Cool Breeze: Kharge’s Reshuffle

Kharge’s Reshuffle

Why is the Congress reshuffle delayed? The Congress president was expected to announce a new Congress Working Committee and also reshuffle the party organisation at the headquarters soon after the Raipur AICC meet at the end of February. However, this keeps getting postponed due to some reason or the other. While the recently concluded Parliament session and the ongoing Karnataka elections are valid reasons for delay, some claim that there is more to it than just that. According to Congress sources, Kharge wants to replace some of Rahul Gandhi’s loyalists who are currently holding fort both at the General Secretary level and also within the Communications Department. But in this he is facing a strong resistance (either from Team Rahul, or Rahul himself). So whenever the reshuffle will finally happen, one indication of Kharge’s hold over the party will be the extent to which he can replace some of the unpopular faces of the existing set up with his own team members. Watch this space.

Appeasement or Fixing Faultlines?

Is the BJP making a consistent outreach towards the minority communities? First there was the Prime Minister’s appeal to the party workers at the National Executive to reach out to the Pasmanda Muslims (backward) and Shia Bohras. And not too long ago Rashid Ahmad Quadri was awarded the Padma Shri and a clip of him with the PM thanking him for an honour that the Congress failed to bestow on him went viral. The BJP is also wooing the Christians, with party workers being told to go to church on Easter. The messaging of admitting A.K. Antony’s son Anil Antony to the party was also not lost on the cadre. The sceptics attribute these moves to the global scrutiny during the G20 summit; but another way to look at this could be that the BJP wants to step into the faultlines of appeasement politics created by the Congress—such as its stand on triple talaq. For whatever reasons, a more inclusive approach towards politics can only work in India’s favour.

The NCP Divide

Is the NCP divided over doing business with the Congress? Certainly both Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar seem to be signalling a willingness to move towards the BJP. Their recent statements seem to indicate this shift, especially when Ajit Pawar took on his opposition allies for making an issue about the PM’s degree. He is also rumoured to have got the signatures of as many as 40 of the party’s 54 MLAs to negotiate an alliance with the BJP at the state level, should the Eknath Shinde government

fall. But will Supriya Sule (Sharad Pawar’s daughter and Lok Sabha MP from Baramati) be okay with this move? She has been articulate in taking on the Modi government in Parliament, and during the Smriti Irani-Sonia Gandhi face-off in Parliament, both Mahua Moitra and Supriya Sule were at Sonia’s side and later defended her case with the media. Will Surpiya be okay to align with the BJP? Then again, with Sharad Pawar no one knows what game he is playing. Also, don’t forget an anecdote that may or may not be true, but is now firmly part of political folklore. It depicts a conversation between the late Narasimha Rao and Sharad Pawar. When Rao asked Pawar what does two plus two add up to, Pawar is reportedly said to have replied: the answer depends on whether you are buying or selling. That’s pragmatic politics for sure.