Now, RSS seeks to co- opt Cong; Opp. weakness worries TMC

Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party swept to power in 2004, the party’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has intensified its public outreach programmes in an effort to correct the public perception about the organisation. Only recently, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was in Delhi when he held a series of meetings with media- persons precisely for this purpose. He was at pains to explain that the RSS is not attached solely to the BJP and that it reaches out to all sections of society. He said people from different walks of life and political parties are also in touch with them and they were not averse to their ideology. In this connection, he specifically mentioned that senior Congress leader Janardhan Dwivedi had attended the three- day conclave convened by the RSS in the capital two years ago as part of its exercise to give the organisation an image makeover. Mr Bhagwat’s reference to Mr Dwivedi seemed to suggest that the Congress is supportive of the RSS when the fact is that Rahul Gandhi is

the Sangh’s most trenchant critic.

I t is no secret that the letter written by 23 Congress leaders to Sonia Gandhi calling for a visible and active president has led to considerable consternation in the party. But surprisingly many Opposition parties are also worried about the repercussions of the internal developments in the Congress. Several Opposition leaders, particularly from the Trinamul Congress, privately express their concern over the convulsions in the Congress. Though the two parties are battling each other in West Bengal, the Trinamul Congress has a vested interest in the revival of the state unit of the Congress. A senior Trinamul Congress leader recently bemoaned that the Bharatiya Janata Party had succeeded in expanding its footprint in West Bengal because of the diminution of the Congress and the Left parties. With the state headed for crucial Assembly elections next year, it is Trinamul’s fervent wish that the Congress and the Left parties improve their position in the coming months as a division in the Opposition vote works to its advantage. At present, the BJP occupies the entire Opposition space in West Bengal. S amajwadi Party president Mulayum Singh Yadav and his son and successor Akhilesh Yadav were embroiled in a bitter family feud a few years ago but the two have since kissed and made up. The bond between the two is more than evident during the ongoing Parliament session. Mulayum Singh Yadav is not too steady on his feet as he does not keep well and has to be escorted to his seat in the Lok Sabha. Akhilesh makes it a point to accompany his father and further stands guard beside him to ensure that no one comes too close to him. Akhilesh takes his seat only when the Speaker announces the commencement of the day’s proceedings. Akhilesh also tweeted a photo of father and son enjoying snacks in the Samajwadi Party office in Parliament House. Clearly, bygones are bygones. F ormer Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda turned 73 last week and expectedly a large number of Congress workers turned up in Delhi to wish him. It has become important for Mr Hooda to rally his supporters and showcase his strength after Randeep Singh Surjewala, the younger Jat leader from Haryana, got a huge promotion in the recent organisational reshuffle undertaken by interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Mr Surjewala has been heading the party’s media department for several years now. But he is obviously the flavour of the season as he has also been elevated as party general secretary and given charge of the important state of Karnataka. This also means that he is now a regular member of the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decisionmaking body. In addition, Mr Surjewala has been included in the sixmember committee set up to assist Sonia Gandhi in organisational matters. This is a clear message to Mr Hooda that the party is promoting Mr Surjewala as Haryana’s next Jat leader. Though he has a substantial fan following in the Haryana Congress, Mr Hooda is a worried man these days. P unjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has been at the receiving end of his party colleagues’ ire for some time now. While Navjot Sidhu and Pratap Singh Bajwa are identified dissidents, there are several others in the Congress who are also upset with Mr Singh over his style of functioning. Their latest grouse is the manner in which the Captain, as the chief minister is called, is promoting his son Raninder Singh who has lost two Assembly elections. Congress insiders said that most of the appointments in the state’s Malwa region have been made at the behest of the chief minister’s son. It is to be seen whether senior Congress leader Harish Rawat, recently given charge of Punjab, will succeed in restoring peace in the party’s Punjab unit. His predecessor Asha Kumari had failed on this score.