Fearful state

Not knowing how to mitigate the losses that the Bharatiya Janata Party government has been incurring since the houses and roads in Joshimath started developing cracks as a result of land subsidence, the chief minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami, has been left baffled. The disaster has been linked to unbridled development — the construction of a hydropower project, a tunnel and an all-weather road across the Himalayan state are a few examples — that has been sanctioned by the BJP government, either at the Centre or in the state. Sensing resentment among voters, the party’s national president, JP Nadda, instructed Dhami to set up camp in Joshimath and interact with the victims. The strategy failed to pacify the situation and affected residents refused to withdraw their protest demanding a transparent rehabilitation plan. The locals are apprehensive that the double-engine government of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and the CM will lose no time looking for “apda me awasar” (opportunity in crisis) — a phrase coined by the PM during the pandemic. Many believe that people would be made to vacate their homes and the town restructured by the government after being handed over to some corporate group.

Tight corner

The corridors of power in Delhi are abuzz with whispers about a major rejig of the Union cabinet. With the details of the reshuffle being kept a secret, many names of probable losers and winners are doing the rounds. It seems that the Union minister of information & broadcasting, and sports, Anurag Singh Thakur, can be among the biggest losers. The high-profile minister could pay a price for the BJP’s defeat in the recent assembly elections in his home state, Himachal Pradesh. Although the BJP chief, JP Nadda, also hails from the hill state, Thakur is being targeted because the party lost all the five assembly segments that are under his Lok Sabha constituency, Hamirpur. Thakur, a four-time parliamentarian and the son of the former CM, Prem Kumar Dhumal, has been eyeing the CM’s post in Himachal for long. Getting to it, though, is likely to be a long and arduous journey for him.

Misplaced praise

There is perhaps more than one reason for the BJP to target Anurag Singh Thakur. Recently, the Union minister heaped praises on the Odisha CM, Naveen Patnaik, for organising the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in the state in a grand way. While attending the inaugural ceremony at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, Thakur said, “No matter how many World Cups are held, Odisha is the big one.” He even congratulated the state government for organising the tournament for the second time in a row. However, Patnaik’s deft handling of the event did not go down well with the state BJP leaders, who slammed him for using the tournament to gain political mileage.

Widening rift

The lieutenant-governor of Delhi, VK Saxena, has reportedly frozen several flagship schemes of the Aam Aadmi Party government. Saxena questioned the wisdom of the decision to send government school teachers to Finland for training. On the other hand, the CM, Arvind Kejriwal, accused the LG’s office of compelling officials to stop payments to several government facilities ahead of the municipal polls last month. Further, Saxena unilaterally nominated 10 aldermen to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. A meeting between the two failed to thaw this cold war.

Hidden motive

The recent decision of the Union home ministry to give Z-category security cover to Chirag Paswan, the leader of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and member of Parliament from Jamui, has raised eyebrows. The Centre’s benevolence towards him has been construed as a sign of Paswan being incorporated into the PM’s cabinet in the future. Paswan has emerged as a dynamic leader and is a known baiter of the Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar, who deserted the BJP to form the Grand Alliance. Six per cent of Bihar’s voters are from the Paswan caste. With the 2024 elections in sight, the saffron party plans to use Paswan against Nitish.

Plot thickens

The BJP has been counting on the Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP, Shashi Tharoor, to contest the Kerala assembly elections on its ticket. In case Tharoor stays away, the saffron party has a standby candidate — the former BJP MP, Suresh Gopi. Tharoor has won the seat with huge margins each time and the BJP is aware that the only chance to win the Kerala capital is if Tharoor doesn’t contest. On the other hand, the state Congress leaders have been working to ensure that Tharoor is safely tucked away in the Lok Sabha.

Footnote

Rumours have it that the Janata Dal (United) parliamentary board chairman, Upendra Kushwaha, could be gravitating towards the BJP. He was expecting the Bihar CM, Nitish Kumar, to make him his second deputy after Tejashwi Yadav. However, Nitish indicated that he has no such plans. Political leaders said that Kushwaha will not settle on anything less than the post of deputy CM. He has been out of power for several years after quitting the NDA and his current position is just an ornamental one.