The more the Congress changes
Post the Assembly polls the Congress once again followed an old familiar script by first gunning for the Gandhis (via the G23) and then being mollified by them. The Gandhis for their part used the old theory of divide and rule by first reaching out the Bhupinder Singh Hooda (who is one of the few mass leaders in the G23) and then Ghulam Nabi Azad. While Rahul met the former, Sonia met the latter. And as for those who spoke out—both Kapil Sibal and to an extent Manish Tewari have not been engaged. In fact, it was Manish who made an important point when he questioned the objectivity of appointing the very same people who had been in charge of the polls to assess the reasons for the loss. Interestingly, it was P. Chidambaram who took on journalists by pointing out that “The Congress election is in August. Are you suggesting that we pick an interim president to replace an interim president (Sonia Gandhi) for three months?” But the demand for collective leadership is one that the G23 is not going to shelve anytime soon. This could be in the form of an active parliamentary board or by dividing the office of Congress President and the leader of the Lok Sabha. In case of a division, the dominant view in the G23 is that Rahul should take the parliamentary leadership and choose a non Gandhi to revive the organisation. But given the fact that the main USP of the Gandhis is that they are the glue that keeps the Congress united, it would be difficult to distance them completely from organisational affairs. In other words, do not expect any far-reaching changes, at least not for the next three months.
The Wrong Seat
It seems that Akhilesh Yadav has decided to hold on to his Lok Sabha seat instead of his Assembly one by resigning from the latter. This has not sent the right message down the ranks as one of the criticisms against the SP chief was that he began his campaign too late. In spite of that the SP managed to more than double its seats and make a sizeable increase in its vote share. Keeping this in mind, would it not make more sense for Akilesh to stay visible in state politics and take on the BJP, and Yogi Adityanath, in the Assembly instead of opting for national politics?
BJP’s Gen Next
Those looking for signs that Yogi Adityanath could emerge as Narendra Modi’s heir apparent would have to wait till at least 2027. The Prime Minister has made it very clear—not once but twice—that Yogi’s mandate is to be the UP CM from 2022 to 2027. This has effectively nipped any rumours that Yogi could be accommodated in the Union Cabinet at a later date. There is also a buzz that Amit Shah might be considering moving back to the party as president once J.P. Nadda’s term ends at the end of this year. But regardless of which post he holds, Amit Shah’s role in the UP win and the way he handles the nuts and bolts of BJP’s election machinery will always ensure that he has a place of prominence in Modi’s BJP.