Tridib Raman
BJP’s young and enthusiastic National President Nitin Nabin may have taken five months to form his new team, but he seems very excited about his new team. The BJP President can announce his team in the coming few days. Nitin Nabin is going on a three-day visit to Punjab from June 20 to June 23 to explore the possibilities of saffron, perhaps he may announce his new Central Committee immediately after returning from there. On June 16, the day after the end of Adhimaas on June 15, an important meeting of top BJP and Sangh leaders was called at Rajnath Singh’s residence. It is said that Rajnath Singh, Nitin Nabin, Amit Shah, BJP’s organization general secretary BL Santosh, organization co-in-charge Shiv Prakash and an important Sangh leader Arun Kumar were present in this meeting. It is understood that in the same meeting, Nabin’s new team was discussed in detail and it was emphasized that in the formation of the new team, central officials should be selected keeping in mind the ethnic and regional balance, gender representation, blend of youth and experience and the upcoming elections in seven states. It should be noted that assembly elections are to be held in states like UP, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Goa and Punjab next year. The biggest tussle took place over the names of the national general secretaries of BJP, in a way it was decided that BL Santosh and Shiv Prakash would continue to bear the responsibility of the organization as before. Sunil Bansal and Arun Singh can remain in their positions, if there was no consensus in the meeting regarding Tarun Chugh, the decision has been left to the president, discussions are ongoing about including Vinod Tawde in the Union Cabinet, if this happens, a new General Secretary may be brought in to take his place. Similarly, two new General Secretaries may also be seen in ‘Team Nabeen’ in place of Radhamohaan Das Agarwal and Dushyant Gautam. There is a high probability of a major reshuffle among the 11 vice-presidents, it is also being believed that many of the senior leaders who have made their invaluable contributions to the organization may be appointed as governors of the states or heads of important boards or commissions. It is said that after the meeting on June 16, the president has finalized a list of party officials after cleaning it up, since during this period Prime Minister Modi was abroad to attend the ‘G7’ meeting, the arrival on the 19th was awaited, after which this list was sent to the PM for approval, as soon as the green signal is received from there, the president will officially announce his new team.
Roar of Operation Tiger and Backroom Whispers
Tridib Raman
This is a transitional phase of new politics in the new era, everything that happens here happens with authority. The efforts to break Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena had been ongoing for quite some time, and it was all happening in the knowledge of the saffron omnipotent in Delhi; a significant role in orchestrating this entire campaign was played by that well-known figure in the political corridors of Delhi, whom the world knows as Abhishek Verma, and who is considered very close to Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde. Dealing with various cases against him, Abhishek has recently become a favourite lamp in the courtyard of saffron strategy. He has become a key link between some NDA allies and the BJP. Shinde has also officially appointed him as the ‘National Coordinator’ and chief strategist of his party. It is said that to bring ‘Operation Tiger’ to fruition, Abhishek worked together with Eknath Shinde’s MP son, Shrikant Shinde. Several dinner parties were held at Verma’s farmhouse in Delhi where the presence of Shiv Sena MPs from Uddhav’s faction was observed. In one or two parties, Eknath Shinde is also reportedly said to have attended with his wife. After bringing this entire campaign to fruition, it is now said that former Congress MP Shrikant Verma and Veena Verma’s son Abhishek can be seen making strides in the DMK’s arena. It is believed that he is now engaged in efforts to bring the DMK into the NDA. Sources claim that Abhishek has a close friendship with two key DMK leaders, A. Raja and Kanimozhi, and these two leaders can often be seen attending lavish parties thrown by Abhishek. It is said that the DMK has asked for two ministerial posts in Delhi as the price for joining the NDA. One in Telecom and the other as Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance. It is said that the BJP may agree to give Telecom once, but they have categorically refused to give the Finance Ministry. Meanwhile, there is still uncertainty regarding Stalin and his son Udayagiri, as both feel uncomfortable aligning with the BJP since the entire politics of the DMK is against Hindi and Sanatan.
