By Tridib Raman
Sports have no singular colour; they represent only a universal declaration of patriotism through its competitive spirit. When injustice was done to the brave female wrestlers of our country right under the noses of New Delhi, they managed to turn the largest democratic protest ring, Jantar Mantar, into their battlefield. Now, in the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, Congress intends to field some real wrestlers in the electoral arena. For this, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the leader of Congress in the state, has meticulously prepared a roadmap for this. Initially, Congress intended to field Vinesh Phogat from one of the seats in Bhiwani-Mahendragarh. However, reliable sources close to Vinesh say, she does not want to end her wrestling career yet, so she is hesitant to contest the elections this time. In turn, Congress has even offered her a Rajya Sabha seat if she chooses not to contest the elections. In addition, Sakshi Malik, who was the first to blow the trumpet against former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, has been offered a ticket to contest the next Lok Sabha elections from the constituency of Sonipat, a seat where the Malik community holds significant influence. However, in this election, Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia might be fielded from the Badli seat in Jhajjar district. Currently, Congress’s Kuldeep Vats is the MLA from here, who defeated BJP’s O.P. Dhankar in the last election.
BRS to Change Its Name
By Tridib Raman
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) wants to blame its previous election defeat on its name. After spending several months in jail due to her involvement in the Delhi liquor scam, K. Kavitha, daughter of party founder Chandrashekhar Rao, returned home and sought her father’s blessings. This reaffirmed Rao’s belief that the party’s troubles stemmed solely from the name change. Originally named Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), the party’s name was well-suited, as Rao had led the separatist movement for a Telangana state. However, before the 2024 general elections, Rao’s political ambitions extended beyond the state’s borders to a national level, and he began dreaming of becoming the Prime Minister. To expand the party at the national level, the name ‘Bharat’ was added, changing it to BRS. Unfortunately, this left him in a situation where he was neither here nor there. Therefore, at a core committee meeting held last week to discuss BRS’s poor performance in the elections, it was decided that by the end of this year, the name BRS would be changed back to TRS. Although the party had called for two previous core committee meetings to reflect on their defeat, both were cancelled—once by Rao without reason and the second time due to Rao’s sudden illness and hospitalisation.
Without Rahul, All Is Lost
By Tridib Raman
After the recent electoral defeat, BRS leader and former Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao planned a grand rally in Medak to reignite the spirit of opposition unity. He had even managed to secure commitments from opposition stalwarts like Mamata Banerjee, Naveen Patnaik, Tejashwi Yadav, and Sharad Pawar. However, when this proposal reached Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, he outright rejected the idea. Akhilesh argued that since Telangana currently has a Congress government, this rally would indirectly target Congress, and they would have to criticise Congress in their speeches. He emphasised that Congress is currently playing a strong role as an opposition and parties like his are supporting Congress both inside and outside Parliament. “Rahul Gandhi is our leader of the opposition, and we cannot afford to betray him. Hence, it would be better to plan such a rally 2-3 years later when the performance of Congress government in Telangana can be better assessed.” Rao’s grand plan crumbled in the face of Akhilesh’s compelling reasoning, and the rally idea has been shelved for now.
Champai’s Entry in BJP Irks Munda and Marandi
by Tridib Raman
Champai Soren, who for forty years championed the rights of Adivasis, has ultimately ended up joining Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Hemant Soren and his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) may not be significantly affected by Champai’s defection, but his arrival has caused an uproar in his new party. BJP’s Jharkhand State President, Babulal Marandi, is reportedly the most troubled by Champai’s entry. Arjun Munda, too, is concerned, though somewhat relieved, as he was previously the sole target of Marandi’s ambitions. BJP’s top leadership still appears confident that the next government in Jharkhand will be saffron. This election has also been framed as a contest between ‘Adivasi’ and ‘non-Adivasi’ issues, with Marandi being the frontrunner for the Chief Minister’s post. However, Arjun Munda has quietly entered the fray as well, despite losing the 2024 election from Khunti. Munda is keen to contest the upcoming assembly elections. Marandi, a strong contender for the CM post, is deeply concerned about this development. He wants to present his case to PM Modi. For the past four to five weeks, he has been requesting a meeting with PM Modi but has been repeatedly postponed due to the PM’s busy schedule. After multiple efforts, he finally managed to meet with the PM and shared all his grievances, as well as with Amit Shah, to relieve his concerns. After Champai Soren joined the BJP, Marandi’s close associates feel that their smaller party was better, as they were always consulted and did not have to run to Delhi incessantly.
