Tridib Raman
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi has quietly begun preparing the road map for her new innings with soft political knocks. Reliable sources close to the Gandhi family reveal that just a few days before her private trip to the USA on the 6th of January, Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi had a long one-on-one conversation. In this meeting, issues such as the Congress party’s future strategy and efforts to change its face and leadership were discussed openly. It is said that Priyanka made it clear to Rahul that she is “ready to take big decisions in the interest of the party.” For the past three years, Priyanka has been a General Secretary in President Kharge’s team without any specific charge or responsibility. According to sources, during her conversation with Rahul, Priyanka clearly stated that “Congress now needs a fighting, committed President who can infuse new life into the party cadre, a President who has equal appeal in the North and the South.” Then Priyanka asked Rahul, “Brother, if you have any idea in mind, tell me?” After much thought, taking his time, Rahul pulled out two names from his bag – Jairam Ramesh and Ajay Maken. Priyanka immediately intervened and said, “No, that won’t work. If you want, I am ready to take up this responsibility.” Struggling with the sudden creases that appeared on his forehead, Rahul replied with great innocence, “Then the BJP people will start calling our party a private limited company again.” Priyanka said, “What’s new in that? They are already saying the same thing even now.” In fact, the current party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s five-year term is set to conclude in October 2027, and his tenure in the Rajya Sabha will also end in June 2026. Therefore, if Priyanka Gandhi’s intentions receive the approval of her mother Sonia and the confidence of her brother Rahul, then in the coming days, India’s oldest political party could indeed get a new president as well.
Priyanka Didn’t Really Want Assam
Tridib Raman
In fact, Priyanka Gandhi was taken aback when she was declared the chairperson of the Congress “Election Screening Committee” for the Assam Assembly elections. Sources say her surprise stemmed more from the fact that Congress Organisation General Secretary K. C. Venugopal issued this “notification” without even consulting her. It is said that Priyanka conveyed just one thing to Kharge, Ajay Maken, and Venugopal that ‘if you want to give Rahul ji any responsibility, you first ask him, then make the announcement, or at least inform him after announcing it.”According to sources, Priyanka is fully aware that there is very little for her to do in Assam. Rahul’s team is already very active there. Rahul’s close aide Gaurav Gogoi is functioning almost like a “CM face,” while Assam’s in-charge general secretary Bhawar Jitendra Singh listens only to Rahul. On top of that, the Congress has also appointed three senior observers,Bhupesh Baghel, D. K. Shivakumar, and Bandhu Tirkey, to handle election responsibilities in the state. So what special role is really left for Priyanka there? Moreover, this time the Congress is contesting only 100 of Assam’s total 126 seats, leaving the remaining 26 seats for its allies such as the Assam Jatiya Parishad, Raijor Dal, and Left parties. Congress’s prospects in Assam appear better this time, as Muslim voters seem to be uniting behind the Congress instead of siding with leaders like Badruddin Ajmal. From the Congress perspective, this could be good news. Sources further say that since Priyanka herself is an MP from Wayanad in Kerala, she was exploring better possibilities for herself in Kerala. The Kerala Congress is riddled with intense factionalism, something Priyanka is keenly aware of. She had already begun discussions with leaders from different factions of the party and was working to create coordination among them. However, the observers chosen by Rahul for Kerala are Sachin Pilot, Karnataka Energy Minister and close confidant of CM Siddaramaiah K. J. George, and Rahul’s trusted Imran Pratapgarhi. Priyanka has now understood that in Kerala, things will unfold exactly as Rahul has planned.
What is Didi’s Formula for Victory in Bengal?
Tridib Raman
As the West Bengal Assembly elections draw closer, the Trinamool Congress versus BJP battle is taking on new dimensions every day. When the ED conducted raids at the Kolkata office of IPAC and the residence of its chief Prashant Jain, Didi immediately rushed there. When she came out, she was holding a green file in her hand. It is worth noting that Prashant is also the head of Trinamool’s IT cell, and his company not only provides political consultancy to the party but also manages its IT and media wings. According to sources, Mamata Banerjee is presenting a tough challenge to the BJP this time. Out of the state’s total 294 seats, around 100 are considered strongholds of the Trinamool Congress, while about 45 can be seen as impregnable saffron forts. This time, the BJP is focusing heavily on 50 seats in and around Kolkata. In recent elections, the BJP’s vote share in these seats has certainly increased, but it has still failed to reach the magical winning figure on most of them. The entire command of the West Bengal elections this time rests with Amit Shah. Compared to the 2021 elections, Prime Minister Modi will campaign less here, with fewer rallies, and instead of eight phases, elections may be held in just three phases this time. Suvendu Adhikari, who is very close to Amit Shah, wanted the BJP to project him as the chief ministerial face, but the Prime Minister felt that Dilip Ghosh should also be given equal importance. It is only after the PM’s intervention that Ghosh has been brought back from the sidelines and polished up again. As always, women voters remain Mamata’s biggest “trump card.” Since 2021, Didi has been running the “Lakshmir Bhandar” scheme for women in the state, under which women receive direct cash assistance – ₹1,200 per month for SC/ST women and ₹1,000 per month for women from other categories. Influenced by this scheme, women voters in the state are reportedly voting for Mamata across caste and religious lines. It is believed that saffron strategists have also tried to find a counter to this strategy this time.
