deep throat
caught in a spot When Nitish Kumar raised the demand of “ special status ” for Bihar at a recent Niti Aayog meeting , it was seen as posturing to negotiate a better seat share for his party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls . With JD ( U ) in alliance with the BJP now , his choices are limited . Laloo Prasad Yadav ’ s RJD is out for him . Of the total 40 seats in Bihar , the BJP contested 30 in 2014 , winning 22 . Its allies Ram Vilas Paswan ’ s LJP and Upendra Kushwaha ’ s RLSP contested seven and three seats , respectively . The BJP is in no mood to spare many of its seats for Nitish , barring perhaps Patna Sahib and Darbhanga , represented by rebels Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad . Will Nitish be left in the lurch by the BJP before 2019 ? looking backward The BJP is planning to pull out the OBC ace to trump the Opposition unity . With BSP leader Mayawati likely to stake claim to Dalit votes , the saffron party is looking at consolidation of the 41 per cent OBC votes for the 2019 general elections . The plan is to showcase PM Narendra Modi ’ s credentials as an OBC leader . In a recent brainstorming session , the BJP is believed to have decided on a major OBC outreach , involving training sessions for its OBC leaders and those from other backward class morchas . Party president Amit Shah is expected to kickstart the programme and also attend one of the workshops . All state units will be covered during July and August , after which they will take over the training at the district level . The focus will be on Uttar Pradesh and Bihar , which have relatively higher OBC populations . blast from the past Congress circles are abuzz with talk of certain leaders trying to scuttle Rahul Gandhi ’ s proposal to appoint former green minister Jairam Ramesh as coo rdi nator for the 2019 polls . Doing the rounds suddenly is a 2013 letter from Ramesh to the then Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan , vouching for the innocence of Mahesh Raut , a Prime Minister Rural Development fellow who had been taken into custody in Gadchiroli . The letter resurfaced after Raut was recently arrested by the Pune police in connection with vio lence following the commemoration of the Battle of Bhima Koreg oan . Congress insiders claim industrialists unh appy with Ramesh for holding back green clearances may not wish to help the party .
8 Outlook 2 July 2018