‘Modi ka haath, Congress ke saath’

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi never misses an opportunity to declare at all his election rallies that the need of the hour is a “Congress- mukt Bharat” (Banishing Congress from the country). Congress leaders, on the other hand, maintain that Mr Modi would be better advised to revise his favourite punchline to “Congress yukt Modi” or, better still, “Modi ka haath, Congress ke saath.” The grand old party gleefully points out that a cursory glance at the list of BJP’s Lok Sabha candidates in Gujarat reveals that as many as 10 of them have been drawn from the Congress party’s talent pool. While some like Bardoli candidate Prabhu Vasava and Surendra Nagar nominee Devjeet Fatehpara were till recently with the Congress, there are others who joined the BJP some time ago but after spending the formative years of their political career in the grand old party. They all left the Congress as the party showed no signs of revival in Modi-dominated Gujarat. While Congress insiders privately acknowledge that the party had nothing to offer to its local leaders, they draw solace from the fact that the much talked about Modi-led BJP had to eventually turn to old Congress hands for a good electoral showing in Gujarat.

Despite the media hype about the possibility of the highprofile AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh being pitted against the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from Varanasi, the Congress had decided on fielding local legislator Ajay Rai over two weeks ago. The party, however, delayed the official announcement as it had received reports that Mr Modi’s confidant Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh incharge, was waiting to wean away the Congress candidate before the election itself. Since Mr Shah had been in touch with Mr Rai, the Congress first wanted to make sure that he would not bolt on electioneve, which would have been very embarrassing for the grand old party which was left red-faced when its candidate from Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ramesh Chand Tomar, and its candidate from Bhind in Madhya Pradesh, Bhagirath Prasad Singh, crossed over to the BJP shortly after they were given tickets. In Mr Rai’s case, the Congress had reason to be worried as he has a history of changing parties — he was with the BJP, then contested the 2009 election on a Samajwadi Party ticket and subsequently moved to the Congress.

Although Shiromani Akali Dal’s Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral was instrumental in convincing Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu to return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), his party is wary about the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister’s decision to join hands with the BJP. When the TDP extended outside support to the Vajpayee government, Mr Naidu had wield-

The grand old party glee

fully points out that a cursory glance at the list of BJP's LS candidates in Gujarat reveals that 10 of them have been drawn from the Congress party’s talent pool

ed considerable clout in New Delhi as the NDA convenor. Although Mr Naidu’s influence has reduced since the BJP has the upper hand now, the TDP chief would like his old job back with the NDA. But he has competition. The Akali Dal, which prides itself on being the BJP’s most dependable ally, wants its party patriarch and Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to head the alliance. Akali Dal leaders privately argue that as the most senior and respected leader in this alliance, Mr Badal can play the role of an elder statesman in dealing with difficult allies and sorting out internal squabbles. However, the bargaining power of the two parties will be determined by the number of seats they win in the ongoing polls. Little wonder then that the Akalis are pulling out all stops to maximise their gains in Punjab in these elections.

The tasks handled by Congress functionaries, who are fighting Lok Sabha elections, have been temporarily allocated to other leaders. However, this reallocation of assignments has the potential of blowing up into a full-scale turf war. The party’s prestigious com- munication department, handled by its general secretary Ajay Maken, has been farmed out to information and broadcasting minister and former party spokesperson Manish Tewari along with Haryana minister Randeep Surjewala. Since Mr Tewari will soon be at a loose end as he is not contesting the Lok Sabha polls, his supporters are confident that eventually this job will be assigned to him. There is nothing temporary about this charge, they maintain privately. Mr Maken, on the other hand, is well aware that he could lose his preeminent position in the party which allows him easy access to the leadership. His followers insist that Mr Maken will resume his responsibilities once elections are over. Mr Maken is obviously keen on retaining his post in the party organisation as there is little possibility of him becoming a minister again as the chances of Congress forming the next government are bleak. Moreover, there is no guarantee that Mr Maken will retain his New Delhi Lok Sabha seat. The writer is a Delhi-based

journalist