Future role

The lieutenant-governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, has been desperate to return to mainstream politics. With the erstwhile state finally headed for assembly elections, Sinha is hopeful of returning to political activities, but not without a plump role. The Bharatiya Janata Party leader from eastern Uttar Pradesh has completed four years as the head of the Union territory. According to his supporters, the Kashmir posting was akin to a “political vanvas” for a leader who has spent all his life soaking in heartland politics. Soft-spoken Sinha nearly missed becoming the chief minister of UP in 2017. After losing the Ghazipur seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he found himself in the political wilderness. Speculation has it that if luck smiles on Sinha this time, he could be the next party president. Sinha fits the bill — he not only has strong roots in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh but is also a loyalist of both the prime minister, Narendra Modi, and the Union home minister, Amit Shah. Sinha can thus make both sides happy. His elevation, however, could threaten the UP CM, Yogi Adityanath. The two leaders from UP don’t share a rapport. But many feel that this could be exactly what Shah requires to cut Adityanath to size.

Slow down

The car that the Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader, Chirag Paswan, was travelling in zoomed across the national highway from his constituency, Hajipur, to Motihari in Bihar recently. The e-detection system on the route caught his car exceeding the legal speed limit. A challan was immediately issued to the Central minister on the mobile number that is assigned to the vehicle’s registration number. The incident naturally caused an uproar. A few seasoned politicians quipped that it was bound to happen. “Chirag was going too fast, and was lucky that he escaped with just a Rs 2,000 fine because at times over-speeding leads to accidents,” one of them reasoned. Such snarky remarks might be connected to recent developments. Paswan had flexed his muscle in the ruling alliance by criticising several of the recent decisions of the BJP-led government at the Centre.

Asked about the fine, Paswan said, “It would be paid.” He has since been silent. Another reason for his silence could be that the Union home minister, Amit Shah, recently invited the former’s estranged uncle and Lok Janshakti Party (Rashtriya) leader, Pashupati Kumar Paras, for a meeting in Delhi. Going fast has its own risks, young politicians, especially, should learn this important lesson.

Whisper campaign

Conjecture spread like wildfire as the leader of the Opposition, Tejashwi Yadav, came out after meeting the CM, Nitish Kumar, at the latter’s office. People rushed to probe the reasons behind the meeting. It was later revealed that the two leaders discussed the appointment of the state information commissioners. But this was not enough to calm the political grapevine. Several politicians asserted that a similar meeting between the two had taken place in 2022 over the caste-based survey in the state which had paved the way for their respective parties to come together to form the Mahagathbandhan government. They also pointed out that Kumar is a habitual somersaulter and must be itching to switch allegiance again.

Others still argued that with the 2025 assembly polls on his mind, the CM, who is also the Janata Dal (United) boss, could be thinking about shaking hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal to secure a good outcome. The two parties together make a formidable combination in the state polls. Some reasoned that with the Patna High Court setting aside a law for raising the reservation quota and the issue of caste census gaining ground, the two parties could find it easier to come together. Moreover, the JD(U) is not happy with its share in the BJP-led Central government. Although Kumar tried to quell such speculation by asserting before the BJP president, JP Nadda, that he would stick with the National Democratic Alliance, people know better than to take Kumar’s assurances at face value.

Pale reflection

The Odisha CM, Mohan Charan Majhi, is aware that it will take him years to even get close to the persona of his predecessor, Naveen Patnaik, from the Biju Janata Dal. But ever-conscious of his public persona, over the last several days, Majhi has been meeting people, either at his office or during tours. When he realised that his statement about the lack of possibility of setting up circuit courts of the Odisha High Court in other parts of the state snowballed into a major issue, Majhi backtracked immediately. On Teacher’s Day, the press portrayed his journey from a being teacher to becoming the CM. Surprisingly, there was no mention of his earlier demands for the release of Dara Singh, the main accused in the killing of Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and his two sons. Majhi is determined not to repeat the mistakes of the former Odisha CM, Giridhar Gamang, who lost his position because he could not connect with the people.