Who will be next Haryana Chief Minister?
With the Congress poised to wrest the state back from the BJP, the speculation has already begun as to who the next Chief Minister would be. Although he has not been formally named as the Congress CM face, logically the party’s nominee should be Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Not only is he the Congress party’s tallest leader in the state today, he is also one who has been working hard for the party’s revival. In fact, there are those who claim that had he been declared as the CM candidate in 2019, the Congress may have won that election as well. However, logic does not always dictate the Congress party’s decisions. And there is a very real chance that should the party sweep the state with a comfortable majority then the high command may not give the CMship to Hooda but instead opt for a proxy of the centre, such as Kumari Selja. However, if the margin is razor thin, then the Congress leadership will not risk antagonising Hooda Senior and will have to hand the seat to him. So, watch this space for the next episode of Game of Thrones, post result day.
What is Rishi Sunak’s Next Move?
There was some speculation that Rishi Sunak, the former British Prime Minister may be moving to California after leading the Conservative Party to its worst ever electoral drubbing in the recent elections. It was an election that he took a gamble with by going in for snap polls before his term ended. In fact at the Conservative Party’s annual conference, where Sunak made a brief speech and left, there was a buzz that he would be quitting politics. At the conference, which usually has some memorabilia on sale to honour former PMs, such as a Magaret Thatcher face mug, a T-shirt with John Major’s profile or a David Cameron cap, there were no souvenirs with Sunak’s imprint. This added to the speculation that he would be quitting politics soon. However, that is not the case, for apparently he is toying with the idea of setting up his own think-tank, somewhat on the lines of the Tony Blair Institute. It is also said that he is looking to buy Winston Churchill’s former mansion at Hyde Park. So clearly, London is going to see a lot more of its former PM.
Ashok Tanwar Returns
The return of former Indian Youth Congress chief to the Congress is not without its (limited) significance. Ashok Tanwar was a key member of Rahul Gandhi’s team and his exit dealt a blow to the latter’s credibility as a leader for it came along with a spate of other high profile leaders who were part of Rahul’s Camelot at the time. So it is only logical that his return would signal the opposite—a rise in Rahul’s credibility ratings. Moreover, since his exit, Ashok Tanwar has flirted with both the BJP and the AAP and perhaps realised that his best bet is with the Congress. As far as the Congress is concerned, the return of a Dalit leader makes good optics, at a time when another Dalit leader, Kumari Selja has been sulking in public glare. Though Tanwar’s return will not please Selja, in fact last Lok Sabha, Tanwar stood against her as a candidate. However, there wasn’t much she could do except take her grievances to Sonia Gandhi. Be that as it may, the larger message the Congress is sending out, is one that is aimed straight at the 20-22% Dalit vote bank.