Rekha’s Lakshman Rekha
Social media is flooded with tales of the outspoken statements made by Delhi’s enthusiastic Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, while the BJP’s top leadership is visibly worried. Sources say that instructions have come from the saffron high command telling the Chief Minister that decisions about when, where, and what she should speak will no longer be hers. Instead, a four-member team will decide this and prepare written statements for every occasion, which the CM will simply have to “deliver.” However, the committee’s problem is that the Chief Minister sometimes “jumps” even while reading the prepared text, something that recently happened in the Assembly during her remarks on the freedom struggle and the Congress. Whatever is unfolding in Delhi’s saffron politics has brought a smile to the Aam Aadmi Party’s face. Arvind Kejriwal has now begun exploring the possibility of a return to Delhi, and his team has once again started ground-level surveys in the capital. AAP’s latest survey is focusing on questions such as: which policies of the current Delhi government are troubling the public? Between Rekha Gupta and Kejriwal, who is considered the better Chief Minister? And so on.
Has DK’s CM Bid Been Delayed Again?
At one point, it seemed that DK Shivakumar, long considered the ‘CM in waiting,’ would finally get the chance to become Karnataka’s CM this new year. Rahul Gandhi was supposed to meet Siddaramaiah around January 5th or 6th, followed by an important meeting with DK on January 10th, but both meetings have been postponed. It seems Siddaramaiah has received a reprieve again. According to sources, when Rahul asked DK, ‘How many Congress MLAs support you?’, DK kept giving vague answers. He said that ‘MLAs are hesitant to name me due to fear of Siddaramaiah.’ Then, a solution was devised by the Congress top brass. A questionnaire with three questions was given to all Congress MLAs in Karnataka. The last question was, ‘Who is your preference as CM?’ Siddaramaiah got the most votes, followed by G. Parameshwara. DK was at the bottom, with support from only a handful of MLAs. DK’s biggest problem in Karnataka is that over 70% of votes from his Vokkaliga community go to the JD(S). DK has not been successful in attracting his community’s voters to the Congress to that extent. Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah belongs to the backward Kuruba community, which constitutes about 10% of the state’s population. He has a strong hold on these votes. Additionally, the Congress’s traditional votes include Dalits, Muslims, and Christians. Combined, the Congress’s total vote share in the state becomes about 30%. These are the Congress’s own core voters, which the party does not want to lose under any circumstances. Another special feature of the Kuruba community is that its concentrated population is only in 40-50 seats in the state, giving it a decisive role in determining a candidate’s win or loss. This is also why the Congress high command does not want to risk antagonizing Siddaramaiah.
How Long is JMM’s Wait?
Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar had thrown all his weight into bringing the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha closer to the BJP and had met with some success. It is said Hemant Soren has agreed to join the NDA. However, in return, he wants ‘his wife Kalpana Soren to be rewarded with an important ministry in the Modi-led central government.’ He also plans to send his wife to the Upper House. But Soren will have to wait a bit for this. It is being said that after completing two years of his third term government, PM Modi plans a major reshuffle in his cabinet. Meanwhile, Hemant wants that in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP should contest 8 seats and JMM 6 seats. It is worth noting that Jharkhand has a total of 14 Lok Sabha seats. However, the BJP and the Sangh’s state unit are strongly against any such alliance with JMM. They believe that ‘there is no ideological similarity between these two parties whatsoever. Secondly, it is hard to tell when Hemant Soren might flip. He has agreed to join the NDA as easily as he might leave it if the situation changes.’
Why Rajasthan Has Become BJP’s Biggest Headache
Over the past few months, this is the third time that Amit Shah has put aside all his work and camped in Rajasthan for two full days at a stretch. On January 9 and 10 as well, Shah was in Jaipur. The BJP top leadership clearly understands that across the entire Hindi heartland, Rajasthan is currently the one state where the party is in its weakest position. Factionalism within the party has reached such a level that internal rivalries are harming the BJP more than the opposition ever could. There is also persistent dissatisfaction over leadership in the state. According to sources, once the Bhajan Lal government completes two years in office, speculation about a leadership change is bound to intensify. Senior and influential leader Vasundhara Raje was entrusted with the responsibility of winning the Anta by-election, but she failed to deliver. There was considerable discontent among party workers over her style of functioning, especially because she appointed her son Dushyant as the election in-charge for Anta. Given all this, it appears unlikely that the BJP high command will once again repose the same level of trust in the “Maharani” so easily.
