Fly on the Wall
Shinde shaky? No way
There is no dearth of speculation that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde may be disqualified sooner than expected. The Supreme Court had decided to refer the case to the Assembly Speaker, Rahul Narvekar as it is the prime duty of the Speaker to take a decision first under the Anti-Defection Act. The SC will step in only after a decision is pronounced by the Speaker. In the event of Shinde and his faction being disqualified, it may open opportunities for Devendra Fadnavis's return as Chief Minister who had missed the bus in 2019 after a brief stint. Alternatively, NCP leader Ajit Pawar's dream to don the mantle may come true. The NCP leader has held the post of Deputy Chief Minister four times in the past and hasn't proved lucky to his Chief Ministers; be it Ashok Chavan, Prithiviraj Chavan or Devendra Fadnavis or Uddhav Thackeray. There is a lurking fear that Shinde may meet the same fate if the past record of Ajit Pawar is any indication. But the BJP high command in Delhi is clear about what it intends to do in Maharashtra. If reports emanating from BJP high command are any indication, it would prefer to take a call only after the Assembly polls in five states in November-December rather than sacrificing an ally in Eknath Shinde. A clue of high command's thinking emerged yesterday when Speaker Narvekar hoped that “the SC would not ask him to decide on the disqualification of Sena MLAs within a specified time frame as that would be judicial interference in the legislature work.” This is a clear indication that Narvekar will take his own time in deciding a complex issue as SC itself allowed Eknath Shinde to continue because Uddhav Thackeray quit before facing the trial of strength in the Assembly. The BJP is eyeing 42-44 Lok Sabha seats and will do everything possible under the Sun to prevent the fall of the Shinde government and to remove the perception that the saffron party weakens its allies. The legal luminaries say that the case will drag on one pretext or the other until December. The BJP may like to have a trial of strength between the MVA and NDA during the BMC polls and test waters in Mumbai. The BJP leadership will keep the new allies happy to weaken Sharad Pawar further.
No VP Post for Priyanka
The AICC is agog with reports that party general secretary Priyanka Vadra Gandhi may be promoted as Vice President along with K C Venugopal who is general secretary (organization). However, Rahul Gandhi seems to have torpedoed this plan saying that no member of the Gandhi family will hold any key position. Rahul Gandhi is also of the firm view that AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge be allowed to constitute his own organization team for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. It is a different matter that Priyanka Vadra Gandhi's role may be enlarged in view of her growing appeal as a star campaigner. She had made a mark in the party's win in Himachal Pradesh and also in Karnataka.
Why BJP wants Modi vs Rahul clash in 2024
Rahul Gandhi had quit the party president's post long ago and after his disqualification as Lok Sabha MP, he is no longer a “Public Servant” either. He had repeatedly said that he is not a contender for the Prime Minister's post. He has categorically told allies like NCP's Sharad Pawar and Janata Dal (U) leader Nitish Kumar that he is not a contender for the PM's post. His only objective is to unite the Opposition parties to dislodge Modi. Yet the BJP leadership is desperate to turn the 2024 battle into PM Modi vs Rahul Gandhi. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also pits Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 2024 LS polls in his public rallies. The BJP leaders continue to mock and ridicule the Gandhi scion. Though Modi is the country's most popular leader, BJP's target number one is Rahul Gandhi. It may be noted that no senior BJP leader accuses either Mallikarjun Kharge or Sonia Gandhi in public discourse. They do not go out of their way to criticise Priyanka Vadra Gandhi either. Perhaps, the BJP leadership believes that Rahul Gandhi is the soft target despite the fact that he has come a long way particularly after his “Bharat Jodo Yatra.” The public perception about Rahul Gandhi has also undergone a change and gone are the days when he used to trip during public speeches. His image makeover has surprised many.
Javadekar's graph rising again
Of the 12 Ministers removed from the Union Council of Ministers in July 2021, only two of them have proved to be lucky to get an important role. If Thaawarchand Gehlot who was Leader of the Rajya Sabha after Arun Jaitley's death, was appointed as Governor of Karnataka, Prakash Javadekar is playing a key role in the party. He was made Prabhari of Kerala where the party is determined to win at least 4-5 Lok Sabha seats. He has succeeded to a large extent in roping Christians into the BJP's fold. Now he has been made a Prabhari of Telangana which is going to polls in November- December this year. Senior Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who also lost ministerial assignment in July 2021, has been holding press conferences occasionally on important issues. It's a different matter that he did this task efficiently 20 years ago. The other nine ex-ministers are not so lucky and live in hope of getting an important task later.
