Ticket to ride?
With Lok Sabha elections a few months away, a few surprising names have thrown their hats in the ring. One is DMK leader Kanimozhi, who is currently a Rajya Sabha member, but fresh after her clean chit in the 2G scam, she seems keen to contest the Lok Sabha elections, and perhaps, thus also lay claim to her father’s legacy. The other name that has created ripples is that of Shaurya Doval, son of NSA Ajit Doval. Doval Jr seems keen to try his luck from Pauri in Garwahal, Uttarakhand. Interestingly, his ancestral roots come from Giri in Pauri district and the area already has his posters. For now, however, he has maintained to the media that all he is interested in is “social work”. That’s a smart line to take, for he knows too well that ticket distribution rests with the party president.
Old guard to the rescue?
Although Sushma Swaraj has made it clear that she is not keen to contest the Lok Sabha elections, citing health reasons, there is some pressure on her to contest from Bhopal. One reason for this is that the Narendra Modi government needs to retain as many seats as it can and at least try and come close to its earlier mandate. In fact, party sources say that the hitherto ignored Margdarshak Mandal, too, will be encouraged to contest—this includes both Murli Manohar Joshi and L.K. Advani, as both veterans enjoy a certain amount of goodwill in their constituencies. One is not quite sure whether Advani will oblige, but Joshi seems keen to fight the polls. Another rethink being done by the Modi-Shah duo is the decision to field the old candidates once again. Earlier they were toying with the idea of beating the anti-incumbency by fielding new candidates, but now it seems that—especially after this decision backfired badly in the Madhya Pradesh elections—it makes sense to repeat the incumbent MPs. And try and avoid the BJP vote being split by the same MPs contesting as “rebels”.
Priyanka for Lok Sabha?
Now that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has formally been inducted into active politics, there is a lot of speculation as to whether she will contest the Lok Sabha elections as well. Media speculation has it that she could replace her mother as the candidate from Rae Bareli. However, there is another view that she should not be tied down to one constituency, but focus on her role as the general secretary for the entire region. As for the Lok Sabha, if she so desires, then she can always contest at a later date, either from Rae Bareli or another constituency in the South.