Hidden gem
A poster demanding the Bharat Ratna for Rashtriya Janata Dal president, Lalu Prasad, suddenly appeared outside the party’s Bihar headquarters recently, causing a commotion across the political spectrum. Purportedly put up by a member of the RJD’s scheduled caste and scheduled tribe cell, it called Prasad a messiah and appealed to the Government of India to bestow the top award on the leader who is seen as a crusader for social justice and the voice of the poor. Caught unawares, senior party leaders found the demand hard to defend. Even Prasad’s own family did not support it. But the ruling National Democratic Alliance took the opportunity to taunt the RJD chief.
The Janata Dal (United) spokesperson, Neeraj Kumar, remarked that Prasad, convicted and jailed in the infamous fodder scam and currently facing several corruption cases, was indeed a ‘ratna’. “He is the ratna of the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, and income tax. He is a ratna of Hotwar jail in Ranchi where he was prisoner number 3351. He is a ratna of huge unaccountable wealth,” Kumar said. The Bharatiya Janata Party leader and deputy chief minister, Vijay Kumar Sinha, slammed the demand as a shameless one and said that the RJD chief was indeed a messiah of corruption and Bihar’s destruction. Last heard, the demand has been shelved with express instructions from the RJD top brass to not raise it again.
Do or die
The Congress member of Parliament, Gaurav Gogoi, is facing the heat in the run-up to the November 13 assembly bypolls in Assam after the collapse of Opposition unity in the state over candidate selection. A section of the Opposition is holding him responsible for weakening the alliance by getting his favoured candidate nominated from Behali, currently held by the ruling BJP. The Raijor Dal president, Akhil Gogoi, has been particularly harsh, publicly accusing the Congress’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha of being on an ego trip, of being too full of himself, of being in a mad rush to become the CM in 2026 at the cost of Opposition unity. Akhil Gogoi has also claimed that they worked hard to get Gaurav Gogoi elected as the Jorhat MP and the latter paid them back by betraying them. The Raijor Dal leader even warned the Congress that it cannot defeat the BJP alone in Assam and should apologise for the Behali betrayal (since it had committed to leaving the seat to its Opposition allies).
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi at Parliament House complex amid the Monsoon session, in New Delhi, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. PTI
Gaurav Gogoi claims that he wanted the party to put up a strong fight, something that the Opposition-backed Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate couldn’t. The barrage of criticism he is facing has turned the Behali contest into one between Gaurav Gogoi and the BJP. Congress insiders admit that a win would establish Gaurav Gogoi as a key player in Assam politics and pitchfork him as a frontrunner for the CM’s post should the Congress win in 2026. However, an adverse result could expose him to three-pronged attacks — from the Opposition, the BJP and the Assam PCC. Clearly, a lot is at stake for Gaurav Gogoi.
Double engine
For the BJP leadership, reclaiming tribal-dominated Jharkhand appears to be no less important than retaining power in Mumbai, the economic powerhouse of the country. This is why the Union agriculture minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and the Assam CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma, have been put in charge of steering the elections in Jharkhand. The chatter in party corridors, however, is about which of the two would get the credit if the BJP manages to snatch power in Ranchi. Sarma, a Congress turncoat is believed to have been assigned by the Union home minister, Amit Shah, who is known to be a fan of Sarma’s election management skills. His ability to deliver what the leadership wants is said to have earned Sarma the CM’s chair in Assam.
Chouhan, on the other hand, is seen as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s pick given his long experience in winning Madhya Pradesh, a state with a substantial tribal population. While Chouhan has been focussing on populist schemes to woo the poor, Sarma is playing the hardline Hindutva card, claiming a sharp demographic change in the state due to infiltration from Bangladesh.
New low
Diwali gifts for journalists from PR firms have become the norm. Vehicles laden with sweets and dry fruits are a common sight on India’s Fleet Streets. A new low in this practice — one that borders on corruption — was seen this Diwali on Rafi Marg, in the vicinity of several news organisations. At a small park near the bus stop, a PR firm brought the horses to the water by organising a public distribution of gifts. Journos queued up for their Diwali bonuses from a firm that handles accounts of doctors, film companies and godmen.
