Sunil
“Bahut Jada Problem” means BJP
After the AAP tornado in Delhi, the Narendra Modi-led BJP is being derided as the “Bhartiya Jumla Party” and “Bahut Jada Problem”.
With the Prime Minister himself being targeted by the opposition, daggers are drawn inside BJP with detractors of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley alleging that the whole blame should be laid at his door.
Jaitley is being accused of being the mastermind behind the strategy of bringing in Kiran Bedi as the Chief Ministerial candidate which badly boomeranged on the BJP.
‘By his one single action, Jaitley has demolished the entire BJP leadership in Delhi”, goes the refrain of his detractors including several leaders in the local unit.
In fact, the Finance Minister, who used to project himself as a poll strategist, has become an object of ridicule in BJP circles privately over his double whammy -losing badly to Amrinder Singh of the Congress in the prestigious Amritsar contest in his maiden Lok Sabha fight and now the total wipeout in Delhi.
How much true it is not known, but the word out in political circles is that the local BJP leaders, including at least one Union Minister, in order to teach a lesson to Modi-Amit Shah-Jaitley, whole hog campaigned for the AAP coolly and silently.
The RSS which has now ordered a probe into the cause of the debacle was also not enamoured by the sudden decision to bring Bedi.
Most happy men in BJP
Who are the most happy man in BJP after the Delhi debacle. Obviously veteran L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi and other members of the Margdarshak Mandal, who are in the political doghouse after Modi became Prime Minister. Will they now demand the first meeting of the Old Man’s club? This is the question being asked now.
Kejriwal’s wife
After the AAP juggernaut rolled into Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal made more than a subtle political point.
At his Kaushambi residence, he called for his IRS officer wife Sunita and hugged her, declaring that whatever he could do was because she stood by him like a rock through thick and thin.
The IIT graduate and himself a former IRS officer was by his action telling the world that he is a deep family man unlike his detractor Narendra Modi who had not declared till the Lok Sabha elections that he is married to Jashodaben.
The muffler man who is a master communicator is telling his audience that one can do clean politics even if one has a family, an apparent rebuttal to the Prime Minister’s oft-repeated claims that he would be beyond corruption as he has no family.
President’s daughter
President Pranab Mukherjee may have got shaken by the Delhi debacle of the Congress.
The reason is obviously personal – his darling daughter, Sharmishta Mukherjee was the Congress candidate from the posh Greater Kailash colony in the assembly polls in which the party scored a duck.
Sharmishta not only finished third but lost her security deposit as she failed to get more than 5,000 votes despite BJP putting up a weak candidate.
The development is no surprise as the AAP candidate Saurabh Bhardwaj, a former minister in Kejriwal’s 49-day government was a known heavyweight.
Congress created a record of a dubious sort in the polls – its candidates lost security deposits in 67 out of the 70 seats including from Sadar Bazar where its Chief Ministerial candidate Ajay Maken was in the fray.
Incidently, admirers of the President are not exactly happy the way he has given his nod to the government coming out with a series of ordinances without even a whiff of protest.
A Congress leader aptly remarked, “ Modi is not going to give a second term to Pranabda despite all the moves to please him. Despite taking the zaadu in hand to promote the Swatchad Abhiyan”.
Syed Akbaruddin
There is obviously no confirmation, but the talk in diplomatic circles is that the articulate External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin was offered the media advisor position by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The career diplomat who has made a mark in the past three years by effectively putting India’s point across on tricky issues to the world politely declined saying he wants to continue in the IFS.
The officer might have thought that it would be a tough task to work under Modi whose mind only a few can read.
There have been many claimants for the post including some senior editors and senior BJP leaders including M J Akbar, who is a spokesman of the party.
Nitish Kumar and Nawaz Sharif
Nitish Kumar was seen as a hero in Pakistan some two years ago when he ordered the BJP out of his Bihar Government on the issue of projection of Narendra Modi as the PM candidate.
With Jitan Ram Mazhi episode, the talk in political circles is that there is something common between him and Pakistani premier Mia Nawaz Sharif.
Sharif had some 15 years ago brought in General Pervez Musharraf as the Army Chief overlooking the seniority of some Generals hoping that Musharraf was the most pliable and will do his bidding.
Musharraf, sooner than later, proved Sharif wrong by seizing power and becoming the President of Pakistan.
Mazhi, who was brought as the Chief Minister by Nitish Kumar as his trusted one after losing out badly in the Lok Sabha polls in the wake of a resurgent BJP headed by Modi, has acted much like Musharraf by revolting against his mentor.
Incidently, there is another such parallel in Pakistani history. Some three decades back the then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto brought in Zia-Ul-Haq as Army Chief hoping that he would be the most pliable.
Zia turned out to be too devious. He not only seized power but ensured that Bhutto is hanged so that he could rule Pakistan without much trouble.
Why Congress continues to be in disarray
Rahul Gandhi has not learnt his lessons. This is borne from the fact that Mohan Gopal and Sachin Rao continue to be his key advisors despite the debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.
A Congress leader remarked wryly – Rahul is no different from Narendra Modi when it comes to arrogance, the only difference is that Congress is in the dumps but his arrogance has not gone.
Detractors of Rahul say that he has been a changed man in the last two-three years and a dialogue with him is just impossible now unlike in the past.
Unkindest cut for the Grand Old Party
Heard at the time of Delhi elections. The gravity of unemployment in the country could be gauged from the fact that even now there is rush for Congress tickets.