Connect with us

Politics

‘Divided We Stand, United We Fall’: How the INDIA Story Looks After the Bihar-Bengal Debacle

Published

on


Lights, camera, run – this is how the INDIA bloc’s story has unfolded in the last four months. Since the first alliance meeting at Delhi in September last year, the opposition alliance is left with the DMK in Tamil Nadu, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) in Maharashtra, CPM in Kerala, RJD in Bihar and SP in Uttar Pradesh.

As the leader of the Congress, the major partner of INDIA, Rahul Gandhi proceeds with his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra while his allies are on an “INDIA chhodo” spree, said a senior JD(U) leader, whose party switched sides and joined its former political adversary BJP on Sunday.

Out of the remaining allies, RJD leaders have agreed to stick to the INDIA bloc as they feel that distancing themselves from the coalition might affect their Muslim vote bank in Bihar. The DMK has an almost negligible role or presence in national politics as the party’s strength is limited to Tamil Nadu. The Samajwadi Party seems to be a depleting force in Uttar Pradesh but have announced their decision to give 11 seats out of a total of 80 in the state, to the Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In such a situation, what is the strength of the disintegrating alliance? Is the alliance fighting against Narendra Modi by banking on Muslim votes? Will Rahul Gandhi’s repeated assurance about the implementation of caste census across states help? How is the caste equation developing following the Bihar debacle?

These are some of the political-electoral questions experts are trying to decode while the scenario changes rapidly as India approaches the all-important general elections.

Did the NDA outsmart them all?

The opposition front now stands without the TMC and AAP, which refused to share seats in West Bengal and Punjab, and now the JD(U) in Bihar. Sandeep Shastri, a senior political analyst and national coordinator at Lokniti Network, said the current situation looks “challenging” for the opposition, especially for the Congress.

“The nucleus of the INDIA bloc looks shaky. The JD(U) clearly needed to save face for jumping ship, and that is why they blamed the Congress. Mamata Banerjee, too, trained guns at the Congress, which also did not think this through or see this coming. The leaders started their election campaign and embarked on a tour, but failed to win the trust of regional allies. A day before they entered Bengal, Mamata quit the alliance in her state; a day before the party was scheduled to reach Bihar, another ally pulled out of the INDIA bloc and joined the rival group. With such developments, it seems that the NDA has outsmarted them all and are setting the agenda, while the opposition is merely reacting,” Shastri said.

“It appears that all political parties are fighting for their individual space and their personal ambition. There is no unity over the agenda. Even political parties could not come together on the issue of the consecration ceremony. The relevant adage for them will be: divided we stand, united we fall,” he added.

Opposition’s dwindling vote bank

Out of a total of 543 seats, there are 131 reserved seats. The number includes 84 for SCs while 47 for STs. With the assembly election results in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the BJP appears to have made significant inroads in the Dalit and tribal vote bank.

The Muslim community’s pattern of voting for anti-BJP parties, the Congress or regional forces as a bloc, also seems to have changed. An analysis into the results of the 2019 elections and the last significant poll in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka show how Muslims have voted for the BJP.

Additionally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s overt outreach to some Muslim groups and sub-groups, some Christian groups changed the electoral chemistry of these communities as well, said experts.

After the Bihar and Bengal debacle, the Congress and its allies in the opposition bloc are left with fewer options when it comes to counting a vote bank that is solely theirs. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has severed all ties with the Congress in the state, said she will remain a part of the alliance but will not share seats. No politician or political party has, however, made any comment on her decision as to how this formula will work.

A senior Trinamool leader said the party is now looking at a “post-poll alliance” and will fight against the BJP with all its strength in Bengal. This makes the electoral equation and fight in the state a bipolar one.

It is now going to be a straight fight between the TMC and BJP, while the Congress and CPM alliance is likely to be a fringe player. The results of past elections, including Lok Sabha, assembly, panchayat and municipal, show how the Congress support base has only depleted even in their strongholds like Murshidabad and Malda, while the CPM has been wiped out.

In Bihar, with the JD(U) joining the BJP, experts said the OBC and EBC (economically backward class) as well as the upper castes are likely to vote for the NDA. “The BJP has managed to strategise the rainbow coalition of voters, which includes non-Yadav, Kurmi and other OBC votes along with EBC and upper caste. In fact, they have managed to get the Madhya Pradesh chief minister Manoj Yadav to work in Bihar among the Yadav voters,” said Shastri.

