Cat is out of the bag !!! Nitish sys he opposed naming of Opposition bloc as I.N.D.I alliance ::::: Akhilesh gives firm message to Rahul Gandhi ---- You may call it --- another kind of 'Nyay yatra' -- the journey to perish !!

Will remain with NDA "forever now": Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

(On the INDIA alliance, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar says, "I was urging them to choose another name for the alliance. But they had already finalised it. 

"I was trying so hard. They did not do even one thing. Till today they haven't decided which party will contest how many seats. This is why I left them and came back to who I was with initially. I will keep working for the people of Bihar.") 

When asked "Rahul Gandhi is taking credit for the caste census in Bihar", Bihar CM Nitish Kumar says, "... Has he forgotten when the caste census happened? I conducted it in the presence of 9 parties. In 2019-2020, I would talk about conducting caste census everywhere, from assembly to public meetings... He is taking fake credit, what can I do? Let it be."

It's like fourth wicket down !! Or the batting partner Congress had, that is Akhikesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party--- can easily get the grand old party run out !!

Late Muayam Singh Yadav's son Akhilesh is displaying the typical ear-on-ground politico in himself like his father. His message to Rahul Gandhi and his 'Rajya Sabha intellectuals  K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh and even Mallikarjun Kharge', is 'accept' these 11 seats --- otherwise go to HELL !! 

You may call it --- another kind of Nyay yatra -- the journey to perish !! 

Mamata Banerjee has shown she matters in West Bengal and hence even Rahul's Yatra was very selectively and almost unhesitatingly covered by Bengal media. 

'Fish fry' journalism matters !!

Arvind Kejriwal has played it cleverly along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. AAP's message to Congress is - 'Punjab is first step, where we say no to alliance with Congress.... Delhi may be next' (though in national capital even Ajay Maken is against alliance). 

The 'Nitish Kumar story' is well known parable. Hence, the next query in Delhi's political circle -- "What more next? Will Congress and INDI Alliance bloc be able to recover from Akhilesh Yadav's shocker?"  

In an interview to 'India Today TV, Akhilesh blasted the grand old party's complete inability to interact with regional stalwarts : "Congress should have come forward. The enthusiasm that Congress needed to show in discussing and engaging with the INDIA alliance (especially SP and JD-U) was missing". All these may yet again lead us to recall that Biju Janata Dal floor leader in Lok Sabha, Pinaki Mishra -- said during debate on No Confidence Motion last year:

"...I have always believed that the Congress party is adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They are also very adept at cutting their nose to spite their face." 

The story just got repeated ... repeatedly in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls and the manner the alliance building was handled. 

Even the Congress approach to handling the Nyay Yatra smacked more of a 'crown prince' type entitlement. JD-U leader K C Tyagi sayd, the Congress had been arrogant in its approach. 

It projected Rahul Gandhi in the Yatra and not the alliance and trying to pressure regional parties into giving it more seats than it deserved. It invited Opposition leaders to the Yatra as if 10 Janpath or 24 Akbar Road was summoning Congress Seva Dal workers.

 

Congress took Oppn partners as Seva Dal workers

Many see the BJP ecosystem also worked hard to make a "renewed pitch for anti-Congressism".

This was like reminiscent of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s when the socialists and the BJP (Jan Sangh) and even communists would come together against the Congress.

In fact, a sizable Janata Parivar is now behind PM Narendra Modi. If Nitish is back in NDA; a few months back Amit Shah swallowed his pride and worked out an alliance with JD-S of H D Deve Gowda in Karnataka. 

Akhilesh Yadav became the first party boss to name candidates for his Samajwadi Party candidates for the ensuing parliamentary polls.

The SP declared its candidates for 16 Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha seats. The announcement came a day after Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav said the party had set aside 11 seats for its INDIA bloc ally Congress out of 80.

Akhilesh Yadav's wife, Dimple Yadav, will contest from Mainpuri, while Muslim veteran Shafiqur Rahman Barq and Ravidas Mehrotra will be fielded from Sambhal and Lucknow, respectively. 

Lucknow is traditionally a BJP bastion and during 2014 and 2019, no less than BJP stalwart and incumbent Rajnath Singh is representing the prestigious seat -- one held by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.  

Ravidas Mehrotra is a former UP minister. In 2019, SP candidate from Lucknow was Poonam Sinha, wife of actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha. 

Notably, since 1991 the Lucknow seat has been held by the BJP. 

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, former PM, contested from this seat eight times. First time, he contested 1955 bypoll and came third. Then he came second in 1957 and 1962. 

After these 3 losses, he won the seat five consecutive times, in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004.

In the first list of Samajwadi Party, Akhilesh Yadav has done an effective caste management handing the 'rainbow coalition' well.

There are 11 OBCs, one Muslim, one Dalit, one Thakur, one Tandon, and one Khatri candidate.  The 11 OBC candidates include four Kurmi, three Yadav, two Shakya, one Nishad, and one Pal.  

But the internal bickering between SP and Congress continues apparently.  

The main question is why Akhilesh made this unilateral decision on seat sharing and even named his party candidates while negotiations were still on with the Congress. 

SP has prepared a list of seats for Congress, including Amethi and Rae Bareli, and others in Western Uttar Pradesh like Fatehpur Sikri or Agra, Bulandshahr, Noida, Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, Kanpur, and Maharajganj. The Congress, on the other hand, has listed 25 strong seats, including those mentioned above. 

Rahul Gandhi had lost Amethi seat to Union Minister Smriti Iran while Sonia Gandhi is the only Congress MP from UP representing prestigious Rae Bareli.   

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George was a great friend of regional leaders from north east.

Late Vamuzo, former Nagaland CM, held him as a very close friend.."Perhaps only trust worthy friend in Delhi".

3 June 1930 – 29 January 2019

Maverick Vamuzo as CM once made George and his associates walk for about 3-4 km on National High Way between Dimapur and Kohima after landslides blocked the way. George readily agreed and later told us in Kohima that the walk was a 'good walkathon'.

I had met George, the day after he resigned after Tehelka scam; ....I asked him that people have slammed his friendship with Jaya Jaitley, he said, "I cannot disown my three decade old friendship". 

During 2002 - we argued in Ahmedabad over media coverage and riots.....for more on these ...please read my new book 'Godhra Journey of a Prime Minister'. 

Remember Nishikant Dubey, the man who took on TMC MP Mahua Moitra 

Now he says, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal "helped" Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in his "escape" from Delhi to Ranchi. 

Nishikant Dubey, also a lawmaker from Jharkhand in a post on X wrote, "According to the information, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assisted in escorting Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Ji from Delhi to Ranchi. This cooperation extended till Varanasi, after which Ranchi Minister Mithlesh Thakur helped take him (Hemant Soren) to Ranchi. 

'Chor chor mausera bhai'" 

Hemant Soren's whereabouts were in question on Monday after Enforcement Directorate officials, who had arrived at his Delhi residence for questioning in a land fraud case, failed to locate him for nearly 30 hours.