Shah said that the Prime Minister, as he loved the northeastern states, cleared all roadblocks and irritants so that the region’s peace and development are speeded-up…reports Asian Lite News
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that without the development of the northeastern region, India’s growth would not be complete.
He noted that for the first time since Independence, there are five Central ministers, including two of cabinet rank, from the region and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the northeast 35 times in six years showing how much he values it.
“At the instructions of the Prime Minister, one Central minister visits the northeastern states once in every 15 days,” the Home Minister said after launching various projects including laying the foundation stone of the 430-bed Tamulpur Medical College and Hospital in the Bodoland Territorial Region in western Assam.
Addressing the function at the famous Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra here, Shah said that rejecting false propaganda, people of Assam voted for the BJP-led government for the second time as they wanted development and rejected “aatankwad” (insurgency) and “andolan” (agitation) in the state.
“BJP governments in Tripura and Manipur resolved many long-pending issues and problems including resettlement of the Reang tribal migrants (from Mizoram) and other ethnic troubles. Now there is no road blockade and high price rise of essentials, including cooking gas, in Manipur.”
The Home Minister on Sunday evening inaugurated the Radio Therapy Block and dedicated to the people the new LINAC machine in the state cancer institute in Guwahati to provide better and free of cost treatment to cancer patients.
Shah said that the Prime Minister, as he loved the northeastern states, cleared all roadblocks and irritants so that the region’s peace and development are speeded-up.
He said that after the signing of the Bodoland peace accord in January last year, the government has already fulfilled the 90 per cent of the conditions of the agreement.
Reiterating the Union Government’s commitment for protecting and preserving Assam’s language, its heritage, and glorious culture, the Home Minister said that the language, dialects, cuisine, and cultural traditions of Assam and the northeast are India’s jewels and the government would safeguard these.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in his speech, said that in six decades after Independence, there were only six medical colleges in Assam. “However, the BJP-led government after coming to power initiated steps for setting up of 23 new medical colleges, out of which few are completed while many are on various stages of implementation process,” he said.
The Union Home Minister also handed over financial assistance to 100 selected beneficiaries of ‘Prarthana’ scheme under which the state government provides Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of 5,114 Covid deceased.
Sarma said that the state government, in a bid to provide succour to Covid victims’ families, especially those who lost their family members, initiated the Chief Minister’s Sishu Sewa Achoni, the Chief Minister’s Widow Support Scheme, and the ‘Prarthana’ scheme.
Yediyurappa told reporters that there is no message from party high command yet on anything….reports Asian Lite News
Hours after hinting that he would resign, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Thursday said that he would continue to tour the state and ensure the BJP retains Karnataka in the 2023 Assembly polls and also wins 25 seats in 2024 General Elections.
Yediyurappa told reporters that there is no message from party high command yet on anything.
“I am still awaiting for their directions on July 25 (Sunday evening). Everything will be cleared on that day (Sunday),” he said, adding that he will abide by the party high command’s decision.
He added that he was mentally prepared for both scenarios (continuing as well as resigning from the CM’s post) as everything depends on the party’s decision on July 25.
“What is pressure? I had offered to quit from the CM’s post two months ago itself. So there is no pressure neither I am tense,” he said.
He reiterated that he had offered to quit almost two months ago itself, which is known to everyone (his June 6 statement). “That day (June 6), I had offered to quit. I have neither placed any demand nor suggested any name for the CM’s post. It their choice,” he said.
“As long as the party high command wishes me to continue as CM, I will continue… the day they say I should put in my papers… without even battling my eyelid, I will put in my papers. That is what I have said in the past and will continue to say now too,” he said.
He said that he will perform his duty as the Chief Minister till the very last minute by convening meetings, going on inspections and all other administrative work without any hesitation.
Yediyurappa also said that even if the party high command seeks his input on this matter (of his successor), he would not be giving any suggestion this time.
