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U.P. KE LADKE

The bonhomie between

Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi is very visible on the floor of the House. Even though the Samajwadi Party did not storm the well of the House along with the Congress when the Speaker made a mention of the Emergency, Akhilesh Yadav did tell the media that BJP leaders were not the only ones who were jailed during the Emergency, his father too was sent to prison. But he also added while the BJP did little to help the common man during the Emergency, it was those following the Samajwadi train of thought who helped out. The alliance will also be put to test during the coming Assembly bypolls, where it would be interesting to see how the I.N.D.I.A group’s Lok Sabha goodwill translates on ground versus Yogi Adityanath’s popularity.

Will Nadda get an extension as BJP chief?

All eyes are now on the next BJP chief. Will the RSS assert itself or will Narendra Modi get the candidate of his choice? The RSS has taken note of the fact that despite J.P. Nadda’s controversial comments (made right before the seventh phase of voting) that the BJP does not need the RSS anymore, he has not yet issued a clarification. And far from being censured, Nadda seems to have been rewarded both with a Cabinet berth and also being made the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha. So clearly Nadda’s comments were not out of script. And if the PM finds some pretext to further extend Nadda’s term then clearly this will be a clear signal to the RSS.

In the limelight

While the big four in the Modi Cabinet have been repeated, there are two new interesting faces from the allies. Both Chirag Paswan and Jayant Chaudhary make an interesting addition to the PM’s Council of Ministers. Both are young, articulate faces of governance that will do credit to the Prime Minister. The one left out is Milind Deora, who would have made a welcome addition, but the Shiv Sena has already rewarded him with a Rajya Sabha berth and needed to accommodate other old-timers. However, it would be interesting to see what Jayant and Chirag, both first time ministers, do with their portfolios, for they have definitely caught the media’s eye.