Falling out of favor or falling out of sync; a key minister may be shown doors?

By IndianMandarins 18 Sep 2019

Sudden rise of a few leaders had once puzzled everyone in power corridors of New Delhi. But the bubble seems to have busted for yet another senior minister in the Modi 2.0. If some top sources are to be believed a minister holding kew portfolio may be divested from the responsibility in next reshuffle. If some top sources are to be believed the minister not only failed to deliver but unwarranted controversies cropped up which the present dispensation does not like at all. The dispensation reportedly believes that few of them could have avoided easily.

Grapevine is abuzz that the minister has fallen out of sync but the current dispensation does not want to remove the minister at a time when certain parameters are not in a good shape in the country.

Reportedly, the minister is on the path of exit at least from the particular ministry.

Karnataka, Kamal and Kamal Nath: BJP’s opponents under constant pressure

By IndianMandarins 11 Sep 2019

Union minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal tweeted removing Kamal Nath from the post of MP CM for his involvement in 1984 Sikh riots case but it has a bigger political implication both for the BJP and the Congress alike. What is that?

The Congress has been accusing the BJP of its alleged intention of destabilizing Congress governments in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh after Karnataka government was taken over by the BJP replacing the Congress. Actually it has been NaMo-Shah strategy to keep their opponents on tenterhooks by keeping them under pressure. This seems to be the approach towards these states as well.

However, the BJP is in no position to do anything in Chhattisgarh but yes in MP they might do something if not topple the government, speculation is rife that Jyotiraditya Scindia may replace Kamal Nath in MP as Jyotiraditya Scindia joining the BJP will have its own bearing the party and the BJP would eschew to go for any such move. A crippled non-performing government equally suits the BJP.

Not opening many fronts at the same time, the BJP will go slow in Rajasthan as Sachin Pilot has not forgotten that he was denied his due as CM’s post was given to Ashok Gehlot but Sachin will have to wait for some more time. This is clear that the NDA leadership does not do anything in such a way that anyone can read, understand or fathom their next move.

Denting the govt’s image: B L Santosh asked to rein in motor mouths

By IndianMandarins 23 Jul 2019

Bhopal Lok Sabha Member of Parliament Pragya Singh Thakur has the habit of courting controversy even the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed his anger and warned her for her statement calling Nathuram Godse a patriot. But this time round her statement saying that she is not here to get drains of the city cleaned has also not gone down well and she got a proper dressing-down from the newly appointed national general secretary (organisation) of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) B L Santosh.

Not only Prime Minister Narendra Modi but party president Amit Shah is unhappy with such occurrings. Shah clearly instructed Santosh to deal with such kind of motor mouths in the party as sometimes it requires lots of human energy of the party in defending these issues without any benefit to anyone rather denting the image of the party and the government. The party wants to give message to others also by taking Pragya Singh Thakur to the task. Moreover, the political purpose of bringing her to party is over as the party just wanted to give a message that it is against the narrative of saffron terrorism. So that message is very well sent across and there is no utility of her if she goes on like this.

Party insiders informed that when Pragya Singh Thakur tried to explain her case to Santosh that why did she make such a statement but she was even more severely reprimanded by being told that now she represents people of Bhopal and holds constitutional obligation. So every word from people’s representative should be spoken very cautiously.

Sources said that actually such statements are casting shadow on the image of   the government also making the PM jittery. Santosh has been clearly instructed to rein in such leaders. There are a few more who will be told to remain cautious while speaking in public.

(By Vinod Kumar Shukla)

RSS short-listing 1000 young pracharaks: Reshuffle of 'Prant-paracharaks' likely

By IndianMandarins 19 Jul 2019

New Delhi: In its attempt to make generation shift, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is looking for around 1000 young pracharaks to work for the organization across the country. The organization has not only sought names but also started working on them.

Sources said that certain conditions have been laid for these pracharaks like they should be between 30 and 40 years of age and must be dynamic in every sense. Besides these 1000 pracharaks, the RSS is also planning to replace some of its state organizing secretaries and 'Prant-pracharak' to make working of the organization even better.

