Congress upbeat mood in Delhi

Aam Admi Party (AAP) Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwali is trying to give the message among the Muslim voters that Congress is not very serious in ensuring the defeat of BJP in Delhi.He says that if Congress was serious, it would have responded positively to his call for alliance to fight together in Lok SAbha elections to ensure the defeat of BJP. He wants to impress up on the Muslims, SCs and other weaker sections of the society that his party APP is only able to defeat BJP. It is APP which has dented into the entire vote banks of Congress party and wiped it out in 2015 Delhi assembly. Naturally, there would be deep grudge among Congress leaders and workers against APP. One thing also matters here behind APP’s eagerness to strike alliance with the Congress is its failure in governing Delhi as it had promised to Delhiites. There has been no development of any worth in the last four years. Except free water and electricity to a limit, no benefit for Delhiites from the APP government is discernible. That why disillusionment of Delhiites with AAP govt. has developed. Presently, Congress has no presence in the Delhi assembly. But with the passing of time, Congress vote banks started returning to its fold which is reflective in the result of by-election and Delhi Municipal elections. It is only the Congress party whose percentage of vote has gone up while the percentage of votes for BJP and AAP both has gone down. It is also simple arithmetic that if the vote polled by APP and Congress are taken together, it is higher than what the BJP polled in 2014 Lok Sabha and 2015 assembly elections in Delhi. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is eager to strike alliance with the Congress. He blames that Congress appears to be arrogant. However, the newly appointed Delhi Congress Chief Sheila Dixit, who was Chief Minister of Delhi for 15 years in a row, says that Kejriwal has not met her. Sheila Dixit wants to fight alone and she does not appear to be in favour of alliance with APP. Sheila's predecessor Ajay Maken was also not in favour of any alliance with APP in Delhi. They are of the view that it was APP which wiped them out from Delhi. With the victory in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the Congress is in upbeat mood. The minority and other weaker sections of society have started coming back to Party. The resurgent Congress feels that if they fought unitedly, they would defeat BJP single-handedly. Though the aim of both Congress and AAP is to defeat the BJP, the Congress and the APP cannot do it on their own. So, it would be better for both to tie in alliance for fighting Lok Sabha elections. It is reported that AAP is ready to concede three Lok Sabha seats to Congress. But Congress intends to do some hard bargaining to get one more seat. It cannot be said that there would be no alliance between the two as the top leadership of the party is still to indicate its view on it.

Congress party’s masterstroke

Congress President Rahul Gandhi has played a masterstroke by appointing his charismatic sister Priyanka Gandhi as party General Secretary in charge of East Uttar Pradesh. In view of the coming Lok Sabha elections, the official entry of Priyanka Gandhi in active Congress politics will certainly influence the national political equation. She is also the last weapon from Congress’ arsenal. In a massive overhaul of the party, Congress President has also appointed two General Secretaries- Jyotiraditya Scindhia and KC Venugopal. Scindhia has been given charge of West UP and Venugopal of the organization. The official announcement of the entry of Priyanka Gandhi in Congress party active politics has swept the party workers, leaders, cadres and sympathizers off their feet in joy and revelry. All over the country, Congress party workers started dancing in joy. Her entry will certainly infuse energy in Congress workers. Though the ruling BJP has said that Priyanka's entry in Congress means that it has accepted the failure of its President Rahul Gandhi, they have really been jolted. Undoubtedly, Priyanka Gandhi has attraction, craze and popularity among Congress workers and common people all over the nation. She resembles her grandmother former PM late Indira Gandhi. She speaks mixes and connects with the common people in the same way as Mrs. Gandhi was doing in her own days. People see the reflection of Indira Gandhi in Priyanka. Congress workers have started giving slogan like," Priyanka Nahi Anndhi Hai Doosri Indira Gandhi Hai". After the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh, Congress was left in wilderness. After this alliance, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had given indication that Congress would stun all and fight on all 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. As Uttar Pradesh is the largest and the most important state politically, Priyanka's entry in the Congress active politics would certainly matter most. She has a natural attraction among youths, women and common people. She mixes, interacts and talks with them naturally. She appears to be a gifted politician. She is young, energetic and attractive. Though she will have to face BJP's star campaigner and tallest leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also the most popular leader in the country currently, it is to be seen how Priyanka Gandhi addresses the common masses to attract them towards Congress party in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. Varanasi- the parliamentary constituency of PM and Gorakhpur - the bastion of CM Yogi fall in eastern Uttar Pradesh. It is also necessary to be in the reckoning in eastern Utter Pradesh for the power of Delhi. Priyanka's official entry in Congress party will certainly give energy to its workers and it will also lift their morale. Though it is too early to say to what extent her entry would influence the outcome of Lok Sabha elections in 2019 in favour of Congress party, one thing is certain that now it would definitely play on the front foot with Priyanka as its master blaster.

