The swearing-in of the Karnataka Chief Minister and his Deputy, the inauguration of the new Parliament building, and the NITI Ayog meeting in New Delhi have emerged as three recent indicators of the proposed opposition front against the BJP and its allies. While the BSP, AAP, BJD, YSRCP, and BRS had not been invited to the Karnataka ceremony, these parties were among those that decided to attend the inauguration of the Parliament Building. Then, seven chief ministers – Delhi, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Telangana stayed away from the NITI Ayog meeting chaired by the Prime Minister. The after-effects of this positioning on the eventual opposition formation are likely to be seen in the coming weeks.
UP MINISTERS RESHUFFLE FOR Lok Sabha POLL
The decision that many ministers of UP’s Yogi Adityanath government may be asked to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections has led to unease among them. The prospect of fighting the Lok Sabha election and losing might lead to the loss of the ministerial berth as well as the reputation of being unpopular. Many ministers who have been attracting adverse performance reports are now looking for ways to stay off the LS candidates’ list as there are reports of a reshuffle in the state council of ministers and many new MLAs are likely to be inducted. The BJP is focused on winning the maximum number of seats. The total number of seats in the states is 80.
HEALTH MINISTER’S SKY DIVING STINT
Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singh Deo, frequently in the news because of his tussle with the state’s Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, has earned the latter’s appreciation for an altogether different reason. Singh Deo is on a 10-day trip to Australia and New Zealand and will return on 30 May. A few days ago, he posted a video of his skydive in Australia and also said that it was a thrilling experience. Baghel was among the first to react to the post and congratulate the 70-year-old Singh Deo on his adventure. His comments have attracted a lot of attention and speculation about a possible rapprochement between the two prior to the state’s Assembly
elections.