“The surveys that Lokniti did post 2014 and 2019 elections also showed that Muslims too voted for the BJP in some states. In fact, in Karnataka, the voting percentage of Muslims was in double digits,” he added.

Naveen Upadhyaya, a senior political analyst based out of Patna, said, “Bihar has always seen a caste-equation based election. The state did not vote for governance or development. So, whatever Nitish Kumar does and no matter how many times he jumps ship, the caste equations remain the same. His party will have a hold on its OBC and EBC voters, while the LJP and HAM will have a hold on theirs. In addition, the BJP too has a good support base across the Hindi heartland including Bihar. The consecration of Ram Temple may add some momentum to that, while the RJD is solely dependent on Muslim and Yadav votes. One has to consider that the voting pattern of Lok Sabha and assembly elections are different. In 2019, the BJP won all the 17 seats it contested.”



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Politics

BJP To Go To Delhi Polls With New Chief? Decoding The Ifs, Buts & What Party’s Constitution Says

Published

on

By


Last Updated:

Two senior Delhi-based BJP leaders told News18 on condition of anonymity that changing the “face of the party” in January just ahead of an election is best avoided

Will the successor of JP Nadda and BJP’s next national president be chosen before the Delhi election which is scheduled at the beginning of 2025? (Getty)

Will the successor of JP Nadda and BJP’s next national president be chosen before the Delhi election which is scheduled at the beginning of 2025? The answer depends on a number of factors — when the Election Commission conducts polls, how soon the BJP completes its presidential elections and how much time the party is left with in between the two elections.

WHERE IS THE PROCESS STUCK?

Whenever BJP has to find a successor for its national president, a detailed electoral process is kicked off. This was done by the party in mid-October by naming K Laxman as national returning officer, along with three national co-returning officers — Naresh Bansal, Rekha Verma and Sambit Patra. While the BJP has provisions of an electoral college, the party in its history has never seen a contest for the post, which has always been selected with unanimity.

Now that the membership drive is over, various committees will be set up at the Mandal, district, regional and state level. The president elected at every level nominates office bearers according to his or her wishes. While ideally one should wait for all state organisations to get revamped, that would take a long time. Hence, the BJP constitution allows elections once 50 per cent of the state committees have been formed. The BJP has been tight-lipped so far about whether the 50 per cent limit has been achieved, but sources say the search for Nadda’s successor will have to wait a while since the ceiling has not been met.

NADDA’S SUCCESSOR BEFORE DELHI POLL?

In September this year, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had asked for assembly elections to be held in the Capital along with Maharashtra, where a new House must be elected before November 26. That boat, however, has sailed. Now, Delhi assembly election is scheduled to be held in either January or February 2025. The term of the Delhi Assembly ends on February 23, 2025.

While a large section of the party thinks the BJP is “very much comfortable” spearheading the exercise any day of the month — December 2024 or January 2025 that the “leadership deems fit” — at least two senior Delhi-based BJP leaders told News18 on condition of anonymity that changing the “face of the party” in January just ahead of an election is best avoided. They also told News18 that such views are communicated to senior leaders through the “right forums”.

CAN THEY WRAP UP IN DECEMBER?

News18 has reliably learnt that all state units have been told to get their presidents elected and have them nominate their team by the first week of December. BJP general secretary Arun Singh, who is also in-charge of the BJP headquarters, is learnt to be in regular coordination with state units.

The election office that is now operating out of the 6A, Deen Dayan Upadhyay Marg office is in regular coordination with states and Singh’s office.

Party sources suggest the BJP, in eventualities of supposed inauspicious period, will likely ignore them. The source has cited a precedence from 2023 when the central observers for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, where the BJP then won elections, were announced amid ‘Kharmas’. The chief ministerial pick was also announced by the BJP during the “inauspicious” period, breaking years of tradition.

News elections BJP To Go To Delhi Polls With New Chief? Decoding The Ifs, Buts & What Party’s Constitution Says



Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Massive Drama Unfolds in J&K Assembly As MLAs Engage In Scuffle Over Article 370 | Video

Published

on

By


Last Updated:

Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had passed a resolution on the restoration of special status, a move that was opposed by the BJP.

