Insider track | BJP for ‘political SHOs’ in Delhi
Days before Delhi’s Rekha Gupta government hit the 100-day milestone, the Delhi BJP decided to unveil a new avatar for its freshly elected block and district-level leaders: the political ‘SHO’. In a move that blends local governance with dramatic roleplay, these grassroots leaders received a solemn message from senior functionaries that they must act like ‘SHOs’. The abbreviation stands for Station House Officer–a police officer in charge of a police station. The message was clear: don’t be mere office-bearers; take up responsibility and serve the people in your respective blocks and wards.
ED’s problem: Officials in graft cases
Since the CBI has arrested Enforcement Directorate’s Deputy Director Chintan Raghuvanshi, a 2013-batch IRS officer, on graft charges, bureaucratic circles are agog about the impending malice in the law enforcement agency, which administers the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Raghuvanshi is not the only ED officer accused of alleged bribery. Several similar cases in various states have come to light in recent times. A retired IPS officer of the 1988 batch, who served a stint in the ED, said that the enhanced powers to the agency under the PMLA are not a new phenomenon. So, it is not the case of “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”.
He said that until almost 2018, the staffing of the ED was primarily dominated by police officers, who had always had exposure to administering the criminal provisions under the law. When the criminal clauses were inserted in the PMLA, it was not new to them, and they handled it with care. However, as officers from revenue and other financial services began joining the agency, many of whom had very little training in dealing with the criminal provisions of the laws, such graft cases came to light more frequently. Officers joining the ED, irrespective of their service cadre, should be given training on how to deal with and invoke the criminal provisions of the PMLA, he said.
NDA targets specific Assembly seats
Bihar gears up for its Assembly elections, the ruling NDA is expected to adopt a carefully designed electoral strategy aimed at securing the maximum number of seats, particularly in constituencies dominated by Muslims, Dalits, and OBCs. According to sources, the JD(U) is likely to field its candidates in most Muslim-majority constituencies, as well as in Kurmi and Mahadalit-dominated constituencies. Despite its recent support for the Waqf Bill, the JD(U) is not seen as having a trust deficit with the Muslim community. That may be the deciding factor in majority of the Muslim-dominated seats going to the JD(U).
Meanwhile, other NDA allies, such as the LJP(Ram Vilas) and Hindustani Awam Morcha, as well as smaller partners, are expected to contest constituencies with large populations of Dalits and Extremely Backward Classes. The BJP is likely to focus on constituencies where Upper Castes and OBCs are predominant.
In Bihar, OBC-dominated constituencies make up the largest segment, followed by seats where Scheduled Castes, Muslims, and Upper Castes are significant voting blocs. There is an ongoing discussion within NDA circles that the JD(U) and BJP, the two principal parties in the alliance, may contest on equal number of seats. Final seat-sharing arrangements would be worked out closer to the polls. Allocations for smaller allies will likely depend on past electoral performance.
Brother’s estranged wife vs brother
Speculation is rife in Bihar that the ruling NDA, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, may field Aishwarya Rai, the estranged wife of Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, against younger son and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. The grapevine has it that Aishwarya Rai could be a potential JD(U) or BJP candidate from the Raghopur assembly seat in Vaishali district. Tejashwi Yadav holds the seat, which Yadav voters traditionally dominate.
An MBA from Amity University, Noida, Aishwarya Rai is the daughter of former Bihar minister Chandrika Rai and the granddaughter of late Daroga Prasad Rai, a former Chief Minister. She completed her schooling at Patna’s Notre Dame and pursued her higher education at Delhi University. Fluent in English, Rai is considered to have inherited a strong political legacy from her family. In 2018, Aishwarya married Tej Pratap Yadav. However, the marriage deteriorated within months, and a divorce case, still sub judice, was filed five months later.