Point of View
On March 23, Congress announced the name of state president Ajay Rai as the party’s candidate for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. He is fighting against PM Modi for the third time in a row. Both times Rai has contested against PM Modi in 2014 and 2019. He emerged third in terms of the number of votes. In 2014, he was pitted against PM Modi, the Delhi CM and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal. PM Modi had secured the majority then, and Kejriwal was second, putting Rai in third place. In 2019, PM Modi again secured the first place, and the second spot was taken over by Samajwadi Party (SP)’s Shalini Yadav.
Congress state president Ajay Rai started his political career with the BJP. From 1996 to 2007, for three consecutive terms he was an MLA on a BJP ticket. In the year 2009, he sought a Lok Sabha ticket from the party. Not getting a ticket, he joined the Samajwadi Party and contested the election on an SP ticket, but could not win. In 2009, he contested and won the bye-election as an independent candidate from the Pindra region of UP. In 2012, Rai joined Congress and won the Pindra seat.
Several criminal cases have also been registered against Rai. In 2015, he was arrested under the National Security Act (NSA). In the year 2021, four of his arms licenses were suspended over a criminal case. Rai’s name was declared on the fourth list announced by the GOP on March 23. In any case, Congress knows very well that Rai will lose. He is more of a dummy than a real threat to Modiji.
Action hero Ajit Pawar threatens to quit the ruling alliance.
The NCP, led by Ajit Pawar, on Sunday threatened to quit the ruling alliance in Maharashtra while demanding the removal of a senior Shiv Sena leader as the seat-sharing trouble intensified.
The tussle centering around the Pawar dynasty-dominated Baramati Lok Sabha seat is just one of many such squabbles hindering an amicable distribution of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra among the ruling alliance partners—the BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), and the NCP (Ajit Pawar).
The NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar has announced the candidature of Supriya Sule, Sharad Pawar’s daughter, from Baramati. Ajit Pawar, who has split and aligned with the BJP, is determined to field his wife, Sunetra Pawar, from the family-dominated seat.
Vijay Shivtare, a local Shiva Sena stalwart associated with chief minister Eknath Shinde, has declared to file his nomination from Baramati. Shivtare has a long score with Ajit and has been constantly criticizing the Shinde-led government for promoting dynastic politics. The tension is growing between him and the deputy chief minister.
The ruling alliance has so far not declared the distribution of seats among the three partners owing to a tussle over a dozen seats, sources said. Several rounds of talks have been held between the alliance leaders, but no resolution has been reached yet.
On over half a dozen seats, both the BJP and the Shiv Sena have been staking claims, and on some others, it is between the Shiv Sena and the NCP. One such prominent seat is Kalyan, represented by chief minister Shinde’s son, Shrikant Shinde. The local BJP leaders have been protesting over the demand that Kalyan go to the lotus symbol. Similar problems are being seen in the Thane and Palghar Lok Sabha seats, with both the BJP and the Sena staking claims.
On Sunday evening, another meeting between the alliance leaders was held at the chief minister’s residence after the NCP threatened to quit. The development in Maharashtra is a clear indication that dynastic politics are here to stay.
BJP’s claim to end dynastic politics is applicable only to the Gandhi family and not to the NDA. The truth is, India’s politics is becoming unbearably street-walking, with all parties walking down the street of power, poaching, and soliciting.
