

 

The BJP is already facing a serious challenge in Tripura where more than half a dozen MLAs have quit and a key regional ally broke ties with the BJP.

 

In Karnataka, the BJP leadership is trying hard to placate B S Yediyurappa (BSY) and inducted him in the parliamentary board. But BSY is insisting on the inclusion of his MLA son in the Bommai ministry. The Cabinet expansion will now take place but the last word on inclusion of BSY's son is yet to be written.

 

The BJP’s next big worry is Madhya Pradesh where it has been receiving adverse ground reports and toying with the idea of implementing “Gujarat Model”. The Assembly polls are due in MP in November-December this year and the leadership is keen to replace Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The BJP replaced the CM Vijay Rupani a year ahead of the polls along with his entire team with a new set of faces amidst reports of anti-incumbency. The experiment proved to be a success as the party won a record number of seats.

If the change of guards is to take place in Madhya Pradesh, the Cabinet reshuffle at the Centre will be timed accordingly.

The BJP also has to put its house in order in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh where Congress is in power.