The Hindu – Modi’s strategy: a new NDA minus Nitish

Darshan Desai

Days after making a political point by having a range of regional leaders attend his swearing-in, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi once again reached for a larger national profile by being the only chief minister to speak on national affairs at the NDC meeting on Friday.

Recent praise from union minister Praful Patel of the Nationalist Congress Party, a UPA partner, has only helped Modi.

In Mumbai on December 28, Patel said: “Modi was successful in gaining trust of the people. Modi won because of the work he has done,” Praful Patel said.

At the NDC meeting, Modi held forth on “policy paralysis and lack of leadership” at the Centre. He said the world was looking at India for development but the country was pessimistic, even as he presented Gujarat as a model of growth.

Sources said Modi’s gameplan is to create an NDA minus the sulking partner Janata Dal-United and its Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Besides Jayalalithaa of the AIADMK, Om Prakash Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal, Ramdas Athawale of Republican Party of India and Raj Thackeray of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena attended his swearing-in — none of them is an NDA partner at the moment.

Overtures are also being made to Patnaik of the Biju Janata Dal and Asom Gana Parishad, who are former NDA allies.

The Shiromani Akali Dal is still with the NDA and so are Shiv Sena, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and other smaller parties.

Modi simply ignored Nitish Kumar at the NDC meeting, held just a day after his glittering swearing-in event that the JD-U boycotted. He went around greeting everyone including Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, and congratulated Congress veteran Virbhadra Singh for his huge victory in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections.

When mediapersons asked him if he would not meet Nitish pointing to where he was sitting, Modi only thanked them for drawing his attention.

Praful Patel’s statement here is significant despite the fact that the NCP did not attend Modi’s swearing-in though concerted efforts were made to get veteran leader Sharad Pawar there. Addressing party workers in Mumbai, Patel asserted, “In Gujarat, we had a tie-up with Congress to avoid division of secular votes. However, the Congress put up candidates in all the seats NCP contested. A review should be done to find out who is responsible for the defeat in Gujarat.

NCP had contested nine seats in the Assembly elections and its candidates won in two constituencies.

“Ideologically, we are with Congress and will continue to be with them. But there is nothing wrong with thinking about our growth,” he said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/modis-strategy-a-new-nda-minus-nitish/article4256404.ece

The Tribune – Pranab vs Sangma for President’s post; Ex-Lok Sabha Speaker quits NCP

Anita Katyal, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 20. The July 19 Presidential election will witness a contest between Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma. Sangma, founder member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), resigned from the party today. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has accepted his resignation.

The NCP, which is a constituent of the UPA and is backing Mukherjee’s candidature, was not happy with Sangma’s decision and had even warned him that he would face disciplinary action if he decided to contest the Presidential poll.

Sangma’s candidature had been proposed by AIADMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and BJD president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Sangma has now got the additional support of a divided NDA which was left with little option after former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who was its first choice, opted out of the race.

Janata Party President Subramaniam Swamy, who has been in constant touch with Sangma on behalf of the NDA, called on the former Lok Sabha Speaker this afternoon to convey the NDA’s support. It was after this verbal assurance that Sangma resigned from the NCP. Interestingly, it was Swamy who announced his resignation to the media. “Sangma had no option but to resign from the NCP. He has done so for self-respect. We are trying to build a consensus in his favour,” he said.

BJP leaders who met here at LK Advani’s residence this evening, decided that their decision will announced after tomorrow’s meeting of NDA allies.

However, the BJP-led NDA is not all on the same page on this issue.

Shiv Sena, the BJP’s closest ally, has already announced that it will back UPA candidate Mukherjee as it does not see any merit in forcing a token contest. Similarly, the Janata Dal (U) is also not in favour of backing Sangma and would prefer to pledge its support to Mukherjee.

It is learnt that JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav has conveyed as much to the BJP leadership. It was because of these internal differences that the last two meetings of NDA leaders had ended inconclusively.

In his resignation letter, Sangma stated that the Tribal Forum of India had projected his candidature for the Presidential election which had the backing of several political parties while his own party was disinclined to endorse his candidature.

“This amounts to denial of the aspirations of tribals of the country,” he said, adding that he had no option but to resign from the party.