Mamata shows her strength

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Bannerjee has shown her strength by organizing a mammoth rally at Brigade Ground in Kolkata. Mamta has called that Modi govt. is past expiry date. About 20 Opposition parties have participated in the mammoth gathering against the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre. They wanted to project themselves as the unifying force and BJP as dividing elements of the country. The mood of the opposition parties, especially Congress party, is upbeat after defeating the BJP in the recently concluded three assembly elections on the state of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. The alliance between Mayati's BSP and Akhilesh Yadav's SP has also boosted them morally. Undoubtedly, Mamata is one of the towering leaders in the opposition camp. She holds sway in Kolkata and no opposition leader either from the Left, Congress or BJP is there to challenge her. In the last Lok Sabha elections, TMC had won 34 Lok Sabha seats from Kolkata. The intention behind organizing a massive meeting of opposition leaders under the leadership of Mamata Bannerjee is to give the clear message that in the race for the post of Prime Ministership, she is ahead all of the opposition leaders. Her party TMC projects her as the strongest claimant for the post of Prime Minister among opposition leaders. One thing is clear that 2019 is not going to be 2014 for the BJP. There is no wave this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is certainly the single most popular leader in the country. He is far ahead of all leaders in popularity. But as far as the performance of his government is concerned, the disillusionment has set in among the people. The rising unemployment, intolerance, agrarian crisis and economic mismanagement have given fodder to the opposition leaders. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has failed to deliver on the promises that he made to the people in 2014 at the time of electioneering. It is not only Mamata Bannerjee puts forward her claim on the post of PM, but also Mayawati, Mulayam, Sharad Pawar, KCR Rao, Chandrababu Naidu. Though Congress has not formally projected its party president Rahul Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, demands have started coming from certain quarters of the party to project him as PM candidate. One thing is also clear that among the leaders of non-BJP political parties cannot be PM without the support of Congress. Mamata has shown her strength to the BJP as well as other opposition parties that she is one of the strongest claimants for the post of PM. The ruling BJP always hits on opposition weak spot by asking who is your prime ministerial candidate. It is true of their saying that opposition leaders positions are like One Anar, Sao Bimar. The opposition parties must sit together and reach a consensus on the issue of the prime ministerial candidate. Undoubtedly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a charismatic leader of BJP. He is capable of winning elections for the party single-handedly. He appeals to the people. Despite the sharp decline in the popularity of BJP, PM Modi is still the most popular leader in the country.

SP-BSP alliance sans Congress is incomplete

Burying all past differences, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have struck alliances for the Lok Sabha elections this year. Both are the premier political parties of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Uttar Pradesh is not only the largest state but also politically most important in the country. Without winning Uttar Pradesh, no party can rule at the Centre in Delhi. It is also correct to say that the road to power in Delhi passes through Uttar Pradesh. SP and BSP had fought together in the three Lok Sabha by-polls against the BJP for three seats in the state and they won all. The ruling BJP could not retain any one of the three seats from the state. It clearly reflected that if these two leading political parties fought together, they would win most of the Lok Sabha seats from the state. They would certainly together give tough challenge to the ruling BJP in the state. BJP had won 71 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh. It is difficult, if not, impossible to repeat its previous performance. But the SP and the BSP have committed a blunder by keeping the grand old Congress Party out of the alliance. Both SP and BSP have agreed to fight on 38: 38 Lok Sabha seats in the state, leaving two seats Raeberali of Sonia Gandhi and Amethi of Congress President Rahul Gandhi for them. They would not field their candidates in the Gandhi pocket boroughs. But by leaving the Congress party, BSP and SP have not acted according to the demand of the situation where it was necessary to keep the secular votes undivided. No political party can doubt on the secular credentials of the Congress party. So, it has large number of secular votes in Uttar Pradesh. The weakness of the Congress party in the state is only due to its organization. It is because of a strong organization in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan that it wrested power from the BJP after years in the just concluded assembly elections there. So, it is clear that the Congress party is resurging very fast. When left out of SP, BSP alliance, it has decided to fight on all 80 Lok Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh. RLD of Chaudhary Ajit Singh has also been left out. There is possibility that Congress may ally with it in the coming Lok Sabha elections. It also must be clear for all aspirants such as Mayawati, Mulayam, Mamta, KCR and others for the post of Prime Minister that they cannot be PMs without the outside support of the Congress. Congress party is still the largest party among the opposition ones in the country. It has also shown in three assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh that it can defeat BJP if fought one on one. So, Congress may be a dark horse at present in Uttar Pradesh, but it has the guts, ability, and capability to spring a surprise in the Lok Sabha elections. There is a difference between by poll and general election. By winning three seats in by-polls together, BSP and SP must not be a delusion that the same outcome will come in general elections.

