giving international speeches focusing on the “evils of the RSS”, a Prime Minister “who knows everything and can teach God”, calling for and insisting on caste census, while attending his summons to central agencies Talk of being used for “political vendetta”—these are just some of the ways political offshoots of India’s opposition parties, both national and regional, are trying to garner public support.
There is less than a year left before the general election in 2024, and parties need to maneuver through a host of political events and some high-stakes assembly elections, including in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh, as they look to the next finalists. Preparing for the elections. Year. With seasoned politicians and party chiefs strategizing and trying to forge an alliance against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, here’s where the young succession plans, while the seniors warm up and prepare for the general election.
Rahul Gandhi is on a 10-day visit to the United States, his second international trip in the last two months and after the Bharat Jodo Yatra. In March, Gandhi called the RSS – which is considered the ideological source of the Bharatiya Janata Party – a fascist organization that operates like a “secret society” and resembles the “Muslim Brotherhood”. During his ongoing visit to the USA, he said that not only the Muslim community, but Sikhs, Adivasis and Dalits all feel “under attack” in India. He also said that PM Modi is a “specimen” who thinks he knows everything and can teach God how the universe works, but he is devoid of the ability to listen.
Political observers News18 analyzed his gesture and felt that the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family, in his efforts to present himself as the primary challenger to PM Modi, was seeking support from the Indian diaspora through his foreign visits. Trying to.
Pawan Khera, head of the Congress’s media and publicity department, told News18 how Gandhi is changing the narrative at the national and international level as well.
“Artificial propaganda cannot continue for long, everything has a shelf life. Overseas Indians in foreign lands are now looking at Rahul Gandhi without using the spectacles of BJP, and hence they are now able to relate to him After his many interactions with people through Bharat Jodo Yatra, his understanding is far better than Mr. Modi’s understanding of India. Khera said, “Mr. Modi sits on a pedestal, only talks and does not listen “He is ideologically clear and that is the reason he can speak about the RSS with such fearlessness and clarity.”
While Rahul Gandhi works on building his public connect, which began with the Bharat Jodo Yatra and continues through his interactions with local businessmen, truck drivers, students and NRIs in foreign lands, here are some of the powerful Other political successors are regional parties.
Emerging Challengers to Powerful Regional Parties
Tejashwi Yadav, deputy chief minister of Bihar and son of former chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, joins Nitish Kumar in his tour of states to unite the united opposition. Many senior politicians call him the “political successor” to CM Nitish Kumar, while also carrying forward the legacy of Lalu Prasad and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Yadav, unlike his colleagues in other parties, has turned away from Hindutva and counter-Hinduism. Instead, they have taken the lead in bringing out the caste census. Bihar has been the first state government to start the process of conducting a caste-based survey, though the matter is now pending in court after a few petitions.
“Tejashwi Yadav focuses on the basics. What is the size of my plate, where do my family members go for treatment, how can marginal and small farmers get proper irrigation? He has carefully followed politics as it is meant to be. Instead of fighting over the size of the temple or mosque, they have brought to the fore the fundamental issues. He has also diligently brought the constitutional question into the public domain. People actually take oath in the name of the Constitution, but the ruling dispensation at the Center disregards every tenet of the Constitution,” said senior MP and RJD leader Manoj Jha.
In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee has embarked on a journey to connect with the public in the state’s districts, which have been named Nabjoyar (new or fresh tide). He also appeared before the CBI in the midst of his first such political venture.
Abhishek has been a fierce critic of the Modi government and the BJP, and comes across as a young leader who at times becomes more aggressive than his aunt, targeting the saffron party. Abhishek has been questioned by the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the coal and teacher recruitment scams. However, the Trinamool Congress’s political successor termed such grilling sessions by central agencies as political vendetta and ways to silence him.
political legacy vs performance
Even as prominent political heirs from opposition parties have managed to create a ripple effect in Indian politics by stirring up relevant political issues, experts believe that this phenomenon has been going on for years, and that power There are pros and cons for both sides. The issues and patterns of political conflicts keep changing.
“Family name and political background bring the advantage of visibility and visibility to the heirs of political parties. But Indian democracy has matured to a great extent. The voter today has become more discerning. enjoys, although it can give you a base to start with. The democratic process has become more agile than ever before. Heirs to a political legacy are also being assessed on the basis of their performance. Finally, it It is not the family name that drives a leader forward, but the contribution made by him/her that makes him/her responsible,” said Sandeep Shastri, political scientist and national coordinator for Lokniti (Centre for the Study of Developing Societies). ,
He said that a large number of sons and daughters of political families contested in the recent Karnataka elections. “Some prominent names among them are Nikhil Kumaraswamy, HD Deve Gowda’s grandson and HD Kumaraswamy’s son, who lost his second election, while BS Yediyurappa’s two sons are doing well in politics. Look at the Congress cabinet – there are Priyank Kharge, Dinesh Gundu Rao and so on who are heirs to a political legacy. So, in political parties, it is a phenomenon. This is not unique to political families, but it is common to business families, families of lawyers, film stars etc. His children are carrying the reins. It reflects a larger social reality,” Shastri said.