Himanta winds in N-E
Himanta Biswa Sarma is the BJP’s one-man demolition squad in the North-East. In Tripura, the soft-spoken CM Manik Sarkar has signalled it will be a ‘tight fight’ ahead. It’s not Didi’s Trinamool or the Congress but the BJP that’s giving him sleepless nights.
Amit Shah’s crack team, it seems, is working at the micro-level, identifying ‘hardcore’ CPI(M) voters. Shah and Sarma estimate them to be about 40 per cent, so they will ‘only focus’ on the rest. The first test would be the crowd at Shah’s Sunday rallies. As for Meghalaya, Congress turncoats are expected to deliver the state to BJP.
Should Babu worry?
If BJP insiders are to be believed, the party has its 2019 blueprint ready, state-wise, both Plan A and B. If Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu is iffy about the NDA, Jaganmohan Reddy will be padded up as the replacement. In Maharashtra, if Shiv Sena plays hardball, the NCP can be explored. In Tamil Nadu, if the AIADMK and DMK get too embroiled in internal power play, Rajni can be aided to rise as a third force.
In Bihar, Nitish Kumar, who could have been a non-NDA focal point, is already caught and bowled. Lalu Prasad will be in jail for way beyond 2019. Didi and Naveen-babu are contained in their states. But the vacuum left by a laidback Congress in Odisha and the CPI(M) and the GOP in Bengal leaves the BJP with ample space to expand.
Privacy breached
The dismay created by CJI Dipak Misra’s ‘transparency’ move—the idea of making public the reasons for rejection of candidates for judicial appointments—refuses to die down. Justices Kurien Joseph and Madan Lokur have already written to the CJI calling the decision a “breach of trust’’.
Justice Joseph, in a hard-hitting letter, accused the CJI of not allowing his brother judges to express their views properly, and even challenged the decision as a minority one. The collegium system, under bitter criticism from within, is likely to get another epistolary jolt soon.
Maya’s parks
Surprising as it may seem, the Yogi regime has acted promptly on BSP chief Mayawati’s letter seeking better upkeep of the monumental parks she built around Lucknow and Noida during her tenure. Yogi’s predecessor Akhilesh Yadav too received such ‘park-related’ letters but rarely acted on them. The reason for the softness? The investors’ summit? Well, Maya did prove to be quite an asset for the BJP in Gujarat. The Congress lost nearly a dozen seats by a few hundred votes thanks to candidates put up by the BSP and NCP cutting into its share.
ASEAN tableau
ASEAN is a focus this Republic Day—all the country-heads are guests of honour. So the MEA will put up two tableaux: one on the influence of Ramayana on Southeast Asia, the other on the Bali dance of Odisha. And, this will be a first for the MEA.
Goan holiday
Sonia Gandhi’s cycling trips in Goa attracted much social media attention, with opinion ranged between “she is the coolest politician” to “she is merely switching positions with her son”. The new GOP chief, Rahul Gandhi, turned up soon enough, prompting talk of me-tooism. Thankfully, TV channels did not jump on the ‘debate’ to harangue the nation.
Santwana Bhattacharya
The author is Political Editor, TNIE.
Email: santwana@newindianexpress.com