As Nitish prepares state exit, after 18 yrs, Bihar stares at a bipolar arena

The Indian Express | 23 minutes ago | 31-12-2022 | 07:40 pm

AS 2023 dawns, Bihar seems to be inching towards bipolar politics, with the last of its titans, Nitish Kumar, hinting at exiting the state arena, leaving the space wide open for Tejashwi Yadav-led RJD on one side and the BJP on the other.A probable Nitish move to the national stage will have repercussions both for the 2024 Lok Sabha and the 2025 Assembly polls in Bihar, even as the young Tejashwi finds himself thrust into a do-or-die situation against an unforgiving BJP, that he probably didn’t bargain on facing so quickly.But will this year finally be when the grand ambitions of Nitish — who has spent a long time in the wings — finally come true? Having ruled himself out of the Bihar CM race in his own roundabout way, the JD(U) chief has dipped his toes into a pool that has many vying to be the main Opposition face in 2024.In a bid to boost his case, Nitish has been meeting Opposition leaders, which he is going to continue, with Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik up next. So far, “Mission Nitish 2024”, as the JD(U) calls it, has not really made much headway.The biggest obstacle in this of course is the Congress, with Rahul Gandhi once again saying on Saturday that the party has to be central to any joint-Opposition framework. Nitish has tried to feign indifference to the Congress’s claims, even to Rahul’s ambitious Bharat Jodo Yatra, and that would not have gone unnoticed by the party which is a JD(U) partner in Bihar.As per some, when — and if — Nitish does make the formal leap nationally, he would merge his JD(U) with the RJD. Number-wise, this would add heft to Nitish’s case as a national leader, at a time when the JD(U) has lost ground to the RJD and BJP in Bihar. If the Mahagathbandhan gets, say, 25 of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in 2024, Nitish would remain a man to watch.However, both the JD(U) and RJD would inch only cagily towards a merger, as they remain doubtful of their divergent vote banks gelling together seamlessly.Anyway, with or without a merger, the era of Bihar politics with three poles since 2005 – of Nitish, Lalu-Tejashwi and the BJP – is over.The smaller, caste-based parties are likely to hitch their wagons to either of the two fronts. Chirag Paswan has left no doubts about his eagerness to be accepted by the BJP, and could patch up with his uncle and Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, who is already with the BJP, for this. The BJP might be willing as it needs to fill up some caste gaps due to Nitish’s exit. EBC Mallah leader Mukesh Sahani too might find the BJP a better bet given the crowded space in the seven-member Mahagathbandhan.Other caste leaders such as JD(U)-turned-BJP-turned-JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha are also weighing their options. Kushwaha especially sees his road blocked with Nitish projecting Tejashwi. The BJP will have in Kushwaha a leader to rival Nitish in his core Koeri-Kurmi constituency.Another Nitish loyalist turned detractor, R C P Singh, is also most likely to align with the BJP sooner rather than later.

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Hiding behind Army ‘cowardice’, govt should tell what happened at the border: Rahul Gandhi

