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Local issues have been dominating the poll rhetoric in the five poll-bound states, but the results will have major national implications for both the Congress and the BJP. Inability to win, at least, two major states by the Congress could seriously handicap its preparations for 2019 Lok Sabha election. But multiple wins in the head-on fights with the BJP could give it the critical momentum. For the BJP it is important to retain, at least, two of the three major Hindi speaking states. In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is not happily placed and in Chhattisgarh one has to keep one’s fingers crossed.

Local issues have been dominating the poll rhetoric in the five poll-bound states, but the results will have major national implications for both the Congress and the BJP. Inability to win, at least, two major states by the Congress could seriously handicap its preparations for 2019 Lok Sabha election. But multiple wins in the head-on fights with the BJP could give it the critical momentum. For the BJP it is important to retain, at least, two of the three major Hindi speaking states. In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the BJP is not happily placed and in Chhattisgarh one has to keep one’s fingers crossed.

Rights activist Trupti Desai might as well be a hanger at the Kochi Nedumbaserry Airport. She’s been hanging there at the airport like a terminal patient in ‘recovery’ since Friday 4.45 am and cannot get out because the climate outside is not fair weather for her to make a glorious entry into the forbidden Swami Ayyappa Temple in tiger-country Sabarimala.

Never before has any trade block felt heat as RCEP warrants. Trade blocks are always created to reduce trade costs by removing tariff and reducing logistic costs. But in the case of RCEP the reverse seems to be true. High tariff imposed by Trump administration made China hurry up the deal.

BHOPAL: Rebels are continuing to pose serious challenge to BJP as they have refused to withdraw nominations despite the efforts by the top national and state leaders of the party. According to estimates, more than 62 rebels are still in the field after the date of withdrawal. The most significant aspect of the crisis caused by the rebels is that most of them belong to the RSS.

Under the BJP rule, labour issues are also increasingly becoming human rights issues. Is it conceivable that the Indian state in the 21st century could go back exactly a hundred years to usher an industrial relations scenario based on the principles of British Common Law of the colonial times? That appears to be case with the way the BJP government in Maharashtra is going about.

The cat is finally out of the bag. The French Government did not agree to give any sovereign guarantee to the Rafale deal and its offer of a Letter of Comfort(LoC) does not in any way help in meeting the obligations of the French company Dassault to its manufacturing programme for India. The admission by the Attorney General of the centre K K Venugopal at the hearing of the Supreme Court on November 14 gives a lie to the main component of any credible Inter Government Agreement.

Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha election result is all set to spring up surprises, though most of the poll surveys have predicted that BJP will eventually emerge as the largest political party in the state but may not cross the half-way mark — 45 seats out of 90 in the assembly. The state, according to them, is heading towards a hung assembly. However, even the smallest swing in the percentage of valid votes polled in favour or against a political party may drastically change the situation, and the heavy voter turnout 76.28 per cent in the first phase of election against the average of 73 percent during 2000-20014, that too in the naxal dominated areas, is indicative of a swing.

BJP governments in states and Centre is now busy in renaming cities, towns, railway stations etc. Gurgaon is renamed as Gurugram, supposed to be dedicated to Dronacharya, a cruel Acharya who insisted that Ekalavya must cut his thumb and offer as Guru Dakshina thus exposing his pro-Khshatriya anti-Tribal mentality. Anyway that is another story. Mughal Sarai Railway Station is renamed as Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction. Allahabad is renamed as Prayag Raj. Faizabad district is renamed as Ayodhya. Faizabad and Ayodhya are two separate towns, within 10 kms distance. Yogi Adityanath announced that an airport will be constructed at Ayodhya in the name of Lord Rama and a hospital will be built in the name of King Dasharatha. Many more names are now in discussion. Why all this new drama, why RSS and BJP are in hurry? Why BJP is trying to take India back to thousands of years, to the imagined glory of fictional Ramraj?

Though much more will be revealed in the coming days about the dirty game that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the crony capitalist Anil Ambani have played in finalising the Rafale deal, whatever has come to light so far is enough to outright cancel the deal. It is the biggest corruption scam in which about Rs. 30,000 crore of the public money has been assured to Anil Ambani for doing nothing.