ROUND THE STATES

New Delhi, 11 February 2009

Old Friends, New Foes

CHURNING IN THREE STATES

By Insaf

With the next general election round the corner, various States are in the throes of political churning. From Maharashtra in the West to West Bengal in the East and Ulta Pulta Pradesh UP in the Hindi heartland.  Trust the old foe-turned-new friend Samajwadi to checkmate the Grand Dame of Indian politics in UP. While on the one hand uncertainty looms large on the SP-Congress ties, on the other Maulana Mulayam is busy creating a pressure group within the UPA for undermining the Congress hegemony. Unwilling to offer it more than 15 to 17 Lok Sabha seats, Mulayam is busy drumming up support within the UPA by asserting that the allies per se and not the Congress would decide the terms of future political ties. He has also reminded the Congress that but for his party’s support, it would have lost its Government at the Centre.

Not only that. He went on to punch the High Command for criticizing him on his new pal, former BJP Vice-President Kalyan Singh and for demanding more seats.  Lashing out, the SP supremo made plain that the Grand Dame had no moral right to oppose his ‘friendship’. True, Kalyan Singh was the Chief Minister when the structure at Ayodhya was demolished in 1992. More importantly, however, it was the Congress which was in power at the Centre. It was the Congress which had opened the lock of the masjid, he asserted and added: “Na toh taala khulta, na shilanayas hota aur na he masjid tootti”. This has left the Congress red in the face and speechless.

NCP To Dump Congress, Align With Sena?

In Maharashtra, which sends the second-largest group of MPs to the Lok Sabha, the NCP and Shiv Sena are cozying up to each other. In fact this alliance has been in the irons for quite some time with talks being held between Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar and SS Working President Udhav Thackeray. The Sena’s erstwhile ally, the BJP, too is happy with the NCP-SS pact, no matter the huge compromises this would entail. Needless to say this spells trouble for the Congress. But it alone has to carry the cross. Considering itself as the only pan-Indian party, it thumbed its nose at its allies’ demand for a national pact to fight the coming poll. In a tit-for-tat, the NCP tied up with the Left and the hardline Muslim outfit, Assam United Democratic Front in Assam, which could mar the Congress’ electoral prospects in the north-east. Given that a large anti-Congress consolidation could mar the hopes of the Congress of returning to power at the Centre. Especially as Maharashtra sends 48 MPs after UP’s 80 to the Lok Sabha.

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Congress-Trinamool Pact In W Bengal?

Will the Congress once again tie the matrimonial knot with the Trinamool in West Bengal? A question which has set alarm bells ringing in the State. Notwithstanding, the State being a ‘Red’ bastion for over the last 20 years. But there is one hitch. The national Party wants at least one seat in every district block. This is easier said than done, against the backdrop of the fact that the Congress won only 6 seats and the Trinamool one in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls. However, with both the Congress and the CPM seeing ‘red’, Sonia might just cozy up to Mamata to teach the Left brigade a lesson on its home turf.

Meanwhile, the situation has been muddied by conflicting signals emitting from the Centre and the Left Front Government. Instead of meting out justice against brazen goondaism by the Left cadres, the Union Government last week made two gestures to the State Government. It cleared the Nayachara chemical hub in the State and also gifted West Bengal an AIIMS-like institute and hospital. The new WBPCC Chief, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee seems disinclined to bite the Trinamool bait for now. The reason is not far to seek. In 2004, Pranab Mukherjee won his first-ever seat in the Lok Sabha courtesy the CPM. All the past years he was a member of the Rajya Sabha.

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Multi-Purpose Identity Cards For Coastal States

One good fallout of the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai is that the Centre has finally initiated the process of issuing multi-purpose Identity cards. To start with, these cards would be issued to people residing in the coastal areas of nine States and four Union Territories. Announcing this, the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram asserted it was a part of the Centre’s plan to step up coastal vigil. That the Home Minister meant business was evident from the fact that the process for issuing the identity cards would be completed on a war-footing this year itself. Also on the anvil is the setting up of coastal vigilance committees comprising local people, especially fishermen. All This should be music for the Election Commission which has been crying hoarse for the need to issue multi-purpose identity cards.

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Naidu-Reddy Spat Over Evangelist

On the heels of acquisitions and counter acquisitions between arch rivals Congress Chief Minister Y.S.R. Rajasekhar Reddy and TDP supremo Chandra Babu Naidu over the Satyam scandal, the war of words has now acquired religious contours. Wherein the TDP boss has accused Reddy of promoting his evangelist son-in-law Brother Anil Kumar by helping him organise the Jesus Christ Blessings Festival. Primarily to counter another  self-styled evangelist K.A. Paul, founder of the Gospel to Unreached Millions and Global Peace Initiative who fell out with Reddy over giving him monies for the election. Even as Paul publicly accuses the CM of being vindictive, the Opposition parties too have jumped in the fray and are questioning from where Kumar was getting all his monies to organize huge events. Its another matter that Anil Kumar is a Brahmin, who converted to Christianity and shot into limelight after father-in-law Reddy became CM.

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 Freebies Galore In Chhattisgarh

It continues to rain freebies in Chhattisgarh. Post his return to power, Chief Minister Raman Singh continues to provide more goodies to his people. In his annual budget proposals the CM has increased the allocation for food security, nutrition and education. Besides promising many sops for trade and industry and a 22 per cent higher allocation for the police budget in their fight against Naxalism. He reiterated his commitment to the welfare of the poor the farmers and the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Significantly, however, Raman Singh has restructured read reduced the families who could avail of the scheme of rice at Rs.1 per kg. No matter that the food assistance programme was primarily one of the major factors for returning to power.

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Deflated tyres is the new modus operandi adopted by the J&K traffic police to teach traffic violators a lesson. Wherein those who park their cars and scooters on roadsides may find their vehicles tyres deflated on return. Clearly fed up that issuing challans and hefty fines did not act as a deterrent for traffic violators, the Jammu police struck on this novel method to drill traffic sense.  Needless to say this method has had a desired effect among the college going students who now have trained their guns on VIPs. Invariably, not only in the State but all over the country VVIP vehicles are not only parked wrongly but they are the main violators of most traffic rules. It remains to be seen whether the police will act against the politicians, their mai-baaps. ---INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)