BJP’s Image Makeover: Is Nirmala Sitharaman the Next National President?
"In dino mausamon ka bhi kahaan koi andaaza hota hai
Fiza ki thi aahat, par aayi to yeh bahaar hai"
Since its inception, this party has been striving to transform its behavior, character, and image. This saffron party excels in promoting new politics and crafting new narratives. Particularly since 2014, numerous significant decisions have been made, often disregarding many established traditions within the party. Is the future also gearing up to write a similar new chapter? Could Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman be the next national president of the BJP? If not, why is the CPWD not only demolishing and constructing new infrastructure at her official residence at 15 Safdarjung Road in New Delhi, but also building large meeting halls, installing several porta cabins, altering the bungalow's décor, and preparing spacious waiting rooms for visitors? When an attempt was made to inquire about this from an official associated with the Finance Minister, he vaguely mentioned that 'since the Honorable Minister needs to conduct many departmental meetings at home, new construction works are being carried out with that in mind.' However, this explanation is not easily comprehensible because it is no longer a mystery how the Honorable Minister's ministry operates. Who manages it? Let us assume for a moment that the Minister's workload might have increased, but why has a Garhwali Hindi teacher been regularly teaching her Hindi for the past three months? It is well-known how much of the ministry's work is conducted in Hindi. Like the recently elected Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, Nirmala also hails from Tamil Nadu, which implies that if the BJP selects her as its next president, it could achieve multiple objectives. For instance, it could send a positive message among the country's women voters and create a favorable environment for the BJP's growth in the southern states. Additionally, Modi ji would certainly receive credit for appointing the BJP's first female president, both within and outside the party.
What is going on in the Sangh?
Generally, the Swayamsevak Sangh is so mature and disciplined as an organisation that news of conflict, confrontation or arrogance at the top never surfaces. But recently, when the number two of the Sangh, Dattatreya Hosabale, suddenly fell ill at a meeting of the Sangh in Jodhpur, his blood pressure went down and he had to be taken to the hospital immediately, immediately after this, Sunil Ambekar, who is considered to be very close to Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, called a press conference to give a briefing on Dattatreya's health, in which journalists were given the latest update on Dattatreya's health.
This conference was a wonder even from the Sangh's point of view, the Sangh is a voluntary or autonomous organisation and its official Hosabale is also not a person holding any constitutional post that there is a need to issue a 'health bulletin' for him. It is said that Hosabale himself was surprised that after all, on whose behest Sunil Ambekar had committed this impudence. In fact, for quite some time now, there has been a buzz among RSS supporters and social media that when RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is also turning 75 in these few days, will he vacate his throne for his successor? When age is not a barrier for the post of Sarsanghchalak, but since Bhagwat himself has said on many occasions that the RSS will have to increase its reach to the new generation in its new avatar, it will also have to be more modern in its approach.
People who know Bhagwat closely claim that he is in favor of handing over the top leadership of the RSS to a young hand after him, he wants the new leadership of the RSS to be taken over by a person who is 55-60 years old and who can successfully lead it for the next decade, and can connect as many youth as possible with it. There is a discussion that if Bhagwat leaves his throne in the current situation, then his natural successor is RSS's number two Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale. But Hosabale is also around 70 years old, which does not fit Bhagwat's theory of youth leadership. Anyway, Bhagwat's closeness to Dattatreya does not please anyone, so one aspect of Ambekar's press conference could also be that Dattatreya ji is not that fit on health grounds anymore.
Is something brewing between BJP and AAP?
If politics is an unwritten text of uncertainties, then it can be understood only through sounds and knocks, otherwise what happened suddenly that Kejriwal's party AAP, which constantly raised slogans against BJP and Modi, has suddenly started getting enamoured with the lotus. If only the recently concluded Vice Presidential election is referred to, then Trinamool leader Abhishek Banerjee's statement must be paid attention to in which he was seen pointing towards AAP MPs for cross voting. Sources claim that there is a secret agreement between BJP and AAP regarding future politics under which it has been agreed that AAP will create a favorable environment for BJP in the next assembly elections of Punjab, i.e. in a way AAP will directly or indirectly provide full support to BJP in gaining a foothold on the soil of Punjab, in return the central investigative agencies will loosen their grip on AAP leaders like Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain, they may also be provided with ways to escape.
In return AAP will try its luck in the electoral field as BJP's 'B team', the role it is playing in these Bihar elections, AAP has made it clear that it will field its candidates on all 243 assembly seats of Bihar, i.e. in a way this can prove to be a venture to indirectly benefit the NDA alliance. Because AAP has its own estimate that it can arrange for some new voters and support of minority voters for itself in Bihar. Apart from this, in states like Gujarat where BJP and Congress will have a face-to-face fight, AAP can weaken the roots of Congress. So, this time also, whatever Abhishek Banerjee has said in hints, his claims may also have some substance, because in this election for the post of Vice President, NDA had 427 votes, if we add 14 votes of Jagan Mohan Reddy's party to it, then even after this, NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan got 452 votes, that is, he also got the benefit of cross voting in dozens, so in such a situation it becomes natural to ask this question that is this cross voting pointing towards this deal of BJP-AAP?
…and finally
Prime Minister Modi's visit to Manipur was already proposed, so the Congress leadership asked its Inner Manipur MP Bimol Akaijam to boycott the PM's visit and not go to Imphal to receive him. It is believed that Congress's organization general secretary KC Venugopal himself spoke to this MP in this regard and asked him to boycott the PM's visit, but it is believed that Akaijam did not agree to this, citing protocol, he said that since I am an elected MP from there and the Prime Minister of the country is going to my area, my presence there will be mandatory from the protocol point of view. However, I have been a vocal opponent of BJP's policies.