Naveen Babu’s Dual Conch

SEEKING A DUAL vote for the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik featured in a video holding up two conch shells, the party symbol. In a play on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “dual engine sarkar”, the BJD veteran sought the support of voters for the “dual shanko” (conch shells)—one for MLA candidates and another for the MP seats. Dressed in a simple cotton shirt and a plain brown lungi, the chief minister’s appeal to voters for their blessings is intended to put him at the front of the party’s campaigns. There are several other videos of Patnaik seeking support for specific candidates against a background featuring the party symbol. In the hunt for a record sixth term as chief minister—which he may get—Patnaik is facing what might be his toughest electoral battle. BJP has posed a strong challenge for all the 21 parliamentary seats and its ranks have grown with senior BJD leaders switching sides. While BJD retains the lead for the Assembly election, its numbers might dip. The party is worried about its tally shrinking drastically. Patnaik’s physical limitations have been clear for some time now, but he comes across as sharp and focussed. At the age of 77, he is the BJD mascot, pulling in votes for his party and the last word in its affairs. Though there is no quarter given between BJD and BJP, and in fact the saffron party’s state leaders were dead opposed to a seat-sharing formula between the parties, the rivalry lacks the bitterness and acrimony evident in BJP versus the I.N.D.I.A. bloc electoral contests. This is in part due to Patnaik’s refusal to attack BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a personal way or by accusing the Union government of political vendetta and undercutting democracy. Patnaik’s pitch is straightforward. He presents himself as a person with no attachments and presents BJD as the natural choice for the people for the state and as its representative in Parliament. The appeal has been enduring despite Patnaik becoming an increasingly reclusive figure with access guarded by a small group of insiders who surround him.

Annamalai Campaign Continues

With voting over in Tamil Nadu, BJP leader K Annamalai is not waiting for the results to be out. He has campaigned in Karnataka where he served as a police officer and enjoys goodwill. His theme remains one of corruption by the I.N.D.I.A. bloc partners and he often brings up the 2G scam to recount how the opposition parties misused agencies when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in office at the Centre. He makes the case that the same would happen again if the alliance got the opportunity to form the Central government. He campaigned in Bengaluru where BJP candidate Tejasvi Surya is seeking re-election. The roadshow organised by the party went through Jaya Nagar and BTM layout. Apart from his Karnataka connection, there is a sizeable Tamil-speaking population in the city. Going by the response, Annamalai has become a much sought after campaigner and the BJP poll managers intend to use him extensively in South India over the next few weeks.

Punjab Farm Unions at It Again

In their recent efforts to reprise the farm agitation from petering out, some of Punjab’s left-oriented farm unions are trying to corner BJP candidates. One group sought to oppose former diplomat Taranjit Singh Sandhu’s entry into a village near Amritsar. The protests appear politically motivated just as the attempt to revive the farm stir was, timed ahead of the elections and intended to damage the Modi government which, however, did not rise to the bait. Senior ministers kept meeting the unions and offering various “deals” that makes it evident that the Centre is not looking for a showdown. At the same time, strong police deployment at the Punjab-Haryana border foiled attempts by agitators to march towards Delhi. Now, the unions are again trying to insert themselves into the elections. But their dismal record in the 2022 Punjab Assembly election where their candidates failed to win any seats means that their influence is limited to a few headlines.

Eknath Shinde Reveals a Plot

In a recent media interview, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde said his erstwhile boss Uddhav Thackeray planned to arrest senior BJP leaders when the latter was chief minister. Shinde was referring to the time when Thackeray was in office and the state government ordered an investigation into alleged phone taps by current Maharashtra Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla during her stint as chief of the state intelligence department in 2019. The Sena-NCP-Congress government had accused the officer of illegally tapping phones of opposition leaders. The story has a different telling though. Shukla’s actions were, according to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, aimed at uncovering corruption in transfers in the police department. He had, as the leader of opposition then, provided details of the intercepted phone calls when the Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in power, leading to an uproar. When the MVA government went after Shukla, there was considerable speculation that Fadnavis would also be arrested as he had held the home portfolio when he was the chief minister. In fact, the police questioned him in March 2022. As it turned out, the MVA government was ousted in 2022 and last year, the Bombay High Court quashed two FIRs against Shukla. While Shinde’s claims can be seen in a political light, the circumstantial evidence supports the view that the phone-tapping case could have led to a major controversy and a strike against BJP leaders.

A Lesson in Law

A law student who approached the Delhi High Court seeking “special interim bail” for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal learnt the cost of uninformed activism the hard way. The court not only rejected the petition but wondered if the student was paying sufficient attention to studies as the plea was misconceived and went against legal principles—that the law cannot be applied differently for persons in high offices. The court was particularly miffed by the petitioner claiming a “veto” in the case, and noted this seemed to indicate an exaggerated sense of oneself.

No Tears over Opposition Arrests

The not unexpected refusal of the Election Commission to intervene in ongoing cases and arrests by law enforcement agencies has created a difficult situation for opposition parties affected by such investigations. The problem has been compounded by the reluctance of courts to grant bail in many cases and their observations only serving to reinforce the impression that the investigations have uncovered corruption. The opposition parties feel aggrieved that their leaders have been targeted, but this does not seem to resonate with voters. In fact, public sentiment largely is one of either indifference or support for action against corruption. And while there is no discernible sympathy factor, the I.N.D.I.A. bloc rallies, such as the recent one in Ranchi, saw the corruption cases against Aam Admi Party (AAP) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leaders becoming the focus of speeches. But this does not seem a useful political strategy as voters do not seem impressed by the ‘political vendetta’ narrative and the alliance is stuck with the theme.

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