'Congress
Mukt’ gamble worrying BJP now
The
BJP may have been reaping the harvest since 2014 to make India “Congress Mukt”.
It may have succeeded in reducing the Congress bastion to a mere two states
(Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh) and engineering large scale defections in many
other states. But the party leadership is increasingly worried that the Arvind
Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party is emerging as a viable alternative to the
Congress in states. Strategically, the AAP is focusing on district-level
Congress leaders in states wherever possible. It is not encouraging any senior
leader of the Congress to cross over to the AAP. This strategy paid rich
dividends in Punjab and now worries the BJP in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat
where Assembly polls are due later this year. It is in this context that the BJP
leadership is weaning AAP and Congress leaders with open arms. The exodus is continuing in these
states on a daily basis. But those hungry to dislodge the BJP are joining AAP
at lower levels in a big way. The speed with which the government probe
agencies and new Lt. Governor of Delhi V K Saxena are targeting the Kejriwal’s
government and its ministers has caused no surprises. A battery of Union
Ministers and senior leaders are holding press conferences to blast Kejriwal
throughout the day for weeks together. The mismanagement of the education
sector and liquor policy are the flavour of the month. Come September, the
attacks will become more shrill. On the other hand, the BJP is not going out of
its way to harass the Bhagwant Singh Maan government in Punjab. The PM’s attack
on Revadis ( freebees) was aimed at Kejriwal. But the BJP could not get a
favourable sermon from the Supreme Court so far. Secondly, Kejriwal is
portraying himself as more pro-Hindu and keeping the minority community happy
at the same time. The BJP has failed to paint Kejriwal as ‘anti-national’ or
anti-Hindu. If Congress weakens, the beneficiary would be AAP and that’s the
BJP’s big worry.
Modi’s
Mission Kashmir
PM
Modi is slowly moving towards achieving ‘Mission Kashmir’ goal. The assembly
polls in the Union Territory may be held sometime early next year as the
process of delimitation of constituencies and updating of electoral rolls is
underway in Jammu & Kashmir. The state Assembly will have 90 seats instead
of 83 earlier (six extra seats in Jammu region & one in the Valley). The
number of voters will go up from 75 lakhs to almost one crore. There is a
controversy over adding these 25 lakhs new voters as they may not necessarily
be permanent residents of the state. The 5-party GUPKAR alliance is opposing
this move as it may surely alter the outcome of the Assembly polls. But the BJP
is unruffled and going ahead. It is hoping to install a first Hindu Chief
Minister in J&K creating another first with friendly parties. The denials
by Ghulam Nabi Azad that he can't go with BJP in J&K notwithstanding, his
outfit may have a post-poll alliance with the BJP. The RSS has been waiting for
this day also when a Hindu will be installed as CM in J&K. The abolition of
Article 370 and division of J&K into two Union Territories is part of the
RSS policy which Modi has implemented. The assembly polls will be held when the
ground is fertile to achieve "Mission Modi."
Rahul
Gandhi unruffled
The
desertion of many senior Congress leaders in the recent past has not worried
Rahul Gandhi. His view is very clear: Those who cannot fight Modi and are not
ready to go to jail against the BJP, should leave the party. He himself is
mentally prepared to go to jail and not afraid of what he called "Modi's vindictive
policy." He has told his lawyers after being grilled by the ED that he is
ready to go to jail but won't succumb. He told his lawyers that they should
ensure supply of books of his choice in jail and gym facilities to keep him
physically fit. He did not oblige Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma with a
Rajya Sabha seat as seniority alone can't be the criteria. It is largely
because of this very reason that the entire Gandhi family has gone abroad so
that the dust of desertion may settle down. All eyes are set on several
Congress Lok Sabha MPs like Manish Tewari, Ravneet Singh Bittoo and Shashi
Tharoor about their next course of action. On the other hand, Anand
Sharma has not made up his mind as yet to quit the Congress like Kapil Sibal,
Ghulam Nabi Azad and others though the BJP is ready to welcome him with open
arms.
