Modi's 60 seats gamble
Prime
Minister Modi is known for doing the unthinkable and a big risk taker. He has
the habit of surprising all and sundry by his decisions. If the mandarins
in the corridors of power are to be believed, Modi is considering contesting
from the South in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The gamble, if taken, is aimed at
opening the doors of the BJP in a big way. Insiders in the BJP say that
the PM asked senior party leaders to give him a road map of how
the party could win 60 Lok Sabha seats from five Southern states. Currently,
the BJP has a strong base in Karnataka where it won 25 seats out of 28 in 2019
Lok Sabha polls and 4 seats in Telangana out of 17. But it drew a blank
in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The BJP high command is fixing
nuts and bolts in these states and enhancing its Telangana tally. Modi has been
posing pointed questions to the BJP leadership about its plans to expand the
party's base in the South. In Kerala, it's a long shot but Tamil Nadu is
on the radar. One of the suggestions engaging the attention is how beneficial
it would be to pitch the PM from Tamil Nadu as well in addition to his current
Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency.
Entering
the Southern dragon
The
BJP’s southern sojourn may take Modi to Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha constituency
in TN. The BJP leadership is aware that it has almost reached a saturation
point in the Hindi heartland, West and North East and could add another 20
odd-seats in the kitty of 303 seats it won in 2019. Therefore, it must
take unimaginable steps to conquer the South. An IPS officer has been
given the command of TN BJP with Hindutva Agenda. The month-long event
held in November, 2022 was aimed at rediscovering the bond between Kashi and
Tamil Nadu. Hundreds of delegates from Tamil Nadu participated in this month-long
event. The PM has been traveling to TN wearing TN attire and even spoke in
Tamil for a brief while. The BJP leadership is working hard to bring the two
AIADMK factions together. Secondly, Ramanathpuram has Lord Rama’s
connection, the Hindutva ideology. Ram Setu is likely to be declared National
Heritage which is currently in court. There is only one hitch; should the PM
contest from two seats and what signal it may send to UP voters where the BJP
wants to win 75 plus Lok Sabha seats. The last word on the issue is yet to be
written. The mystery will unfold only when the Election Commission announces an
8-phase Lok Sabha poll schedule in 2024.
Eyes
set on two Vacant RS Seats
Of
the 12 nominated MPs of the Rajya Sabha, two seats continue to remain vacant for
nearly a year. The government nominated 5 celebrities to the Rajya Sabha last
year and the choice of each one of them gives a clue of PM Modi’s astute
thinking. If legendary athlete P T Usha was picked up from Kerala, Indian
philanthropist Dr Veerendra Heggade was chosen from Karnataka. Music maestro
Ilaiyaraaja Iyaraja from Tamil Nadu and screenwriter and director from
Andhra V Vijendra was privileged one. All four from southern states. To top it
all, Modi also nominated Ghulam Ali, a ST leader from Jammu & Kashmir. But
none of them joined the BJP as had been the trend in the past with nominated
MPs like Sonal Mansingh and others. It is learnt that two remaining nominations
may be from poll bound states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh etc. A
close look at the list of Padma awardees reveals focus on South India.
Gehlot
gets a breather
If
the BJP high command reported to have given a breather to Madhya Pradesh Chief
Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan until the Assembly polls in
November-December 2023, the Congress too has finally given up its plan to
replace Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The BJP has been unable to find
an OBC leader capable of facing poll year challenges to replace Chouhan. Rahul
Gandhi tried hard to bring a solution to the on-going bitter battle going-on
between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot. On the contrary, a tripartite meeting
among the three leaders ended virtually in a fiasco. Sachin Pilot has been left
high & dry.
Modi opens
treasure chest for Odisha
There is
nothing without reason in PM Modi's dictionary. When Modi inducted Ashwini
Vaishnav in his Cabinet and gave him three plum portfolios, the credit was
given to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who facilitated his entry into
the Rajya Sabha. But all that is history and relationship took a bitter turn
when BJP president J P Nadda gave a clarion call to make "BJD-Mukt"
Odisha at a party workers rally. Neither Modi nor Vaishnav have uttered a word
against Naveen Patnaik. On the contrary, the former IAS officer who was a district collector in Cuttack and
Balasore, was able to allocate more funds for Railway projects than asked for
by the state. Modi opened the centre's treasure chest for Odisha which
had demanded Rs 8,400
crore. But Modi doled out Rs 10,012 crore in 2023-24. The allocation was
Rs 1,600 crore more than the government’s expectation and 57 railway stations
would be modernised in the state. Obviously, Vaishnav may be the face of the
BJP in Odisha where Lok Sabha and Assembly polls will be held
simultaneously.