Endeavour to keep upper castes in good humour

The Union Cabinet has reportedly taken a decision of granting 10 reservations in govt. job and educational institutions for economically weaker section of upper castes. With the public anger mostly of upper castes in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattishgarh against the BJP where it has also lost assembly elections, Narendra Modi government decided to get back its support base by granting reservation to the economically weaker section of the upper caste. The way the Modi govt. dealt with Atrocity Act against SC/ST, paying no respect to Supreme Court observation regarding it, the upper caste people all over India especially in UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and other Hindi speaking states went against the BJP. Upper castes- Brahmins, Rajputs, Baniya and Bhumihars - are BJP's main support base all over the country. After having lost assembly elections in three Hindi heartland states, BJP realized that if it failed to assuage the hurt feelings of upper castes due to its stand in Atrocities Act against SC/ST, it would be very difficult to win 2019 Lok Sabha elections. So, in view of the coming general elections, this is a very big move of the Narendra Modi government. It may prove to be game changer. Modi govt. is likely to move the bill for 10 reservations for economically weaker section of upper castes in govt. jobs and educational institutions. One thing is certain that no party will outwardly oppose the reservation move. As the issue of reservation has been a great political instrument in the hands of ruling political parties since independence, it has been used to guard the political interest of the ruling party. Reservation policy was implemented for a certain period of time and it was also decided that after that an appraisal would be made to know whether it needed to be extended or not. Reservation must not be a permanent supporting system for anyone. But no appraisal was ever made since reservation policy was implemented and contrary to it, it was extended several times to reap only political benefits. Very few who deserve reservation have got it. Most of the reservation benefits have gone to the people among reservation category who are well off. The politics of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samajwadi party in Uttar Pradesh and RJD in Bihar is based on caste-based reservation policy. SP of Mulayam Singh Yadav and RJD of Lalu Prasad Yadav in UP and Bihar respectively came to centre stage of national politics only after the implementation of Mandal Commission under which 27 % reservation was given to OBCs in govt. jobs and educational institutions. Mandal commission was implemented by the VP Singh government in 1990. Now, BJP plays the card of reservation. It is purely a political move to retrieve its position among its upper caste support base. Supreme Court has already drawn a line of demarcation in regard to the reservation. It has already said that there cannot be more that 50 % reservation. So, to implement 10 per cent reservation for economically weak upper castes, the ruling BJP will have to move for the amendment to the relevant section in the constitution. The policy of reservation has been used only for the sake of political interest in the country so far. So, it would be better if reservation policy is done away with in totality and the field must be left open for all in equal proportion. It would also be much better and more profitable that if instead of reservation in government jobs, govt. should help the poor students irrespective of their caste, community and creed economically pursue the study.