Sources said that the RSS wants such 'Prant-pracharak' to the service who are able to move swiftly as the responsibility requires more dynamism. Some of the RSS leaders at the top are physically unfit to take up the responsibility. The RSS has taken back Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary (organizations) Ram Lal in the outreach department of the organization.

There are many regions in the country where the RSS feels that there are immense possibilities of its expansion and not only possibility but also the need to reach out to people of the area. So all these decisions were taken in its recent meeting in Vijayawada and the organization started working in the same directions.

If sources are to be believed then the organization has already working on the name and some names have already reached. They will be scrutinized and then these selected pracharaks will be sent to particular areas where the RSS wants to send them.

(By Vinod Kumar Shukla) 

Congress-MNS alliance may prove to be counterproductive for the party

By IndianMandarins 14 Jul 2019

New Delhi: The Congress has appointed a new president for Maharashtra as Balasaheb Thorat who is in favour of alliance with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the Assembly elections in the state along with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which is stronger than the Congress at the moment at least the 2019 Lok Sabha elections suggests so.

Such indications of Congress-MNS alliance started being talked about when MNS chief Raj Thackerey met with United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi recently. Apparently the entire move is to counter the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in the state which has decimated the Congress-NCP alliance in the state. Now, on the other hand All India Majlish-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has told the Vanchit Bahujan Agadi (VBA) headed by Prakash Ambedkar to contest 100 Assembly seats out of 288 seats in the state.

This is to remind that instead of managing its own support base, the Congress attempt to steal into the vote banks of other political parties might prove to be counter-productive. Dalits and Muslims had been the core vote bank of the Congress for very long time besides a few other sections in Maharashtra but a new social engineering of Assaduddin Owaisi and Preakash Ambedkar has brought Dalits and Muslims under a new platform which helped the alliance to snatch Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat from the Shiv Sena. If they are planning to field candidates on 100 seats in Maharashtra that will have definite impact not only on the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance but will harm more to the Congress-NCP in the state.

Bringing MNS into the Congress-NCP alliance is a double-edged sword, if it will bring some Maratha votes to the alliance then it will drive away not only Muslim vote but north-Indians votes as well from the Congress-NCP combine and AIMIM and VBA combined are ready to take Muslims hand in hand and north Indians going to the BJP-Shiv Sena fold. These two communities are decisive in certain pockets in the state. Dalits will also be lured by Ambedkar. So the attempt of the Congress and the NCP will go in vein if the VBA accepts proposal of the AIMIM. The AIMIM was an old ally of the Congress but they had developed differences and parted ways just before 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

On the other hand the BJP and the Shiv Sena are working on their original plan with Shiv Sena taking the hardliner stands while the BJP talking about taking everyone along. The alliance has been able to deliver best-ever performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but Assembly elections are different. They have decided much in advance that they will be contesting equal number of seats leaving others much behind in terms of polls strategy.   

Organisational reshuffle in BJP-RSS effected; few rare changes makes buzz

By IndianMandarins 14 Jul 2019

New Delhi: Changes in the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have started taking place with national general secretary (organisation) Ram Lal being divested from the BJP and made ‘Sahsampark Pramukh’ (co-in charge of Outreach Department) of the RSS.

Interestingly this is a very rare occasion when someone has been sent back to the RSS from the BJP as generally people sent from the parent organization – the RSS – don’t go back. International president of VHP Alok Kumar is another such example who was sent back to RSS from the BJP before finally being moved to VHP. Even the blue eyed boy of the RSS Sanjay Joshi has not been taken back to the RSS. But this is also sure that Ram Lal has not been given something big in the RSS rather a tough job after playing messiah in the BJP for a pretty long time.

Though, the RSS and BJP claim to be separate and independent organizations but national generally (organisation) of the BJP has to be a RSS pracharak ever-since this tradition of multiple general secretaries started in the party. Joint General Secretaries too are the RSS men in the party and all the six of them at the moment are ‘pracharaks’. Despite all their claims, detractors call the RSS and the BJP as Hindu undivided family who heavily depend on each other.

