The Punjab Equation

Ahead of the Punjab Assembly election results, there is speculation that if Congress emerges victorious, incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi will take his revenge against Navjot Singh Sidhu for his constant barbs. But in case Congress loses, former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh will be shouting from the rooftops against his chief detractor, Sidhu, in his former party, and in support of the victorious anti-Congress front. With Sidhu under fire from both ends, within Congress, several party leaders like Manish Tewari, Sunil Jakhar, and Jasbir Singh Gill are waiting to see the election outcome on March 10.

Image Overhaul

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is seriously planning her Delhi strategy. Earlier, she was to land in Delhi after the March 10 state Assembly election results. There was even a plan to hold a parliamentary party meeting in Delhi on March 10 since the Parliament session will reconvene on March 15. But now she has called a meeting of her MPs in Kolkata. Straws in the wind indicate that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may win Uttar Pradesh with a comfortable majority, which means the opposition has to redouble efforts. In that context, Banerjee wants to lead from the front. And ironically, she recently lauded the Centre’s equidistance on the Ukraine issue. It seems that she is keen on an image makeover.

A Handshake

As a pre-election PR exercise, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal is learnt to be in touch with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leadership. Kejriwal is not taking chances even if the Punjab results point to a hung Assembly. Thus, when AAP leader Raghav Chadha recently met prominent SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, it set tongues wagging.

The Strategist

What is the importance of being Prashant Kishor? The political strategist, after crafting Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal Assembly win last year, is learnt to have met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao at the behest of Banerjee. We hear that Kishor went with a clear directive to discuss the opposition’s presidential candidate, and even spoke with Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. He is also planning Banerjee’s Delhi visit.

Uphill Task

Traditionally, anti-incumbency rides high in Uttarakhand. Every five years, the state has a history of opting for a new government. It has rekindled hopes in the opposition Congress whose senior leaders believe that this time they will form the government. And a fight has erupted over who will be the next Congress chief minister of Uttarakhand. Though Rahul Gandhi has made his chief ministerial choice of Harish Rawat very clear, Pritam Singh and Harak Singh Rawat are in the race, too.

Governor Race

After the state Assembly elections, a reshuffle of governors seems to be on the cards. We learn that the old BJP hand from UP, Santosh Gangwar, who failed to get a ticket for the state Assembly polls this time may just grab a governor’s post if given a chance. Other names doing the rounds from BJP are those of former Union ministers Prakash Javadekar and Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Open Spat

In Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena-BJP battle is out in the open. Sena leader Sanjay Raut has announced that the state government will take action against a dozen BJP leaders over hate speeches. Last year, BJP leader Narayan Rane was arrested after making a derogatory remark against Sena supremo and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The Maharashtra government has even gone against actor Kangana Ranaut for her pro-BJP stance. Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate under the Union home ministry has raided the premises of influential Shiv Sena corporator Yashwant Jadhav on charges of tax evasion.

Orange Crush

Despite the BJP-SAD alliance coming apart in 2020, Home Minister Amit Shah maintains a cordial relationship with Akali leader Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Now, since Punjab happens to be India’s largest kinnow (a high-yield mandarin hybrid) producer, the Badals are known to handpick the best kinnows from their Muktsar bastion for Shah each year. And when the fruits arrived this year, the home minister apparently termed them “sweeter”, giving rise to myriad post-poll combinations.

Heading The Party

After the ongoing Assembly polls, BJP will prepare for the Himachal Pradesh polls in November. There is a growing buzz that party chief JP Nadda could be a good chief ministerial candidate. But then the question arises as to who would head the party in the 2024 General Election. Amit Shah again? After all, BJP veteran LK Advani set a
precedent by heading the party for two separate terms.

Next Chief Minister?

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai seems to be wielding power only in name. The man who is actually running Karnataka is none other than the old Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh hand, BL Santhosh. The 55-year-old former pracharak is known for his proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and may well take over as the state’s next chief minister.

The Return

There is renewed speculation about Varun Gandhi. As BJP MP, he was dropped from the party’s national executive committee along with his mother Maneka after criticising the Lakhimpur Kheri violence last year. He was also vocal on the farmers’ issue against the Union government and remains critical of several schemes launched by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. We also know that he shares a solid bond with his cousin Priyanka Gandhi. Is it time for him to sign up with Congress? That’s the latest gossip doing the rounds in UP.

Charanjit Singh ChanniElection 2022Navjot Singh SidhupoliticsPunjabUttar Pradesh