Anita Katyal | Of EAM, Puri, who’s BJP’s Delhi face?

As the Bharatiya Janata Party kickstarted its preparations for the Lok Sabha elections, there were reports suggesting that the list of candidates for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi could see some changes. While the performance of the sitting MPs is being scrutinised to assess their winnability, the BJP is inclined to give more seats to women and also field a prominent face in the Capital. This has obviously led to speculation whether the “prominent” figure is external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, a favourite of this dispensation, or urban development minister Hardeep Puri. These names are being mentioned as the party wants ministers, who are currently Rajya Sabha members, to contest Lok Sabha elections. Moreover, Mr Jaishankar has shot to prominence in the last few years, having endeared himself to the BJP with his periodic statements reflecting the party’s brand of cultural nationalism and its Hindutva project. On his part, Mr Puri has been positioning himself as a Delhi leader. However, there is a view in the party that the Rajya Sabha members be fielded from their “home states”. But that’s where the rub lies. Mr Puri has already lost an election in Punjab while the BJP will find it tough to find a seat for Mr Jaishankar in Tamil Nadu which he can win.

What is Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s game-plan? This question is keeping all his allies in the INDIA bloc guessing as they are unable to understand his moves and moods. For instance, it is not clear why Nitish Kumar refused to accept the convenorship of the INDIA grouping when his party leaders had been sending out feelers on his behalf that the Janata Dal (United) leader was the rightful claimant for this post. Besides, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had even called up Nitish Kumar in this connection. Relations between the JD(U) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal have also come under strain. An advertisement on the government’s employment drive, giving all credit to Nitish Kumar for the scheme, is the latest cause of tension between the two allies. RJD leaders were upset that Tejashwi Yadav’s role had not been acknowledged since the promise of 10 lakh jobs was the main plank of his poll campaign. While this does not augur well for the INDIA bloc, it is believed these are pressure tactics and that Nitish Kumar is bargaining for a decisive role in the distribution of tickets.

With the consecration of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya becoming a major national event, there has been stiff competition among political parties as also its leaders to showcase their religiosity. The last few days have seen Congress leaders going all out to display their Hindu identity for fear of a backlash in the coming Lok Sabha election, especially after their party leaders declined the invitation for the inaugural ceremony. This competitive Hindutva also brought out the rivalries within the party. For instance, Congress leader Deependra Hooda was quick to take a holy dip in the Saryu river at Ayodhya before the inauguration of the temple. As a result, Randeep Surjewala, Mr Hooda’s rival in Haryana Congress, found himself in a fix. In a state where people greet each other with “Ram, Ram” and the Ayodhya temple is an emotive issue, it was important for Mr Surjewala to prove his Hindu credentials. Since it was not possible for the two leaders to take a dip in the Saryu river on the same day, Mr Surjewala was forced to take a backseat and settle for a dip in Kurukshetra instead. This round went to Mr Hooda.

Arvind Subramaniam, former chief economic adviser, may have lost the trust of the BJP government but he was grabbed by the Tamil Nadu government to head its Economic Advisory Council and has been giving his inputs on reforming the power sector as also the settlement pattern of Integrated Goods and Services Tax to Tamil Nadu. According to the grapevine, the Punjab government has now approached Mr Subramaniam for consultations on streamlining the power sector. As is the case in other states, the power sector in Punjab is running up huge losses but the AAP government could find it tough to implement any recommendation on cutting down subsidies since this is a hot political potato. Every political party in Punjab woos the farming community with the promise of free power. Even former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh failed to convince the Congress that giving subsidies to rich farmers was economically untenable. Will AAP dare to go where the Congress feared to tread?

As Lok Sabha elections draw closer, the targeting of Opposition leaders by enforcement agencies has picked up speed. It is learned that an Opposition chief minister of a North Indian state, who is being pursued by these agencies, approached Union home minister Amit Shah through an intermediary, wanting to know what was expected of him. Mr Shah was apparently unimpressed with this attempt at rapprochement, stating that the chief minister is a better judge as he can predict the future. In other words, no respite for Opposition leaders who can look forward to tough times ahead.