Is Mayawati preparing to contest a Lok Sabha bye-election from Phulpur in UP as a joint opposition candidate?

Opposition circles are buzzing about the prospect of testing out a BSP-SP-Congress mahagathbandhan in this east UP constituency which has been represented by stalwarts like late prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and V P Singh.

The current MP from Phulpur is UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

He has not resigned from the Lok Sabha yet, although he is now a member of the BJP government in UP, because he was told to wait till the presidential and vice presidential elections are over. Phulpur is one of the two Lok Sabha seats that will become vacant when Maurya and chief minister Yogi Adityanath, MP from Gorakhpur, quit to seek election to the UP assembly.

Political circles say that bye-elections for these two seats are likely in NovemberDecember along with assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

UP experts believe that Mayawati is a strong candidate to win from Phulpur if she is backed by SP and Congress.

The constituency has a large Yadav presence and enough Dalits and Muslims to beat back the BJP if these communities come together in an alliance.

The question is this: will Mayawati accept the challenge? A victory as a united opposition candidate will not only enhance her stature, it will set the mahagathbandhan on a roll for the 2019 general election.

On the other hand, a defeat could mean the end of Mayawati’s political career.

She will not survive a fourth consecutive defeat for the BSP.

New found bonhomie

The new found bonhomie between Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav after the BJP’s stunning victory in the UP assembly polls earlier this year was on display at the first meeting of the united opposition front at 10 Janpath to discuss names for a joint presidential candidate. When they came face-to-face, Mayawati patted Akhilesh on the back and exchanged pleasantries with him. The physical gesture was most unMayawati-like.

The BSP chief is a reserved person and rarely indulges in physical demonstrations of camaraderie or affection. Those watching this moment were surprised. It was a reflection of how much the ground has shifted after the BJP decimated both SP and BSP in UP.

Remember, Akhilesh is the son of Mayawati’s most hated rival, Mulayam Singh. She has never forgiven Mulayam for organising the attack on the guest house in which she was staying after she withdrew support to his government in 1995. Opposition parties are hard at work to forge an understanding between the BSP supremo and son of her biggest opponent for the 2019 election.

The pat on Akhilesh’s back was the first sign that their efforts may not be in vain.

Onerous duty

TDP Lok Sabha MP J C Diwakar Reddy flew to Delhi in a private chartered plane to cast his vote in the presidential poll. The drastic measure became necessary after he was banned from flying by all airlines because of his unruly behavior at Vizag airport one month ago.

According to political circles, after landing in Delhi and voting, Reddy has been trying to get the Lok Sabha secretariat to foot the bill for the chartered flight.

His argument is that he hired the plane to fulfill his constitutional duty as a member of the electoral college for the election of the next President of India. Fortunately for Reddy, even as he haggles with the Lok Sabha Secretariat for reimbursement, the airlines have agreed to lift the ban.

Now he can fly back to his hometown. Significantly, Reddy has not had to apologise for his rude behavior. The airlines caved in after the government intervened on his behalf. After all, he is a member of a valuable ally of the BJP.

Parliament TV

With vice president Hamid Ansari’s term drawing to an end, his aide and CEO of Rajya Sabha TV, Gurdeep Sappal, will also be exiting from the parliament channel. In fact, Sappal is believed to have already handed in his resignation. It is expected that the new vice president to be, Venkaiah Naidu, would like to place a person of his choice as CEO of the Upper House channel.

However, according to BJP sources, party organisational secretary Ram Lal is likely to try and push someone he wants. Ram Lal is close to the RSS and functions as the bridge between the BJP and its mentor. BJP circles say that he is informally in charge of hiring and firing for both the parliament channels, Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV.

But while Ram Lal may have a say in lower level appointments, the chairpersons of the two Houses naturally want to decide who heads the channels as CEO.

The new CEO of Lok Sabha TV is Asheesh Joshi who hails from Indore, the hometown of Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Will Naidu follow suit by appointing the next CEO of RSTV from his home state of Andhra Pradesh?

Old friends

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is not the only leader to switch his allegiance back to the united opposition front in favour of its candidate for vice president, Gopal Krishna Gandhi. Odisha CM Navin Patnaik has also crossed the floor and announced that his party, BJD, will back Gandhi for vice president.

Politically, Patnaik’s decision can be interpreted as part of his continuing effort to stay equidistant from the BJP and the Congress. He went along with the BJP in the presidential election but he’s with the opposition for the vice presidential contest. But there’s more than politics at play here.

There’s a strong personal element to Patnaik’s decision. The Odisha CM and Gandhi are close friends and have known each other socially for several decades.

They were in Delhi University at the same time, although in different colleges. Patnaik went to Kirori Mal College while Gandhi studied at St Stephens.

Patnaik underlined their closeness back in 2012 when he said that Gandhi was an “old and valued friend” from the time when he was not in politics.