This time something unusual happened at the National Executive meeting of the BJP. Sources say the current burning issues, including the rising fuel prices, were not discussed anywhere — neither in the meeting of party officials nor in the open session. On both days of the meet, Central Ministers such as Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and Prakash Javadekar addressed the press but kept mum on these crucial issues despite repeated questions by journalists. In the same manner, no discussion was held over the agitation of forward castes against the SC/ST Act, as party leaders and spokespersons stayed silent. They briefed the media about all political resolutions passed in the National Executive, but nothing was mentioned about the foreign or economic policies. This must be noted that recently, India and the US held the 2+2 dialogue, and the Opposition is alleging that India has surrendered all its interests before America. The economic policies of the Narendra Modi Government are also being questioned, but the BJP leaders are maintaining stoic silence.
THINGS GET TOUGH FOR KCR
K Chandrashkhar Rao was running his Government with more than two-thirds majority, but he dissolved the Assembly. Now the question is whether this step will prove beneficial for the Chief Minister of Telangana or not. The scenario is reminiscent of how the UK’s PM Theresa May put her majority Government at stake last year when she announced the dissolution of the House of Commons. She got a big jolt in elections and her party lost the majority. KCR might just land in the same situation; he hopes for the best but may get the worst. In the next two months, the Assembly Elections will be held in the State, and the Opposition parties have started coming together. The Congress, TDP, and the Left have already formed an alliance.
The Left parties have a stronghold in a big part of Telangana. Though Maoist organisations have removed their base from the area, almost all big leaders of the CPI Maoist come from this area. In the last elections, the CPI and CPM had got one seat each and gathered good number of votes in almost a dozen seats. Apart from that, the BSP had won two seats. The Congress had got 21 and the TDP got 15 seats. The Congress, TDP, Left tie-up is bound to give KCR’s Telangana Rashtra Samithi a big jolt. Although the organisation of the Congress has not strengthened much since the last elections, the alliance will have an effect on the chances of the ruling party.
SENA-BJP ALLIANCE STRONG
The NCP and Congress leaders, who earlier thought that the Shiv Sena would not go with the BJP, are now changing their views. They are ready to accept that the Sena would go only with the BJP, and three incidents in last month have forced them to change their mind. It is now being believed that the Shiv Sena and BJP will go into a pre-poll alliance on the old formula.
The most recent incident is related to the soaring oil prices. Oil is the costliest in Maharashtra, with petrol prices touching Rs 90 per litre. When the Congress, NCP, and other Opposition parties called a Bharat Bandh on the issue, the Shiv Sena didn’t support it.
Before that, during the Monsoon Session, the Shiv Sena had supported the Government on the no-confidence motion moved by the TDP. In the same session, the party backed the BJP in the election of the Rajya Sabha Vice-Chairman. Though this is also true that the party always gives statements against PM Modi and the BJP on almost every issue, it nevertheless extends support to the BJP if the need arises. That is why the Congress is of the view that the BJP and Shiv Sena will go together. Earlier, the Congress and NCP were of the view that if the BJP and Sena go separately, they will be wiped out. But now the picture has changed.
NO OPEN SUPPORT TO CONG
The Congress is trying its best to unite the Opposition parties for the next Lok Sabha and Assembly Elections, but it seems that no parties — other than those who were partners of the UPA — are openly backing the Congress. In fact, some regional kshatrapas are in a dilemma. They are not very comfortable with the party as they feel that it is not suitable for their own regional politics.
That is why almost all big regional kshatrapas kept away from the Bharat Bandh over soaring oil prices. The BJD, TMC, SP, BSP, TDP and other regional parties, which are openly against the BJP, didn’t support the Bandh. It was expected that the ruling BJD in Odisha would probably go with the Congress, but Naveen Patnaik bluntly told the party that he was against the Bharat Bandh.
The TMC also didn’t participate in the agitation, though it gave its moral support. Since the ruling party in West Bengal didn’t support the Bandh, no effect was seen in the State. In Uttar Pradesh, the SP and BSP didn’t take part in the Bandh either. The SP leaders instead staged a dharna. In Andhra Pradesh, the TDP didn’t support the Bharat Bandh. Only parties such as the RJD, the Left, NCP, and JMM stood behind the Congress.
SINHA DUO’S POLITICS
Yashwant Sinha, who left the BJP some time ago, and Shatrughan Sinha, who is not happy with the party, are toiling hard to unite the Opposition. That is why they went to Ahmedabad to meet Patidar leader Hardik Patel and also participated in a function of the Aam Aadmi Party in Noida. In fact, the two leaders have come closer to Arvind Kejriwal. Some time ago, when Yashwant Sinha sat on a dharna at Vijay Chowk, Kejriwal told his supporters to participate in the agitation.
But can Kejriwal make way into the Opposition bandwagon with the efforts of the Sinha duo? Kejriwal and his party leaders are working towards this goal, and are in talks with the Congress. The problem, however, is that nobody can read Kejriwal’s mind. On one hand, he is holding talks, and on the other hand, he is creating pressure. He divulged his plans for UP in the presence of Yashwant and Shatrughan. Before that, he had announced that he will fight on all seats in Haryana. His party is also gearing up to fight elections in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Though this is also true that wherever his party has contested, except in Delhi, it has created a new record of getting the lowest votes. This time, the Congress wants no party to hamper any chance of alliance. So, there will be an attempt to persuade Kejriwal anyhow.
