Tele Warrior
From Covid to China, Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh, there is one party spokesperson who has done the Congress proud and that is Pawan Khera. Don’t forget that Khera has been Sheila Dikshit’s political adviser for over a decade and is no novice to the workings of the Congress, at various levels. So perhaps it’s because of his hands-on experience at controlling the narrative during Dikshit’s Delhi government, added with a keen sense of history that he is never short of a smart comeback, though always with a smile (except perhaps when he is pitted against the BJP’s Sambit Patra). Interestingly, Khera’s comments are getting fair play on social media, too often creating their own ecosystem of point counter-point. The Congress desperately needed a voice to counter the BJP, which has a plethora of talking heads but unfortunately most of the faces it fielded lacked a certain perspective and a lot of gravitas. Apart from Khera, others such as Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Manish Tewari and Randeep Surjewala are seasoned debators, but they usually prefer one-on-ones or face-offs, rather than routine studio debates. Hence the Congress needed an articulate voice that can put its case amidst a usually pro BJP studio-panel, and this is where Pawan comes in.
Fool me once, not twice
After Madhya Pradesh, the Congress was determined not to be caught napping in Rajasthan as well. Or so it seems if the alleged taped conversations between a Congress MLA (from Sachin Pilot’s camp) and a Union Minister from the Central government are to be believed. It had begun tapping phones of those whom it felt the BJP would pick on and interestingly, we are told that this is not it. There is one more tape that is still to come out and that one, according to top Congress sources, is between Sachin Pilot himself and a very senior BJP general secretary. “The long hand of the BJP is very much there behind Sachin’s revolt and we have proof,” says a source. But who tipped off the Congress and put the party on alert? Was it a mole within the BJP’s own camp who has a better equation with Ashok Gehlot than with the BJP? That’s the question that is doing the rounds.
Double jeopardy
The Congress has finally suspended its former spokesperson Sanjay Jha from the party, after first removing him as spokesperson. Soon after he was removed as spokesman he appeared on The Roundtable at NewsX where BJP leader and spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy had a good natured dig at him asking him to be careful as the Congress was busy sacking those who didn’t defend the party stridently enough. To which Sanjay had retorted that the party had already sacked him as spokesman, so couldn’t punish him twice. Well, clearly they can for the suspension note followed soon after he was heard sympathising with Sachin Piliot.
Which side is he on?
Pavan Verma has quit the JDU, but continues to be in demand on TV debates. Interestingly, while he was with the NDA he didn’t hesitate to speak his mind and criticised the BJP and the Prime Minister when he felt there was a need to do so. However, now that he is out of the NDA and clearly on the Opposition’s side of the political divide, he is critiquing the Congress, from Rahul Gandhi’s “Surrender Modi” tweet to the way the Congress handled the Sachin Pilot revolt. When his rather confusing behaviour was pointed out to him he laughed and replied that he was simply being objective. Guess what Pavan reflects is an impatience by the rest of the Opposition with the Congress and Rahul in particular, for not getting his act together and literally giving the BJP a walkover.
Bihar Polls on Time?
With Covid cases rising in Bihar there is a concern, especially among the non NDA parties that the government may use this as a pretext to postpone the state polls which are due by the yearend. One reason is that the BJP is not too happy with Nitish Kumar’s handling of the migrants who were stranded outside his state. But since the Opposition hasn’t really got its act together, especially with the allies opposing the choice of Tejashwi Yadav as its CM face, perhaps the NDA isn’t so badly off.
War of the Press Releases
Apparently, the Ashok Gehlot camp has come out with a 10-point press release titled “Why Sachin Pilot’s Revolt Failed”. This note is being circulated by the Pilot camp with their rebuttal and counter points. So while the note that is allegedly being attributed to the Gehlot camp states that Pilot has no support at the district level barring a few pockets, the counter note claims that the Gehlot formula is simple. “Don’t do any hard work but manage the 14 people around the Congress President and don’t forget to tell the Emperor about his new clothes”. While one is not quite sure who will win this round of the press releases, all this is very interesting fodder for the BJP. How many more self goals will the Congress score?