Tridib Raman
Let’s find out what happened that caused such sudden bitterness in the relationship between Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, especially at a time when the Bihar elections were at their peak. Through his ‘Voter Rights Yatra’, Rahul Gandhi was touring all over Bihar, building a wave of support for the Grand Alliance. So, what was the heated phone argument about between him and his star campaigner, Tejashwi Yadav, that Sonia Gandhi suddenly had to step in and send Ashok Gehlot as her special envoy to Bihar in a hurry? According to special sources, Rahul Gandhi’s displeasure with Tejashwi was over the fact that the seat-sharing agreement was still stuck on several constituencies. Rahul wanted Tejashwi to make an immediate decision on this. Otherwise, the Grand Alliance was already facing severe ridicule among the public for this very reason. Tejashwi had his own grievances. He was extremely upset with Rahul over at least three issues. First: The Congress was delaying far too long in declaring Tejashwi as the Grand Alliance’s ‘CM Face’. Second: Why was Rahul dragging Pappu Yadav along with him everywhere he went? Third: Was Rahul even aware that Congress tickets were being auctioned in the state? And this was being done by the very people considered to be Rahul’s trusted aides. It is said that during the conversation between the two leaders, the acrimony escalated so much that Tejashwi hung up, saying that if that’s really the case, then the Congress should leave the Grand Alliance and contest the elections alone. Then Rahul would also find out what the Congress’s actual standing is on the ground in Bihar. Rahul had not expected such behaviour from Tejashwi. He went straight to his mother, Sonia Gandhi, and informed her of the entire situation.
When Sonia Became the Crisis Manager
Tridib Raman
It is said that Sonia reassured Rahul, telling him not to worry at all, and that a solution would surely be found. According to sources, after this, Sonia directly called Lalu Yadav and told him that their political relationship wasn’t a recent one; it was 30-35 years old. Today was a chance for them to be there for each other. This long-standing relationship couldn’t be destroyed by a petty squabble between their children. Lalu was perhaps waiting for just such an opportunity himself and openly vented his frustrations to Sonia. Lalu said, “Pappu Yadav, who is causing us so much harm, is being elevated by your family. You and Rahul ji have entrusted the responsibility of Bihar to people who don’t even know the ABC of the state. People who were denied tickets by Chirag are joining the Congress just two days ago and managing to get the party’s ticket. People here are even saying that your own people have already sold Congress tickets for high prices.” Lalu Yadav was also very angry with Congress’s Bihar in-charge, Krishna Allavaru. After this conversation, Sonia and Lalu reached an understanding that Sonia would send a senior Congress leader to Patna who would be fully authorized to take key decisions directly.
Then Ashok Gehlot came to mind
Tridib Raman
After much deliberation, Sonia and Rahul decided that Ashok Gehlot would be the most suitable person to handle the current situation. Following this, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was urgently summoned. Before leaving for Patna, Gehlot put forward only one condition before Sonia, that whatever directions she wanted to give him should be given right then and there, because he would not like to call Sonia or Rahul for instructions while sitting face-to-face with Lalu in Patna. Sonia immediately agreed, and Gehlot flew to Patna, where he had a long closed-door discussion with Lalu. No other Congress leader was present during this entire conversation. It is said that Lalu made two main demands in this meeting: First, Tejashwi Yadav should be immediately declared the Chief Ministerial face of the Mahagathbandhan. Second, Krishna Allavaru should be shown the door. Acting upon Lalu’s suggestions, Gehlot announced in his press conference that Tejashwi would be the Mahagathbandhan’s CM face, and Mukesh Sahani of the ‘VIP’ party would be the Deputy CM face. The move to include Sahani was Rahul’s idea, aimed at appealing to the over 3.4 million ‘Mallah’ voters in the state and generating hope in favour of the alliance. Congress also wanted to project Rajesh Ram as a Deputy CM face, but Lalu believed it would be more effective to bet on a Muslim face instead. Hence, the decision on the second Deputy CM remained unresolved. Meanwhile, in Delhi, Krishna Allavaru was swiftly removed from his post as in-charge of the Indian Youth Congress and replaced by Manish Sharma, a move made purely to please Lalu.
