Social media war
Clearly losing the mind battle, Rahul Gandhi’s office recently got in touch with some self-styled ‘left liberal’ warriors on social media for feedback. The group, however, was appalled to hear the grand old party has a rather tiny 2-member hands-on IT cell to take on the mighty edifice of the BJP. In UP polls, for instance, the latter had IT cells in each district, where the Congress had none.
Accord for polls
Bengal panchayat polls are due in May 2018, while the Bangladesh elections are due some months later in December. While the panchayat polls will be a test for Didi’s popularity, it a rather crucial elections for Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh. Teesta accord is one of the main poll issue in the battle for Dhaka. So, BJP chief Amit Shah’s visit to North Bengal and Naxalbari is being seen in this context. If BJP manages to make inroads in the north, Didi will have little excuse to oppose the accord, citing the farmers distress there.
Speaker vs Speaker
A BJP veteran told a party old timer that even Amit Shah is not aware who’s going to the party or the NDA’s candidate for the presidency. But, it seems, the Sangh has not given up on the two veterans, LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, though Sumitra Mahajan chances are brighter. The Congress too is toying with the idea of getting other Opposition parties back Meira Kumar, since both Sharad Pawar and MMS are reluctant to join the race. In that case, it’ll be a woman speaker vs ex-woman speaker of Lok Sabha.
Santwana Bhattacharya
The author is Political Editor, TNIE. Email: santwana@ newindianexpress.com