The Indian Express | 22 minutes ago | 31-12-2022 | 07:40 pm

The Indian Express

22 minutes ago | 31-12-2022 | 07:40 pm

Accusing it of mishandling India’s foreign policy and the China issue, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday asked the government to own up to its mistakes and not to hide behind the Army. He agued Beijing was preparing to do “something somewhere”, said it was not a question of “if” but “when”, and called for preparations and precautions.Referring to the assassinations of his grandmother and father, Gandhi said he came from a family of martyrs and that he understood the pain and feelings of the families of martyrs.“There is no one in the BJP’s top leadership who understands that. It is neither good nor bad. But that is the reality. In their family…neither their grandmother nor their father had been martyred. So I know… when the Army is used for political gains and our soldiers and their families have to bear the brunt… I am very clear…I don’t want to do that… It is sacrosanct for me. I know the hardships faced by our soldiers…I love them,” he said.At the same time, he said the government was not working strategically. “Our government has mishandled the China issue…What is the aim of our foreign policy?…That China and Pakistan should never be together. That was our central concept. And we have done it very successfully till UPA II. Today, Pakistan and China have come together. It is not a simple issue. It is very deep. It is a dangerous thing. Why it has happened is because our government has mishandled our foreign policy and they did not understand the broad structure of the foreign policy,” he said.“They have come together…and there is a risk. And they will do something somewhere. They took the first step in Doklam and the second step in Ladakh. I believe it was a preparation. If nothing happens…well and good. but I think they are preparing. And I am telling the government that it is not if, it is when. Now you have to do the preparation,” Gandhi said addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters.He asked the government to listen to the armed forces while making preparations to face the Chinese threat.“Listen to the forces–Army, the Air Force and the Navy…whatever structures we have. You have to listen to them and respect them, which means that you have to stop their political use immediately. Secondly, the precautions that we have to take—military precautions and non-military precautions you start taking. Thirdly, don’t hide what is happening at the border. Because it is sending a message to China. China has taken away 2,000 square kilometres of our land. The prime minister had said nobody had intruded into our territory. If I enter your house… and you tell me that you have not come…then what message will I take. So this message is going to them,” he said.“So we have to clearly say that you have intruded…say it publicly and tell them to vacate….This government is in a state of confusion. This confusion has to end,” he added.Referring to the BJP’s attack, he said, “When I talk about the government, they say I am talking about the Army. No, I am not talking about the Army..I am talking about the government. There is a difference between the government and the Army. The government has made wrong decisions…so the government should not hide behind the Army, Navy and the Air Force. That is cowardice. The government should own up. That we did it…there was a mistake and we will set it right. We will help them. Not just us, the entire Opposition will help the government. But tell us what had happened,” he said.

After Naveen Patnaik, who? ‘Invincible’ CM reignites question as he makes 100-year BJD rule pitch