In an effort to put up a credible fight, the BJP will not project Sangma as its own nominee but as an Independent candidate.

By doing so, it hopes to win over parties like the Trinamool Congress and the Left Front, which would otherwise not like to be seen in the company of the NDA.

However, Mukherjee is well ahead of his opponent. Not only does he have the backing of the UPA constituents, except the Trinamool Congress, but he also has the support of the Samajwadi Party, the BSP, the Lok Janashakti Party and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.

Battlelines drawn

Janata Party chief Subramaniam Swamy called on Sangma on Wednesday afternoon to convey the NDA’s support

It was after this verbal assurance that Sangma quit the NCP

Swamy announced Sangma’s resignation to the media

BJP won’t project Sangma as its own nominee, but as an Independent candidate to win over the Trinamool and Left Front

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120621/main2.htm

The Tribune – BJD, AIADMK push for Sangma as President

Bhubhaneswar/Chennai, May 17. Injecting a new element in the Presidential race, regional parties BJD and AIADMK were today first off the bloc when they announced their joint support for former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma but his own party NCP distanced itself from his moves.

Chief Ministers of Odisha and Tamil Nadu, Naveen Patnaik and Jayalalithaa, who have lately come together on issues of federalism and met last week in Chennai, announced their support to the 65-year-old tribal leader from north-east.

“I think Mr Sangma ought to be candidate for the highest post for the Rashtrapati Bhavan,” he told reporters in Bhubhaneswar, adding he has had discussions with Jayalalithaa on the issue.

Shortly later, the AIAIDMK chief issued a statement in Chennai saying her party has decided to support the candidature of Sangma for the highest office after “due consideration”.

Recalling Sangma’s May 15 meeting with her, Jayalalithaa said he “not only belongs to a tribal community but is also eminently qualified to be the President of our great nation.”

Sangma, who has been campaigning for a tribal President, thanked the two parties for the decision but NCP chief Sharad Pawar pleaded ignorance about the development.

“I am not aware of any such development. Sangma has not spoken to us. We have had no discussions. We feel that with such a limited strength, we cannot aspire for such a major post,” Pawar told PTI.

Sangma himself said he was not lobbying as an NCP leader but in his personal capacity.

This is the first announcement by any political parties to back a particular candidate for the Presidential polls scheduled in July. There has been raging speculation that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee may be elevated as President by Congress though it has not officially declared its stand.

The BJP has also yet to take a stand though its leader Sushma Swaraj had said it would oppose a Congress candidate.

Parties like Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, JD(U), BSP and Left parties are also playing a wait and watch game while informally some of them have indicated they have no objection to either Mukherjee or Vice President Hamid Ansari if Congress chooses to pick one of them.

When asked whether he will support any other tribal candidate, Sangma said he was not the only tribal who could be president. “Any one tribal. It can be (Tribal Affairs Minister) Kishore Chandra Deo, Arvind Netam (Congress), Kariya Munda (BJP)…it has to be a tribal this time.”

Sangma, however, said Mukherjee, who is considered a front-runner for the ruling UPA’s candidature, is “very highly qualified” for the post but said there are other qualified people and insisted that President this time should be from among tribals.

“I am very happy about it and I am extremely grateful to both the leaders (BJD’s Naveen Patnaik and AIADMK’s Jayalalithaa).

They have been very responsive to our (tribals) aspirations. So on behalf of tribals in India, which is more than 100 million, I would convey my sincere thanks to them,” he said.

He also appealed to other parties to follow suit and support the tribal cause.

In this case, he said, he was not representing NCP but the whole tribals.

“In our group there are MPs and MLAs and former MPs from all parties…I have spoken to Kishore Chandra Deo and he has said we should fight for our cause, why not? So we are all one. There is nothing like A, B or C political party,” he said.

“We belong to different political parties but we belong to tribal community. We are representing tribal community,” he said.

First clear-cut stand

This is the first announcement by any political parties to back a particular candidate for the Presidential polls scheduled in July. The BJP has also yet to take a stand though its leader Sushma Swaraj had said it would oppose a Congress candidate.

The Trinamool Congress, the Samajwadi Party, JD(U), BSP and the Left are also playing a wait and watch game.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120518/main2.htm