With former MP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha disqualification, the pre-arrangement for the opposition unity has begun. In the first phase, discussions have begun with Janata Dal Secular (JDS) for the Karnataka Assembly elections. Congress sources have said that till now, the party has announced candidates for the assembly’s 124 seats, while the announcement of candidates for the remaining seats has been stalled by the party for now.
The aim being that even if an unofficial settlement is made with the JDS, the initiative should be taken. These discussions are being led by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra themselves. They are being helped by Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi. It is also being believed that soon, the Election Commission will announce elections for the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala, which is now vacant after Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification.
The Congress party is also creating a pressure for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to become the Congress candidate from Wayanad, even though no decision on the same has still been taken. A decision will be arrived at only after the notification is released. Congress strategists are of the opinion that the unity of the opposition is always circumstantial, but now, its full role has been made. The parties which are a problem for the Congress are mainly Telangana’s BRS, AAP, and Mamata Banerjee’s TMC.
But in the last two days, the BRS has shown a lot of change in its approach, because Telangana Chief Minister and BRS leader K Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter, K Kavita was also called for interrogation by the ED in the Delhi liquor scam case. In the meanwhile, AAP leaders Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia are also enticed in the ED and CBI’s noose.
At the same time, high level of enthusiasm has been maintained among the Congress party after the scathing comments made by Arvind Kejriwal against the BJP and the PM after the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi. On the other hand, Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee and his wife are too, being called to ED offices for interrogations again and again.
