By Tridib Raman
In the wake of the unexpected defeat in the Haryana Assembly elections, Congress leaders have been searching for a scapegoat. Senior party leaders went to the Election Commission on Thursday to lodge a complaint regarding alleged tampering with the EVMs. They formally submitted a memorandum to the commission and then returned to party president Kharge’s residence, where a review meeting was to be held regarding the Haryana loss. Rahul Gandhi’s displeasure with his senior leaders in Haryana became evident from the fact that Bhupinder Singh Hooda was in Delhi that day, but he was not invited to the meeting. Selja and Surjewala were not even informed about the meeting. It is also reported that Rahul Gandhi was quite upset with the Haryana in-charge, Deepak Babaria, so even though Babaria was available, he was only connected to the meeting virtually. From Ajay Maken to KC Venugopal, everyone blamed the defeat entirely on the EVMs, and Kharge himself seemed to endorse this view. However, Rahul Gandhi, who was present at the meeting, could not contain himself and lost his temper. Almost scolding the senior leaders present, he said in a sharp tone, “You cannot just blame the EVMs to escape your responsibilities. We lost a winnable contest in Haryana simply because there were numerous flaws in our election management. Our ticket distribution was not right, and the opposition took advantage of the lack of coordination among our leaders. I kept insisting, but you sidelined coalition politics, and we lost 6-7 seats because of the Aam Aadmi Party. You couldn’t handle the party rebels, and the anti-BJP vote did not consolidate in our favour, getting divided among several small parties and independents. I can count at least 17 seats where we lost due to our mismanagement.” Rahul became so angry while speaking that he left the meeting halfway through.
Surjewala, Hooda, and Selja to Be Sidelined
By Tridib Raman
Indications are that Rahul Gandhi, upset over the unexpected defeat in the Haryana Assembly elections, might clip the wings of several senior party leaders. This could happen after the release of the “Fact-Finding Committee” report, which was formed to investigate the reasons for the Haryana loss. Rahul is reportedly very angry about the situation in Haryana and is inclined to promote new and younger leadership not just in Haryana, but in other states as well. Rahul Gandhi had previously advocated for this within the party, but senior leaders had opposed him, leading to the formation of the G-23 group, with Bhupinder Hooda being a key member. Rahul believes that Hooda has prevented any other influential leaders from establishing themselves in the party, including Rao Inderjit Singh, Kiran Choudhary, and Kuldeep Bishnoi. Selja has followed a similar path as Hooda, limiting the prospects for other Dalit leaders within Congress. It is perhaps for this reason that the relatively young leader, Ashok Tanwar, left Congress for the BJP. Though he rejoined Congress just two days before the election, it was likely too late to make a difference. Sources suggest that in the coming days, Tanwar may take over Selja’s political space. With the passing of Ahmed Patel, who had greatly supported Selja’s rise within Congress, she may be relegated to the sidelines. Similarly, Randeep Surjewala’s political future appears uncertain. He barely managed to get his son elected from his stronghold this time, and there are talks that he may soon lose his position as in-charge of Karnataka. The biggest blame, however, is likely to fall on Hooda. The party had allocated 72 out of 90 tickets in the state based on his recommendations. It’s rumoured that Hooda may have secretly supported Congress rebels in constituencies where his candidates didn’t get tickets, which turned the tide against the party.
