Humour on the campaign trail
Campaign time is also the time for some tongue-in-cheek humour, and it can be found aplenty in RLD chief Chaudhary Jayant Singh’s social media posts. Take this recent picture he put on his Instagram page, of a UP government car with the banal “Keep Distance” plates that some vehicles carry. Quick to seize the joke, Jayant posted the picture, commenting below, “Just another example of the people friendly governance we have to contend with!” During the last polls when he got into a campaign tit for tat with Yogi Adityanath over some issue relating to MSP, Jayant waved a tube of Itch Guard during his campaign speeches asking why the UP had so much khujli (irritation) over his words. Well, it is campaign season, so let the fun begin.
New Dawn for TMC
Mamata Banerjee is set to bring in a Goenchi Navi Sakal (a new dawn) not just for the state of Goa but more importantly for the TMC.With her eyes firmly on the 2024 elections she is currently focusing on the two states of Goa and Tripura to take her party national. Because this will give her the added heft to become Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s (and the BJP’s) prime contender in the 2024 elections. Ofcourse in the process she will also be taking on the Congress as is evident from the fact that she hopes to build her party cadre by poaching Congress leaders—from Sushmita Dev in the Northeast to former CM LuizinhoFaleiro in Goa to Lalitesh Pati Tripathi (grandson of late Kamlapati Tripathi) in UP.It is also an open secret that she is being advised by Prashant Kishor, who had earlier been in talks with the Congress. So does this jettison Kishor’s equation with the Gandhis? According to sources, he still has a line of communication open with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, with whom he maintained a rapport even after falling out with the Congress over strategy for the 2017 UP polls. Watch this space for more backroom manoeuvres.
A leaf out of Modi’s Playbook?
Is Priyanka taking a leaf out of Modi’s playbook? It does seem that she is fast learning the art of messaging and grabbing media space. Take for instance her chance encounter with Akhilesh Yadav at a Lucknow bound Vistara flight. Although the SP leader did not think it important enough to comment on it, Priyanaka’s office first leaked a picture of the two of them meeting on board the flight, along with subtle hints as to how one flew business class while the other was in economy. Then during a spate of media interviews, Priyanka told the press as to how she thanked Akhilesh for taking all the “cowards” away from the Congress, a reference to the turncoats who had joined the SP. Later, after an encounter with some schoolgirls, she announced that if voted to power the Congress would give smartphones to young girls for their “safety”.And on the day the Prime Minister visited Varanasi to announce a high-profile national health care mission, Ayushman Bharat Infra Health Mission from his constituency, Priyanka made her own announcement on health care. She tweeted that if voted to power the Congress would provide free treatment and healthcare up to Rs 10 Lakh. Hence when the media mentioned the PM’s grand plans it also took note of Priyanka’s initiative. Clearly she is an adept learner, but will she be able to make up for lost time?
Contender or Spoiler?
Will Priyanka be a contender or a spoiler in the UP polls? Much depends on whether she is one of the candidates amongst the 40% reservations for women as promised. Because that would mean that she is truly committed to the state and is leading from the front, instead of just showing up during elections as is alleged by her detractors. Also being a CM candidate would raise her profile to that of a contender along with the sitting CM Yogi Adityanath and his chief rival Akhilesh Yadav. Otherwise, Priyanka may end up with the tag of a spoiler, like Asaduddin Owaisi, who is tipped to do no more than chip away the anti BJP vote without any real stakes in the state.