The Minority Report
It is a book that needed to be written. When J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was invited to be the chief guest at the launch of “Missing from the House”, a book on Muslim women MPs coauthored by Rasheed Kidwai and Ambar Kumar Ghosh, the numbers took him by surprise. Ever since the first Lok Sabha of 1952, there have been only 18 women Muslim MPs in the Lok Sabha.
Having said that, as he said at the launch, he doesn’t have much expectation of the numbers increasing under this dispensation for as he reminded us, the NDA government doesn’t even have a single Muslim as part of the Council of Ministers.
The launch was well attended, for along with Omar there was Iqra Hasan, Sagarika Ghosh and Salman Khursheed on the dais apart from the authors. The firebrand MP from Samajwadi Party (who incidentally is a graduate from London’s SOAS) won over the audience when she commented that throughout her student life she didn’t feel the need to cover her head but does so now, after entering Parliament as she doesn’t want that to be a topic of discussion around her politics.
“It takes away from superficial issues and allows me to focus on the real issues,” she said as the hall broke into applause.
Omar took on the dynasty question head on and asked the audience, “if anyone else does it, it is halal but if politicians do it, then its haram,” and went on to explain that unlike other professions which also see dynastic successions, at least the politicians have to face an accountability test every five years. “If you don’t like my work you will cut my ticket,” he added. His comments found resonance with the audience as he drove his point home.
He has a point, as business houses, lawyers, actors etc., who also see their fair share of nepo kids, don’t have these kinds of checks.
The book launch was a page turner by itself and kudos to the authors for getting this conversation going on the eve of the Women’s Reservations Bill being implemented.
The PM Turns 75
With both the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Prime Minister Modi turning 75 this week there had been an undertone of speculation amongst the impending celebrations given that this is the eligible age for the Marg Darshak Mandal. However, both officially and unofficially, both the Sangh and the BJP seem united upon this fortuitous coincidence that has both the leaders turning 75 during the same week and the decision is clear: that there is no question of retirement for either leader. In fact, both seem united on another message—that it will be PM Modi who will be heading the BJP during the 2029 Lok Sabha elections. So far, the PM has beaten Indira Gandhi’s record of addressing the nation on Independence Day 11 times consecutively, as last August was Narendra Modi’s 12th address from the ramparts of the Red Fort. In politics and for the history books these markers matter.
The Bihar Question
The Congress and the RJD have got down to the brasstacks of seat sharing and for any alliance this is the backbone of the relationship. In fact, some Congress leaders say that one of the motivating factors behind the Vote Adhikar Yatra was also to showcase to its own ally the Congress presence in the state. In the last Assembly elections (2020) the Congress was given 70 seats, while the RJD kept 144. The strike rate of the Congress was abysmal, winning only 19 of 70; while the RJD won as many as 75 of its seats. However, in the Lok Sabha polls that followed (2024) the Congress won three seats as opposed to the RJD’s tally of four. Keeping that in mind as well as the crowds that Rahul got in the yatra, the Congress has come to the bargaining table with high expectations. As a Congress leader commented, what the party is looking for is not the quantity of seats as much as the quality of seats, for the Congress felt that last time round it was not given winnable seats. Perhaps to keep the negotiations interesting and as a bargaining tactic, Rahul Gandhi is yet to endorse Tejashwi Yadav as the alliance’s Chief Ministerial face. Adding to the confusion is independent candidate Pappu Yadav, who called on Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge (mid July) and after the meeting told the media that even the Congress had a host of CM faces, such as Rajesh Ram and Tariq Anwar. However, after meeting Lalu Yadav when he visited Bihar for the yatra, another alliance partner, Akhilesh Yadav endorsed Tejashwi Yadav as the alliance’s CM face. While addressing the rally he said that Bihar needed a CM like Tejashwi. Buoyed by this even Tejashwi declared himself as the CM candidate, referring to himself as an Original CM versus Nitish Kumar whom he called a nakli (duplicate), indicating that it was the BJP that was pulling the strings. Given that RJD is the dominant party and Tejashwi is its chosen leader, it is but obvious that he would be the Mahagathbandan’s CM face. But then again, this is politics where even the obvious becomes complicated.