The Indian Express | 22 minutes ago | 31-12-2022 | 07:40 pm

The Indian Express

22 minutes ago | 31-12-2022 | 07:40 pm

Seeking to galvanise his party’s cadre ahead of the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and five-term Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said earlier this week that the BJD has the potential to serve the people of Odisha for the next 100 years.Naveen, 76, thus sent out a clear signal that there is not going to be any let-up in the BJD’s march ahead even as the party has already completed 22 years at the helm continuously under his leadership.The regional party, which many thought would not survive long when it was founded on December 26, 1997 under the leadership of Naveen, then a beginner in politics, celebrated its silver jubilee in the pilgrim city of Puri last Monday.The son of the Odia icon and ex-CM Biju Patnaik, Naveen formed the BJD along with a group of his father’s followers with the objective to carry forward Biju’s legacy. Naveen’s career in politics and his party’s growth went hand-in-hand.The Doon School-educated Naveen, who stayed most of his life abroad and once listed Mick Jagger and ex-US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy among his friends, not only led the BJD to become one of the country’s most successful regional parties ever, but has also remained “invincible” so far. The longest-serving Odisha CM has also taken on many detractors within the party over the years. In 2024, when Odisha goes to the polls along with the Lok Sabha elections, Naveen will seek a sixth straight term for his party’s rule.The crucial question, “After Naveen, who?”, has returned to make the rounds in the state’s political circles after the BJD supremo’s 100-year pitch. “The party neither depends on one or two persons nor will it depend in future as BJD has become a social movement which carries forwards ‘asha, vishwas and swabhiman (aspiration, faith and self-esteem)’ of the people of Odisha,” the CM told the party’s silver-jubilee event, calling upon “mothers” to come forward and take the responsibility even as he appealed to the people from different walks of life to join the party.The Naveen dispensation’s focus on women is meant to win their confidence, said a BJD leader, pointing out that women form a key support base for the party.Unlike other regional parties, where successors are generally chosen from within the family, Naveen, who has remained a bachelor, has not let anyone from the Biju family to join the BJD.Although the CM has relied on bureaucrats and ex-officials while calling the shots on crucial issues himself, he has never allowed any party leader to be his second-in-command for a long period. He has kept rotating different leaders in key positions, which many believe is a well-thought-out strategy to ensure “checks and balance within the party hierarchy”.After the 2019 elections, the BJD has seen a relative increase in elevation of young leaders, which is being attributed to Naveen’s current focus on creating a new leadership.Senior BJD leader Prasanna Acharya, one of the party’s founding members, said Naveen’ statement indicated that the party has such a strong bonding with the roots of Odisha that it can last for the next 100 years. “Leadership is decided on the basis of the situation and circumstances of a particular time. Even Biju Babu had never promoted anyone from his family during his life time. But following his death, Naveen Babu entered politics and took reins of a new party, which has now become one of the most successful regional parties and is on the path of creating history,” Acharya told The Indian Express.His carefully-crafted non-controversial image, his government’s “cradle-to-grave” welfare schemes and the BJD’s robust organisation through the length and breadth of Odisha have fuelled Naveen’s political and electoral triumphs over the past two decades.Naveen has also managed to create his loyal vote bank through some of the government schemes and initiatives, the most successful of which is the Mission Shakti programme under which around 70 lakh rural women have been organised. Under this scheme, launched in 2001, the state government ensures interest-free loans up to Rs 5 lakh to women self-help groups (SHGs) to enable their members to take up various livelihood activities. This scheme has played a vital role in increasing the income of rural women. Its political significance could be gauged from the point that the BJD government has created a separate Mission Shakti department headed by a secretary-level IAS officer. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Naveen had fielded an SHG leader Pramila Bisoyi from the Aska seat, who won the election.All the departments have been given specific targets to engage the women SHGs in their various activities as part of the government’s decision to provide them its contracts worth Rs 5,000 crore in five years. Now the SHGs are taking the lead in paddy procurement, supplying uniforms to school students, meals to hospitals and even handling solid waste management in urban pockets.Almost every week, Naveen meets the women SHGs in groups from different districts at his residence to discuss their activities and related issues. With the CM having kicked off his visit to districts with an eye on the 2024 polls, the disbursement of government loans to the SHGs seems to be on top of his agenda.“Women empowerment for us is not just a slogan as the CM has specifically called it a non-negotiable code. No family, society, state or country can prosper without empowering the women. With this spirit, the government under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik is working to ensure the progress of rural women,” said BJD general secretary Bijay Nayak.A soft-spoken leader with a clean image, Naveen keeps a low profile and is not known for engaging in any frontal showdown with his political opponents, as he is said to lack any ambition in national politics. Recently, he has however been on a publicity overdrive nationally over the upcoming men’s hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.With Odisha hosting the hockey World Cup for the second successive time — a rare accomplishment of any government at the national or regional levels — Naveen has deputed his ministers to invite all the CMs to the state during the January 13-29 event. The state is also the main sponsor of the Indian Hockey teams till 2033.As part of its preparations for organising the World Cup, the Odisha government has spent around Rs 1,000 crore in building infrastructure to transform both the host cities, which include India’s largest hockey stadium at Rourkela and slew of other projects. As a curtain-raiser, a show has been planned at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on January 11, which will see performance by the Bollywood stars and musicians.“We have planned to showcase Odisha’s potential to the world during the World Cup. Others should see and get inspired from Odisha,” said an official.Naveen’s most trusted bureaucrat, VK Pandian, secretary to the CM, recently hosted an Instagram interactive session to engage with people to discuss the World Cup preparations. “CM always wants that peoples’ participation should be the hallmark of any event which we host. There are winners, losers; there will be stars and players. But, finally everything is done for people. So, people are the core of everything that we do. This is the mantra of the CM,” said Pandian.Besides hockey, the BJD government has also been investing heavily on developing start-of-the-art infrastructure for other sports with the CM maintaining that “Investment in sports is investment in youths and investment in youth is investment in future.”The Naveen dispensation has also been pro-actively pushing for renovation of temples even as elections in Odisha are usually not fought on polarising issues like caste or religion. Popular shrines across the state are getting special funds in this regard even as a special Rs 3,200 crore scheme has been launched to rejuvenate Puri, where the famous Jagannath temple is located.BJD insiders said the “over-emphasis on temples” during Naveen’s current stint is apparently aimed at checking the growth of the BJP, which has made inroads in many pockets across the state.

Choice between PM who built temple, and those who glorify Tipu: Amit Shah in Karnataka