“Our central leaders are capable enough to find an alternative and there is no dearth of capable leaders in Karnataka too. So, the question of I suggesting to any successor to them will not arise… even if it arises, I will not suggest,” he said.
Refused to drawn into the issue that his successor should be from Lingayat community, Yediyurappa said that he has not even suggested which caste his successor should belong to.
About his grand plans for celebrating two years in power, he said that the government is planning to bring out a detailed booklet of achievements, which highlight success stories of last two years.
“All departments have progressed under my stewardship. Therefore, each department will publish success stories,” he said, adding that it will be a gala event where everyone will be enjoying.
In 2008, Yediyurappa became first-ever BJP Chief Minister in south India, after leading the BJP to a victory in the Assembly elections.
However, he resigned in 2011 after being indicted over a corruption case, but was acquitted in 2016.
Owing to alleged ill-treatment meted out to him by the party, he left the BJP in 2012 and formed his own party, the Karnataka Janata Paksha and decimated the BJP in 2013 Assembly polls. However, in 2014, he was back in the BJP’s fold, winning the Lok Sabha elections from the Shivamogga constituency, but quit after being elected to the Assembly in May 2018 elections.
He is also considered to be chief architect of ‘Operation Kamala’, a term coined in 2008, when then minister G. Janardhana Reddy used a method bypassing the anti-defection law to secure support from legislators, so as to take BJP past the majority number.
Yediyurappa unabashedly has defended ‘Operation Kamala’ on several occasions, asserting that it was not wrong and he never regretted it as it is a part of democracy.
A party insider said that the meeting was held at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s residence and lasted for around three hours…reports Asian Lite News.
Senior Union Ministers and BJP chief J.P. Nadda met on Tuesday to discuss the party’s strategy for the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament starting from July 19.
A party insider said that the meeting was held at Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s residence and lasted for around three hours.
Union Ministers Amit Shah, Dharmendra Pradhan, Pralhad Joshi, Bhupender Yadav, Arjun Ram Meghwal and others were present in the meeting along with party chief Nadda.
“Strategy for the upcoming monsoon session was discussed. Strategy for countering opposition attacks on issues like Covid management, inflation and others were discussed in detail,” the party insider said.
The government is expecting a stormy session in which opposition parties are likely to corner it on Covid management during the second wave, and fuel prices.
“It was decided that we will counter the opposition attack by highlighting government efforts to contain the second wave and plans for managing the third wave, and measures for people and measures taken to boost the economy,” a source said.
The BJP has to also appoint a new Leader of House in the Rajya Sabha after Union Minister Thawarchand Gehlot was made Governor of Karnataka. Names of senior party leaders and some Union Ministers are already doing rounds for the possible replacement.
This will be the first parliament session after Assembly polls in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Keral and Puducherry.
Another important change has taken place in the RSS as Pradeep Joshi, the regional pracharak of Odisha and Bengal, has been given the responsibility of All India Co-Sampark Pramukh…reports Navneet Mishra.
The liaison and coordination between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP will now be headed by Sah Sarkaryavah (Joint General Secretary) Arun Kumar. Till now this responsibility was being looked after by Sah Sarkaryavah Krishna Gopal.
Another important change has taken place in the RSS as Pradeep Joshi, the regional pracharak of Odisha and Bengal, has been given the responsibility of All India Co-Sampark Pramukh. This decision was taken in the ongoing All India Pracharak meeting of RSS in Chitrakoot.
Actually, there has been a change of leadership in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak last March. In the meeting of All India Pratinidhi Sabha held in March, Dattatreya Hosabale was elected as the new Assistant Secretary General after Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi was relieved. At that time Hosabale also announced his new team. Since then it was believed that the new face might get a chance in place of Sah Sarkaryavah (Joint General Secretary) Krishna Gopal, who is looking after the responsibility of coordination between the Sangh and the BJP.
