Nitish Driving INDIA Bloc Decisions, To Hit The Road For 2024 Campaign

Since Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took over the reins of the party, the Mahagathbandhan alliance partners are wondering whether the decision was deliberately engineered to create a conducive atmosphere for Kumar to switch over, once again to the NDA, or put pressure on the INDIA bloc, or just to hog the limelight on the national stage. However, Nitish taking the command of JD(U) would ensure that he would have a major say in the operation of INDIA bloc, influencing and guiding the activities of the opposition camp. Lalan has not been a heavyweight politician. He does not command the respect, which Nitish enjoys. Political resolution adopted at the JDU national executive described Nitish as the architect of the INDIA bloc, highlighted his leadership abilities and went ahead to urge the “bigger parties in the alliance have more responsibility”. It even hailed Nitish as “the hope of the backwards, extremely backwards, deprived sections, minorities and crores of unemployed youths”. Upset on being ignored, Nitish appeared to have decided to hit the road on his own to assert his leadership of the Opposition bloc. KC Tyagi said that the national executive decided that Nitish and the party will undertake a countrywide campaign, starting mid-January (around the time that Rahul Gandhi begins his Bharat Nyay Yatra), to press for a caste-based census across the country.“In mid-January, Nitishji will start a countrywide campaign from Jharkhand to demand a caste-based census like Bihar to be undertaken nationally,” Tyagi said. At the meeting, the party also decided to contest some seats outside Bihar — in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and some other yet-unspecified states. A resolution terming the Bihar caste-based survey as a “historic initiative” was also passed. Nitish getting direct control of his party affairs was seen a move aimed at keeping the JDU flock intact amid fears that both current ally RJD and friend-turned-foe BJP could be attempt poaching Nitish’s ranks.

CONGRESS FOR BSP’S ENTRY INTO INDIA BLOC, SP AGAINST FOR NOW

The debate within the INDIA bloc over the BSP simmers still, with the Congress reportedly keen on it, but the Samajwadi Party (SP) stalling the same. According to sources, both sides are in connection once again even though Mayawati who had announced that her party would go it alone in the upcoming LS polls. While the Congress carries the opinion that aligning with the BSP would help the two consolidate the Dalit vote behind them, as well as ensure that the Muslim vote is not fragmented multiple ways. Political analysts believe that ‘any possible ties between BSP and Congress is most probably expected to throw up new political permutations ahead of the parliamentary elections’. On the other hand, the SP wants 65 out of the total 80 seats for itself, leaving 10 for the Congress and 5 for the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). A major number of seats from Uttar Pradesh would put the SP in a commanding position.

ALLIANCE BETWEEN AAP AND CONGRESS LOOKS PRECARIOUS IN PUNJAB, DELHI

The tussle between AAP and Congress has immensely increased over seat-sharing, as Congress demanded 8 seats in Punjab and 3 seats in Delhi. In this context, the Congress high command is learnt to have held a meeting with the Punjab CLP leaders, Partap Singh Bajwa and the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), Amarinder Singh Raja Warring to have a discussion on the possibility of alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. On the contrary, the Punjab unit of the Congress has been opposing the proposal of an alliance with the AAP vehemently. Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa has maintained that the party rank and file was not ready to accept a tie-up with the AAP in the state, pointing out that the cadre fight the elections. Some of the party leaders are demanding at least eight of the total 13 seats that include the seats of six sitting MPs – Manish Tewari from Anandpur Sahib, GS Aujla from Amritsar, Dr Amar Singh from Fatehgarh Sahib, Mohammed Sadiq from Faridkot, JS Gill from Khadoor Sahib and Ravneet Singh Bittu from Ludhiana

RAHUL GANDHI’S BHARAT JODO NYAY YATRA TO COMMENCE ON JANUARY 14

Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will commence on January 14 from Manipur, mostly via buses besides stretches of walking, and is subsequently scheduled to end in Mumbai on March 20. In total, it will crisscross through 15 states, 110 districts and 100 Lok Sabha seats, covering 6,713 km in 66 days. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that “the idea of Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra is justice. The aim is to ensure political, economic and social justice for people of India,” The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will begin from violence-hit Manipur’s capital Imphal at 12pm, will cover en route the states of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and went West Bengal, before reaching central India. All Chief Ministers belonging to the opposition bloc will be present at Imphal to flag off the yatra. According to the route released by the party, the yatra would stay the longest period in Uttar Pradesh, covering a distance approximately 1,074 km in 11 days. It would pass through the politically-vital areas of Varanasi, Prayagraj, Amethi, Rae Bareli, and Lucknow According to the route map, the yatra in West Bengal will be for five days, covering 523 km and seven districts, and in Bihar for four days, covering 425 km and seven districts. In Madhya Pradesh, the yatra will cover 698 km and nine districts in seven days and two districts in Rajasthan for a single day. The yatra will cover five days each in Gujarat and Maharashtra, traversing 445 km and 479 km respectively. The Congress hopes that the yatra will lead in bringing people together and at the same time will promote justice and unity all over the country.

CONGRESS READY WITH SEAT-SHARING PLANS IN BIHAR, UTTAR PRADESH

The Congress is actively engaged in discussions for seat-sharing arrangements in both Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress has geared up for a robust electoral strategy by pitching for 21 of 80 Lok Sabha seats. In Bihar, Congress is all set for an ambitious goal of contesting 10 to 12 seats, in a state with 40 Lok Sabha constituencies. The Congress aims to leverage its presence in constituencies with a significant minority voter base, which also happen to be favourable areas for the Samajwadi Party. Congress keen on contesting the UP Lok Sabha seats are Raebareli, Amethi, Sultanpur, Lucknow, Moradabad, Bijnor, Pratapgarh, Kanpur, Aligarh, Farrukhabad, Jhansi, Barabanki, Gonda, Dhaurahra, Kheri, Saharanpur, Bahraich etc. However, UP Congress leaders expressed their apprehension about the party getting a decent share of seats out of its expected alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) in the state, anticipating hard bargaining with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav in the wake of the Congress’s recent debacle in three Hindi heartland states. Meanwhile According to sources, SP was not ready to leave more than 12 constituencies for the Congress in the state but Congress, on the other hand, wanted 2009 as the basis of seat sharing. In the 2009 LS polls, Congress had won 21 seats in the state on its own. However SP leaders asserted that the party would also have to leave some seats for the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Bhim Army leader Chandrashekhar and Apna Dal (Krishna Patel). (IPA Service)