Political Parties

Congress strategies heavy on BJP, Congress Strategy for 2014 Lok Sabha polls,Karnataka,BS Yeddyurappa,Jharkhand,Nitish Kumar,Hemant Soren,BJP,NDA ,Mamata Banerjee,Mulayam Singh Yadav,Samajwadi Party,K Chandrasekhar Rao,Jharkhand Mukti Morcha

Congress strategies heavy on BJP, Congress Strategy for 2014 Lok Sabha polls,Karnataka,BS Yeddyurappa,Jharkhand,Nitish Kumar,Hemant Soren,BJP,NDA ,Mamata Banerjee,Mulayam Singh Yadav,Samajwadi Party,K Chandrasekhar Rao,Jharkhand Mukti Morcha

BJP appears to be helpless when it comes to countering Congress strategies. Right from Karnataka to Jharkhand to Bihar, the Congress has managed to oust the BJP. The BJP leaders are trying to figure how the Congress made this happen.

The BJP was in power in Karnataka. When the controversy over then Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa arose, State Governor HR Bhardwaj made several statements against him. In order to right the wrong, Yeddyurappa met the Governor. The result? BSY was ousted from the BJP and the party defeated in the Assembly elections.

Likewise, in Jharkhand, the BJP was ruling in coalition with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). But then Congress State incharge Shakeel Ahmed fuelled JMM leader Hemant Soren’s ambition to become Chief Minister. Soren broke ties with the BJP and the party lost ground.

Similarly, the Congress played on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s ambition to become Prime Minister. The result? The JD(U) broke its 17-year-old alliance with NDA and the BJP lost out again.

In the last two years, the BJP has lost power in five States. The basic difference in the Congress and BJP strategies is that while the Congress has managed to break the smaller parties associated with NDA, the BJP has not been able to break away even a single Congress partner.

New equations

The political equation of the UPA-II is changing. Parties which had supported it for nine years are now parting ways and new political outfits are joining it.

In Jharkhand, the UPA had fought the last election with the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) headed by Babulal Marandi. But Marandi is no longer associated with UPA-II. Now JMM has joined it. Likewise, there was an alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in Bihar. Though, both had fought the last election separately, Lalu has left some seats for the Congress and is still supporting UPA-II.

However, there are reports that the Congress is all set to break its alliance with Lalu and team up with Nitish. In J&K, the Congress had fought the last election with the National Conference. But now both are maintaining a distance. This is because the Congress is coming closer to Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

In West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee has left the UPA-II so the Congress joined hands with the Left parties.

Recently, Defence Minister AK Antony had said that there can be an alliance with Left parties after the election. There is also talk of forming an alliance with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK.

Wither Nitish?

The question doing rounds in political circles is whether Nitish Kumar will support the Centre on every issue? This, because Nitish has been keeping silent on all controversial issues.

There are at least four issues on which the Centre needs Nitish’s support. Though there is no official confirmation, the party is confident he will support it on all those issues. The final outcome will become clear in a month’s time.

Then there is the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC). The Joint Parliamentary Committee’s (JPC) report is yet another issue on which the Congress will need Nitish’s support. The JPC has to submit its report and if the JD(U) supports the UPA-II Government, the equation will completely change. The fourth issue is the stand that the JD(U) will take in all this. If the report by JPC chairman PC Chako is accepted, it will be a big jolt for the BJP leaders who want to create problems for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

Get act together

Meanwhile, the UPA-II has implemented the NFSA. It is being said that the Government will publicise this Act so that the Opposition comes under pressure to not oppose it when tabled in Parliament.

Left in anger

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Left leaders are angry with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav. During the Presidential election, Mulayam had back-tracked after making tall promises to Mamata who was annoyed at that time. But, what recently happened at the Kolkata rally organised by Mulayam has made the Left parties unhappy.

When Mulayam was in Kolkata, SP general secretary Sanjay Dalmia went to the CPM head office to meet CPM leader Gautam Dev. This sparked off speculation of a new political equation ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha. After the meeting, Gautam briefed the media saying that there was talk with SP on the possibility of forming the Third Front.

However, SP leaders Ramgopal Yadav and Kiranmoy Nanda rejected this and said that Dalmia was no longer associated with the SP so he was in no position to talk on the party’s behalf. This made the Left angry.

Securing it

The Centre quickly brought in an ordinance and implemented the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Hence, the Opposition is attacking the Congress and its leaders defending their actions, saying that the move is not politically motivated. But the ordinance says differently.

A note states that the various schemes under the Act will only be implemented after six months. Meanwhile, the Centre has instructed the State Governments to identify the beneficiaries. This requires lot of groundwork — at least six months. In other words, the Act will come into being only in January 2014.

If the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled for April-May, its notification will be issued only in February or March. This clearly indicates that the NFSA will be implemented just before the notification.

Trouble for Rao

Problems for Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrasekhar Rao will only increase. At one point, he was set to be the game-changer. The four political parties — the Congress, the BJP, the TDP and YSR Congress — were nowhere in the picture. But now, many who have been fighting for Telangana, have come to the forefront.

Leader of the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) M Kodandaram is getting closer to the Congress. It is said that he has prepared a proposal for Telangana and wants to give it to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. There was a time when Rao wanted the same thing. But his political ambitions grew and he formed a party, taking with him a few Congress leaders. The Congress immediately distanced itself from Rao.

Meanwhile, Rao has got a jolt from the Osmania University students who are set to launch their political outfit and fight elections. This move, sources say, will create problems for Rao.

JMM top guns on CBI radar

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren is the ninth Chief Minister of the State. His party will form the coalition Government with the Congress which signed an agreement with JMM to form the Government in Jharkhand and contest the 2014 Lok Sabha election in alliance. The JMM is the first new ally to come to UPA-II ahead of the General Elections.

Party insiders say that it has the support of six independents, helping the party reach the figure of 42 MLAs, a simple majority in the 82-member Jharkhand Assembly.

While the JMM is all set to rule Jharkhand, a number of its MLAs and leaders are on the CBI radar for alleged horse trading during the Rajya Sabha election. JMM chief Shibu Soren has already been questioned by the agency in connection with the coal block allocation. Meanwhile, the party’s former MLA Nalin Soren is absconding as there is a warrant against him in the seeds scam. There is a warrant against Shibu’s daughter-in-law Sita, an MLA from Jama.

Sources say that the CBI has proof that she took money from Rajya Sabha candidate RK Aggrawal. Senior party leader Simon Marandi is also accused in this case. The name of former MP Suraj Mandal’s son, Rajendra Mandal, is also being doing the rounds in this connection.

Apart from JMM, the other party that is supporting JMM — the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) — is also on the CBI’s hitlist. The agency had conducted raids on three MLAs which included RJD Legislature Party leader Annapurna Devi. Investigations are going on against four Congress MLAs as well. In fact, a Congress MLA is behind bars. Of the 43 MLAs who will be part of the newly-formed Government in Jharkhand, 38 have criminal cases running against them.

Source: The Daily Pioneer, Specila Edition-The Backbone

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