There was speculation that Hosabale would hand over this responsibility to a co-sarkaryavah in the new team. Meanwhile, in the ongoing Chitrakoot meeting in the presence of Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat, Arun Kumar was elected on Sunday for the responsibility of liaisoning with the BJP from the Sangh. Significantly, Arun Kumar was elected as Sah Sarkaryavah in March itself. Now he will also have the responsibility of coordination between the Sangh and the BJP.
The responsibility of coordination between the BJP and the Sangh is considered very crucial. The opinion of the liaison officer of the Sangh gets a lot of importance on every issue related to the BJP. This was the reason that many decisions of Krishna Gopal were also important in the BJP’s politics. Sources say that the Sangh communicates its intention to the BJP leadership only through the liaison officer.
Modi meets BJP’s national Secretaries
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met BJP’s national Secretaries at his official residence on Sunday.
BJP chief J.P. Nadda and General Secretary, Organisation, B.L. Santhosh, were also present at the meeting.
Sources said that almost all national Secretaries except Bishweswar Tudu, who was recently inducted into the Modi Cabinet, were present in the meeting.
“Prime Minister interacted with the national office bearers (Secretaries) and shared his thoughts and also heard their views,” a party leader said.
Before meeting with the Prime Minister, Nadda met the national Secretaries at the party headquarters and discussed organisational issues with them. The meeting lasted for over an hour.
“Organisational activities and preparations in poll-bound states were discussed. Other ongoing activities were also discussed,” a party insider said.
Last month, Modi met BJP’s national General Secretaries and heads of different Morchas (wings). “Last month also, Naddaji held a meeting with General Secretaries and Morcha heads before meeting with the Prime Minister. Both the meetings — General Secretaries and morcha heads — with the Prime Minister lasted for over four hours,” the party insider said.
In the meeting, the Prime Minister discussed several topics ranging from infants in Anganwadis to international matters. “In last month’s meeting with General Secretaries, the Prime Minister stressed that the BJP is not just focused on winning elections, but dedicated towards empowering crores of Indians,” the party insider said.
The incident occurred in Rajpura town, some 40 km from the state capital….reports Asian Lite News
BJP leaders, who were taken hostage with family members by protesting farmers in a house in a Punjab town, were rescued early Monday by police after an over 12-hour ordeal and with the intervention of the high court.
Rescued leaders blamed the farmers for unlawful act in the pretext of protesting against the three farm laws enacted by the Central government. They blamed the state Congress government for supporting the farmers.
The incident occurred in Rajpura town, some 40 km from the state capital, where state general secretary Bhupesh Aggarwal was taken hostage along with others in a house on Sunday evening.
Aggarwal told the media that he along with other party leaders and workers assembled in the town a day earlier for a district-level party meeting at the Bharat Vikas Parishad building. The farmers reached the meeting venue and disrupted it.
Later they decided to hold a meeting in a house and they assembled there. The farmers reached there and held them hostage by snapping the water and electricity supply.
In a video on social media, protesters could be seen chasing and heckling local councillor Shanti Swarup and even tearing his clothes while he was being taken away by policemen. This incident occurred on Sunday.
However, the police denied he was attacked.
A police team led the Deputy Inspector General Vikramjit Duggal was at the spot to rescue and escort the hostage leaders to safety. The situation throughout the night remained tense.
When the holed up leaders were rescued by the police they claimed that the farmers chased, abused and heckled them. Also their vehicles were pelted with stones.
However, farmer leader Prem Singh Bhangu blamed Aggarwal for provoking farmers by using abusive language. He said the incident flared up when Aggarwal’s bodyguard pointed a pistol at the peacefully protesting farmers.
The BJP approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court late Sunday and sought its intervention for the safety of its leaders.
Directing the state to ensure the persons alleged to be illegally detained “are provided safe exit with adequate security and no harm is caused to anyone of them”, Justice Suvir Sehgal asked the state to summit the report on July 12 at 2 p.m.