General Secretary (Organization) works in tandem with the RSS office bearer generally with ‘Sahsarkaryawah’ (Joint General Secretary) of the RSS for the management of many things from booth management to expansion of the party to manpower. The RSS workers even get involved for the membership drive of the BJP. There is another important thing is that the BJP gets its worker from Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) which is an RSS affiliate organization of the RSS not of the BJP. The incumbent executive president J P Nadda was part of the ABVP and incumbent vice president of India is a former ABVP activist.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a former General Secretary (Organisation). There is a general understanding that organizing secretaries refrain from going into electoral politics with some exception like PM Modi and another former organizing secretary and later president of BJP Kushabhau Thakrey who got elected to the Lok Sabha.

Pracharaks are sent to difficult terrains of the country for the BJP for their expansion as one of present secretary of the BJP Sunil Deodhar was sent to North-east and he turned the fortunes for the BJP in Tripura and outreach of the BJP is in the region as never before.

RSS affiliate organizations all set for a revamp with young leaders to take over

By IndianMandarins 13 Jul 2019

New Delhi: After partial revamping of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by generation shift, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is also planning a generation shift in all its affiliate organizations to make it more responsive. These changes are expected at several levels and various organizations including the BJP.

It is being said that the RSS is planning infuse a battery of new leadership up to 50 years of age in these various affiliate organizations of the  RSS. The purpose of this initiative is that these leaders are able to work for the responsibilities given to them for 10 to 15 years.

Though the work in this regard was initiated long time back and this was the reason that responsibilities of some of the people at the top has been increased but the process will be speeded up after the annual meeting of All India Pracharaks at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh gets over. Actually, the way working style of the BJP has changed in the recent times the party needs aggressive Pracharaks.

However, there was historical expansion of the BJP in the country but there is still some scope in southern and coastal parts of the country as the organization feels. This is being reminded by the BJP leadership that it is yet not the time to stop, halt or take rest. The BJP is of the view that golden period of the party is yet to come. So with lots of people being moved to the government, many new faces will be visible in the BJP organization. Similar thing will also happen in the other RSS affiliate organisations.

Political scenario in the country has undergone a major change and acceptability of the RSS and the BJP is at its zenith and its increasing further by the day. The BJP has wrested power at the Centre for the second consecutive terms. So the organization feels that this is the right time to give away big responsibilities to young leaders. They will have time by their side and have resources with them as well. It is being said that after the Vijayawada meeting that ends on July 13, the RSS will start working in this direction.

(Vinod Kumar Shukla)

Is Operation Lotus a ceaseless political exercise for BJP?

By IndianMandarins 13 Jul 2019

New Delhi: Apparently Operation Lotus seems to have become a continuous process across the country, it is not a need-based phenomenon like in Karnataka where not only the Congress but also Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs have resigned from their respective parties but also in Goa and many other undisclosed places. They will come to surface only once the task is accomplished.

The BJP is not only focusing on the area where it does not have any presence but also in areas where it further needs strengthening of the party. Sources informed that the BJP is working among OBC leadership in Tamil Nadu, the community which is sizable in number and some big leaders may join the BJP in the state. In Goa, the Congress is left with five MLAs which was the single largest party when elections had happened.

The BJP is very active in Telengana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal but gradually it is reaching out to such leaders who are not given their due. Political analysts say that indecisiveness or laid back attitude of the Congress and many other political parties is also playing a big role in disenchantment of these leaders. The entire northeast has become NDA-ruled state with the same tactics of winning over people either in the BJP or in NDA.

So not much is left in the northern part of the country but Bihar and Jharkhand too is under the scanner of the BJP with lots of regional forces strongly present in many other states. Some coup might happen in these areas. The BJP leadership is of the view that it does not want to ride piggyback on any political party in Tamil Nadu and even in AP so they are trying to build something its own.

Though the party feels that despite the BJP failing to win any seat in Kerala, there is a ripple  for the party in the state as in West Bengal, Odisha and Telengana but in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu the BJP is still an outsider and not accepted. To be precise, these are the two states where Modi factor did not work rather they voted against Modi. So the party is working hard in these states. Infighting in Tamil Nadu BJP is another factor that is the roadblock in the expansion of the party in the state. But the party feels that nothing could be as difficult as West Bengal and if the party manages to win seats in Bengal, Andhra and Tamil Nadu too will come their way with little more efforts. So be ready for some more surprises where your imaginations would not have reached with BJP winning over some regional satraps.

(Vinod Kumar Shukla)