Mamata Banerjee’s high-voltage, four-day visit to Delhi made one thing clear. There’s going to be no Third Front or Federal Front. The idea of a front of regional parties was shot down by NCP chief Sharad Pawar who pointed out to Mamata that the Congress had to be part of a united opposition effort to defeat the BJP in 2019.

Pawar was the first opposition leader Mamata met when she landed in Delhi. He told her quite emphatically that in Maharashtra, his NCP had no choice but to ally with the Congress. He said it was a state compulsion and the two parties would definitely have a pre-poll pact whether the BJP and Shiv Sena fight together or separately.

He went on to explain that the Congress would have to be included in an anti-BJP front to ensure a one-on-one fight in 2019. Mamata understood the logic and told him that although she doesn’t like the Congress, she was ready for any “sacrifice” to stop Modi and the BJP from winning a second term.

Notice that the Trinamool chief has stopped talking about a federal front now. Instead, before leaving Delhi, she underscored that it would be a one-on-one fight against the BJP in 2019 and the Congress would be a part of the united opposition.

Interestingly, it was after meeting with Pawar that Mamata decided to call on Sonia Gandhi. A meeting with the Congress was not on her itinerary when she came to Delhi. It looks like the Trinamool and the Congress may have a seat adjustment in West Bengal after all.

What’s in a date?

Is there a move to change the date on which India celebrates Children’s Day? According to the buzz in Parliament, outgoing Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Agarwal, formerly with the SP but now with the BJP, has mooted the idea of scrapping the celebration that is held on Jawaharlal Nehru’s birthday on November 14.

Instead, he wants that India should join other countries in observing Universal Children’s Day mandated by the United Nations on November 20. The UN marked the date because it was on 20 November 1959 that the General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child.

Although India is a signatory to the Declaration, it has observed November 14 as Children’s Day because of Nehru’s love for kids.

Agarwal is clearly trying to curry favour with his new BJP bosses by undercutting a Nehruvian tradition. It’s not clear though whether there are any takers in the ruling dispensation at the moment for a drastic decision that is bound to stir up a huge political storm.

Birds of a feather

Newly minted BJP entrant Naresh Agarwal, formerly of the SP, is finding himself at a loose end in saffron circles. After he created a controversy with his foul remarks against Jaya Bachchan, for which he was ticked off by women members of the BJP led by Sushma Swaraj, he seems to have become an embarrassment for his new party.

The BJP has already milked him for the one favour he could do for the party. His MLA son Nitin Agarwal broke ranks with the SP to vote for the BJP’s ninth candidate in the recent Rajya Sabha election, defeating Mayawati’s BSP nominee.

This was Amit Shah’s revenge for the loss of BJP candidates in the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha bye-elections after the BSP decided to support and canvass for SP candidates.

The chatter in BJP circles is that Naresh Agarwal is now dispensable and is likely to be sidelined. No reward for this turncoat politician.

Interestingly, Agarwal is looking for solace in another political leader who finds himself sidelined for similar reasons: Amar Singh. The Rajya Sabha MP was once with the SP, then expelled, then welcomed back and now ignored because he has fallen foul of Akhilesh Yadav. The young SP chief believes that Amar Singh has moved too close to the BJP and his interests are inimical to the SP.

Akhilesh had similar doubts about Naresh Agarwal which is why he denied the outgoing Rajya Sabha MP re-nomination to the Upper House despite Ram Gopal Yadav’s lobbying.

Naresh Agarwal and Amar Singh were spotted deep in conversation in Parliament the other day. The sight of the two discarded leaders sitting together caused much merriment among SP MPs who joked about “birds of a feather flock together”.

Dalit jolt in MP

It is ironic that the worst violence against Dalit protestors and the highest death rate during Monday’s Bharat bandh was in Madhya Pradesh. It is ironic because the BJP is depending heavily on Dalit votes to win the state assembly elections later this year. After Monday’s police violence against Dalits, the BJP may have to rethink its strategy.

Till Monday, the BJP believed it is best placed in MP of the four states where elections are due this year. The reason for the confidence is the 80 odd reserved seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Apparently, historically, the party that has won 50 of these 80 odd seats has ruled MP. This is why the BJP has focused single-mindedly on these seats for the past two decades.

Although there is a strong anti-incumbency mood against the Shivraj Singh Chauhan government in the state, BJP strategists believe the SC/ST vote remains solidly with them.

The Congress has failed to woo this vote back because it is perceived as an upper caste dominated party thanks to leaders like Kamal Nath, Digvijay Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia. They are not only forward caste leaders, two of them are also royalty.

A BJP strategist disclosed that these 80 seats will remain the main focus area during the campaign. Interestingly, the party plans to replace as many as half of its sitting MLAs to fight local anti-incumbency.