Reacting to attack on the party leaders, Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma said: “This is an attack on democracy. There is complete lawlessness in Punjab as police have become mute spectators.”
The farmers in Punjab and Haryana have been protesting against the farm laws as they feel that these laws would pave the way for the dismantling of the minimum support price (MSP) system, leaving them at the mercy of big corporate entities.
They are boycotting the BJP leaders too.
In October last, the vehicle in which BJP chief Ashwani Sharma was travelling was attacked by 30-40 people with bricks and sticks near the toll plaza in Hoshiarpur town.
Also the police fired tear gas shells and used water cannons in January to disperse protesting farmers, who stormed the helipad and vandalised the stage where Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was to address a ‘kisan mahapanchayat’ to highlight the benefits of Centre’s agriculture laws.
Roy Chowdhury claimed in his petition that medicines administered to Mookerjee must be probed because Mookerjee had refused to be injected with the medicine….reports Shantanu Guha Ray
A monk turned lawyer’s public interest litigation (PIL) in Calcutta High Court to seek reasons behind the mysterious death of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee has stirred a hornet’s nest in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The BJP, which calls the former barrister and academician its father figure, has done little to probe his death except talking about India’s first industries minister at big events, lighting lamps and creating study centres which largely remain within files.
Kolkata-based Samarjit Roy Chowdhury has asked for an inquiry commission headed by a retired chief justice of India. The application will come up for hearing by the end of July, 2021.
Roy Chowdhury, who shared details of his petition with his reporter, said Mookerjee, who died on June 23, 1953, was detained without trial by Sheikh Abdullah’s government after his arrest in Kathua on May 11, 1953.
Government records claim Mookerjee died in the custody of Jammu and Kashmir Police. He was provisionally diagnosed with a heart attack and shifted to a hospital but died a day later.
Virtually nothing is known about the cause of the death of Mookerjee, a minister in undivided Bengal and in Nehru’s cabinet. Mookerjee, the youngest vice chancellor of the Calcutta University at 33 was a prominent Opposition leader and founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. The Jana Sangh eventually gave birth to the current day BJP.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (R), father of the constitution of India, and Dr. Shamprasad Mukherjee (L), talking on the Campus of Parliament, 1951(wikipedia)
“I am surprised at the silence, we must know how Mookerjee died,” said Roy Chowdhury.
Political cognoscenti in India feel the PIL, if accepted, could open a pandora’s box in politically-sensitive India where similar efforts have opened up many unheard details of national leaders like Subhas Chandra Bose and Lal Bahadur Shastri. In both cases, movies have been made and tomes written to highlight what many claim was gross disparities in what historians peddled for many years.
The PIL takes note of the correspondence between PM Jawaharlal Nehru and Mookerjee’s mother, Jogomaya Devi.
On June 30, 1953, Nehru wrote to Jogmaya Devi, Mookerjee’s mother, conveying his condolences. On July 4, Devi responded: “My son died in detention, detention without trial. You say, you had visited Kashmir during my son’s detention. You speak of the affection you had for him. But what prevented you, I wonder, from meeting him there personally and satisfying yourself about his health and arrangements?… Ever since his detention there, the first information that I, his mother, received from the Government of Jammu and Kashmir was that my son was no more. And in what cruel cryptic way the message was conveyed.”
Roy Chowdhury claimed in his petition that medicines administered to Mookerjee must be probed because Mookerjee had refused to be injected with the medicine.
As per government records, Mookerjee was arrested upon entering Kashmir on May 11, 1953. He and two of his arrested companions were first taken to Central Jail of Srinagar. They were later transferred to a cottage outside the city. Mookerjee’s condition started deteriorating and he was diagnosed with dry pleurisy from which he had also suffered in 1937 and 1944. The doctor prescribed him a streptomycin injection and powders, however, Mookerjee informed him that his family physician had told him that streptomycin did not suit his system. The doctor, however, told him that new information about the drug had come to light and assured him that he would be fine.
