It was a politically tough weekend. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held an expanded national council meeting at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, the venue for the G20 event. Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra 2.0 enters Uttar Pradesh and is greeted with news that Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP) has abandoned his plans to attend a rally in Amethi. Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), another Indian bloc, initially abandoned the Congress, but reports of harassment of women by TMC leaders in Sandeshkali dominated media attention. , we were hit by stormy weather.
Amidst this, Congress strongman Kamal Nath left a program he had scheduled in his home base of Chhindwara and flew to Delhi with his son Nakul. This gave rise to speculation that the decline in membership in the Grand Old Party was becoming a continuing process. Crises seem to be becoming synonymous with Congress, some in full swing and others just brewing. If it is true that even Kamal Nath, once described as Indira Gandhi’s “third son,” is now feeling at a standstill and weighing his options, it is a sign of a mass exodus of his long-time supporters. It may be a sign of.
If Kamal Nath decides to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he will become the 10th former Congress chief minister to do so in the last 10 years. Amarinder Singh (Punjab), Digambar Kamat (Goa), SM Krishna (Karnataka), Vijay Bahuguna (Uttarakhand), N. Kiran Reddy (undivided Andhra), Pema Khandu ( Arunachal), the late Narayan Dutt Tiwari (Uttarakhand, early Uttar Pradesh) and, more recently, Ashok Chavan (Maharashtra) are a few who have jumped ship in the past. Furthermore, three sitting chief ministers of the BJP, Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), N. Biren Singh (Manipur) and Manik Saha (Tripura) are former members of the Lok Sabha. Many former presidents of the Pradesh Congress also resigned during the Rahul Gandhi party.
Congress is no longer in the driver’s seat
Rahul’s Yatra 2.0 reached its moment of glory when it set off from Bihar and was joined by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)’s Tejashwi Yadav in Sasaram district. The photo of him driving a jeep with Rahul beside him and Congress veteran and former Congress president Meira Kumar in the back seat is perhaps symbolic of the fact that the Congress is no longer in the driver’s seat of national politics. Was.
Monday was the first time Rahul visited his former constituency, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, after losing to Smriti Irani in 2019. This comes after Sonia Gandhi declined to participate in the 2024 pageant to be held in her neighboring Rae Bareli, her family’s stronghold since 1952. Due to her poor health, she chose the Rajya Sabha path to remain a member of Parliament, she said. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has denied tickets to seven ministers who are members of the Rajya Sabha and asked them to contest the Sabha elections instead. The Rajya Sabha line within the Congress stands in sharp contrast to this outreach.
Sonia’s emotional farewell message to voters in Rae Bareli did not guarantee that someone from her family would replace her as a parliamentary candidate. Indeed, Priyanka Vadra’s name comes up from time to time. However, ambiguity remains as there is no clear statement from the party and there are speculations that Mallikarjun Kharji may contest the seat.
Indian Block, Wasnik Panel – Rudderless Vessel
The India Bloc (which Amit Shah calls the Seven Families Alliance) is still formally functioning, but seat-sharing negotiations with parties such as the TMC, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and SP Suo are underway in most states. I’m running into a deadlock. Motu announced candidates for several seats. The factions of Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra are also a problem for the grand old party in the state. Meanwhile, the AAP, which aims to replace the Congress as the main opposition party by 2029, has nominated candidates in Assam, Gujarat, Goa and Haryana and has made new gains by showing a thumbs up to the Congress. It claims the status of a national political party. Punjab and Delhi.
A five-member committee set up by parliament to discuss seat-sharing, led by Mukul Wasnik, also posted disappointing numbers. The committee will have to seek instructions from party president Mallikarjun Kharge, who will direct it to consult Rahul. He then further rolls the ball towards the organizing secretary KCVenugopal. And while Mr. Rahul and Mr. Venugopal are busy developing Yatra 2.0, the Wasnik Committee is fumbling in Delhi. Herein lies the plain truth that India is no longer a starter.
There are five power centers in the Congress: Gandhi, Kharge and Venugopal. Among Gandhi himself, there is a lack of consensus on a number of issues and disagreements, which is often talked about within the party’s upper echelons. Besides Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh form an attractive circle around Rahul. The recent defections from the party are being blamed on the blind trio of Venugopal, Surjewala and Ramesh.
BJP is getting stronger
This directionless Congress meltdown is happening in parallel with intensive consolidation within the Bharatiya Janata Party. At the ruling National Council meeting attended by around 11,000 delegates, including panchayat-level leaders, Prime Minister Modi set a target of winning 370 seats for his party and over 400 seats for the NDA. The goal of adding 370 votes in each of the country’s 87,000 polling stations was set by Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who called for the abrogation of Article 370 in 1952 and whose mission the current government achieved in 2019. It appears to be a tribute to.
Modi’s careful management of the polling booths, as well as his ability to never miss an opportunity to build a narrative that combines heritage and aspirations, have given the BJP an edge over other parties. This time’s “370” is the roar of the party. At an event at the Bharat Mandapam, Prime Minister Modi advised his party cadres to show evidence, photographs if necessary, of the changes brought about by the Modi government over the past decade. Pay special attention to young people, especially first-time voters. It showcases the implementation of manifesto promises such as abrogation of Article 370, construction of Ram Temple and a number of other schemes that have given rise to large-scale mega-plans. lahartis (Beneficiary).
While the opposition flounders and attacks PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi vows to carry out ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukhan’ and Narendra, a veteran ‘events manager’ (Lal Krishna Advani in 1990) (a tribute to the organizers of the first lap of the Ram Rath Yatra). Prime Minister Modi, with the deft support of Amit Shah, JP Nadda, BL Santosh and others, is formulating a strategy to propel the BJP to an unassailable position. Prime Minister Modi has a millennium outlook this time.
(Shubhabrata Bhattacharya is a former editor and public relations critic.)
Disclaimer: These are the author’s personal opinions.