Seat-sharing is never simple business. But an added layer of complexity in the Bihar Opposition’s alliance this time is the strained relation between the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, Tejashwi Yadav, and Congress leader in charge of Bihar, Shaktisinh Gohil. Sources revealed that Gohil’s blunt talk — he stated that both parties will suffer if an alliance is not stitched up — annoyed Tejashwi, who felt the Congress leader wasn’t giving him due respect. Tejashwi not only stopped taking Gohil’s calls, but also flaunted this fact before RJD leaders. Gohil added fuel to the fire by calling him a greenhorn who needs to show maturity. While RJD leaders justify Tejashwi’s stance, arguing that he was virtually the party chief and hence deserved the same respect they give to Rahul Gandhi, Bihar Congress leaders were ecstatic at Gohil’s tough posturing. Congress leaders pointed out that Gohil wasn’t a young newcomer; the 60-year-old became an MLA around 30 years ago when Tejashwi was born. Gohil grew in politics fighting Narendra Modi and Amit Shah and is seen as a tough guy rising fast in the Congress hierarchy.

One Bihar Congress leader quipped, “The RJD leader wouldn’t have snubbed the Congress representative if someone like Ghulam Nabi Azad or Ahmed Patel negotiated with Tejashwi. But they should understand the next generation has taken over in the Congress and this lot too has over three decades experience in politics.” The new crop of Congress leaders may gain more stature after a stint in power — the likes of Digvijaya Singh, Anand Sharma, Salman Khurshid and so on — and till then the friction with allies will have to be digested. But the positive fallout of this tussle is that Gohil earned the respect of Congressmen in Bihar who are opposed to any understanding with the RJD and want to go it alone. Over 90 per cent of Congress workers appeared happy when the alliance looked like it may collapse.

Read between the lines

“Dictators thrive on yokes like brute state power, a pliant media and incessant propaganda. Gandhi respected his critics. But dictators can’t stand dissent.” At first glance, one could conclude that these sentences came from a critic of Narendra Modi, possibly an Opposition leader. These words, however, were penned by the Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Ram Madhav, in a newspaper article marking the birth anniversary of M.K. Gandhi.

The content has raised eyebrows in BJP corridors as Madhav, a high-profile BJP leader, was dropped as the national general-secretary of the party recently. Now Madhav occupies no post in the party. The reason why Madhav, a talented and well networked leader, was shunted out is that his relations with the powers that be in the party are believed to have soured. In Lutyens’ corridors of power, the article is being seen as Madhav using Gandhi’s shoulder to shoot at his party leadership. In the use of Gandhi, the irony was also not lost, since the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, with which Madhav has close connections, is hardly fond of the Mahatma. Madhav extolled Gandhian agenda for “more openness, freedom and a life of dignity” and sought to lament that 72 years after his death, Gandhism remains but it is mostly about “externals” like “cleanliness, khadi, cow protection and swadeshi...”. Isn’t the prime minister, Modi, particularly fond of indulging in such “externals” such as the Swachh Bharat mission, the promotion of khadi and the emphasis on cow protection?

The organizational reshuffle in the BJP appears to have left more than one leader aggrieved. But given the total dominance of the current leadership, most can’t muster courage to voice dissent. However, some are seen to be using oblique means to air their unhappiness. Apart from telling sentences on dictatorial regimes in his write-up on Mahatma Gandhi, Madhav has removed any reference to the BJP from his Twitter bio. He is now just: “Member, Board of Governors, India Foundation”. India Foundation is a strategic/policy think tank. Another leader, P Muralidhar Rao, who, too, was dropped as general-secretary of the party, has used a curious idea in his Twitter bio. Muralidhar, also an RSS man like Madhav, has just two words, “Empowering India”. Many in the BJP are wondering what’s hidden between those two words.

Leaked truths

The zero tolerance to corruption slogan of the ruling BJP in Assam is facing its first real litmus test in the case against those responsible for the question paper leak that led to the cancellation of the September 20 recruitment test for 597 posts of sub-inspectors. The probe so far has revealed the presence of a well-oiled coaching network to find candidates willing to pay for government jobs. This network held a mock test a day before the test. Apart from the accused, the names of a few members of legislative assemblies are also doing the rounds for running dubious coaching classes and centres with ulterior motives.

The Congress has not only stepped up its attack on the government for the lapses but it also sees in the whole situation a strategy to saffronize the government by packing it with people from the RSS background. The paper leak has clearly opened a can of worms that the BJP has to close before it becomes a festering wound in time for the assembly polls slated for next year.

Footnote

A late entrant to the protests against the Hathras gang rape, murder and alleged State cover up is the Aam Aadmi Party chief, Arvind Kejriwal. Even now he leaves much to be desired. While his colleagues have been more forthright in blaming the Uttar Pradesh CM, Yogi Adityanath, and the BJP for intimidating the victim’s family after her death, and cremating her body without consent, Kejriwal’s speech left people wondering what got the tongue of the firebrand leader who once called the PM a “psychopath”. Without even a mention of Adityanath or his party, Kejriwal’s reaction paled in comparison to even what the slower, and less organized Congress has done in the capital where it does not hold any assembly or parliamentary seat.