Visuals of ruckus in J&K Assembly (ANI Image)

A massive drama unfolded in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly as the House resumed on Thursday with the MLAs engaging in a scuffle over the issue of resolution to restore the special status of the Union Territory.

As the Assembly resumed today, Engineer Rashid’s brother and MLA Khurshid Ahmad Sheikh displayed a banner on Article 370, a move which was objected to by Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Sunil Sharma.

“The resolution was unconstitutional. You broke the rules of the House,” he said.

The BJP MLAs moved to the well of the House and attempted to snatch Sheikh’s banner, leading to a scuffle among them.

The chaos in the House led to its brief adjournment.

More to follow…

News politics Massive Drama Unfolds in J&K Assembly As MLAs Engage In Scuffle Over Article 370 | Video





Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

‘Colonial Mindset’: Royal Scions Hit Out At Rahul Gandhi Over ‘Plaint Maharajas’ Remark

Published

on

By


Last Updated:

In an opinion piece in The Indian Express, Gandhi said India was silenced by the East India Company and it was silenced not by its business prowess, but by its chokehold.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi during an interaction with students at Georgetown University, Washington DC. (File image)

Royal scions across India criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for referring to their ancestors as “plaint Maharajas” who were threatened by the East India Company that ruined the nation, saying he had a “superficial understanding of history”. They also pointed out Rahul’s “selective amnesia” that made him forget the privileges he enjoyed due to his lineage.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, who is from the Scindia family that ruled Gwalior until India’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, took to X writing, “Your selective amnesia about your own privilege is a disservice to those truly striving against adversity. Your dissonance only exposes Congress’ agenda further—Rahul Gandhi is no champion of Atmanirbhar Bharat; he is merely a product of an outdated entitlement.”

What The Scions Said

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari, who is the granddaughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jaipur during the British Raj in India, called Rahul’s Opinion piece an “attempt to malign the erstwhile royal families of India”.

Vikramaditya Singh, a former Congress leader and the grandson of Maharaja Sir Hari Singh, who was the last ruler of the Indian princely state of Kashmir, and the heir of the Dogra dynasty, called out Rahul Gandhi’s “superficial understanding of history”.

Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, a scion of the 1,500-year-old House of Mewar in Udaipur, slammed Rahul Gandhi and said, “Despite being divided by the colonial structure, the royal families have always been a protector of their people and have played an essential role in shaping India’s economic, cultural and political landscape.”

Chaitanya Raj Singh, a member of the family that ruled the erstwhile Kingdom of Jaisalmer, said called Rahul Gandhi’s claims “baseless”.

He said, “The valour and selfless services of our families in upholding our dharma can be seen transparently in the love showered to us by the people all over India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Jaisalmer to Tripura. The brave and ethical are fearless as they have a karma yog approach with integration of humanity and nature.”

What Rahul Gandhi Said

The original East India Company wound up over 150 years ago but the raw fear it then generated is back with a new breed of monopolists having taken its place, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday.

He, however, asserted that a “new deal for progressive Indian business is an idea whose time has come”.

In an opinion piece in The Indian Express, Gandhi said India was silenced by the East India Company and it was silenced not by its business prowess, but by its chokehold.

The Company choked India by partnering with, bribing, and threatening more pliant maharajas and nawabs, he pointed out.

“It controlled our banking, bureaucratic, and information networks. We didn’t lose our freedom to another nation; we lost it to a monopolistic corporation that ran a coercive apparatus,” he said.

The original East India Company wound up over 150 years ago, but the raw fear it then generated is back, he claimed.

A new breed of monopolists has taken its place, amassing colossal wealth, even as India has become far more unequal and unfair for everybody else, Gandhi said.

“Our institutions no longer belong to our people, they do the bidding of monopolists. Lakhs of businesses have been decimated and India is unable to generate jobs for her youth,” the former Congress president said.

Sharing the article on X, Gandhi said, “Choose your India: Play-Fair or Monopoly? Jobs or Oligarchies? Competence or Connections? Innovation or Intimidation? Wealth for many or the few?” “I write on why a New Deal for Business isn’t just an option. It is India’s future,” he said, sharing his opinion piece.

News politics ‘Colonial Mindset’: Royal Scions Hit Out At Rahul Gandhi Over ‘Plaint Maharajas’ Remark





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2023 Dailycrunch. & Managed by Shade Marketing & PR Agency