How Anupam Lost His Ticket
Anupam, the leading face of Yuva Halla Bol, is quite popular among the youth of Bihar. Around two years ago, this young leader had called Rahul Gandhi a “national disaster.” However, a few days ago, when he joined the Congress, he described Rahul as a “warrior of justice.” Rahul was pleased, and the Congress gave Anupam its ticket to contest from the Supaul Assembly seat in Bihar. But the Congress aspirant from the same seat, Minnatullah Rahmani, was very upset. He called Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and said, “I am not calling to say that I was the real contender for the Supaul ticket. I am forwarding you three tweets that Anupam had made about the Gandhi family. Please take a look at them.” From the account Anupam Connects, on October 10, 2012, he had tweeted: “Forget property, how did Robert Vadra acquire Priyanka… the bigger question.” On November 4, 2012, he tweeted again about Sonia and Rahul Gandhi: “Rahul Gandhi knows FDI is good for India, he has Sonia Gandhi as an example.” As soon as Priyanka saw these tweets, she was furious. She immediately called Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram and in-charge Krishna Allavaru, scolded them, and said, “Withdraw this man’s ticket at once.” Allavaru tried to explain, saying, “Rahul ji personally gave him the ticket. We will need to check with him before withdrawing it.” Priyanka, still angry, said, “If you do not want your own ticket cancelled, cancel this man’s ticket immediately.” She then forwarded the tweets to Rahul along with a message that said, “This man’s ticket must be withdrawn immediately. He has crossed all limits of propriety.” After this, Anupam’s ticket was cancelled and given to Minnat Rahmani instead. Although Congress’s prospects in the constituency were already weak, Anupam was sacrificed in the name of propriety.
The Insider Who Shook Araria
After the ticket distribution, chaos erupted not only in the Grand Alliance but also within the NDA. Dissatisfied BJP members began raising their heads in rebellion. It is said that they were being encouraged by people within their own party. As a result, sparks of rebellion began to spread everywhere. The BJP’s top leadership gave its Bihar in-charge, Dharmendra Pradhan, the major responsibility of controlling these revolts, pacifying the rebels, and if necessary, showing them strictness. Pradhan’s biggest challenge has been to convince Ajay Jha, who is considered very close to Araria’s BJP MP Pradeep Singh. Ajay Jha is not only one of the MP’s closest associates but also a contractor and one of the wealthiest people in the area. He has always been eager to serve the MP with both his wealth and resources. He also nurtured his own political ambitions, which the MP had supported. This time, Jha was aspiring for a BJP ticket either from Forbesganj or Narpatganj Assembly seat. The Forbesganj seat currently belongs to the BJP, and it was widely expected that sitting MLA Vidyanand Kesari, also known as Manchan Kesari, would lose his ticket. The MP had also told the party that there was strong anti-incumbency against the MLA. Ajay Jha was waiting for the right opportunity, but Manchan Kesari managed to secure his position by using his RSS background. The MP was so angry that he did not even attend the MLA’s nomination. Meanwhile, his close aide, Jha, raised the flag of rebellion, symbolically donned a shroud, and filed his nomination as an independent candidate from Narpatganj. The BJP high command is putting in great effort to pacify Ajay Jha. In Forbesganj and nearby areas, there are many stories circulating about the MP’s loyal aide acquiring several properties. His confidence can be gauged by the fact that he even had a confrontation with an RSS leader from Forbesganj. The RSS leader filed an FIR against Jha, and as the matter escalated, the MP distanced himself from him. Now, it is being said that the MP is building a luxurious house for himself in Araria, worth several crores of rupees. His critics also allege that he has recently purchased a lavish home in Delhi’s Green Park area. It should be noted that this same Pradeep Singh was once officially declared the poorest MP in India.
What Will Soren’s Anger Lead To?
Upset with the recent decisions of the Grand Alliance, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is preparing for a major political move in the opposition camp. He has already started working on his strategy. According to sources, Soren has recently selected two IIT graduates who earlier worked with Prashant Kishor’s I-PAC. One of them belongs to the tribal community. Soren has assigned them the task of working on how to preserve the Santali language and identity. Seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Jharkhand with significant Santhal populations have been identified. In addition, five constituencies in Odisha and three in West Bengal, where large Santhal populations live, are being focused on. Certain areas in Bihar and Chhattisgarh have also been marked. As part of this plan, Soren intends to organize national Santhal conventions first in Jharkhand’s Santhal Pargana and Odisha’s Keonjhar. His larger strategy is focused on the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. He plans to field Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidates in these constituencies, regardless of whether there are non-BJP candidates from other opposition parties. It is said that Soren has already hinted to Rahul Gandhi about his intentions. He remains deeply unhappy with what he sees as the injustice done to him during the Bihar Assembly elections.
Storm Within the NDA
A storm has erupted within the NDA as well. Specifically, Nitish Kumar’s rebellious posture is puzzling BJP strategists. Nitish feels that the BJP and Chirag could secretly sabotage JD(U) candidates from within. Therefore, Nitish has instructed his cadre to remain vigilant throughout the election period. This indicates that the JD(U) cadre’s votes will barely transfer to BJP or Chirag’s candidates. His party members are also blaming Nitish for the rejection of the nomination papers of Chirag’s party’s Seema Singh. Chirag probably also believes that if the local District Magistrate (DM) had wanted, he could have alerted Seema Singh about this. It was a minor mistake that could have been corrected. So, has Nitish thrown down an open challenge to Chirag?
