Strained alliances in Tripura 

In Tripura, the Congress and the Left recently issued a joint statement condemning the ruling BJP. Leaders of the Pradesh Congress went to accommodate the Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance, a regional political outfit of Tripura’s Tipra Motha tribe led by Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barma, a descendant of the Tripura royal family. Pradyot Bikram refused to sign the joint chargesheet against the BJP government of the state, as they wanted a clear commitment from the Congress party for the creation of a separate state within Tripura. However, Rahul Gandhi instructed the AICC official in charge of Tripura, Ajay Kumar, that the Congress could not accept the demand for state bifurcation. Apart from the ideological issue, the personal relationship between Pradyot Bikram and Rahul is not on good terms. Pradyot left the Congress Party a few months ago, accusing Rahul of failing to seriously look into the affairs of the state organisation.  

Politics over Ram temple 

Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackey announced a few days ago that he would perform puja at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. Though the announcement was not liked by the Mahagathbandhan alliance partners, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took it seriously. Shinde feels that Udhhav is trying to woo the erstwhile Hindutwa constituency. Immediately after that, he also announced that he would take the whole cabinet to Ayodhya to get blessings from Lord Ram. Both factions of Shiv Sena are now competing with each other to claim the legacy of the Ram temple movement. When the Shiv Sena was united, they sent bricks to Ayodhya in order to construct a grand temple. It is known to everyone that any time before the end of this year, the grand temple of Lord Ram will be opened to the public. 

Volatility over internal survey 

Congress lawmakers have become jittery these days about an internal party survey about the popularity of the MLAs in some constituencies. The survey went viral among the Congress supporters, and the legislators have become worried about their future. MLAs loyal to Party Chief Kamal Nath received a negative response in the survey. The situation has become so volatile that Kamal Nath had to issue a statement saying that no internal survey was done by the party about the legislators. He also issued an internal order to inquire about who had done the survey. Sources say that the survey was conducted at high command’s instructions.

Gautam Lahri