One of the things that the Modi wave did was to sweep away political intrigue in most states. All five states going to the polls over the next few months, for example, are expected to turn saffron.
The Congress isn't back in action yet as it is still introspecting on how to introspect after an unprecedented rout. Andhra-Telangana has become a procedural drama, Punjab remains far too muddled, Tamil Nadu has turned into Amma-dom and Assam isn’t interesting enough yet. So where does the interested political observer look beyond the Delhi drama?
Here:
Maharashtra's Friendly Fire
India’s second most populous state has managed to stay in the news. This is primarily because the shellacking was dealt out to a coalition government, so each side is now attempting to fix the blame on the other. The longstanding Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance is, yet again, on the rocks. This time the effect might be long-lasting. The alliance was reduced to just six of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The Congress, which was founded in Maharashtra, was down to a dismal two.
The Grand Old Party has been unable to fix its organisational problems, so much so that there seems to be an open rebellion in the party, with sections asking for the removal of chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Congress Pradesh Committee chief Manikrao Thakre. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar has jumped on board this bandwagon, even apparently dangling the offer of a merger with the Congress in return. Yet despite this internal wrangling, it appears unlikely that the Congress and the NCP, either separately or as allies, can expect much from the state election due in October, even if they attempt to bring in quotas for Muslims.
Across the aisle, however, things aren’t all settled. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray threw his hat into the chief ministership race, making him the first Thackeray to enter the electoral fray. NDA ally Shiv Sena, meanwhile, has been quietly chafing at the bit because of some of the Modi sarkar’s more social pronouncements, such as the Hindi-only order. It also made an official representation to the BJP about the rail fare hike, albeit without asking for a rollback. With Uddhav Thackeray expected to fight as a chief ministerial candidate as well, the BJP is still figuring out what its approach to both the alliance and the state will end up being.
Bihar's Long Lost Cousins
The Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal (United) are together, and their jodi has borne fruit. Two JD(U) candidates managed to secure by-poll wins against independents supported by the BJP, after RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav got a call from chief minister Nitish Kumar. The two discussed “fighting communal forces,” meaning that RJD voters helped make up for all the JD(U) supporters who have started to take the BJP’s side. This alliance is now expected to survive until the by-elections expected in 11 Bihar constituencies this year.
If the two former rivals manage to stay together for some time and notch up electoral victories, it might end up being the first indication that the Modi wave is not unstoppable, particularly in the heartland. But for that they will have to take on the NDA, which managed to win 31 of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha seats. A desire to have that fight sooner, while Yadav and Kumar are still getting comfortable with each other’s support, might in fact be the reason why Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan has been insisting that assembly election could take place later this year.
Bengal's strange bedfellows
The Bharatiya Janata Party campaigned on a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ (Congress-free India) platform, and ended up coming close to delivering that promise. So what happens when they attach a ‘Trinamool’ to the phrase? The party has been arguing that the Trinamool Congress’s rule in West Bengal has been one filled with thuggery, violence and how serious is this fight? Troublesome enough that it appears to be driving TMC chief Mamata Banerjee to talk to her arch-rivals: the Communists. Earlier this month, in a bout of “fishfry diplomacy” Banerjee sat down with Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary Biman Bose and discussed, ostensibly, talk of the TMC’s wanton violence.
Even though Banerjee won 34 of 42 seats, she has clearly been rattled by the steep rise in interest in the BJP there. Naturally, the Left has also been concerned about the saffron party’s successes, to such an extent that they are actually now talking to Banerjee. Whether it will fall apart in the process or end up being a colossal mistake is to be seen.
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The Congress isn't back in action yet as it is still introspecting on how to introspect after an unprecedented rout. Andhra-Telangana has become a procedural drama, Punjab remains far too muddled, Tamil Nadu has turned into Amma-dom and Assam isn’t interesting enough yet. So where does the interested political observer look beyond the Delhi drama?
Here:
Maharashtra's Friendly Fire
India’s second most populous state has managed to stay in the news. This is primarily because the shellacking was dealt out to a coalition government, so each side is now attempting to fix the blame on the other. The longstanding Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance is, yet again, on the rocks. This time the effect might be long-lasting. The alliance was reduced to just six of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The Congress, which was founded in Maharashtra, was down to a dismal two.
The Grand Old Party has been unable to fix its organisational problems, so much so that there seems to be an open rebellion in the party, with sections asking for the removal of chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Congress Pradesh Committee chief Manikrao Thakre. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar has jumped on board this bandwagon, even apparently dangling the offer of a merger with the Congress in return. Yet despite this internal wrangling, it appears unlikely that the Congress and the NCP, either separately or as allies, can expect much from the state election due in October, even if they attempt to bring in quotas for Muslims.
Across the aisle, however, things aren’t all settled. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray threw his hat into the chief ministership race, making him the first Thackeray to enter the electoral fray. NDA ally Shiv Sena, meanwhile, has been quietly chafing at the bit because of some of the Modi sarkar’s more social pronouncements, such as the Hindi-only order. It also made an official representation to the BJP about the rail fare hike, albeit without asking for a rollback. With Uddhav Thackeray expected to fight as a chief ministerial candidate as well, the BJP is still figuring out what its approach to both the alliance and the state will end up being.
Bihar's Long Lost Cousins
The Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Janata Dal (United) are together, and their jodi has borne fruit. Two JD(U) candidates managed to secure by-poll wins against independents supported by the BJP, after RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav got a call from chief minister Nitish Kumar. The two discussed “fighting communal forces,” meaning that RJD voters helped make up for all the JD(U) supporters who have started to take the BJP’s side. This alliance is now expected to survive until the by-elections expected in 11 Bihar constituencies this year.
If the two former rivals manage to stay together for some time and notch up electoral victories, it might end up being the first indication that the Modi wave is not unstoppable, particularly in the heartland. But for that they will have to take on the NDA, which managed to win 31 of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha seats. A desire to have that fight sooner, while Yadav and Kumar are still getting comfortable with each other’s support, might in fact be the reason why Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan has been insisting that assembly election could take place later this year.
Bengal's strange bedfellows
The Bharatiya Janata Party campaigned on a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ (Congress-free India) platform, and ended up coming close to delivering that promise. So what happens when they attach a ‘Trinamool’ to the phrase? The party has been arguing that the Trinamool Congress’s rule in West Bengal has been one filled with thuggery, violence and how serious is this fight? Troublesome enough that it appears to be driving TMC chief Mamata Banerjee to talk to her arch-rivals: the Communists. Earlier this month, in a bout of “fishfry diplomacy” Banerjee sat down with Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary Biman Bose and discussed, ostensibly, talk of the TMC’s wanton violence.
Even though Banerjee won 34 of 42 seats, she has clearly been rattled by the steep rise in interest in the BJP there. Naturally, the Left has also been concerned about the saffron party’s successes, to such an extent that they are actually now talking to Banerjee. Whether it will fall apart in the process or end up being a colossal mistake is to be seen.