How the Tiger Was Hunted
At the time, the BJP’s master strategist was fully consumed with the West Bengal elections. It was during this period that six of Uddhav Thackeray’s MPs, accompanied by Eknath Shinde himself, travelled to Delhi for a crucial meeting. They conveyed that while they were ready to break away from Uddhav, they did not want to merge directly into the BJP, as it could undermine their “Marathi Manus” political identity. The plan was reportedly cleared at the highest levels of the BJP leadership. If successful, this move would dramatically alter the political mathematics of Maharashtra’s 42 Lok Sabha seats. Currently, Congress holds 13 seats, Ajit Pawar’s NCP has 1, Sharad Pawar’s NCP has 8, while the BJP and Shinde faction together have 16 seats. If the six Uddhav faction MPs join Shinde, his strength would jump to 13 seats – surpassing even the BJP in Maharashtra. After the Delhi meeting, when Shinde and the MPs returned to Mumbai, Devendra Fadnavis allegedly tried to sabotage the plan. He reportedly put the MPs’ phones under surveillance and leaked the information to Uddhav Thackeray. When Amit Shah learnt of the development after the Bengal polls, he summoned Fadnavis to Delhi and gave him a sharp dressing down. Following this, Fadnavis fell in line and actively joined hands with Shinde to execute ‘Operation Tiger’. On Shiv Sena’s 60th foundation day at Nesco in Goregaon, Eknath Shinde thundered: “Yeh toh trailer hai, picture abhi baaki hai.” (This is just the trailer. The full picture is yet to come.) This statement is being interpreted in two ways: either the remaining three Uddhav Sena MPs, Arvind Sawant, Anil Desai, and Rajabhau Waje, may also switch sides, or the BJP-Shinde combine has already lined up 5–6 MPs from Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction. Sources further claim that the saffron high command has asked senior Sharad Pawar to merge his party with Sunetra Pawar’s faction to reunite the NCP. In exchange, Supriya Sule could be offered a ministerial position at the Centre, with some of Pawar’s MLAs getting accommodation in the Fadnavis government in Maharashtra.
Reward for Being Branded a Traitor
Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut claims that these 6 MPs left the party due to greed for money and were paid a large sum for leaving the party. Among these 6 rebels, one MP was troubled by the delay in funds for his medical college. It is said that this MP’s medical college had an outstanding amount of 130 crores rupees owed by the center, which had not been released for the past two years. This money is given by the central government as a grant to economically weaker students under the ‘Economic Weaker Section’ scheme. Sources indicate that it was promised to this MP that ‘the day he leaves Uddhav, the next day the pending funds for his college will be released.’
Scramble for Cabinet Berths
The much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle at the Centre is being repeatedly postponed. The primary reason is the intense rush by leaders and parties to join the NDA bandwagon. As many as 20 Trinamool Congress MPs have already become part of the NDA. Before them, 7 Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha members switched sides and joined the BJP. Now, the path has been cleared for six MPs from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena faction to join the NDA as well. BJP is now eyeing two to three other parties. These include Sharad Pawar’s NCP with its 8 Lok Sabha MPs, the DMK which has 22 Lok Sabha seats, and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha with 3 MPs. It is being said that Samajwadi Party’s Professor Ram Gopal Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle, has met the BJP’s Chanakya twice in recent days. However, he has not received any firm assurance from most of his fellow SP MPs, except for his son Akhilesh and one Muslim Rajya Sabha member. The majority of SP MPs, who come from a strong socialist background, are still unwilling to align with the BJP. Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav is continuously reaching out to each of his MPs to keep them loyal. In the race for ministerial positions, the name of Mamata Banerjee’s former confidant Sudip Bandyopadhyay is currently leading. Senior BJP leader and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is also said to be backing his candidature. If Bandyopadhyay makes it to the Modi Cabinet from the rebel TMC group, another berth could go to a woman MP. The three names doing the rounds are Sharmila Sarkar, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, and Shatabdi Roy. Eknath Shinde’s MP son Shrikant Shinde is also considered a strong contender for a ministerial post. If Sharad Pawar agrees to a deal, his daughter Supriya Sule could also be offered an important ministry.
Delimitation Bill: NDA’s Absentee Strategy
Despite a lot of efforts, the BJP-led NDA is not able to reach the required figures to pass the Delimitation Bill in Parliament. To pass this bill, the ruling party needs the consent of two-thirds of the MPs of the Lok Sabha, this figure currently comes to 360, currently the NDA’s strength in the Lok Sabha is 293 MPs. Even if 20 MPs from Mamata’s rebel faction are added to this, the figure comes to a halt at 313. Let us now add to this the 6 MPs who broke with Shiv Sena Uddhav, the figure also comes to a halt at 319. Now BJP strategists have found a unique solution for this. If some 20-30 MPs from SP, RJD and JMM remain absent on the day of voting in the House, then the way for the delimitation bill can be cleared, hence, work is going on in this direction.
