Insider track: Three in race to replace Delhi police chief
Emergency, Constitution & Bihar polls
Where else than poll-bound Bihar for a political showdown on Emergency and the Constitution? Politicians are shovelling deep, looking for shining gems from the archives to blind their rivals. The Congress' 'Samvidhan Badlav' battles with the BJP's 'Samvidhan Hatya'. The latter's campaign against the Congress' Emergency-era clampdown faces the former's accusation that the saffron party is secretly plotting to amend the Constitution. The RJD has also found a weapon, in the form of the recent statement by senior RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale regarding 'Socialism' and 'Secularism' in the Preamble — terms he claims shouldn't be there — to push back hard. 'This statement is gold,' an RJD strategist said. 'We don't even have to say much. The RSS is doing it for us. The public will see through it.' To recall, in the last assembly polls, Lalu Yadav used to hold up a copy of 'Bunch of Thoughts' — a compilation of speeches by RSS founder M S Golwalkar — at rallies. He didn't need words — just the book and a knowing look. That was enough to rattle the BJP's messaging.
New buzz around BJP ex-ministers
In BJP circles, there's quiet chatter about a group of once-prominent Union ministers who are now absent from both the government and Parliament. Names like Smriti Irani, Raj Kumar Singh, Ram Kripal Yadav, Ashwini Choubey, Shahnawaz Hussain, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Party insiders suggest that Shahnawaz Hussain, Raj Kumar Singh, and Ram Kripal Yadav—one of the few influential Yadav leaders in the Bihar BJP—may get roles in the organisation or on key committees. Ahead of Bihar's assembly polls, There's also talk of some returning to electoral politics, where their regional clout could help the party. Choubey and Naqvi are reportedly in line for gubernatorial posts, while Irani and Prasad may be given crucial organisational responsibilities.
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