Old War Horses – Pawar, Lalu, Nitish – Remain Crucial For 2024 Fight

The veterans of Indian politics — Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar — all are playing their last inning and trying hard to defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Although Ajit Pawar split the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with the support of over 29 MLAs, and took oath as the new Maharashtra deputy chief minister, the 82-year-old NCP supremo and Maratha leader, Sharad Pawar, has started touring Maharashtra and will soon start visiting other states to strengthen the NCP and bolster opposition unity to fight against the BJP. Once Jay Prakash Narayan called for a ‘total revolution’ from the grounds of Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, reading the poem ‘Singhasan Khali Karo Ki Janata Aati Hai’. While addressing party workers after inaugurating a function to mark 27 years of RJD’s formation, Lalu Prasad Yadav said, “What will happen to you (Modi) when your days (as PM) are over? At least, we have earned the goodwill and are still showered with petals and garlands”. Lalu also said Mahagathbandhan in Bihar has been a shining example of opposition unity. We must remain steadfast in our fight against communalism, and attempts to do away with the reservation system which is a legacy of Ambedkar.” On the other hand, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s initiative to get all opposition parties on board to project a unified fight against the BJP has evoked positive responses from several regional satraps. The total of 17 parties are going to contest the 2024 general elections together against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The much-awaited announcement came after a four-hour-long meeting hosted by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna.

AKHILESH TRIES TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN RAHUL AND TELANGANA CM

Following Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s declaration that the Congress will not ally with any party close to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and the crisis in the Opposition over the events in Maharashtra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav spoke with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao as per reports, and explored possibilities of a larger opposition unity for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. After the meeting, Akhilesh also announced that the BRS is with the opposition parties to fight against the BJP. However, this has upset Congress senior leaders, who are quite discontented with the meeting between Akhilesh and KCR. The buzz is that the SP chief has currently become a bridge between BRS and Congress owing to his wide acceptability. Yadav also shares a good personal rapport with KCR. However, KCR’s strategy reflects that he might be preparing ground for an alliance with Congress in the near future. A clearer picture would emerge only after the outcome of the Telangana assembly elections.

AJIT PAWAR’S INDUCTION IN MAHARASHTRA GOVT SHAKES UP SHINDE CAMP

The breakup of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) by Ajit Pawar and his taking oath as the new Maharashtra deputy chief minister and with his remarks that he wants to be the Chief Minister some day, has created a big buzz in political circles. Speculations are rife that the Shinde camp MLAs want to come back to the Uddhav camp, even as CM Eknath Shinde met his MLAs and assured them that there will be no change in the government. However, Uddhav Sena leaders claimed that some Shinde Sena leaders sent them messages seeking forgiveness from Matoshree. On the other hand, BJP leaders said that the party does not have any plan to replace Eknath Shinde from the post of chief minister for the time being, and that the party is firm with the plans to fight the upcoming elections under the trio.

CONGRESS LAUNCHES DALIT, TRIBAL CAMPAIGN ON SOCIAL JUSTICE PLANK

To recharge the politics of social justice before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Congress has started a campaign to mobilise Dalits, tribals, OBCs and minorities through its National Leadership Development Mission (NLDM). At the first conference of NLDM coordinators, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that people from backward castes and minority communities should formulate their own political clout, instead of relying on the pity of entrenched forces. The mission was conceived at the Udaipur Chintan Shivir of the Congress. Though the mission is now operational in only 61 reserved parliamentary constituencies in 18 states, Congress plans to expand its activities. Recently, Rahul Gandhi had demanded that the Union government go for a caste census immediately. Mallikarjun Kharge had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue, while Rahul had also asked that the government make the 2011 data on castes public and lift the 50 per cent cap on reservation for the backwards classes. However, Congress has tried to shift the focus on to caste census and which the party believes can unite the Other Backward Castes (OBC), SC, ST and minorities voters in its side.

DIGVIJAY SINGH, DEREK O’BRIEN WALK OUT OF HOUSE PANEL OVER MANIPUR

In a surprising twist of events, Opposition members including Congress’s Digvijaya Singh and Pradip Bhattacharya, and Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien walked out of a Parliamentary panel meeting which was held on July 6,to express protest and annoyance as their demand for a discussion on the ongoing situation in Manipur was not met. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs met to listen the views of State Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana on the subject of ‘Prison – Conditions, Infrastructure and Reforms’. Expressing disappointment Digvijaya Singh stated, “Manipur is currently facing a severe crisis that demands immediate attention. It is disheartening to see the committee disregard the urgent needs of the people affected by the ongoing situation.” Manipur has been rife with tension ever since violence broke out on May 3 over the inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribes list. The state’s tribal groups have long opposed the Meitei’s demand for an ST status.

SHARAD PAWAR IN A BATTLE MODE AT 83- HE ORGANISED A MASSIVE RALLY AT SATARA

With Ajit Pawar splitting the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with the support of over 29 MLAs and taking oath as the new Maharashtra deputy chief minister, NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar, accompanied by his grand-nephew and MLA Rohit Pawar, staged a massive show of political strength in Satara, in the sugar heartland of western Maharashtra, during his 140 km journey from Pune to Satara’s Karad. During his entire journey the massive crowds greeted Pawar while as he made his way to the Pritisangam in Karad, which is the resting place of his political guru Y.B. Chavan, who was the first Chief Minister of the newly-formed Maharashtra State in 1960. Addressing party workers at the venue, Pawar said that he would not rest until those creating unrest in the state and the party are put in their place. Meanwhile, on July 3,SharadPawar’sdaughter and NCP working president Supriye Sule expelled Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare and Ajit Pawar from the NCP for “anti-party activities.” Sources close to Sharad Pawar say he is not inclined to make the same mistake as Uddhav Thackeray, who shut the doors on all defecting MLAs by dubbing them traitors when they left with Shinde. Sharad Pawar knows that the nine MLAs who joined the Maharashtra cabinet won’t return, but he wants to make sure the others know they can return anytime. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar’s faction has moved a petition before Maharashtra Assembly Speaker, Rahul Narwekar, seeking the disqualification of Ajit Pawar and eight other MLAs who took oath as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led government. However, Sharad Pawar is going ahead for a face-to-face interaction and trying to re-emerge as the tallest leader in Maharashtra politics. Clearly, Pawar is in no mood to forget or forgive those who stabbed him in the back. (IPA Service)