(L to R sitting) B. R. Ambedkar, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Sardar Baldev Singh, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Sardar Patel, John Mathai, Jagjivan Ram, Amrit Kaur and Syama Prasad Mukherjee.(wikipedia)
On June 22, he felt pain in the heart region, started perspiring and started feeling like he was fainting. He was later shifted to a hospital and provisionally diagnosed with a heart attack. He died a day later.
What is interesting is that in 2004, Atal Bihari Vajpayee claimed in Parliament that Mookerjee was murdered in a “Nehru conspiracy”. Roy Chowdhury said he found it extremely surprising that the BJP, whenever it was in power, refused to push for a probe into Mookerjee’s mysterious death. “Would you not probe the death of the father of your party? Strangely, the BJP did nothing to uncover the mystery,” said Roy Chowdhury.
Roy Chowdhury said on November 27, 1953, a resolution was moved in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly to hold an inquiry into the circumstances of Mookerjee’s death while in detention in Kashmir. It argued for holding an inquiry through a commission headed by a Supreme Court judge. Surprisingly, an Assembly member from the Congress party, Shankar Prasad Mitra, moved an amendment to this resolution asking for the words “for holding an inquiry”, to be substituted with “for requesting the Government of Jammu and Kashmir to hold an inquiry”. Worse, Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, then CM of West Bengal, declined the move for an inquiry.
The PIL says what had been asked for was an inquiry by a SC judge who could take cognisance of evidence from across India, including Kashmir. “In this case, the Kashmir government was the accused party. How could it then sit in judgement over this inquiry? But members of the Congress, including Roy, argued in favour of the amendment. The Congress, in effect, sought acceptance of the amendment, and succeeded.
BJP National President JP Nadda addresses a virtual meeting on the birth anniversary of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, through video conferencing from the party’s headquarters in New Delhi on July 6, 2020. (Photo: IANS)
The West Bengal government forwarded the resolution passed in the Assembly to the Ministry of States (Kashmir section), Government of India. This letter was received on February 23, 1954. After six months, the matter was eventually processed in the Ministry of States,” said the PIL.
The PIL includes the following observation from the relevant file in the Ministry: “It is for consideration whether we may inform the Government of West Bengal that as the matter primarily concerns the Government of J&K, the Government of India did not consider it proper to pursue the matter. When the request for an inquiry into the circumstances of Mookerjee’s death was raised in Parliament, the attitude which we adopted was that this was a matter which concerned the Government of J&K alone. The resolution passed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly is consistent with this stand since it only asks the Government of India to pass on the request to the Jammu & Kashmir Government. We have now two courses open to us: We may either send the copy of the resolution and proceedings to the J & K Government for such action as they may consider necessary; or we may return the proceedings to the West Bengal Government and ask them to address the J&K Government themselves. While the latter course might be strictly correct one, it would have the effect of rebuffing the Government of West Bengal where Mookerjee’s death has agitated the public mind very much. There may therefore be no harm if we adopt the first alternative. I do not think this is likely to give rise to any misunderstanding with the J&K Government.”
Portrait of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in Parliament of India(wikipedia)
The PIL says K.N.V. Nambisan from the Ministry of States signed this note on September 7, 1954. The first course was agreed upon by both the secretary and the minister. On September 22, 1954, the Ministry of States forward the resolution to the Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, for such action as considered necessary. Nothing came out of this routine letter sent by the Ministry of States to the Government of J&K.