The Indian Express | 22 minutes ago | 31-12-2022 | 07:40 pm

The Indian Express

22 minutes ago | 31-12-2022 | 07:40 pm

Addressing a BJP workers’ convention here Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that in the coming Assembly elections in Karnataka, the people need to choose between Prime Minister Narendra Modi who built the Ram Temple at Ayodhya and developed Kashi, Kedarnath and Badrinath, and “those who glorify Tipu Sultan”, between those who are with “the tukde-tukde gang” and those who are “with patriots”.Shah also asserted that the BJP would return to power on its own strength. Ruling out any alliance with anyone, he continued his attacks against the Congress and JD(S), saying they were cut from the same cloth.“On the one hand, there is Prime Minister Modi, who has developed Ayodhya, Kashi, Kedarnath and Badrinath. On the other hand, there are people who glorify Tipu. People of the state have to choose between the two,” he said.Shah added that the Congress sought out the support of the “tukde tukde gang”, while the BJP was banking on its organisation in the state. “People of Karnataka have to decide whether they want to be with the patriots or with those who want India to be in pieces,” he said.Seeking “one term with full majority for the BJP”, Shah said the party would put an end to family politics, corruption and casteism in the state. “We will form a patriotic government.”He dismissed speculation of a triangular fight in Karnataka, saying that it was a straight contest (between the BJP and Congress). “A vote for the JD(S) is a vote for the Congress,” he said, claiming that the two may be opposed to each other prior to polls but would readily strike a compromise post-elections to keep out the BJP.The Union minister gave the example of the 2018 Assembly elections, when the Congress and JD(S) had formed a post-poll coalition and a government, which was later toppled by the BJP. JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had gone and “sat in the Congress’s lap”, Shah said.In a dig at the JD(S), he said that parties which win 30-35 seats and resort to blackmail should not be allowed to survive for long. “Their dues have to be settled soon.”Before the BJP projected Tipu Sultan as essentially a “Muslim” ruler, and held him responsible for the killing of Hindus in Kodagu and Mandya districts, the 17th-century king was considered the ‘Tiger of Mysore’ who had valiantly fought the British. In fact, BJP leaders such as B S Yediyurappa, Jagadish Shettar, R Ashok and P C Mohan had been photographed in the past flaunting a headgear and sword akin to Tipu’s.Post-2014 though, as the BJP hard lines sharpened in the wake of Narendra Modi’s rise, the party distanced itself from Tipu and now leaves to chance to attack the Opposition over the issue. The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government’s announcement of a Tipu Jayanthi also gave it a handle to attack the party.While Tipu Jayanthi is not observed in the state since the BJP replaced the Congress in power, the B R Bommai government recently renamed ‘Salam Arathi’ and ‘Deevatige Salaam’, rituals started by Tipu in famous temples during his reign.Addressing the party meeting, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel announced two campaigns in the coming month — Booth Vijay Abhiyan from January 2 to 12, and Vijay Sankalp Abhiyaan from January 21 to 29.

Arif Mohd Khan in one corner, Tharoor in the other could remain Kerala's 2023 newsmakers

The Indian Express | 2 hours ago | 31-12-2022 | 05:40 pm

The Indian Express

2 hours ago | 31-12-2022 | 05:40 pm

The fight between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the CPI(M)-led government, which began in 2022, is slated to dominate Kerala politics in the coming months of 2023. Earlier this month, the Assembly passed a Bill to divest the Governor of his position as the ex-officio chancellor of universities in the state. The Bill is pending with the Raj Bhavan, with speculation rife that the combative Khan could send the legislation to Parliament rather than clear it.In the tussle, the CPI(M) has been successful to some extent in projecting Khan as an “RSS agent”, trying to “saffronize” the state’s education sector. The aggression has even forced the Congress-led UDF, initially reluctant to avoid being seen with the ruling party, to register support for the government move against the Governor.For the Congress, the biggest question will be the next move of party MP Shashi Tharoor who, after defiantly staying in the race for party national president, has now made clear his intention to become more active in state politics.Amidst his growing profile and rising popularity, Tharoor will hit the new year running, having been invited as chief guest to a January 2 event of the upper-caste Nair Service Society. Given the entrenched party state leadership’s uneasiness regarding Tharoor, it would be interesting to watch how the Congress contains the erudite leader.The Congress also has another unrest brewing, in the form of long-standing ally Indian Union Muslim League. The CPI(M) has been aggressively wooing the IUML which, wary of the BJP’s rise, seems to be considering the Left as a more viable option to contain it.The Pinarayi Vijayan government has met several demands of the Muslim community, regarding recruitment in the Wakf Board to ditching a gender neutral uniform idea for schools.Securing the IUML’s support would help the CPI(M) make up somewhat for its eroding base among the Christians. The BJP, in turn, has been wooing the Christians, playing on their fears over “growing Islamic fundamentalism” in the state.

