Fly on the wall
Come elections and Video season begins
Two recent obscene videos allegedly involving two BJP Lok Sabha Mps have taken the national Capital by storm. In the case of Upendra Singh Rawat, the video surfaced on social media after he was fielded as a candidate from Barabanki Lok Sabha seat. Though an FIR against unknown accused was registered as Rawat claimed the video was doctored to tarnish his image, he deemed it fit to withdraw from the contest the very next day. The obscene videos which have not been authenticated so far purportedly featuring him appeared online on 3 March. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had denied a ticket to the then-sitting MP Priyanka Singh Rawat and made Upendra Singh Rawat its candidate.
While the BJP was struggling to cope with this, another video involving another sitting BJP Lok Sabha MP from Sonepat in Haryana emerged on the social media. The woman involved was wanting a favour and the MP demanded a return favour. In this case also, the FIR was registered and the Police detained two people. The Sonepat MP, Ramesh Kaushik, vehemently denied saying it was a political conspiracy against him. Kaushik had joined the BJP in the Modi wave in 2013 among other senior Congress leaders like Rao Inderjeet, Birender Singh, Kuldeep Bishnoi and got the Lok Sabha ticket in 2014. He was given the Lok Sabha ticket again in 2019 and defeated former Chief Minister Bhupendra Singh Hooda. However, the tickets in Haryana are yet to be announced and there is a question mark whether he would be lucky a third time. It is not the first time that such videos have surfaced in public domain involving senior politicians. The BJP has been very tough in such cases and those involved had paid a heavy price for their misadventures.
New BJP Chief after LS Polls!
When the tenure of
BJP chief JP Nadda was extended by the National Council in February
onth for four months, it became clear that the ruling party will have
a new Chief after the polls. Nadda was appointed interim president in
2019 after Amit Shah was became Union Home Minister. It is now
whispered in the corridors of power that former Haryana Chief
Minister Manoharlal Khattar may be the new BJP president in place of
J P Nadda. Khattar has been Modi's close confidante as he was his
room-mate since the days when both were RSS' full-time pracharaks.
Khattar was the personal choice of Modi as Haryana Chief Minister and
had surprised political observers in 2014. With enough administrative
experience behind him, Khattar qualifies to be in the next Modi
Cabinet. But Modi will need a confidante to run the party affairs.
Nadda may be brought into the Modi Cabinet like former party chiefs;
Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Amit Shah.
A classic riddle
in Haryana & Jharkhand
Two
states; one ruled by the BJP and another by the INDIA alliance, are
facing a classic riddle. The newly appointed Haryana Chief Minister,
Nayab Singh Saini, is not an MLA and he will have to contest for an
Assembly seat before September. The Karnal Assembly seat has fallen
vacant after Manohar Lal Khattar quit and a by-poll has been
announced. Since the tenure of the Haryana Assembly is ending on
November 3, Saini will have to contest again in October as tenure of
the Assembly will end on November 3. Saini has resigned his Lok Sabha
seat and in all likelihood, Khattar may contest for the same.
Similar riddle has emerged in Jharkhand where Kalpana Murmu Soren, wife of former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, is unable to decide whether to contest for the Assembly or Lok Sabha polls. The by-poll in Gandeya Assembly seat in Giridih district is due. It was decided that Kalpana Murmu Soren will contest this seat and later she will be installed as Chief Minister. However, with trouble brewing in the Shibu Soren family, Kalpana Soren may prefer to contest the Dumka Lok Sabha seat. Shibu Soren's another daughter-in-law, Sita Soren has joined the BJP and it's considered a huge setback to the JMM.
Patience pays
If you are dealing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, you must have tremendous patience. He has many parameters to test the loyalty of people and who will know better than Chirag Paswan. He was the natural choice to inherit the political legacy of his father Ram Vilas Paswan who died on October 8, 2020. But he was not made a minister and lost his bungalow even after he helped the BJP in Bihar Assembly polls and JD (U) was pushed to number three position. As if this was not enough, his estranged uncle Pashupati Paras was inducted into the Cabinet in July 2021. However, Chirag Paswan kept his cool and did not utter a word either against the BJP or Modi for three long years. When Lok Sabha polls approached, Gods smiled on him and Chirag Paswan got what he wanted; all five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. Modi dumped Pashupati Paras like a hot potato. Reason; Modi was testing Chirag Paswan's patience. People close to him say that Modi had been doing it since his Gujarat days. Modi also knew that the 6% Paswan vote bank will go towards the son and not with “uncle” when it comes to the electorate.
