The BJP & Congress’ Gandhi problem

The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership is clearly in a fix. It just does not know how to solve a problem like Varun Gandhi. The party MP from Sultanpur created a buzz at the BJP’s recent national executive meeting in Allahabad when his posters and hoardings were plastered all over the city virtually declaring him a contender for the chief minister’s post in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh. This was obviously not well received by the UP state leaders, especially Allahabad Lok Sabha MP Shyama Charan Gupta, who lodged a strong protest with BJP president Amit Shah when he held a separate meeting with them. Mr Gandhi was conspicuous by his absence at this meeting. Angry local leaders complained to Mr Shah about how they were pelted with rotten eggs and vegetables by Mr Gandhi’s supporters when they objected to the Sultanpur MP’s posters.

But worse was in store for them as Mr Shah merely heard them out in silence instead of promising action against Mr Gandhi. Although furious with Mr Gandhi, the BJP leadership has chosen to play down the drama enacted by him as it cannot afford to upbraid Mr Gandhi for fear that he might create trouble in next year’s Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. As it is, a restless Mr Gandhi keeps sending out feelers that he has an open offer from the Congress. At the same time, it will be difficult for the BJP to project him as the party’s chief ministerial candidate given his lack of experience and the fact that he does not attack the Gandhis in his election campaign.

The knives are out in the Congress against the party’s communications department chief Randeep Singh Surjewala after the recent fiasco in the Haryana Rajya Sabha elections.

Mr Surjewala was among the 14 party legislators whose votes were declared invalid in the June 11 election which eventually led to the defeat of R.K. Anand whose candidature was supported by the Congress. While former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is in the firing line for engineering the drama, Mr Surjewala is being especially targeted by his detractors because of his proximity to party vice-president Rahul Gandhi. It is a known fact in Congress circles that Mr Surjewala is positioning himself as Mr Gandhi’s future political secretary. But the party’s articulate communications chief appears to have blotted his copybook following his questionable role in the Rajya Sabha polls. His vote was declared invalid after he showed it to a party colleague. Nobody is willing to believe this was a genuine mistake because Mr Surjewala is supposed to be well-versed with the rules since he was a parliamentary affairs minister in the Hooda government. It is now to be seen if Mr Surjewala will survive this campaign against him and continue to enjoy Mr Gandhi’s confidence. If his enemies have their way, Mr Surjewala’s downfall could be imminent.

President Pranab Mukherjee is all set to travel to the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand, which was heavily damaged during the 2013 floods and landslides which ravaged large parts of the hill state. He was actually slated to visit the shrine last year but he deferred his plans after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi decided to trek to Kedarnath. Now that the temple has been restored, the President will get an opportunity to take a closer look at the work done on the shrine. More importantly, Mr Mukherjee will perform a special puja at the temple.

Apparently, the President had recently remarked that he will offer prayers at the Kedarnath shrine if his wish is fulfilled. His decision has obviously got everybody guessing about the President’s wish for which he is offering prayers at Kedarnath. Of course, the overwhelming view is that perhaps Mr Mukherjee has been assured a second term by the Modi government. But that appears to be unlikely as the Bharatiya Janata Party would like to install somebody from the RSS ranks as the next President now that the party has the numbers to get its candidate elected.

Home ministry official B.K. Prasad was handpicked by home minister Rajnath Singh to conduct an inquiry into the missing files in the Ishrat Jahan case. The Modi government had raked up this matter in the Budget Session with the express purpose of putting the Congress, especially former home minister P. Chidambaram, on the defensive. A dutiful Mr Prasad delivered on what was expected of him and submitted a report which met with the government’s expectations. Unfortunately, Mr Prasad found himself in the eye of a storm the day after he submitted his report when media reports revealed how he had tutored a witness during the course of his enquiry. The controversy could not have surfaced at a worse time for Mr Prasad since he was being considered for a post-retirement position in the National Disaster Management Authority. But a question mark has arisen over his reward posting after the latest revelations. It appears Mr Prasad may have to wait longer for his hard work and loyalty to be recognised.

The writer is a Delhi-based journalist