Post Karnataka victory and the success of Bharat Jodo Yatra, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s personal stature has grown remarkably and he emerged as the opposition face against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Bharat Jodo Yatra’s message of love and fraternity has emerged as the alternative vision with which to defeat the BJP. Before the start of the second edition of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul had paid visit to Azadpur Mandi, one of Asia’s biggest vegetable wholesale markets, in the wake of soaring prices of eatables. He interacted with the vegetable sellers in the market. His visit to Azadpur Mandi has been vital as it comes amid soaring prices of vegetables. Several vegetable varieties are being sold at over Rs 100 per kilogram. Even tomatoes are being sold at over Rs 200 per kg in several areas of the national capital. His visit last month to the farm fields in Haryana’s Sonepat, where he even sowed the paddy samplings and invited the women farmers at his residence over lunch, got a lot of praise from all quarters. He took a truck ride from Haryana’s Murthal to Ambala in May to comprehend the problems faced by the truck drivers. Rahul met gig workers in Karnataka’s Bengaluru and also drove on a scooty with a delivery partner. He visited Delhi University’s PG men’s hostel for lunch with students. Later, visited Mukherjee Nagar area of Delhi to interact with the UPSC aspirants and also travelled to Jama Masjid and Bengali Market area in April this year. While Rahul had been travelling in the capacity of an individual and as the one who’s no longer a Member of Parliament, nor the Leader of the Opposition, even then he has been receiving immense veneration and response from everyone he has interacted with. Now that the Supreme Court has stayed the conviction in the Modi surname defamation case, his disqualification as a Lok Sabha MP is also nullified, giving him back his full stature as an elected member of the Parliament and clearing his way to contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
WHOSE SIDE IS SHARAD PAWAR ON? PERPLEXED ALLIES DOUBTING NCP BOSS
NCP founder Sharad Pawar’s strange gesture at the event where he shared a stage and shook hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was honoured with the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award, has been raising eyebrows. His decision to attend the event with BJP has led the opposition parties such as Congress, Shiv Sena to express displeasure, as according to them, it would deliver a wrong message to people. At a time when oppositional fronts like the national-level I.N.D.I.A., Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra, are fighting against BJP on all political fronts, Pawar’s gesture has been perplexing for many. Shiv Sena (UBT) said that NCP chief Sharad Pawar could have refused, or turned his back on the event, to clear doubts about him among those who have taken a dim view of it. The grapevine is that most opposition parties hold an opinion that Sharad Pawar is out of the race for opposition candidate for the post of the Prime Minister. Now Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi are the front-runners for the top candidature. However, Sharad Pawar is no longer Shiv Sena UBT’s political mentor; he is devoted to and focused on the political fortune of his nephew Ajit Pawar. Whispers abound that Sharad Pawar is working to install nephew Ajit Pawar, currently the deputy CM, as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and that both of them have been playing the long game.
KCR FOCUSSED ON TELANGANA WELFARE SCHEMES, TO GO SOLO IN 2024
In yet another attempt to attract the voters ahead of Telangana Assembly elections, the BRS government has decided to complete farm loan waiver, which it had promised in the previous elections. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has instructed the officials to resume loan waiver from August 3 and also given the deadline to complete it in one and a half months. He said that, after the already waived loans, it required another Rs 19,000 crore for the waiver of pending farm loans. KCR stated that the government is rigorously implementing schemes like Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bheema, free electricity supply and irrigation water for farmers. He is quite firm about the fact that despite all the barriers and difficulties, there is no question of neglecting the welfare of farmers and development of agriculture. Meanwhile, KCR also .clarified that his party Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will not support either the Bharatiya Janata Party-led alliance or the Opposition’s newly formed I.N.D.I.A. or Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha.
NITISH’S UNITY MARCH IN BIHAR TO RESONATE WITH MUSLIMS, DALITS, OBCS
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, JD(U) has embarked on a yatra across Bihar with the aim of social unity and communal harmony in a major outreach to the voters, with prime focus on those belonging to the minority community. The yatra, called “Karwan-e-Ittehad aur Bhaichara Yatra” (march for unity and brotherhood), commenced from Narkatiaganj in West Champaran on 1 August. The nearly month-long yatra would cover 27 of Bihar’s 38 districts, which have sizeable Muslim population. Led by JD (U) MLC Khalid Anwar and yatra seems to be emphasizing at positioning Nitish at the national level as a possible prime ministerial face for the 2024 polls. The yatra will cover many districts of North Bihar, including West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Sitamarhi and Siwan. It will also traverse the Mithilanchal belt of Darbhanga and Madhubani, passing through the districts of Kishanganj, Katihar, Araria and Purnia in Semanchal, which account for more than 40 per cent Muslim population. While JDU flag will not be used in the yatra instead they will make use of pictures of Gandhi, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Vallabhbhai Patel, Abul Kalam Azad and Nitish, besides a slogan “Tareekh ko bachayein, Nitish Kumar ke saath aayein” (Save the history, come with Nitish Kumar).
JD(S) SPLIT OVER 2024: DEVE GOWDA SAYS GO SOLO, KUMARASWAMY COURTS BJP
JD(S) leader and Karnataka’s former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is in dilemma just after he announced his party’s decision to work together with the BJP as an opposition, in the interest of the state. However, party supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda had quashed of any alliance with the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2024, saying that the JDS will fight the 2024 Lok Sabha poll independently and there is no question of joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) or the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).The party emphasises on consolidating its strength and make a significant impact in the political arena and keep its option open till the last moment.
EYE ON 2024, CONGRESS WOOS BIG TRIBAL POPULATION IN MADHYA PRADESH
In Madhya Pradesh, Congress has commenced preparations for the assembly polls and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In a bid to woo 21% tribal vote in Madhya Pradesh, Congress has put forth the name of the prominent tribal leader and former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria as the head of its state election campaign committee. The 73-year-old belongs to the Bhil tribe, the largest tribe in Madhya Pradesh, and was a minister in the Manmohan Singh government at the centre from 2004-2011. The scheduled tribe population In Madhya Pradesh largely consists of the Bhil, Gond, Bhilala, Kol, Korku, Baiga, Saharia, and Bharia tribes. They account for 21% of total electors and are the second largest such group, trailing only the OBC voters, who make up over 50% of electors. The 34-member election campaign committee headed by Bhuria will also have former chief minister Kamal Nath, his son and Lok Sabha MP Nakul Nath, former chief minister Digvijaya Singh and his brother Laxman Singh, Leader of Opposition Dr Govind Singh, former state Congress chiefs Arun Yadav and Suresh Pachauri, and Rajya Sabha MPs Vivek Tankha and Rajmani Patel as its members While Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala has been appointed as senior poll observer, Mumbai Congress in-charge Chandrakant Handore is the observer for the election preparations. (IPA Service)
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