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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

MVA protests for third day:

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies continued their agitation for the third day in different parts of Maharashtra with an aggressive state Congress hitting the streets today to protest the detention of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and other Congress leaders yesterday, here on Wednesday. State and city Youth Congress again carried out vociferous protests near Mantralaya raising slogans, carrying banners and placards slamming the...

MVA protests for third day:

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies continued their agitation for the third day in different parts of Maharashtra with an aggressive state Congress hitting the streets today to protest the detention of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and other Congress leaders yesterday, here on Wednesday. State and city Youth Congress again carried out vociferous protests near Mantralaya raising slogans, carrying banners and placards slamming the state and central Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and when some attempted to enter inside, they were prevented by a strong posse of Mumbai Police deployed there since Monday. As tensions appeared to escalate, the police clamped down by detaining top state and city Youth Congress leaders including President Harshwardhan Sapkal, Vijay Wadettiwar, Bhai Jagtap, Hussain Dalwai, and many others. Thousands of students carried out a fresh demonstration at Dadar west Shivaji Park to vent their ire at the police action on Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s agitation in New Delhi on Monday. Several MVA leaders and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray visited or expressed solidarity with the protesting youth, comprising many women. Opposition’s Voice The Congress leaders alleged that Rahul Gandhi was targeted by the BJP-led government to muzzle democratic dissent, suppress the Opposition voices inside and outside Parliament and trampling upon the peoples' Constitutional Rights to protest peacefully. Defying pouring rains in the city on Wednesday, Congress workers along with activists of MVA allies, staged a noisy demonstration in Chembur and another group attempted to storm the BJP office in south Mumbai, condemning the assault on students in New Delhi and the detention of the Gandhi siblings. Senior Congress leader Hussain Dalwai flayed the government for “misusing the police” to gag democratic rights and the protests were intended to defend the Constitution and democracy against the BJP’s policy of intolerance of dissent in any form. “This is gross injustice. We are not allowed to protest against the government failures as they are misusing the police. The PM is scared of taking the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as he could be the next. We want to highlight to the BJP to govern the country as per the Constitution,” Dalwai declared, interacting with the media at Nariman Point. As the BJP also threatened to launch counter-protests, the police cordoned off and deployed a precautionary security ring around Tilak Bhavan, the state Congress headquarters, as leaders from both sides exchanged political darts and looked aggressive enough for a confrontation. MVA ‘bandh’, ‘Tricolour’ march today The state is set for another two days of political turmoil as the MVA has announced a Maharashtra shutdown (‘bandh’) on Thursday followed by a non-partisan ‘Tricolour Peace March’ on Friday. MVA allies, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) President Prakash Ambedkar and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, besides other leaders of the alliance, informed of the state and city level actions today. Ambedkar appealed to the masses and also the BJP youth to participate wholeheartedly in the bandh tomorrow and claimed that students’ bodies, parent-teachers associations, colleges, universities, other institutes of higher education, private coaching institutions, and other governmental departments could support the shutdown, as it has now become a national issue. Aaditya sought the peoples’ participation in the ‘Tricolour Peace March’ on the theme of “One Nation, One Emotion” planned on July 24 afternoon to Shivaji Park, in support of environmentalist Sonam Wangchuk, the Cockroach Janta Party, plus the youth and students protesting in New Delhi. Terming it as a national citizens’ movement rather than a political party, he called upon the people not to carry any party flags but unite under the National Tricolour to assert democratic rights and express resentment against the government’s high-handed policies. Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have already imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 across the city from July 23-to- August 6, apprehending the possibility of law-and-order disturbances.

TMC merger possible, but a LoP is unlikely

As TMC merger speculation grows amid internal turmoil, Congress is unlikely to replace Mallikarjun Kharge with Mamata Banerjee as Rajya Sabha Opposition leader

New Delhi: After suffering a crushing setback in the West Bengal Assembly elections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee is reportedly facing mounting political challenges. With defections among legislators and parliamentarians, resignations by Rajya Sabha members, and growing speculation about the future of her party, discussions in political circles have increasingly focused on a possible merger of the TMC with the Indian National Congress.

 

Alongside these merger rumors, another claim has gained traction that Mamata Banerjee could be elevated as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. However, a closer look at Congress' internal political calculations suggests that such a move would be highly unlikely.

 

Long Rivalry

Since breaking away from the Congress in 1997 to form the Trinamool Congress, Mamata Banerjee has frequently positioned herself in opposition to the Congress leadership, particularly Sonia Gandhi. Whether it was national-level political decisions, discussions surrounding the presidential candidature of Hamid Ansari, efforts to marginalize Congress in West Bengal, or debates within the I.N.D.I.A. opposition alliance over accepting Rahul Gandhi as the consensus leader, Mamata has often charted an independent course.

 

Politics, however, is rarely driven by sentiment alone. Just as Congress and the Left fight each other in states such as Kerala while cooperating nationally against the BJP, Congress and TMC have remained partners within the opposition alliance despite fierce rivalry in West Bengal. Yet if a merger were ever to materialize, Congress would likely determine Mamata's role on its own terms rather than hers.

 

Merger Speculation

Amid reports of growing unrest within the TMC, Mamata Banerjee has reportedly met Sonia Gandhi twice after arriving in Delhi. Her nephew and senior party leader Abhishek Banerjee is also said to have held two meetings with Rahul Gandhi.

 

Following a recent meeting between Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee, speculation intensified that the Congress leadership had offered Mamata the position of party vice-president and Abhishek Banerjee the post of general secretary. Reports also suggest that Abhishek sought the Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition position for Mamata. Neither Congress nor TMC leaders have officially confirmed these claims.

 

No Replacement

Even if merger discussions are assumed to be genuine, Congress faces a major political obstacle in appointing Mamata Banerjee as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

 

The position is currently held by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Removing Kharge would carry significant political costs, particularly because Congress projects him as one of the country's most prominent Dalit leaders.

 

The timing makes the issue even more sensitive. Assembly elections are due next year in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Congress hopes to regain power in Punjab, where the government led by Bhagwant Mann has faced allegations from opponents regarding corruption and the growth of the drug trade. With Dalits constituting roughly 32 percent of Punjab's population, sidelining Kharge could send the wrong political message to a key voter base.

 

OBC Politics

Congress has recently demonstrated its sensitivity to caste equations. The party leadership reportedly implemented a rotational chief minister formula in Karnataka, replacing Siddaramaiah with D. K. Shivakumar. Siddaramaiah is widely identified with the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community.

 

In Uttar Pradesh, where OBC politics often carries greater electoral significance than Dalit politics, Congress remains heavily dependent on its alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

  

Attractive for TMC

Despite these obstacles, a merger with Congress could offer strategic advantages to Mamata Banerjee if the primary objective is preserving her party. The TMC currently has 28 MPs. Under anti-defection provisions, only 19 MPs would be required to trigger a split. Congress, by contrast, has 93 MPs in the Lok Sabha. A merger would raise Congress' parliamentary strength to 121 MPs, making it far more difficult for dissidents from the former TMC bloc to break away and form a separate group.

 

Complicating matters further, Mamata Banerjee is currently neither an MLA nor a Rajya Sabha member. According to the claims circulating in political circles, her support among TMC legislators has weakened to such an extent that even securing a Rajya Sabha seat could become challenging. That is why she is making repeated visits to the Congress high command.

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