Undercurrent against BJP, but Oppn must work together, with a vision: Rahul Gandhi

The Indian Express | 2 hours ago | 31-12-2022 | 05:40 pm

The Indian Express

2 hours ago | 31-12-2022 | 05:40 pm

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday made a forceful outreach to Opposition parties, urging them to come together to present an “alternative vision” to the BJP, and saying it was up to the Congress to ensure that they feel “comfortable” and “respected”. At the same time, Rahul said, only the Congress can provide a “central ideological framework and structure” against the BJP and that regional parties have a space in their respective states.Rahul, who has been on a Bharat Jodo Yatra for the past 100-plus days, also claimed a “massive undercurrent” against the BJP. However, he said, merely going to the people seeking votes would not be enough. The BJP could be defeated in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, he said, if the Opposition could “coordinate properly” and go to the people with an “alternative vision”.Responding to a question, Rahul said the Congress would sweep the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, though he parried questions on electoral expectations from his Yatra. “In my mind, the Yatra is a conversation, and I don’t think it is fair to make any comments before that conversation is over. I can answer such questions the day the flag is hoisted in Srinagar and the conversation, at least this phase of the conversation, is over… I don’t want to demean it (the Yatra) by making it about something that it is not,” Rahul said.About the “alternative vision” the Congress could provide, Rahul said the idea should be to transform India into a “production nation”, moving the mindset from GDP growth to GDP growth plus employment, exports and production; giving a new imagination to the children through the education system; ensuring social cohesion and harmony; and working towards economic equality, rather than a system where a handful of people benefit from India’s wealth.Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters, Rahul took on questions regarding Opposition unity, the decision of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati and Rashtriya Lok Dal president Jayant Chaudhary to not join the Bharat Jodo Yatra despite his invitation in Uttar Pradesh, the disagreement with the government over his security detail, and the border standoff with China.Rahul said he had no doubt that all Opposition leaders “are standing with us”. “We know it clearly. But in today’s India, there are compulsions — political and other. So I don’t want to comment on who is coming and who is not, and why. All I want to say is that the doors of the Bharat Jodo Yatra are open for all who want to unite India.”He said there were similarities in the ideologies of Opposition parties. “There cannot be similarities between hate and violence and love. They are diametrically opposite. So there are many people, including Akhilesh and Mayawati, who want an India of love. They don’t want a hate-filled India. So there is a relationship with them… ideological relationship.”On the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Rahul said: “If the Opposition stands effectively with a vision… what I am hearing from the ground and what I am seeing from the ground, it will become very difficult for the BJP to win. But the Opposition has to coordinate properly and go to the people with a vision, an alternative vision to the BJP… not just go to the people. There is a huge undercurrent against the BJP, massive undercurrent.”On Akhilesh’s charge that the BJP and Congress are the same, he said it was obvious to all that the two parties cannot be alike. “If the BJP and Congress were the same, then Narendra Modi would never talk about Congress-mukt Bharat… It is an old battle, a battle of ideologies.” But, Rahul added, “Akhilesh too has a space, and he should have the option to talk about it. He has his own perspective, ours is that our fight is with the BJP.”The conflict was no longer the conflict of old, the Congress leader said. “It is no more a tactical, political fight, in the sense there is one group and the other group unites and defeats the BJP. That bus has left. (This is because) India’s infrastructure and institutional framework is now in the hands of one ideology, and they are completely dominating India’s political space… To defeat them, an ideology is needed.”In this respect, Rahul said, the Congress stood apart. “I respect the Opposition, I like its leaders… but if you look at the Samajwadi Party, it doesn’t have a national ideology. It has a positioning in Uttar Pradesh and they perhaps won’t come because they have to defend it… The Samajwadi Party’s idea would not work in Kerala, Karnataka or Bihar. So there is a need for a central ideological framework and structure, which only the Congress can provide.”At the same time, Rahul said, the role of Congress was “to ensure that the people in the Opposition feel comfortable and are respected. I mean mutual respect. They respect us and we respect them.”Asked how he would like to bring the Opposition together, he said: “The idea of Bharat Jodo is a framework, it is a way of working, a way of thinking. Of course, I am not the Congress president and a lot of that work now the Congress president will probably do. But it is about bringing people together and making them comfortable. Respect basically.”Detailing his concept of alternative vision, Rahul said that if India was to build a production nation, what was important was “giving our children imagination”. “Why is it that out of the lakhs and lakhs of people I have met, thousands and thousands of children, nobody has said I want to be a pilot, an astronaut, India’s best singer? Why? Because our system is telling them that these are all dead ends… But if you look at the countries that produce — and I give this example to kids — if you look at companies like Honda, Toyota, the people who founded these companies were mechanics. No mechanic in India can ever imagine that he could one day be the head of a Rs 1,000-2,000 crore company. That has to change. We have to give him the structures that allow him to do that, allow his imagination to do that.”

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