The CM Face
As soon as the seat sharing was completed, the Congress wasted no time in seconding Tejashwi Yadav’s name as the Mahagathbandan’s CM face. Clearly, any objection had more to do with internal posturing than for external consumption. Given the fact that Tejashwi was there with Rahul Gandhi during his Voter Adhikar Yatra and the bonhomie between the two, there was little doubt that the Congress would back Tejashwi. The two have an excellent equation, with Tejashwi referring to Rahul as “boss” in deference to the latter being older than him. And Rahul too takes the role seriously and is often heard admonishing Tejashwi to be mindful about his weight, and then adds that he is giving this advice in the capacity of an older brother.
In fact, the minute the Congress endorsed Tejashwi it was time for the MGB to turn the tables on the NDA and ask the BJP why it was not naming sitting CM and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar as the CM candidate. Post the seat sharing being finalised, Congress general secretary Ashok Gehlot, who had flown to Patna for the same, held a press conference and said, “Now Amit Shah must answer whether Nitish Kumar will become the CM after the elections”. And added for good measure, “The elections in Maharashtra were fought on the face of Eknath Shinde but Devendra Fadnavis was made CM. So, will he betray Nitish too?” If you recall, at a rally recently Home Minister Amit Shah had remarked that it was the winning MLAs who would decide the CM. This is being interpreted by some as a move to sideline Nitish and install a BJP leader in his place. Perhaps keeping that scenario in mind, and sensing an opportunity, Deputy CM and BJP leader Samrat Chaudhary is now keeping a low profile, just in case he makes another gaffe and upsets the apple cart. Chirag Paswan too is careful to not overtly display his own chief ministerial ambitions and was heard batting for Nitish Kumar as the NDA’s CM face in a recent interview. Meanwhile, the MGB is enjoying putting the NDA on the backfoot, for a change.
Collateral Damage
There has been a change of guard at the Youth Congress with the incumbent Krishna Allavaru stepping down. In his place, the party has appointed Manish Sharma as the new IYC chief. Manish is said to be a confidant of one of Rahul Gandhi’s key aides, Sachin Rao. However, Allavaru will remain Bihar in-charge (he was holding both posts earlier). And there is speculation that he could have been a casualty of the discontent over ticket distribution that saw protests by Congress workers at Sadaqat Ashram (the party’s Bihar headquarters). The protestors targeted Allavaru and blamed leaders from Delhi taking state level decisions from five-star hotel rooms instead of letting local leaders who are aware of the on-ground equations take charge.
Having said this, discontent and finger-pointing at party headquarter representatives is usually the norm followed by discontented party workers. And Allavaru could well have been collateral damage due to his dual charge. Interestingly, one of those who has gone public with his dissatisfaction with Allavaru is former Bihar PCC chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh’s son, Aakash Prasad Singh. In his tweet, he wants Allavaru removed as Bihar in-charge as well. This tweet, however, has not gone down too well with the party high command which is contemplating action against Aakash.
Better Late than Never
The Congress recently paid tribute to its former President Sitaram Kesri on his 25th death anniversary. Apart from being a freedom fighter, Kesri is also an OBC leader from Bihar, so it’s easy to see why the Congress has suddenly remembered a leader it threw out so unceremoniously from his post way back in 1998. The party has been severely criticized by its own members for ignoring the non Gandhi-Nehru leadership, be it Narasimha Rao, Kesri, and to an extent even Dr Manmohan Singh. But of late, there has been a course correction. Photographs of both Rao and Kesri, along with those of Dr Manmohan Singh and Lal Bahadur Shastri, are there at the Congress Party’s new headquarters. The library has also been named after Dr Manmohan Singh. In fact, even at AICC sessions, portraits of both Rao and Dr Singh can be found at the venue. As Tariq Anwar, who was one of Kesri’s close confidants, rightly commented to a newspaper, when told about the commemoration event for Kesri—der aaye durust aaye (better late than never).
