Deserters, foes & the heir apparent

The Bharatiya Janata Party has not declared its chief ministerial candidate in Bihar, but it is assumed that former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi is the chosen one. Working on this understanding, Mr Modi is making every effort to buy peace with his detractors within the party now.

Take the case of his bête noires, Buxar MP Ashwini Kumar Choubey and former BJP state chief C.P. Thakur. Well aware that these two leaders would show stiff resistance to his elevation if the BJP comes to power and if he is indeed appointed chief minister, Mr Modi held out an olive branch to them by making a strong case before the BJP leadership for giving tickets to their sons, even though they are considered weak candidates.

Mr Choubey’s son Arijit Shashwat is to contest from Bhagalpur, which was formerly his father’s seat, while Mr Thakur’s son Vivek Thakur was picked for the Brahmpur constituency. In fact, there was a keen tussle for the high-profile Bhagalpur seat.

While Mr Choubey understandably wanted his son to get this seat as he wants to retain his hold over his old constituency, the BJP’s lone Muslim face in the state,  Shahnawaz Hussain, pitched hard for a ticket for his protege but to no  avail. In the end, Mr Hussain could not match Mr Modi’s deft political  skills. But all strategising will be of no use if the BJP were to, you know, lose.

Union human resources development minister Smriti Irani is at her combative best when she is battling Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, especially in Amethi. Expectedly, the perennially-angry minister was in her element on her last visit to Mr Gandhi’s constituency after the Uttar Pradesh Congress served her a legal notice for accusing the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust of grabbing a 65-acre plot originally allotted to a bicycle factory. Taking on the Nehru-Gandhi scion, Ms Irani dared him and the Congress to put her behind bars.

Strangely enough, while Ms Irani was busy fighting Mr Gandhi, except for the party spokespersons, no senior party leader stood by her. This fact was not lost on her, but she remains undeterred. Last heard, the feisty minister asked her staff to get photographs of a recent Congress Kisan Sammelan in Amethi showing the poor turn-out at the gathering so that she can further embarrass Rahul Gandhi. We suggest Mr Rahul Gandhi should start taking selfies with farmers and tagging Ms Irani in his tweets.

When the Congress Working Committee amended its constitution, rescheduling the organisational poll time-table which enabled Sonia Gandhi to continue as party president for another year, the news came as a big relief to the old guard. Party seniors were very worried that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s elevation would lead to their political oblivion. They lined-up for a meeting with Mrs Gandhi subsequently, to tell her that they were extremely pleased to have the benefit of her leadership for another year and that this was the correct move in view of the party organisation’s ailing health.

Sycophantic Congress leaders who believed that their display of undying loyalty to the party president would win them brownie points with her came back disappointed. Mrs Gandhi made it clear to them that her extension was necessitated because of technical reasons and it was entirely possible that the generational change in the party could take place before her one-year extension runs out. She also told them in no uncertain terms that even though she is continuing as party president, it is Mr Gandhi who will be calling the shots. On hearing this, the disappointed leaders made a quick beeline for Mr Gandhi’s durbar at his Tughlaq Lane residence. We believe it’s a long que.

Considering that it is only a marginal player in Bihar, the Congress was surprised when it managed to get 40 seats for the Assembly elections from its alliance partners, Janata Dal (U) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

But the grand old party’s worries are far from over. Not only did the Congress find it difficult to find  winnable candidates, it has to also worry about possible desertions. Usually, it is the candidates who are denied tickets that tend to leave for greener pastures. But the Congress faced an unusual situation in the last Lok Sabha elections when its candidates crossed over to the rival camp even after they were given tickets.

To ensure that they do not face the same problem in Bihar, Congress treasurer Motilal Vora has decided that he will release the funds for their campaign only after the last date of withdrawals is over. Mr Vora believes the party would at least save some money even if it loses candidates. Smart move!

The writer is a Delhi-based journalist