What is Kejriwal up to?
The crackdown on the farmers’ protest by the Punjab government has to have had AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal’s backing. This is also a move that could not have been carried out without taking the BJP led Central government on board. So why this turnaround? The obvious reason of course could be the ED pressure and threat of another jail term that is hanging over Kejriwal’s head. The other reason too has got to do with Kejriwal’s political survival, but it is linked to his quest for a Rajya Sabha seat. Having declared the candidature of Sanjeev Arora, the sitting Rajya Sabha MP from AAP, for the Ludhiana Assembly bypoll, the buzz is that should Arora win, Kejriwal will take his seat in the Rajya Sabha. However, the business and trader community of that constituency has made it known to the AAP government in Punjab that the farmers’ protests were blocking key highways and were not good for business.
This crackdown could be a move to appease the crucial vote bank in Ludhiana. Moreover, if you look at the larger picture, Punjab elections are due in 2027. It is the last bastion of power left to the AAP. Given the kind of anti-incumbency Bhagwant Mann is facing, it is unlikely that the AAP will win a majority on its own. Given this, the only combination that works for the AAP is the BJP in the state. The Congress will not ally with Kejriwal and neither will the SAD, for both will be counting on the anti-AAP vote to come to power. It is only with the BJP that the AAP can work out an urban-rural divide and not eat into each other’s vote, and come up with some sort of a working arrangement. So, I.N.D.I.A bloc partners should watch this space very carefully.
Old World Charm
Cabinet Minister for Agriculture and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan got both his sons, Kartikeya and Kunal, married and hosted a joint reception for them in the capital. What stood out that evening was the sheer graciousness and warmth of the host as he welcomed almost the entire Parliament. Friends and colleagues cutting across party lines braved the almost hour long traffic jams leading to the venue to bless the young couples. That itself was a testimony to the cross-party goodwill Chouhan enjoys. Apart from the President, Vice President and Prime Minister of India, the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also dropped in, along with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Others who came in were sitting Chief Ministers Chandrababu Naidu, Omar Abdullah, Pushkar Singh Dhami and former CM Kamal Nath as well as the entire Cabinet. In today’s day of acrimonious politics, it was good to see glimpses of some old world courtesy, as Chouhan did not delegate his duties, but spent the entire evening going up and down the dais, ensuring that everyone was well looked after.
When will the new BJP Chief be announced?
Political observers are linking the Prime Minister’s proposed visit to Nagpur end March, to the announcement of the new BJP chief. Certainly the finalization of J.P. Nadda’s replacement is long overdue and given the recent (renewed?) bonhomie between the RSS and the BJP, it is also expected that the new chief would be someone who is acceptable to both Narendra Modi and Mohan Bhagwat. This doesn’t narrow the list that much, as by and large, both sides seem to agree on most names that have a Sangh Parivar link—except perhaps those belonging to the old guard. So that rules Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje out, but for reasons well known, keeps Rajnath Singh’s candidature alive.
There are other names doing the rounds, from former CM and Cabinet Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to someone relatively junior but from the South. A woman party chief can be ruled out for two reasons. One being the lack of a candidate (most of the women achievers have been accommodated in the Cabinet), and moreover the
BJP just checked that box when it appointed a woman as the Delhi Chief Minister. But with PM Modi, one never knows.