Delhi confidential: Battleground Amethi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi

With the BJP pushing full throttle in Amethi in the hope to wrench the constituency out of the Gandhi family grip, the Congress has virtually made Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and the state’s Home Minister, Tamradhwaj Sahu, camp in Amethi. Both are from non-Yadav OBC background – Baghel from Kurmi and Sahu from Teli community – and the Congress hopes their presence in the campaign will help the party attract these vote-banks in addition to its traditional voters.

Tackling Rift

With internal differences in the state unit casting a shadow over the BJP’s prospects in the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, the party’s top leadership has given strict instructions to the state unit that the only focus in this election should be to make Narendra Modi win. National leaders have held special meetings in New Delhi and East Delhi constituencies, where party leaders admitted internal feud is the worst. Those disillusioned at not getting Lok Sabha election tickets have been assured that their names will be seriously considered for the Assembly elections coming up next year. Delhi BJP leaders have also been warned that there will be strict disciplinary action if anyone does any mischief against the party’s official candidates.

Snake Not Charming

First it was the NCPCR chief who trained his guns on Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for a video showing her interaction with children. Now animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi, a close aide of Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, has taken on the Congress general secretary for a video in which she is seen picking up snakes and talking to a few people from the marginalised Sapera community. Maulekhi has written to the Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttar Pradesh and stated that Priyanka has “aided the act of hunting by encouraging and instigating people to touch the snake”. In her letter, she has also asked that the Congress leader and “her accomplices” from the Sapera community be identified and arrested to prevent them from poaching of species of snakes protected under the Wildlife protection Act, 1972.

Top Act

CBSE Class XII topper Hansika Shukla is the daughter of Rajya Sabha deputy secretary Dr Saket Kumar. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday felicitated Hansika, a student of Humanities from Delhi Public School, Ghaziabad. She scored 499 out of 500. Naidu said that Hansika has made the nation proud with her academic excellence.