Tridib Raman
A few days ago, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s 79th birthday was celebrated inside the Parliament complex as well. A birthday cake was placed before her, and several senior leaders from the Congress and the INDIA alliance were present. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge was seated on one side of Sonia, while Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav sat beside her on the other. Priyanka Gandhi stood right behind Sonia. The cake was cut and the round of congratulations had just begun when, quite suddenly, a few members of the Trinamool Congress made an unexpected entry. They too collectively wished Sonia a happy birthday, and some of them began chatting with Priyanka Gandhi. Sensing the delicacy of the moment, Priyanka said to the TMC MPs, “It’s very nice that you’ve come, but your leader didn’t call my mother. You all know how fond my father was of Mamata ji and how he always helped her move ahead in politics.” The TMC MPs left without saying anything in response. Then, right from there, they called and narrated the entire incident to Didi. In the blink of an eye, Mamata Banerjee’s call came through on Sonia’s mobile. When Mamata emotionally wished Sonia a happy birthday, perhaps for the first time, Sonia directly steered the conversation towards political talk. According to sources, Sonia told Mamata, “The country is currently going through a period of transition, and our democracy is also ‘under threat.’ This is the time for all of us to come together. We should also think about forming a grand alliance in Bengal. The Congress can also be a part of this alliance.” On this, Mamata took a dig and said, “First, you decide who you are with. Just now, in the Bihar elections, you fought alongside the Communists.” Sonia said, “Yes, I am saying this precisely after the Bihar experience. Even if you give us 35-40 seats in Bengal, it will work.” Mamata said, “Even now, you don’t have a cadre here. Even if I give you seats, our cadre will have to campaign for your candidates. Otherwise, you saw what Congress did to Akhilesh and Tejashwi’s fate in UP-Bihar. In UP, your party, by fighting and squabbling with Akhilesh in 2017, took away 114 seats, but you could barely win your own 7. In Bihar, you fought on 61 seats but won only 6, meaning your strike rate was ten percent. Look, I had earlier suggested to Rahul that we form a ‘grand alliance’. Our proposal was that we contest the elections in Assam, Tripura, and Goa together, but he didn’t agree. My offer is still open: you give us seats in Assam, and we will give you seats in Bengal.” Mamata’s arguments left Sonia with little room to respond. All Sonia could finally say was, “I will talk to Rahul,” after which she ended the call.
Will Governor Gangwar Get a Promotion?
Tridib Raman
Current Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar is a master player in politics. It is understood that before sending him to Ranchi Raj Bhavan a year ago, the BJP top brass had taken an important promise from him. According to sources, that promise was to pull the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) out of the India alliance and bring it into the NDA fold. Currently, JMM has three Lok Sabha MPs in Dumka, Rajmahal, and Singhbhum. Gangwar did not let even whispers from the background reach his ears and got busy with ‘Mission Hemant Soren’. Soren, whose disenchantment with the India alliance had been growing rapidly for some time. Especially, recent Bihar elections soured his relationship with the alliance. Despite promises, Tejashwi and Rahul could not spare a single seat for the JMM in Bihar. Seizing this delicate opportunity, Mr. Gangwar played his biggest political move. He directly got Hemant Soren to sit across from the BJP Chanakya for talks. This conversation melted the ice between the two sides, and it is said that Soren agreed to join the NDA with some conditions of his own. Meanwhile, Gangwar also met the BJP Chanakya several times and expressed his feelings, saying that his heart is no longer content in a small state like Jharkhand, so he desires the governorship of a larger state. With the Raj Bhavans in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh set to become vacant soon, Mr. Gangwar expressed his wish to go to Bangalore. However, it is understood that the BJP leadership has told him that he will be rewarded only when he gets a formal announcement from Soren to join the NDA before leaving Ranchi. The BJP top brass also said they would make one minister from the JMM in the central government.
