The race has finally begun on who would be the I.N.D.I.A. alliance prime ministerial candidate. The current political buzz says that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and former Congress president Rahul Gandhi are the top potential candidates for the formidable job of taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha polls 2024. Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar has reiterated that he has no wish to become PM himself, saying: “I have been maintaining it since the beginning that I have no desire for myself…I have no personal ambitions… mujhe kuch nahi chahiye (I don’t want any post). Somebody else could be given the responsibility (i.e., the convener post). My only wish is to unite the maximum number of parties (opposed to BJP) before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. I am working only in this direction.” On the other hand, Rajasthan Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot’s has announced that Rahul Gandhi would be the prime ministerial candidate for the party for the 2024 Lok Sabha election, although no formal backing for the declaration has come about yet from the Congress party. Similarly, the AAP has pitched for Arvind Kejriwal as the prime ministerial candidate of the Opposition bloc, saying he had given a development model that the entire country could benefit from. Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai has said that every AAP member wants Kejriwal for the prime minister’s post, but a decision on it would be finalised by all the members of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. So far, the bloc has exuded confidence that it would provide a formidable alternative to bring political change in the country, asserting that it has several prime ministerial faces against BJP’s only one. The opposition alliance has also expanded its ambit to 28 parties by including two regional outfits, the Peasants and Workers Party of India (PWP), a Marxist political party in Maharashtra, and another regional outfit.
CONGRESS COURTS JAGAN REDDY’S SISTER, SHARMILA, FOR ANDHRA ROLE
Ahead of assembly elections in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh CM YS Jaganmohan Reddy’s estranged sister, YS Sharmila, who formed her own party – Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Telangana Party – two years ago, has acknowledged to be in communication with Congress for a merger. An indication of merger or a possible alliance came to the fore when Sharmila made consecutive meetings with Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar since the Congress party stormed to power in the neighbouring state. While Sharmila is keen to carve out a political space for herself in Telangana, the Congress seems to be firm that she should focus on Andhra Pradesh. But that would pit her against her brother. The buzz is that Sharmila has met Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and the forthcoming days are expected to shed light on whether the Congress strategy will work and answer the question if the grand old party would accept the conditions set by Sharmila.
NADDA, SHAH TO FLAG OFF BJP’S ‘PARIVARTAN YATRA’ IN RAJASTHAN
Preparing to compete with the Congress in the Rajasthan Assembly elections, BJP national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will flag off and begin the first two legs of the party’s Parivartan Yatra in poll-bound Rajasthan on 2 and 3 September, respectively, and will likely end on 25 September followed by a public meeting to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jaipur. On 2 September, BJP president J.P. Nadda at Trinetra Ganesha Temple in Sawai Madhopur will flag off the first leg of the yatra. Covering a distance of 1,847 km across 47 assembly constituencies, it will conclude in Jaipur. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will flag off the second leg at Beneshwar Dham in Dungarpur on 3 September. This leg will cover 2,433 km across 52 assembly constituencies before ending in Kota city. Meanwhile, the party is also undecided on how two-time chief minister Vasundhara Raje is to be projected in the election campaign. The anti-Raje camp in the state BJP has been pushing for projecting a collective leadership to the electorate in the hope that this will keep the arena of opportunity open for several chief ministerial contenders like Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Satish Poonia and Arjun Ram Meghwal. While Poonia’s appointment was seen as the central leadership’s way of checking Raje’s dominance. Raje is bracing for a fight to project herself as a CM face for the BJP and a slogan has been creating a buzz in Rajasthan “Kahodil se, Vasundhara phir se”. But by picking national leaders to launch the pre poll yatra, the BJP hopes to project unity and keep individual aspirations in the state in check.
PRASHANT KISHOR REBUKES JDU-RJD ALLIANCE, SAYS RELEVANT ONLY IN BIHAR
Poll consultant Prashant Kishor who is on a padyatra and inching closer to framing a political party of his own, will contest polls in home state Bihar. Kishor embarked on his yatra from Mahatma Gandhi’s Bhitiharwa Ashram in the West Champaran district on October 2, 2022, as a part of his Jan Suraaj campaign. He walked over 2,600km through West Champaran, East Champaran, Sheohar, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Vaishali districts and Samastipur district. Kishor has also launched a scathing attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, questioning his claims and political decisions. Kishor mocked both JD(U) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) over their participation in the joint opposition alliance to take on the ruling BJP in next year’s Lok Sabha polls. Prashant Kishor wondered what role a party with 0 Lok Sabha MPs (RJD) and a leader who’s losing foothold in his own state (Kumar) would play in deciding who runs the country after the 2024 general elections. He reiterated that Bihar’s ruling Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) is relevant only to the state, and does not matter in national politics.
RAJINI MOCKED FOR TOUCHING YOGI’S FEET, SUPERSTAR SAYS IT’S RESPECT
A taunt to Tamil superstar Rajinikanth after he touched the feet of the UP CM Yogi Adityanath by Kerala minister V Sivankutty joined the growing online banter against the Thalaiva. “A bit of stretching and bending is always good for health, however, the way our superstar has bent in front of someone like Yogi, that could have easily broken his back, he should have been careful,” said Sivankutty in a Facebook post. He posted his statements with the hashtags#hukum, #jailer. The image has taken the internet by storm with people giving mixed reactions to Rajini’s strange gesture. While a section of people praised the superstar, a few among the netizens have termed his act ‘a farce’. On the other hand, the actor put an end to the controversy by maintaining it was his long-held practice of respecting a yogi or a sanyasi by falling at their feet. “It is my habit to touch the feet of Yogis or Sanyasis and take their blessings, even if they are younger to me, I have done that only,” said Rajinikanth.
SP DISTANCES ITSELF FROM MAURYA’S ‘HINDUISM IS A HOAX’ COMMENT
In Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party has initiated strategic preparations for 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In a bid to emphasize the party cadres and to rejuvenate the politics of social justice, SP national president Akhilesh Yadav has reiterated the need for caste census, and that it should not be overshadowed by nationalism, which is a separate issue. SP general secretary Swami Prasad Maurya has raked up another controversy by trading questions at the Hindu religion itself and targeting Brahmanism. Maurya has critiqued ‘Brahmanism’ and called Hinduism “deceitful” and “a hoax.” Posting a video on X/Twitter of a speech he made at an event in Lucknow, Maurya wrote: “The roots of Brahminism are very deep and the reason behind all the disparity is also Brahminism. There is no religion called Hindu, Hinduism is just a hoax. There is a conspiracy to trap Dalits, tribals and backward people of this nation by calling the same Brahmin religion as Hindu religion. If there was a Hindu religion then tribals, Dalits, and backward people would have been respected but what an irony.” The Samajwadi Party has distanced itself from Maurya’s comments. (IPA Service)
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