News Analysis India

Tag: Rahul Gandhi

  • ‘Vanishing’ Team Of Rahul Gandhi Faces More Challenges As INDIA Bloc Seat-Sharing Deal Turns Lethal For Congress |

    Rahul Gandhi has kicked off programs for his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur today but at the same time, his party Congress has suffered a massive setback in Maharashtra where senior party leader Milind Deora resigned from the party and has joined CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. While the Congress leaders have accused the BJP of hatching conspiracy ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s yatra, the grand old party has turned a blind eye to a storm that is brewing within the party. 

    According to reports, Milind Deora resigned after Congress agreed to let Shiv Sena-UBT retain Mumbai South Parliamentary seat. Deora was adamant about contesting the seat and thus left the party. Deora is the first casualty of the INDIA Bloc seat-sharing deal. With the impending general elections this year, the Congress is navigating a delicate balance, aiming to steer clear of potentially embarrassing incidents akin to Sachin Pilot’s rebellion in Rajasthan—a state they recently lost in the assembly elections.

    The Mumbai South Seat is currently held by Arvind Sawant of the Shiv Sena, aligned with Uddhav Thackeray’s faction. Since Sena UBT won the seat when it was in alliance with the BJP, if Shinde Sena fields Deora from the seat, it might be looking at a potential winning candidate with a proven track record in the constituency. 

    For Congress, Deora’s departure marks a significant loss for the Congress, particularly in terms of shaping the party’s strategy in the region. This exit creates a void that may pose challenges to fill in the upcoming elections. 

    As the Lok Sabha election gets closer, the Congress has lost a leader of calibre who commands a significant vote share in the region. While Sawant had got around 4.21 lakh votes in the 2019 polls, Deora was runner-up with over 3 lakh votes. Deora’s exit will also have an impact on the impending Maharashtra assembly elections. 

    Deora’s exit also marks the increasing void within the Congress as leaders who were once close to Rahul Gandhi are slowly deserting the party. This includes Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Hardik Patel, Ashwani Kumar, Sunil Jakhar, RPN Singh, Amarinder Singh, Jitin Prasada, and Anil Antony among others. 

    Now, the Congress party is already in talks with the Aam Aadmi Party, Samajwadi Party, and Trinamool Congress for seat sharing in Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Since Congress has shown a willingness to take a backseat in the seat-sharing deal, it will be ceding more seats to INDIA bloc partners and that may certainly hurt the ambition of its many leaders. If the Congress party fails to control the dissent, then more leaders may quit the party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, further weakening the party. 

    The Congress has already witnessed voices of dissent over its decision to avoid the Ram Temple consecration ceremony. Leaders from across the northern belt are reportedly unhappy with the party’s move to desist from attending the Ram temple event. These issues are crucial and Congress needs a solution at the earliest. Otherwise, for a party which is almost on life-support for the last two parliamentary polls, the coming days will be more challenging.

  • Milind Deora joins growing list of young leaders leaving Congress

    Former Union minister and ex-MP from Mumbai South Milind Deora’s resignation from the Congress on Sunday is the latest addition to a list of young leaders who have left it to begin new innings in other parties, predominantly the BJP. The resignation also signals a continuing saga of unaddressed concerns of young leaders, once considered close to former Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

    The latest exit also highlights the disconnect and inaccessibility of the Gandhi family with the lower rung of party leadership, amid dwindling fortunes of the grand old party, which the young leaders are unable to accept.

    Sources close to Deora said he left the party after “a very long and futile wait”. The ex-Lok Sabha MP could not manage an assurance from his own party that he would get to contest from Mumbai South in the upcoming general election, a seat represented by his family for decades, the sources said.

    “The Shiv Sena UBT has been openly laying claim to Mumbai South and the Congress was unable to give an assurance of safety for Milind Deora’s seat. A young leader’s political future was thrown into uncertainty and there was no redressal,” Deora’s aides said as he ended a 55-year-old bond with the Congress in which his late father Murali Deora was a formidable figure and a petroleum minister in the UPA regime.

    Concerns cited by the Deora camp have been listed by leaders who had exited the party before. Lack of redressal of festering issues and intra party factionalism earlier led several promising leaders of the erstwhile Rahul Gandhi camp to leave. The list is long with former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot standing out as the sole exception.

    Pilot stayed back in the Congress despite non fulfilment of promises made to him by the top brass when he called off his revolt in 2020 and returned to the Congress, saying he had buried the hatchet with his bete noire Ashok Gehlot, then CM.

    Union Minister under the Congress led UPA regime Jyotiraditya Scindia was not so patient with factionalism in Madhya Pradesh unit when he resigned from the Congress to join the BJP in March 2020.