The PIL further said a notice for a starred question was given in Parliament on August 19, 1954 — the Minister of Home Affairs was asked to clarify whether the Bengal CM had visited Kashmir in June 1954 and made an inquiry about Mookerjee’s death. On July 20, 1954, the Ministry of States had asked the Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary about the reported visit of Roy. On July 19, 1954, the Ministry of States had written to the Lok Sabha secretariat stating that they had no information except what appeared in the newspaper about the stay of Roy in Jammu and Kashmir. The letter further stated that the circumstances relating to the death of Mookerjee, while in detention, was a matter which concerned the Jammu and Kashmir government, not the GoI. On August 5, 1954, Ghulam Ahmad, chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir wrote to V. Narayanan, joint secretary to the GoI (Ministry of States): “Dr B.C. Roy did come to Kashmir for a holiday and spent about a month here. During his stay he visited various beauty spots in the Valley. He did see the bungalow where Mookerjee was putting up during his stay in Kashmir as well as the room in the hospital to which he had been removed prior to his death. Col. Sir Ram Nath Chopra, our Director Health Services, took him to the hospital one day and Dr B.C. Roy might have made some verbal enquiries on the spot. You will, therefore, see that no official inquiry was held by the Doctor and as such no report could have been submitted by him. The question in the Lok Sabha may, therefore, be replied suitably on the basis of this information.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-gLLGYuO-c
Interestingly, PM Narendra Modi remembered Mookerjee in his 45th Mann Ki Baat show. “His efforts towards national integration will never be forgotten,” said Modi. The PM had said that while Mookerjee was associated with many fields, education was close to his heart. “Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee was associated with many fields, but the areas which were closest to his heart were education, administration and parliamentary affairs; very few people would know that he was the youngest vice-chancellor of the University of Calcutta at merely 33 years of age,” said the PM.
Modi also said it was on Mookerjee’s invitation that Rabindranath Tagore addressed the convocation in Kolkata University in Bangla. “Very few people would also be knowing that in 1937, on the invitation of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore addressed the convocation in Kolkata University in Bangla. This was the first time under the British rule that the convocation in Kolkata University had been addressed in Bangla.
All eyes are now on the Calcutta High Court. If it’s admitted, then work will start on one of India’s biggest political mysteries. If not, the father figure of BJP will be remembered during lighting of lamps during mega functions, or confined to files. Mookerjee’s home, for the records, is currently in a total dilapidated state in South Kolkata, haunted by bats and insects.
Of the five states that comprise south India, three are ruled by regional parties, one has a Left-coalition dispensation, with only Karnataka having a fragile BJP government uneasily in place, reports Narendra Puppala
If the outcomes of various elections over the past few decades, till the recent Assembly polls in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are any indication, south of the Vindhyas, the electoral arena remains a minefield for mainstream national parties, read the BJP and Congress.
Of the five states that comprise south India, three are ruled by regional parties, one has a Left-coalition dispensation, with only Karnataka having a fragile BJP government uneasily in place.
While the Congress continues to lose prominence across the country, its situation has been particularly precarious down south, long considered its citadel. The slow slide to inconsequence began in Tamil Nadu with the party succumbing to the anti-Hindi stance that continues to this day.
Thereafter, in the eighties, fuelled by filmstar-turned-politician NT Rama Rao’s Telugu Pride, the then state of Andhra Pradesh showed the door to the Congress. Post-bifurcation, the party has made way for regional parties in Andhra Pradesh as well as the fledgling state of Telangana. For a change, the Congress has managed to be on the winning side in Tamil Nadu, but it lost the Kerala polls for the second time in a row.
Bihar BJP workers .
The story is not very different for the BJP, ruling the roost at the Centre, and a host of states in the north, west, and eastern parts of the country. With negligible presence for decades, the south remains a tough nut to crack for the BJP. Although the saffron party did make inroads with successes in Karnataka, it has lost steam and continues to steer a leaking ship through the choppy waters of an unconvincing majority in the Assembly.
Compared to states like Tripura and Assam in the East, the BJP has had a lacklustre performance in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. While it drew a blank in Andhra Pradesh Assembly polls in 2019, the BJP’s graph in neighbouring Telangana has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Bolstered by its wins in Dubbaka Assembly poll and Hyderabad municipal polls, the BJP is preparing to squarely take on the ruling TRS in the next Assembly election. While Telangana is its most promising arena in the south, the reverses it suffered in Bengal polls should give the BJP some food for thought.
