Fly on the wall
Harish Gupta
No Bed of Roses for Priyanka
The Congress’s decision to make Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as chairperson of the Assam Congress screening committee marks her first substantive political assignment since her much-hyped but disappointing run as general secretary in Uttar Pradesh in 2022. This time, there will be few excuses. Assam is no bed of roses—and the Congress knows it.
Out of power since 2016, the Congress is attempting to hard-sell the 2026 Assembly elections as a comeback opportunity. It has announced plans to contest 100 of the state’s 126 seats while stitching together a non-BJP alliance with parties such as the Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI and CPI(M). Notably, the party has ruled out any tie-up with the All India United Democratic Front, branding it “communal”—a sharp departure from 2021, when the Congress-AIUDF alliance still failed to dislodge the BJP.
The numbers tell a sobering story. In 2021, the BJP-led NDA retained power with 75 seats. The Congress-led alliance managed 50 seats, of which the AIUDF alone won 16. However, the margin between the vote share of the two blocs was only 1.6 per cent
For Priyanka Gandhi, the challenge is two-fold. As screening committee chief, she must curb factionalism and resist the temptation of safe, familiar names in ticket distribution. Assam’s politics—shaped by ethnicity, identity and relentless BJP mobilisation—demands precision, not sentiment.
With the BJP setting an audacious target of 103 seats after it won 75 seats in 2021. This assignment will test whether Priyanka Gandhi can deliver hard political decisions, not just headlines. In Assam, symbolism will count for little. Results will count for everything.
Sun set for Pawar in RS ?
Maharashtra's
tallest leader Sharad Pawar had hinted some time ago at retiring from
active politics. But such statements by politicians rarely mean much.
When he stopped contesting Lok Sabha elections, he handed over the
Baramati seat to his daughter Supriya Sule, who has since won it four
times in a row. After that, Pawar moved to the Rajya Sabha.
But this time, his party has won only 10 Assembly seats. How will Pawar return to the Rajya Sabha now? The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) — the Shiv Sena (Uddhav), Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP(SP) — has a total of 51 MLAs: Uddhav’s Sena 20, Congress 16, Pawar’s party 10 and a few associates, can win one Rajya Sabha seat.
Of the seven seats falling vacant in the state, two belong to Pawar’s group, and one each to Uddhav Sena and Congress. If MVA parties agree, they can send Sharad Pawar back to the Rajya Sabha. But will they? Pawar camp is hopeful as parties switched alliances in local bodies' polls. They can come together for Rajya Sabha polls too as there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics — only permanent interests.
Similarly, the long parliamentary journey of former Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda also appears to be nearing its end. Deve Gowda, 90 years has been a member of one House or the other continuously. He handed over his Lok Sabha seat to his grandson. Now his Rajya Sabha term is ending. With only 19 MLAs, his party cannot win a seat on its own.
With four Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant, the BJP is likely to win one. Deve Gowda can return to the Rajya Sabha only if the BJP gives its seat to the JD(S). Since two BJP MPs are retiring and the party is expected to win one seat, it is doubtful the BJP would spare it for Deve Gowda. But the JD(S) has not given up hope.
Why Shashi
Tharoor Is Changing His Tune
For weeks, Shashi Tharoor appeared to be singing from an unexpectedly conciliatory hymn sheet. The Congress MP was seen backing the government on several initiatives, prompting whispers in Lutyens’ Delhi: was Tharoor inching closer to the BJP, or at least drifting away from the Congress’ combative line? That narrative is now fraying.
Over the last few days, Tharoor has unmistakably shifted gears, emerging as one of the most structured and substantive critics of the Modi government in the Winter Session of Parliament. He opposed the dilution of MGNREGA and strongly objected to the G Ram G saying “Ram Ka Naam Badnam Na Karo”. Many Congressmen wondered as to why Tharoor was fielded by the party when he had been openly hob-nobing with the BJP. Tharoor also took on the government over the controversial bill opening up the nuclear energy sector to private players, arguing that strategic sectors cannot be surrendered to corporate risk-taking.
The turning point came when Tharoor authored a sharply worded column in a leading English daily, accusing the government of reducing Parliament to a “rubber stamp.” It was not the rhetoric of a fence-sitter, but of a parliamentarian deeply alarmed by executive overreach and legislative bypassing.
So why does the speculation about his exit from Congress persist? Partly because Tharoor refuses to conform to the party’s loud-but-loose style of opposition. His critique is methodical, policy-driven, and anchored in constitutional language—qualities often mistaken for softness in today’s hyper-partisan climate. If anything, Tharoor’s “changing tune” says less about ideological drift and more about the party’s discomfort with disciplined dissent that doesn’t come wrapped in daily outrage.
Tailpiece: Sadhna Singh was always in the news when Shivraj Singh Chouhan was Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. The better half was often referred to as half CM. But ever since Chouhan has been shifted to Delhi and inducted into the Union Cabinet, she has hardly been seen or heard.