    Scindia said he could no longer take the disrespect coming from veteran Kamal Nath.

    In June 2021 another ex-UPA minister Jitin Prasada quit the Congress citing the party’s growing disconnect with the people.

    A series of exodus happened thereafter with Priyanka Chaturvedi joining erstwhile undivided Shiv Sena, former Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev quitting for TMC while former union minister RPN Singh, former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and party spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill joined the BJP.

    The exits that began with then Assam Congress stalwart Himanta Biswa Sarma leaving the party for the BJP on the eve of 2014 Lok Sabha polls never really stopped and high profile resignations continued with even ex-Punjab CM Amarinder Singh also going to the BJP citing personal insults by the party ahead of Punjab polls in 2022.

    “It is impossible to get an audience with Rahul Gandhi, there is a clear disconnect and one feels suffocated,” a Deora aide said explaining his decision.

    Similar views were earlier aired by most leaders, including Sarma, at the time of their exit.

    Rahul Gandhi personally has long held a view that those who wish to quit are free to do so.

    The Congress leadership has so far chosen to explain the exits as resignations of leaders who don’t have the capacity to take on the BJP in an ideological fight.

    “Once the tide turns in our favour all these leaders will return. For them it’s individual above the party,” he said.

    The Congress also questioned the timing of Deora’s resignation, which came hours before Rahul Gandhi embarked on his ambitious Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra from Manipur to Mumbai on Sunday.

    The BJP was quick to attack the Congress with IT cell head Amit Malviya saying, “The Congress should first give justice to its leaders rather than launch a Nyay Yatra.”

    Shergill said, “First, Assam’s general secretary (Apurba Bhattacharjee) resigned (from Congress), and now Milind Deora has too. The Congress ‘todo yatra’ has begun.”

    “Rahul Gandhi has to answer regarding the injustice he has done to the party and its leaders,” the BJP leader said.

  • Congress waiting for permission to use Hapta Kangjeibung ground in Imphal to launch Nyay Yatra

    AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal (Organisation) said that they are waiting for the permission to use the Hapta Kangjeibung ground in Imphal East district on January 14 to launch the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra led by party leader Rahul Gandhi.

    The Congress leaders met Manipur Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi on Monday and requested him to provide permission to hold the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra launching meeting at the Hapta Kangjeibung ground.

    The Chief Secretary assured the Congress leaders that they will be informed about the granting of the permission very soon. Venugopal said that the party had applied for permission on January 2. The Yatra is not a political programme or any election campaign. “Don’t make politics by denying the permission of the ground,” the Congress leader said.

    Accompanied by Manipur state Congress President Keisham Meghachandra Singh and former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh (2002-2017), Venugopal told the media person that they do not want to politicise the issue as the entire country is not looking towards Manipur.

    “I am from Kerala. People from Kerala are also astonished about the grave situation prevailing in Manipur. Manipur needs justice, that’s why the Yatra will be started from this state. We want to ensure the future of Manipur and the state needs healing into its grave wound,” Venugopal said. He said that from Manipur, the Yatra will go to Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya and will reach Mumbai by covering 6,500 km in 15 states. Rahul Gandhi’s earlier Bharat Jodo Yatra, which covered 4,500 km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

    Venugopal said that a preparatory meeting was held in Imphal to mark the success of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which according to the Congress leader will be another successful event.

    “We are very hopeful that there will be no politics over this yatra. The Manipur Chief Minister should understand the importance of the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra and think about Manipur first and not BJP politics,” he said.

    State party chief Meghachandra said that on January 14 several leaders of the party, including chief ministers and MPs from across the country will gather in Manipur for a peaceful rally.

    Manipur is devastated by over eight month long ethnic violence between the non-tribal Meitei and tribal Kuki-Zo community and over 185 people have been killed and over 1,500 people injured and displaced over 70,000 people of both communities so far.

  • Amit Shah: Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on Amit Shah: Special court defers hearing to Jan 18

    An MP-MLA court here on Saturday postponed to January 18 the hearing in a case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for allegedly making objectionable remarks against Union minister Amit Shah as advocates were occupied with a judicial workshop. The case stems from a lawsuit filed on August 4, 2018, by BJP leader Vijay Mishra, who accused Gandhi of making the remarks.

    Mishra’s lawyer Santosh Pandey said advocates were unavailable owing to a judicial workshop in the court for junior advocates.

