Rahul Gandhi
The chorus has begun. Taking a cue from senior leaders like Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who urged Rahul Gandhi to return as Congress president at the CWC meeting Tuesday, some Congress functionaries Wednesday wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi with the same demand. While former Rajya Sabha MP Hussain Dalwai argued that Rahul is the most acceptable face as a leader, AICC secretary Challa Vamshi Chand Reddy said Rahul is that one voice and the right person to represent and address national challenges. Dalwai has written that Rahul has dared to raise many crucial issues while no leader from any other party dared to raise issues that affect the whole country.
Clear Message
With the opposition Congress targeting the government over the LAC issue, the BJP seems to have decided to communicate its position to its supporters. It has asked its leaders to find ways to convince the cadre that the government is doing everything to protect the nation whereas it was the mismanagement of past Congress governments that led to the current problems. On Wednesday, party MP and former Union minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, also a retired Army officer, did a Facebook Live with people in Rajasthan to explain the border situation. He said it was important to know the history, geography, Chinese intentions, why such transgressions are happening and Chinese strategies to understand the situation. He too blamed Jawaharlal Nehru for the troubles at the border.
Poll Season
Gearing up for the Bihar elections, the BJP has taken extra care over caste equations while picking its nominees for MLC polls. The party has named its media co-head Sanjay Mayukh, who belongs to an upper caste, a key support base of the BJP, for the second time. It has also nominated Samrat Choudhary, a former minister in the Rabri Devi government. A Kushwaha by caste, Choudhary is expected to keep the backward caste support base consolidated for the BJP-JD(U) alliance in the state. Kushwaha is an influential OBC community in Bihar. Before joining the BJP in 2017, Choudhary had stints in the RJD, JD(U) and HAM(S).