Fly on the Wall
Nitish Cooking Chirang's Goose !
It
is now emerging that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is giving a
return gift to Chirag Paswan in the Lok Sabha polls what he did to
him in 2020 Assembly polls. Chirag Paswan's LKP (Rm Vilas) is
contesting five out of 40 Lok Sabha seats and Nitish Kumar is leaving
no stone unturned to ensure their defeat. The BJP and JD(U) have also
abandoned joint campaigning after a couple of weeks for all practical
purposes. The JD(U) is upset as the BJP leadership suddenly changed
its campaign pitch and started talking openly against giving
reservation to backwards in the Muslim community. This has led to a
large number of Muslims going to the INDI Bloc weakening Nitish
Kumar. Secondly, Nitish also wants to settle scores with Chirag
Paswan and give him back the same coin. The Janata Dal (U) contested
115 Assembly seats in alliance with the BJP and ended up as a poor
third with 43 seats. The BJP set a record by winning 74 in a house of
243 seats. The RJD was the single largest party with 75 seats. The
worst performance of the JD (U) was because Chirag Paswan quit NDA
and fielded 80 candidates in such a way to ensure Nitish loses badly.
A sulking Nitish Kumar parted ways with the BJP to join the INDI
Alliance to become its national convener. The BJP decided to go it
alone and contest all 40 Lok Sabha seats in alliance with Chirag
Paswan as it did in Punjab. But Nitish lost the plot and sent a
message to the BJP leadership and the party hugged the “Paltu Ram”
again. The rank & file was against it but leadership decided to
go with him and “swallowed poison”. With Nitish Kumar back to
playing games, the BJP is sitting with fingers crossed and staring at
losses in Bihar.
Priyanka Gandhi Emerges from the Shadows
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was virtually in political oblivion until a few months ago and had left for the USA on a private visit as no work had been given to her. Though she is a general secretary of the AICC, she had no role while brother Rahul Gandhi was on the 67-day long Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra. There was no response when Congressmen from Telangana, Rae Bareli and a couple of other places clamoured for Priyanka Gandhi must be fielded from their areas. But there was silence in the grave. It was only in April end that Rahul Gandhi felt that Priyanka should contest from Rae Bareli as he was happy with his Wayanad seat in Kerala. But it was too late in the day and Rahul had to pitch in due to pressure from AICC Chief Kharge and others. Priyanka's fortunes changed and she is now on top of the world as the party's star campaigner. She is getting huge traction wherever she is going and turns emotional, reminding the crowds of sacrifices made by her father and Mrs Indira Gandhi. She has rarely tripped in her speeches as she keeps written notes and is able to connect with the audience.
In contrast, the Congress Party's defecto chief is the darling of the social media filled with jokes produced by the Modi-mill factories. But Priyanka Gandhi hasn't given a chance to poke fun at her. Rahul rarely smiles while Priyanka Gandhi is always a picture perfect. Her decision to camp for the next 18 days at Amethi may give sleepless nights to Union Minister Smriti Irani. The Congress' K L Sharma may look a light-weight candidate. But he will give a run for money to Irani as he has been a grass-root worker for 40 years and knows every nook & corner of the constituency. Rahul Gandhi can also breathe easy in Rae Bareli. But Priyanka Gandhi has arrived in 2024 and if Rahul Gandhi wins Rae Bareli, she can contest from Wayanad to enter Lok Sabha.
New PM Enclave Ready, Occupant after June 4
The Prime Minister’s new enclave is ready before a deadline and awaiting the arrival of its occupant. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have shifted to the new building near the Rashtrapati Bhawan at the Dara Shikoh Marg, he opted to stay put at the Lok Kalyan Marg residence due to reasons of propriety. He has chosen to wait for the outcome of the Lok Sabha polls on June 4. His immediate neighbor is Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar who has already shifted to the palatial bungalow spread over 15 acres.
The Rs 467 crores PM's enclave will have an underground tunnel to connect the PMO, Parliament House, new executive complex, Vice President's House etc. The tunnel is meant to avoid traffic jams due to security. If sources are to be believed, the new building will have a safety network capable of handling all kinds of attacks from outside. The complex's total built-up area is 2,26,203 sq. feet and of this the PM’s residence will be spread out over an area of 36,328 sq. ft. The PM's enclave is part of the Central Vista revamp project and will comprise the enclaves of VP and PM, Special Protection Group accommodation and the central conference centre.