Maken-Gehlot Oversaw the Decline
By Tridib Raman
This time, Rahul Gandhi doesn’t intend to go easy on his senior party leaders. Despite Congress’s shrinking influence over time, the stature of these established leaders has only grown. Rahul has made a list of ‘four’ such leaders, which includes Ajay Maken, Ashok Gehlot, Deepak Babaria, and Sunil Kanugolu. Deepak Babaria was made in-charge of Haryana only because he was considered close to Rahul. However, he is accused of not being visible on the ground throughout the election and limiting his role to ticket distribution. Several complaints about ticket distribution have reached the high command against him. Maken was made the overall in-charge of the Haryana elections but could not get out of his arrogance. He was responsible for ticket distribution, but did he select such capable candidates? Sources claim that it was only because of Maken that the ‘Congress-AAP’ electoral alliance could not happen in Haryana, as Maken does not get along with Kejriwal. Ashok Gehlot was made the senior coordinator for Haryana to maintain proper coordination among party leaders and workers, but when 29 Congress rebels entered the fray, Gehlot could not persuade even one of them. Now, talking about election strategist Sunil Kanugolu, he was responsible for creating and implementing the entire election strategy. He prepared the list of winning candidates in order of priority, so was this list and ground survey not accurate? Or was the list altered at the behest of several senior party leaders? Rahul now expresses his frustration with these four leaders, quoting: “The garden was plundered under your watch, how can I believe you weren’t complicit?”
Kejriwal Turns Away from Raghav
By Tridib Raman
Once Raghav Chadha was considered Kejriwal’s ‘blue-eyed boy,’ but since he returned to India after getting his eyes treated abroad, it seems the AAP supremo has started turning away from him. Although Raghav is not only a Rajya Sabha member of AAP, Kejriwal had also entrusted him with significant responsibilities in Punjab. Kejriwal’s displeasure with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is also becoming evident. Mann, along with Raghav, had formed his media team, but recently Kejriwal replaced Mann’s entire media team. Kejriwal is reportedly unhappy with Mann’s working style, so there is a buzz that Kejriwal has started looking for his replacements. In this context, the names of Nabha’s Dalit MLA Gurdev Singh Dev Mann and Khanna’s MLA Tarunpreet Singh Sond are emerging. Sond, a young businessman who has been with AAP since 2012, was included in Mann’s cabinet in this recent reshuffle. If you remember, Mann is the same MLA who had previously garnered attention for coming to the assembly on a bicycle.
Sangh and BJP Back on the Same Page
By Tridib Raman
The Sangh leadership is elated about the victory in Haryana and the encouraging performance of the BJP in the Jammu and Kashmir elections. RSS has also put an end to reports of tension between the Sangh and the BJP, which had been circulating for some time. Now, the Sangh has not only geared up for the upcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand elections but has also added the Bihar and Delhi elections to its agenda, which are scheduled for the coming year, i.e., 2025. A glimpse of the preparations for the Delhi elections was seen during a two-day meeting in Ranthambore. In attendance were all MLAs, MPs, and party officials from Delhi BJP, alongside the province and department heads of Delhi. The meeting was also addressed by Arun Kumar on behalf of the Sangh.
Akhilesh Changing Political Gears
By Tridib Raman
Has Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Akhilesh Yadav shifted his political strategy after witnessing Congress’s unexpected defeat in Haryana? It seems so, as Akhilesh now intends to contest state elections independently. Although he made an attempt during the Jammu and Kashmir elections by fielding 20 candidates under the SP banner, nearly all of them lost their deposits. However, Akhilesh remains undeterred and now plans to replicate this approach in Maharashtra. His party has decided that SP will field candidates in all constituencies where Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM is contesting. By challenging Owaisi directly, Akhilesh hopes not only to attract Muslim voters but also to divide the Muslim vote, thereby easing the path for the Congress-Uddhav-Sharad Pawar alliance (Maha Vikas Aghadi). Additionally, this move serves as an attempt to expand SP’s influence beyond Uttar Pradesh.
Nayab Saini Set to Reclaim Haryana’s Top Spot
According to sources, Nayab Singh Saini may once again be appointed Chief Minister of Haryana on October 17. It is expected that up to a dozen ministers will be included in his cabinet. Along with new faces like Savitri Jindal and Shruti Chaudhary, familiar figures such as Anil Vij may also make a return. Currently, the recruitment process for 25,000 positions across various government departments in Haryana is on hold, but the results of these exams are expected to be announced soon. This timing could send a positive message to the youth of the state, coinciding with the formation of the new government.