Despite high expectations, the party ended up losing even the sole Assembly seat it had won in the previous Kerala election. To its credit, the BJP has won four seats, making a comeback in the newly-constituted Tamil Nadu Assembly after 20 years. But with a distinctly Dravidian party at the helm, there is little that the BJP can expect to achieve here in the foreseeable future.
So, what really are the reasons for the national parties’ lack of traction in the South?
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal and A.K. Antony during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting (IANS)
For starters, the southern states have had a strong tradition of throwing up homegrown leaders. From Karunanidhi, MGR, Jayalalithaa, NTR, KCR, and Jagan Mohan Reddy all have built up their votebanks assiduously. All of them are accessible in the vicinity rather than faraway Delhi. In fact, the BJP’s success story in Karnataka wouldn’t have been possible without Chief Minister B.S. Yediurappa, another homegrown leader.
In the Congress, a culture of subservience to the family has effectively killed local leadership. For the BJP it is a case of not having sufficiently large mass base. Unfortunately for the BJP, the process of building up local leadership is a slow and labourious process that cannot be substituted by wholesale imports from other parties. It needs to plan for a long-term future rather than the immediate future.
The second factor that is a stumbling block in the BJP’s expansion plans in the south, has to do with demographics.
Compared to the other three parts, the communal composition is not so pronounced in the south. Therefore, sharp polarisation on religious or cultural lines is not easy. The Congress has seemingly hit a wall, apparently not a favourite with youngsters who make up the major share of the electorate. According to social scientists, rising urbanisation and education levels have also majorly affected the party’s fortunes at the hustings.
Most importantly, it is the presence of a strong local sentiment in each of these states, wary of being swept away by a north Indian wave. This is precisely why regional parties thrive, and pose challenges for the national parties. A trend that is likely to sustain for at least the next few election cycles.
After members of the eight political parties had met at Pawar’s residence for over two and a half hours on Tuesday, the NCP, however, sought to clarify that the meeting was not called by the party supremo…reports Asian Lite News.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Wednesday met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar at his residence, for the third time in a fortnight, and a day after members of eight political parties met there.
According to sources, the meeting of Pawar and Kishor lasted for over an hour. The frequent Kishor-Pawar meetings have been fuelling speculations on the creation of a third front to combat the BJP.
Earlier Kishor, whose latest success has been the victory of the Trinamool Congress in the recently-concluded West Bengal Assembly polls, had met Pawar at his Mumbai residence on June 11 and once again on Monday in Delhi at the NCP leader’s residence.
After members of the eight political parties had met at Pawar’s residence for over two and a half hours on Tuesday, the NCP, however, sought to clarify that the meeting was not called by the party supremo but the Rashtra Manch of former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha.
NCP’s former Rajya Sabha member Majeed Memon said that “speculation is in media that Sharad Pawar has called the meet, which is not correct”. He said this meeting was called by the Rashtra Manch and was only organised at the residence of Pawar.
Memon also dismissed as a “wrong perception” that it was an opposition meet, excluding the Congress, or a ‘third front’ meet.
Leaders of several parties including Trinamool Congress’ Sinha, Samajwadi Party’s Ghanshyam Tiwari, Rashtriya Lok Dal President Jayant Chaudhary, Aam Aadmi Party’s Sushil Gupta, CPI-M’s Nilotpal Basu, CPI’s Binoy Viswam, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, former Congress leader Sanjay Jha and former JD-U leader Pavan Verma were present.
Other prominent personalities like Justice A.P. Shah, Javed Akhtar and former diplomat K.C. Singh also attended.
Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh on Saturday announced Sharma’s appointment along with other organisational appointments….reports Asian Lite News
Appointment of former bureaucrat A.K. Sharma as Vice President of the Uttar Pradesh BJP has come as a surprise to many in the party and government. Till last week, there was a strong buzz across Lucknow and New Delhi that Sharma could be inducted into the Yogi Adityanath government.
With te appointment of Sharma to the party post, there is an indication that the proposed reshuffle in Adityanath cabinet is likely to be delayed or might not take place at all
Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh on Saturday announced Sharma’s appointment along with other organisational appointments.
A BJP leader, who is part of organisational activities, said: “For hours, I was completely unaware about Sharma’s appointment. There was discussion at different levels about the appointment of Morcha Chiefs, which was also done yesterday, but appointment of new Vice President has come as a surprise to me and many others in the party.”
Another Uttar Pradesh BJP leader said that the entrusting organisational responsibility to Sharma has now ended the speculation that he could be given an important portfolio in the Adityanath cabinet ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.
Sharma, a Gujarat cadre IAS officer, had worked closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nearly two decades both in the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Office and Prime Minister’s Office.
In January this year, Sharma took voluntary retirement, joined the BJP, and became a Member of Legislative Council in Uttar Pradesh.
A Minister in the Adityanath government said that with Sharma given responsibility of organisational work, there is a question mark on the Adityanath cabinet expansion or reshuffle.
“Now, it seems that all speculation about cabinet reshuffle has been put to rest. Cabinet reshuffle may be delayed or might not take place,” the Minister said.
However, a senior functionary in Uttar Pradesh BJP claims that there was no plan or discussion about inducting Sharma in the Adityanath government and it was just speculation.
“Cabinet expansion or making Sharma a minister in Uttar Pradesh was not part of discussion during the Chief Minister’s recent Delhi visit,” he claimed.
The young party workers, however, vented their ire against the party high command, particularly Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, for demolishing the Congress….reports Asian Lite News
Dissent, anger and now anguish. The Congress in Uttar Pradesh sank into the realms of despair on Wednesday as soon as the news of former union minister Jitin Prasada joining the BJP came.
UPCC president Ajay Kumar Lallu was busy staging a dharna inside the party office in protest against the Aligarh hooch tragedy, completely oblivious of the crisis in the party.
While Lallu did not comment on Jitin’s departure from the Congress, his supporters claimed that it was no loss for the party.
“Did he win any recent election? If he has gone, it is no loss for the Congress,” said a Lallu supporter.
The young party workers, however, vented their ire against the party high command, particularly Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, for demolishing the Congress.
UP Congress president stages dharna in party office as crisis hits the party
In a WhatsApp group run by these leaders, party workers ‘congratulated’ Priyanka for finishing the party.
One leader wrote, “Priyanka is directly responsible for the state of affairs. She has leased the party to left wing leaders who do not understand the ideology and culture of the Congress.”
Sources close to Jitin Prasada said that his main grouse was that Priyanka did not give him time to discuss political issues and Rahul Gandhi did not wish to speak on UP affairs.
“Jitin’s father, Jitendra Prasada, was a leader of stature in the Congress and if he has been forced by circumstances to leave the party, there has to be something very, very wrong,” said one of his supporters.
“He has been spearheading a campaign against atrocities on Brahmins and the BJP will now use him to assuage the feelings of Brahmins. The Congress chose to ignore him and his campaign and the advantage now lies with the BJP,” said a former UPCC president.
Another UPCC president admitted that the state of affairs within the party was going from bad to worse.
“The problem is that no one is willing to listen. The entire Gandhi family turns its face away from reality and the result is that today, a party like Apna Dal has nine MLAs while the effective strength of the Congress is five because two Rae Bareli MLAs have turned rebels,” said another former MLA.
Senior leaders said that the party would remain in single digit in the next assembly elections if the party high command did not change its style of functioning.
Congress sources said that several leaders were preparing to resign from the party after Jitin – some of those who supported the G-23 group.