Owaisi’s Advice to Akhilesh
Tridib Raman
Recently, in bringing an impeachment motion against Justice G.R. Swaminathan of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, the DMK and Congress, along with Akhilesh Yadav’s SP, played a significant role. Usually, bringing an impeachment motion against a judge requires the consent, i.e., signatures, of at least 50 MPs. However, there were signatures from 107 opposition MPs against Justice Swaminathan. This entire matter is actually connected to the Subramanian Swamy Temple in Tamil Nadu. Justice Swaminathan had permitted temple officials to light a lamp on a pillar of a dargah located within the temple complex. This decision by the judge has greatly upset parties like the DMK and Congress, who have raised a huge outcry. Recently, in Parliament, Akhilesh Yadav had a run-in with Asaduddin Owaisi. It is understood that Owaisi took Akhilesh to task, saying, “I considered you a very sensible leader. Anyway, you have 37 MPs in the Lok Sabha. But I would say that in this matter, you have fallen into BJP’s trap. Well, one can understand DMK-Congress, they have elections to fight there, but what is your stake in Tamil Nadu? Why do you unnecessarily anger Hindu voters with such actions? Now you’ll see, the entire BJP-supported social media will brand you as anti-temple and anti-Hindu. Then what will you do? You also have elections in 2027 in your state; can you afford to take the risk of alienating Hindu voters? What was the need for your party to sign this? Every leader should know their domain. Would I ever sign any proposal that goes against Muslim sentiment?” “Now take the example of Bihar. Even my own rallies weren’t drawing crowds. But the day Tejashwi labeled me a separatist, Muslims took great offense to it, and five of my candidates won.” It was only then that Akhilesh realized his mistake.
Why Nadda Pulled Up Jayant?
On December 10, the ‘Pravasi Rajasthani Diwas’ was convened in Jaipur. People of Rajasthani origin from across the country and the world were gathering to participate, especially those non-resident Rajasthanis who, despite living abroad, maintain strong and direct ties with the land of Rajasthan. Various international chapters such as London, Dubai, Singapore, New York, Munich, Tokyo, and others were directly associated with the event. The Bhajanlal government had invited Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development, Jayant Chaudhary, well in advance as the chief guest for this programme. Jayant had also readily agreed to participate long ago. To make Jayant’s presence special in Jaipur, hundreds of leaders from his party had gone from UP to Jaipur in advance. Hoardings were put up at various places welcoming him, and arrangements for 100-200 vehicles were made to receive his convoy. However, a small mistake changed this entire scene. Actually, the advertisements for the event that appeared in the newspapers that day did not feature Jayant, neither his photo nor his name. It is said that the minister was deeply hurt by this.He hurriedly cancelled his Jaipur visit, and the organisers were informed that he would be unable to come as his presence in the Rajya Sabha session that day was absolutely necessary. The perplexed Rajasthan government complained to BJP president J. P. Nadda, explaining that Jayant’s name had been inadvertently left out of the advertisement, but publicity after the event was still planned. Nadda then called Jayant and advised him that backing out after giving one’s word was not appropriate. He told him that one should think carefully before giving consent, otherwise such incidents bring embarrassment to the central government. Jayant also assured him that such a situation would not arise again in the future.
Rajnath in a New Avatar
The government now appears to be adopting a much tougher stance. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, long regarded as the embodiment of calmness and gentleness, suddenly seems transformed. What exactly has happened that he is being seen in such a different avatar? This time, he was seen in a different form in Parliament as well; usually, his demeanour in Parliament is never this aggressive, nor does he ever interrupt opposition MPs so much while they are speaking. During the Unity March in Vadodara, Gujarat, he launched a sharp attack on Nehru, stating that “Nehru wanted the Babri Masjid to be built using public funds, but Sardar Patel completely rejected this idea.” However, when this claim was termed baseless, he himself distanced himself from the statement. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh attempted to confront him with facts by presenting a Gujarati diary entry written by Maniben Patel about Sardar Patel. Rajnath Singh tried to brush the matter aside by saying that he does not know Gujarati, so how could he read that part of the diary? In fact, the RSS has put forward Rajnath Singh’s name as a contender for the party’s next president. He is undoubtedly a heavyweight, but now he wants to display his firepower. He wants to show that he is just as charismatic as a BJP president is expected to be, and, importantly, that he should not be seen as a follower, but as a leader.
PM Advises Patience on BJP President
During the current session of Parliament itself, one day, some important BJP people gathered in the Prime Minister’s cabinet and serious deliberations took place regarding the BJP’s next president. BJP’s General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santosh, lamenting before the PM, said that there is immense pressure on him from the party cadre that the announcement of the new president should be made before Kharmas begins on 15th December. According to sources, the PM, pacifying his fellow leaders, said that Parliament is in session, and such haste is not appropriate at this time. You finalize the name and keep it ready, we will announce the name of the new president in the new year around 14th-15th January. The PM’s advice had the mute consent of every person present in the meeting.
