Anita Katyal | Cross-voters In Our Midst Exposed? Anger Grows In AAP’s Punjab Unit

Days after the National Democratic Alliance’s vice-presidential nominee C.P. Radhakrishnan cruised to a comfortable victory by securing more votes than he was expected to poll, a bruised Opposition is still coming to terms with the harsh reality that there was significant cross voting from its ranks. Speculation is rife over the identity of the INDIA bloc members who could have betrayed the side. Given the fluid political situation in Maharashtra, members of UBT Shiv Sena found themselves high on the list of suspects. The party’s Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi was being mentioned as a near certainty though it is difficult to prove so as voting for the vice-president’s election is by a secret ballot. It has been noticed that Ms Chaturvedi has lately been cosying up to the ruling dispensation which, it is believed, could be linked to the fact that her Rajya Sabha term ends next year. It may be recalled that she had lost no time in switching sides from the Congress to the Shiv Sena which promised her a seat in the Upper House. Several Aam Aadmi Party MPs, who have been feeling neglected or marginalised due to the disarray in the party following its Delhi defeat, are also suspected to have voted for the NDA candidate. While this blame game will continue in whispered private conversations for days to come, the breach in the opposition ranks does not bode well for the INDIA bloc which had shown remarkable unity in the monsoon session of Parliament.

With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s announcement last week in Rae Bareli that he will soon provide “dynamic, explosive proof” about “vote theft” in the coming days, there was a strong buzz in the Capital that the big announcement could be made on September 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. This gained credence following Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai’s statement that the new expose would be made by Rahul Gandhi at the Prime Minister’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi. However, there is no official word so far about when and where Rahul Gandhi will present his case though he has declared that he would be dropping a “hydrogen” bomb soon to further prove how the Election Commission has been helping the Bharatiya Janata Party win elections through manipulation of voter lists. His previous presentation had focused on the Assembly constituency Mahadevapura in Karnataka while the next one could be about the last Haryana Assembly election or even Varanasi as the Prime Minister won the 2024 Lok Sabha election with a far reduced margin as compared to his earlier victories.

The current drift in the Aam Aadmi Party is understandable as its national convener Arvind Kejriwal has literally moved base to Punjab after his government was shown the door by Delhi voters earlier this year. Having lost power in Delhi from where he shot to national fame, it became imperative for the AAP boss to ensure that the Bhagwant Singh Mann government does not suffer a similar fate in Punjab, the only state where the party is in power. For the past several months now, Mr Kejriwal along with his former deputy Manish Sisodia and trusted colleague Sandeep Pathak have been camping in Punjab at a sarkari guest house in Mohali, specially renovated for the Delhi leaders. By all accounts, Mr Mann has been reduced to a figurehead as decisions on major government policies and the transfers and postings of officials are vetted by Mr Kejriwal, according to AAP insiders. These decisions, they said, are conveyed to the concerned ministers and officials by Mr Kejriwal’s close aide Bibhav Kumar who has emerged as an independent power centre. As a result, there is growing anger and frustration in the AAP’s Punjab unit whose members find themselves sidelined while Mr Kejriwal’s favourites from Delhi have been accommodated in various boards and corporations.

Iqra Choudhary, the 31-year-old Lok Sabha MP from Kairana, has learnt early in her political career to pick her battles wisely. Speaking at last week’s launch of Rashid Kidwai and Ambar Kumar Ghosh’s book, Missing from the House: Muslim Women in the Lok Sabha, Iqra spoke about the challenges women face in public life and how she has dealt with them. In several instances, she said she decided to play by the rules of the game, especially since she had to work doubly hard to be accepted by the members of the local Muslim community in her constituency even though she comes from a well-established political family. With women politicians constantly under scrutiny for their appearance and clothes, Iqra started covering her head after she plunged into politics though she had never done so before. When questioned for giving in to the community’s conservative elements, her response was remarkably mature for a young, debutant MP. She said if she could avoid an unnecessary discussion on her looks and attire by covering her head, it was worth it as it would help her focus on more important and urgent matters.