The Election Commission has announced the polling dates for the new Vice President of India but it would be interesting to see whom the NDA puts up as its candidate. While the jury is still out, there seems to be a consensus between the BJP and the RSS that this time the candidate should be one who has been groomed within the system and not an export from outside. In addition, the candidate should also be someone who could control the House. Keeping this in mind, the shortlist so far includes Manoj Sinha (current Lt Governor of J&K), J.P. Nadda, Rajnath Singh and even Nirmala Sitharaman.
Given the fact that the current President of India is also a woman may not work in Nirmala’s favour, plus the PMO and the RSS are reportedly happy with her performance as Finance Minister. Rajnath Singh as the senior most cabinet minister would be a good choice, only he is apparently not keen on shifting to the VP’s chair. Which perhaps leaves J.P. Nadda, but can the BJP leadership spare him? Of late he has become an important sounding board and a link between the Prime Minister, Amit Shah and the party. Also, the decision on the next BJP president is still pending and the two will be linked. The next few weeks are going to be an interesting one, keeping the BJP leadership matrix in mind.
Why did the Congress line-up during the Op Sindoor debate in Parliament not include Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor? And what next for these two leaders who were sent as part of the multi-party delegation by the government to explain India’s position on Op Sindoor abroad? According to media reports, the Congress did ask Tharoor to speak but he pointed out that it would be difficult for him to defend India’s stance globally but attack the government while at home. Manish on the other hand, was keen to speak, however, he was not given an opportunity hence he put out a cryptic post on social media quoting “Bharat ka rehne wala hoon, Bharat ki baat sunata hoon”, lyrics from a Mahendra Kapoor-Manoj Kumar song.
In fact, on the weekend prior to the debate, Manish gave an interview to NewsX where he hoped that the debate on Op Sindoor would be a structured one on national security, given the changing nature of conventional warfare and not degenerate into a he-said she-said one. Though he added that questions about the security lapse that led to the Pahalgam terror attack needed to be raised. But is the Parliament ready for such a nuanced debate, given the rather acrimonious relationship between the Treasury Benches and the Opposition?
The Opposition mounted a fierce attack on the government during the Op Sindoor debate in Parliament with the Treasury Benches holding strong. It was democracy at its best, barring a few personal jibes—from both sides. From the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s speech was high on both emotion and rhetoric as she made direct eye contact with the Treasury Benches as she countered their defence. Her correcting BJP members when they said “26 Hindus” were martyred in Pahalgam with “26 Indians” was a reassuring rebuttal to the politics of polarisation. Other speakers from the Congress, including Gaurav Gogoi, Praniti Shinde and Deepender Hooda spoke well, with Hooda’s Donald vs McDonald comment going viral as a meme on social media. It is this line-up of Gogoi, Hooda, Shinde and Priyanka that is worth watching out for. And if you add to this mix an ungagged Tharoor and Manish, then Rahul Gandhi has a stellar team by his side.
Of late one has noticed the increasing number of exchanges between Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Home Minister Amit Shah. The Home Minister seems to pay special attention to Akhilesh and always makes it a point to respond to whatever point he has raised in his speech; while Akhilesh too makes more than the occasional jibe aimed at the Home Ministry. What is worth noting is that the comments from both sides are accompanied with a half-smile, indicating that both the players are adept at the cut and thrust of parliamentary debate and know how to make a political point, without getting personal.
