Of their lengthy and storied historical past, Wednesday marks the start of one other chapter for the Nehru-Gandhi household as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra information nomination for the Lok Sabha by-election from Wayanad in Kerala.
If she wins, Priyanka would be the third member of her household in Parliament alongside together with her mom Sonia Gandhi, who’s a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan and the Congress Parliamentary Occasion chairperson, and her brother Rahul Gandhi, who’s the Chief of the Opposition within the Lok Sabha and the Rae Bareli MP.
Understanding the Congress’s logic
However received’t having three Gandhis in Parliament solely serve to strengthen the BJP’s assaults on the Congress over “dynasty politics” and its jibes of the “Shahi Parivar” working the celebration?
Evidently, sure. However the considering throughout the Congress when Priyanka was nominated in June — a few weeks after the Lok Sabha election outcomes gave an enormous enhance to the celebration — was that the BJP would proceed attacking it alongside these traces so long as the household continues to be its beating coronary heart, irrespective of what number of of them get into Parliament. Some Congress leaders on the time felt Priyanka wouldn’t have determined to contest had the BJP returned to energy with a 300-plus mandate. However with the BJP showing weak after the parliamentary polls, it gave the impression to be a sound transfer.
Politically issues have shifted fairly a bit since then, particularly after the Congress’s loss in Haryana, a state it was anticipated to win. How the image appears for the Opposition celebration on November 23 will rely to a big diploma on whether or not it manages to dislodge the BJP and its allies in Maharashtra. And with Priyanka anticipated to win from Wayanad, sharp exchanges in Parliament between the Narendra Modi authorities and the brother-sister duo, come the Winter Session, are a definite risk.
However first, Priyanka has to win Wayanad and if there may be something we all know, nothing in politics is a foregone conclusion. The Congress normal secretary faces veteran Left chief Sathyan Mokeri of the CPI and Kozhikode municipal councillor Navya Haridas of the BJP. The Congress has to determine the right way to repair organisational shortcomings that noticed her brother’s vote share dip from an exceedingly excessive 64.64% to a nonetheless fairly excessive 59.69%. Of the seven Meeting segments that make up the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency, Rahul Gandhi’s votes dropped sharply in Kalpetta, Mananthavady, and Sulthan Bathery and that is the place the celebration has to place within the work.
Priyanka arrived in Wayanad together with her mom on Tuesday night. Accompanied by her brother, she’s going to lead a roadshow from the Kalpetta new bus stand beginning at 11 am. She is predicted to submit the nomination papers to the district collector earlier than midday. Other than the Gandhis, the CMs of different Congress-ruled states and numerous senior leaders of the celebration are additionally anticipated to be in Wayanad.
It’s a deal
Whereas Priyanka information her nomination, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance is ready to announce its seat-sharing settlement for the Maharashtra Meeting elections at a press convention in Mumbai within the afternoon. The breakthrough got here after a marathon day-long assembly on Tuesday.
Sources have informed Alok Deshpande and Vallabh Ozarkar that the Congress is more likely to contest 105-110 seats, the Shiv Sena (UBT) 85-90 constituencies, and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) 75-80 seats. The primary Congress checklist will likely be out on Friday (October 25), in keeping with AICC Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala.
In different information, PTI reported that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is again in Guwahati, greater than two years after he final visited town, to supply prayers on the well-known Kamakhya temple. Shinde and his aides had camped in Guwahati and visited the temple in the course of the cut up within the Shiv Sena in June 2022. Shinde visited the temple once more 5 months after the insurrection.
Although Shinde’s Shiv Sena introduced its first checklist of candidates late night time on Tuesday, the Mahayuti has not made public the small print of how the three members of the ruling alliance will divide the 288 constituencies. Shiv Sena staff are stated to be in opposition to BJP candidates within the 4 constituencies of Kalyan East, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Murbad.
Additionally taking place at this time: PM Narendra Modi will maintain a bilateral assembly with Chinese language President Xi Jinping, the primary in 5 years, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia. Shubhajit Roy offers the lowdown on the assembly.