When Mayawati Showed Up With Ears
by Tridib Raman
After Bahujan Samaj Party’s (BSP) dismal performance in the 2024 general elections, Mayawati has begun changing her strategy. Behen Ji has entered active mode. According to sources, she convened a core committee meeting last week and announced that the party should start preparing for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections immediately. To this end, she planned to announce the names of 100 candidates on January 1, 2025, giving them over two years to work in their respective constituencies. However, several regional coordinators opposed this idea, arguing that the party is currently in such a state that it would be a struggle to even find strong candidates, and that they are often accused of selling tickets. They suggested that instead of focusing on fundraising, the party should first strengthen its organisation and run programs in the name of Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Manyavar Kanshi Ram. For perhaps the first time, Behen Ji heeded the advice of her party leaders and abandoned the idea of releasing a list of 100 candidates. The meeting also decided that since BSP has formed an alliance with Chautala’s party in Haryana, where over 21% of the vote is Dalit, they should focus on winning a few seats. It’s worth noting that Chandrashekhar Azad, who poses a challenge to Mayawati, has also formed an alliance with Dushyant Chautala’s JJP in the Haryana elections—a fact that is also troubling Behen Ji.
Why is Stalin Struggling to Announce His Successor?
By Tridib Raman
Reliable sources reveal that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin recently convened a crucial meeting with six members of his family. During the meeting, Stalin cited his deteriorating health and expressed his desire to name his son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, currently a minister in the government, as his successor. However, the rest of the family advised against making such a move at this time. They were concerned that this announcement could adversely affect his brother, M. K. Alagiri, who might engage in anti-party activities, causing significant harm to the party. The family suggested that it would be wiser for Stalin to wait until six months before the state assembly elections, at which point he could step down and let Udhayanidhi take the Chief Minister’s seat, thereby leading the party into the next assembly election. Stalin has asked for some time to deliberate on this proposal.
Is Akhilesh Softening Toward Modi and Shah?
By Tridib Raman
Recently, the social media wing of Samajwadi Party (SP) has been directly targeting Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah with sharp criticism and pointed attacks. SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav seemed a bit uneasy with this approach. Last week, he called an important meeting of the party’s social media coordination committee. Akhilesh tried to explain to his team that instead of directly attacking the top two leaders, they should focus on criticising the wrong policies of the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh governments, with particular emphasis on targeting Yogi Adityanath. His team responded by pointing out that the BJP’s digital army frequently targets Akhilesh directly, so why should they show restraint? Akhilesh explained that with two years still remaining until the Uttar Pradesh elections, they are confident of forming the next government in the state, and therefore, it would be unwise to provoke Delhi too much. The SP’s social media team fell silent, and Akhilesh was well aware of the implications of this silence.
Gandhi Siblings’ Silent Strategy
By Tridib Raman
The division of work within the Gandhi family often happens unofficially. Rahul Gandhi is well aware of his sister Priyanka’s political strengths and ambitions, and without explicit discussions, he tends to map out a plan for her. For instance, with assembly elections happening simultaneously in Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana, Rahul has hinted to his core group that he will focus more on Jammu and Kashmir while Priyanka handles the issues in Haryana. This is not the first time such a division has occurred; in the past, Priyanka was more active in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh, while Rahul concentrated on Chhattisgarh and, to some extent, Madhya Pradesh.
