Power play

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s reduced numbers in the Lok Sabha have started troubling its rank and file. For instance, the assertiveness of the BJP’s ally, Chirag Paswan, the minister of food processing industries in the Modi 3.0 government, has triggered consternation. Many leaders of the saffron party feel that the Paswan, who had sought to project himself as “Modi’s Hanuman”, is now trying to virtually climb on the government’s head. Paswan, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief, was the first among the allies to protest against the bypassing of reservations in the lateral hiring advertisement for the bureaucracy, compelling the government to roll back the ad. Thereafter, he has been pitching for a caste census, a demand flagged aggressively by the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi. Many BJP leaders feel that the Bihar-based leader is indirectly strengthening the Opposition’s agenda. “Chirag wants to show that he has become a big leader. He should understand that he has just 5 MPs,” one BJP leader said. This leader, however, blamed his party leadership for giving too much importance to Paswan by rewarding him with a cabinet berth, which is unusual for a first-time minister.

True colours

As the October 2 launch date of the Jan Suraaj party of the poll consultant-turned-politician, Prashant Kishor, draws close, his true colours are being revealed. He had started by making some noise about the development of Bihar and the necessity to rise above caste and creed. But he has now succumbed to these very things. He has already announced plans to factor in caste — distributing tickets proportionate to the population of different castes and rotating the command of the party among various castes. Moreover, he is also recruiting sidelined politicians from different parties.

Poll strategist Prashant Kishor speaks to the people at a meeting on inviting them to join his political movement 'Jan Suraaj' which is scheduled to be launched this year on 2nd October. PTI

“So what new is he going to offer if he is adopting the vestiges of the past,” asked another politician. “His tactics seem to be old wine in old bottle. But maybe he is now becoming a real politician,” he added.

Busy bee

Everybody is surprised about the change in the chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar. He is on a spree these days, inspecting some development projects, inaugurating others, shooting instructions regarding delayed ones, chairing review meetings of various departments and monitoring floods and droughts. The speculation is that he is working at a breakneck pace because the assembly elections are still over a year away. Some also think that he is working so hard to stay fit, while others are of the opinion that he wants to send a message to his party and the public that he is in charge of the situation, especially amidst rumours about his ill health. There are also whispers about early elections being called, sometime around March. This would explain why he is gearing up to enter poll mode.

Noisy patient

Akhil Gogoi, who had won the Sibsagar assembly seat in the 2021 elections from judicial custody, is always protesting. Having flagged issues of concern within and outside the assembly against the BJP-led government’s failures, even a hospital visit could not tame him. Gogoi was admitted to the Guahati Medical College and Hospital for three days and was raising his voice about the government’s alleged attempt to curb dissent and freedom of expression. From his hospital room, Gogoi held a placard with a cartoon showing the Assam CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma, sitting on the shoulders of a Muslim man trying to cross the mighty Brahmaputra. Gogoi claimed that Sarma was upping the Hindu-Muslim and indigenous-Miya politics to successfully sail through the 2026 state polls. He also said that the police raided the places where he printed the cartoons.

Make hay

Mayur Borgohain, a BJP leader in Assam, has turned heads for the way he exploited the deadline issued to ‘Miya Muslims’ (pejorative for Bengali Muslims) to leave Upper Assam. In a police complaint, labourers working at Borgohain’s project site alleged that his acquaintances beat them up and asked them to leave and not ask for the unpaid dues from the politician. Even the Opposition flagged Borgohain’s alleged shenanigans. Borgohain has not responded to the allegations but the incident proves that some see opportunity even in adversity.

Too slow

Everyone seems to be bent on appeasing the BJP’s central leadership on the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital incident. After the Odisha CM reacted to the Bengal CM’s comment that states like Odisha will face the heat if the BJP tries to unleash violence in Bengal, the Odisha governor, Raghubar Das, is trying to corner her. Demanding stringent punishment for the culprit, he said common people across the country are disturbed by the incident. While Das’s concern is appreciated, one wonders what took him so long.