Rahul strikes a fine balancing act

Winning elections is one of the most difficult tasks for a political party, especially when its popularity is at its all-time low. Here is what happened with the Congress. The party won anyhow three state assembly elections - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh- which were under the BJP rule for years. It is a very big achievement of the Congress party in the face of the rising popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leadership. But even after winning elections, there arose a big problem of choosing the candidates for the posts of Chief Minister among the young and the veteran old guards at least in the case of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for the party President Rahul Gandhi. It was proving to be an Achilles heel for him. Though the case of Madhya Pradesh was settled with the choice of CM's post between Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia fell on Kamal Nath because of his being a senior, astute, resourceful and veteran politician. As hardly four months away from now, the 2019 Lok Sabha elections are going to be held. It will be the final war between Congress and BJP. That is why Congress made Kamal Nath MP CM. Though Jyotiraditya is a young, energetic and popular leader of the Congress party, Kamal Nath is veteran old guard who began his politics with late Sanjay Gandhi. He was in the front of Sanjay brigade at that time. He has also been very close to Nehru-Gandhi family, the power centre of Congress party. On the other hand, Jyotirdiya Scindhia has also been very close to Rahul Gandhi. He is a prominent face of Rahul's young brigade in the Congress party. He was also the convenor of Madhya Pradesh assembly election campaigns. He campaigned hard and made a great contribution to the victory of the party in the state, though with a marginal gap. He was also a strong contender along with Kamal Nath for the post of Chief Minister of the state. The MP state legislature party could not reach on a consensus candidate for the post and left it to Congress President Rahul Gandhi to choose one of the two. It was a very difficult task. Gandhi had to maintain a fine balance between the young and the old in the party in view of the war at hand in 2019. But considering the experience and contacts across the like-minded political parties, the choice with the consent of Jyotiraditya Scindhia went in favour of Kamal Nath and ultimately the Congress party declared him as party MP CM. The same problem is in Rajasthan. Here also, there are two contenders - Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot- for the post of Chief Minister of the state. Ashok Gehlot is experienced, veteran and has adorned the post of CM twice. He is also a very popular politician in the state. On the other hand, Sachin Pilot is young, energetic and popular among the youth in the state. He has also been state party president. He also claims the post of CM very strongly. Newly State Congress legislatures left the decision with Congress Party President Rahul Gandhi to take. Again, he was put in a delicate situation. He had to manage and strike a fine balance between the old and the young keeping in view the great battle of 2019 Lok Sabha elections lying ahead. But again, he solved the problems with exemplary alacrity through consensus by choosing the veteran Ashok Gehlot as the CM of Rajasthan. At last, Rahul Gandhi tweeted with himself in the middle of Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindhia in the first photo and Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot with himself in the middle in the second photo. These two photos clearly reflected that at last, the unity in party prevailed. One thing that also came out this is that Rahul Gandhi left no stone unturned in finding consensus and unanimous opinion on any issue in the party.

RBI Governor must be an economist of eminence

The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India must have enough knowledge about the domestic and international economy to formulate planning and policy of the Central Bank. Shaktikanta Das, a Tamil Nadu cadre retired IAS officer, has been appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. He has been appointed RBI governor in the wake of the abrupt resignation of Urjit Patel as RBI governor in the middle of a tussle with the government on autonomy and other related issues. The importance of the RBI governor must not be underestimated and no one howsoever senior bureaucrat he or she might be made governor without expertise in economics. The post of the governor of RBI demands expert knowledge in the subject of economics. World fame economist and former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had also been the governor of RBI. Before and after Dr. Singh, several economists of eminence have adorned the post of RBI governor. It is not only administrative knowledge and experience but also required to be an authority on Economics to become the governor of RBI. Yes, Shaktikants Das, a Tamil Cadre IAS officer, who has served with the state government in the department of finance and other economic-related wings. He was also associated all his career at the Centre as well as in the state with finance departments. But his working with finance department at the Centre and in the state doesn’t make him an eminent economist of the nation. His credentials for being the governor of RBI is totally unfit and unsuitable. Before Urjit Patel, Raghuram Rajan was the RBI governor. He was known for mastery in modern economics. This is the reason that even a senior BJP leader from Gujarat Jay Narayan Vyas, who was also a minister in Narendra Modi Cabinet when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, has rightly poked the new RBI governor Shaktikanta Das not to make it a history. He has questioned his knowledge about economics. New RBI governor Shaktikanta Das is MA in history from the Delhi University. As far as academic credentials for being RBI Chief is concerned, Mr. Das fits nowhere. The appointment of Shaktikanta Das as RBI governor by Narendra Modi government clearly reflects its lack of knowledge about who is fit for what job. It also clearly appears that there is an acute shortage of talents in the Modi government. Union Finance minister Arun Jaitely is not proving to be an able one for the post. Jaitely has defended new governor by enumerating his postings all his career in the finance departments. As far as theoretical knowledge about economics is concerned, it is impossible without academic qualification in the subject. So, appointing Mr. Shaktikanta Das as RBI governor, Narendra Modi govt. has done no good to the economy of the country.