    He said the court had summoned Gandhi on December 16 in the case, but he did not appear. The court then summoned the Congress leader on January 6. Earlier on November 18 last year, judge Yogesh Yadav had reserved the verdict after arguments, posted the matter for the next hearing on November 27 and summoned Gandhi to appear on December 16.

    Mishra, a former chairman of a cooperative bank, is a resident of Hanumanganj.

  • Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: From Manipur to Mumbai, Rahul Gandhi to cover 15 states and 100 LS seats – The Economic Times Video

    Congress has announced its Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra campaign, led by Rahul Gandhi. The campaign will start in Manipur on January 14 and end in Mumbai, covering 15 states, 110 districts, and 100 Lok Sabha seats over 66 to 68 days. Here’s all you need to know about this campaign.

  • Congress Picks Nitish Kumar As INDIA Bloc Co-ordinator: Sources

    The coordination role for the INDIA bloc has been assigned to Nitish Kumar, and an official announcement is imminent.

  • 'Rahul Gandhi is not a big leader…': Congress leader Digvijay Singh's brother

    'Rahul Gandhi is not a big leader…': Congress leader Digvijay Singh's brother

  • Happy Leap Year 2024: How political parties, EC & leaders’ efforts will achieve progress in the new year

    As India and many other countries get ready for parliamentary elections, domestic compulsions and priorities are likely to guide diplomatic manoeuvres

    BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY

    A big leap if BJP makes a hattrick of winning elections, a feat till now enjoyed by Congress under India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal NehruWith Ram Mandir and Article 370 done, the ruling party will now push for third core issue of uniform civil code, which is currently being tested at the state level

    With core objectives of the ruling party nearly achieved, BJP will need new driving issues for the cadre

    Can the party breach the southern frontier in its quest to become a pan-India party

    INDIA BLOC PARTIESAfter a dismal round of state elections, Congress needs a great leap to be in the reckoning for the 2024 Lok Sabha pollsCongress leader Rahul Gandhi requires leaps of rebranding to be a credible challenger to the ruling dispensation that looks strong

    Opposition requires their poll funding to grow by leaps and bounds to match BJP’s election blitz

    INDIA parties require faith in each other to stick together and fix issues, including seat-sharing

    Opposition parties want VVPATs across all polling stations, but that looks a distant dream

    BIJU JANATA DALCan Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik win another term and become the longest-serving chief minister in the country

    With Patnaik’s close aide VK Pandian joining the party, can BJD take a generational leap

    Can the party continue to maintain equidistance from both BJP and the Opposition alliance

    YSR CONGRESS PARTYCan YS Jagan Mohan Reddy repeat the success of his father YSR Rajasekhara Reddy by winning two successive assembly elections at a time when his family members are distancing themselves from the Andhra chief minister

    Can YSRCP still be attractive to voters, especially after the loss of BRS in the neighbouring Telangana

    Can Jagan Mohan Reddy still maintain cordial ties with BJP at a time when the national party is leaping closer to Opposition Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh

    ELECTION COMMISSIONEVM-VVPAT issue is set to become a political talking point, with Opposition seeking 100% match

    Under fire from courts and even within on checking objectionable campaign discourse in 2019 elections, EC will have to be a step ahead to set the tone in 2024

    Onus on EC to keep an eye on money flow and check undue influence on voters

    Poll panel will have to be alert to deepfakes, AI dangers in distorting election narrative

    INTERNAL SECURITYImplementation of the three new criminal laws will be a big challenge

    December 2024 deadline to roll out the new laws, first in Union Territories, will require major overhaul in the criminal justice system — from police stations to district courts and prisons

    Jammu & Kashmir polls before September 2024 as mandated by Supreme Court will be another challenge

    The much-delayed Census and updating National Population Register will require multiple efforts

    Re-emergence of Khalistan 2.0, with such elements gaining prominence overseas, another focus area

    FOREIGN POLICYFocus on economic diplomacy to attract additional FDI

    Fresh investment proposals expected from global players to give the economy a leap

    With general elections due in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, India is expected to make concerted efforts to expand partnerships

    Focus on India hosting Quad summit for first time

    All eyes on Modi-Putin annual summit, India-UK FTA

    India to be watchful of China as it continues expansionist actions in neighbourhood

    DEFENCE & EXTERNAL SECURITYThe changing nature of attacks, such as drone attacks on commercial vessels in Red Sea and Indian Ocean, and threats posed by Chinese spy balloons will be key challenges

    Can India and China jointly resolve border flashpoints pending since 2020

    Having secured orders and support from government, can private industry fulfil requirements of the armed forces under Make in India

    Defence exports may take a leap, with Indian systems likely to find orders from Southeast Asian, Central Asian and African countries