Curious silence
The former poll strategist, Prashant Kishor, surely knows how to inflict maximum pain. Currently on a 3,500 kilometres-long-march in Bihar, he chose to attack the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief, Lalu Prasad, and the deputy chief minister, Tejashwi Yadav. “Lalu’s son is a ninth class pass out and is a deputy chief minister, but your son will not be able to become even a peon if he has studied till class nine only. He is on the seat just because he is Lalu’s son,” he said at one of his meetings in West Champaran. People saw this as Kishor getting even with Prasad and Yadav, who have refused to accord any importance to him. Kishor is not sparing the CM, Nitish Kumar, either — he stressed that Nitish is living in his own world, devoid of any connection with reality. Nitish’s Janata Dal (United) hit back by calling Kishor an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Its national president, Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lalan Singh, has taken on the task to counter Kishor. Indeed, people have started wondering why the poll strategist is not as aggressive about the BJP as he is about other parties.
Patience pays
Mallikarjun Kharge is not just another Congress leader from Karnataka. The veteran politician, who could be the next AICC president, is someone who has almost always kept the interests of the party above his own. It’s no mean achievement to stay calm and not to sulk after missing the CM’s chair — not once but thrice. His poise and dignity even after losing out to SM Krishna in 1999, Dharam Singh in 2004 and PC Siddaramaiah in 2013 were remarkable. Many in the party now feel Kharge is an example for the Rajasthan CM, Ashok Gehlot, and the former deputy CM, Sachin Pilot, to emulate. While most leaders would have sulked, if not sparked a feud, Kharge remained a hardcore loyalist.
Kind gesture
The gesture of the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, to personally speak to the son of the veteran, Jayanti Patnaik, to share his grief following Patnaik’s recent demise has won many hearts in Odisha. Patnaik was the first chairperson of the National Commission for Women, a four-time MP and wife of former CM, late JB Patnaik. Almost every leader sent condolence messages to the bereaved family. But Rahul found the time to talk to Jayanti’s son, Prithvi Ballav Patnaik, even though he is busy with the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Earlier, he had reportedly sent a condolence message stating, “We have lost a member of our Congress family whose commitment to gender justice touched the lives of many. Smt Jayanti’s long innings in public life was marked by her unabiding faith in democracy and its ability to transform the lives of the marginalized.” Prithvi, who always stays aloof from politics, said, “I am thankful to Rahul for finding time to speak to me over phone. Rahul said how he was pained on the death of Jayanti Devi. During his few minutes of conversation, he spoke about us. It’s a nice gesture from him. Despite his busy schedule, he remembered our family and stood by us during our bad times.”
Sign of success
The ruling BJP in Assam has formally shifted to an opulent six-storeyed building at Basistha in Guwahati. Opulent by the standards of the party’s humble beginnings at a small house in Uzan Bazar in the Eighties. It now possesses the biggest party office in the Northeast, having the ability to accommodate over 4,000 people over an area of 95,000 square feet with multiple rooms for conferences, office-bearers and staffers.
The BJP came to power in Assam for the first time in 2016. The white-coloured state party headquarters was inaugurated by the BJP national president, JP Nadda, and the Union home minister, Amit Shah.
About turn
The BJP, which has left no stone unturned in claiming the legacy of BR Ambedkar for its own, has now gone out guns blazing against his vows being recited at a Buddhist event attended by an Aam Aadmi Party minister in Delhi. The vows include the renunciation of Hindu deities. The BJP has asked the police to book the minister, Rajendra Pal Gautam, AAP’s tallest Dalit leader. The AAP has distanced itself from the event but has not censured Gautam.
Insensitive comments
The South Delhi BJP member of Parliament, Ramesh Bidhuri, had an outburst at a Ramlila event where he allegedly called an Opposition politician a thief, prompting an organiser to chide him on stage. The BJP strongman then lost his cool in front of cameras, telling the organiser that he didn’t beg to be invited and he was only speaking of Indian culture, adding that there is nothing wrong in calling a thief a thief. Bidhuri embarrassed his party further by snapping at parents who came to him with grievances in schools. He asked them why they have children.
Footnote
The Congress leader, K Muraleedharan, has a knack of staying in the news. While the political career of this Lok Sabha member has been rather stagnant, his recent meeting with the BJP and RSS stalwart, PP Mukundan, has grabbed eyeballs. His explanation was that he called on Mukundan, a friend of his late father, since he was ailing. But the meeting with a BJP old-timer is being hotly discussed in Kerala’s political circles. Although Mukundan is way past his prime, none doubts his wealth of political knowledge.