- 4 hours ago
In a significant political development weeks before the Assam Assembly elections, sitting Nagaon Lok Sabha MP Pradyut Bordoloi has resigned from the Congress party and joined the BJP. Bordoloi, a two-time MP and former state minister, cited feeling humiliated and sidelined within the party as reasons for his departure. He stated his resignation was due to multiple issues, not just a single ticket allocation dispute concerning the Laharighat constituency. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma welcomed Bordoloi into the BJP. This event follows other high-profile defections from the Assam Congress, including former state party chief Bhupen Kumar Bora. The departure poses a challenge for the state Congress, led by Gaurav Gogoi, ahead of the single-phase polls scheduled for April 9.
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00:09Iran targets Tel Aviv with prohibited cluster warheads in retaliation.
00:14Massive funeral procession held in Tehran.
00:26Missile intercepted over Dubai.
00:29Debris falls on Dubai Convention Centre.
00:31Sirens blare as missiles intercepted.
00:34UAE says fighter jets intercepting missiles.
00:49Israel pumps Lebanon, Beirut building crashes after Israel strikes.
00:54Israel strikes Beirut al-Bashura area.
00:57Beirut building reduced to rubble.
01:02The municipal corporation of the Beirut city here, one of the 22 storey tall raiding has
01:09been brought down by the idea of building which was targeted for last few days continuously
01:15with the missiles but today, one of the bigger bombs had been penetrated by the idea of aerial
01:23force.
01:27After Bhupay and Bora, another Congress Neta, Pradyut Bordoloy, jumps ship to join BJP.
01:33Sources say Bordoloy may contest from this poor seat in Assam Assembly ports.
01:43Police nine people, including children, charged to death in a fire at a four-storey building
01:48in Delhi's Palam area.
01:50Fire engineers and NDR have personnel at the spot.
01:53Rescue operations underway.
02:00Urandar frenzy strikes box office by storm a day ahead of release.
02:04A masses 123 crores globally from the premier on day one booking.
02:19One setback after the other, all of that coming together on the eve of elections in Assam.
02:25The Congress in Assam is debilitated right before Assembly elections.
02:30Just weeks ahead of the Assembly election, senior leaders and sitting MP Pradyut Bordoloy
02:36has now quit the party, has now quit the party, has now quit the party, joined the BJP, highlighting
02:39the deepening cracks within the state unit.
02:46Another big setback for the Congress in Assam, just weeks before the Assembly elections.
02:51In a rapid switch, sitting Ngao MP Pradyut Bordoloy has quit the Congress and joined the BJP.
02:59Bordoloy had written to AICC in charge, Jitendra Singh flagging internal issues, saying he felt
03:05humiliated during candidate selection talks for Lahari Ghat.
03:10He resigned Tuesday evening and crossed over the next day, underlying the churn within the Congress.
03:17This is one of the most difficult decisions I have taken in my life.
03:23It has not been a pleasant step for me because I had to go through a lot.
03:29I have decided to give up everything because I need an atmosphere where I can hold my head high.
03:35Assam Chief Minister Himanto Visasorma hit out at the Congress, hinting more leaders could switch.
03:41Today, the sitting MP from Ngao, Sri Pradyut Bordoloy, has joined Bharatiya Janta Party.
03:51Our state president, Sri Dilip Saikia, has welcomed him to the fold of our party.
03:58We will definitely strengthen our party.
04:01A heavyweight in Assam politics, Bordoloy is a two-time Lok Sabhai MP from Ngao.
04:07He served as minister in the Torun Gagoi government from 2001 to 2006 and is a key Congress face in
04:14upper Assam.
04:16Bordoloy was a vocal BJP critic and had led the Congress charge sheet against the Sarma government, making his switch
04:23even more significant.
04:25From attacking the BJP to joining it, the move raises larger questions about ideology versus political survival.
04:33Reacting to the exit, Priyanka Gandhi Badra called it unfortunate.
04:38I think he was upset over one ticket allocation and I think that I wish that we had had a
04:45chance to have a conversation about it.
04:47It's unfortunate.
04:49Bordoloy's crossover to BJP comes amid a string of similar exits.
04:53Bhupen Kumar Bora, former state Congress chief, is now in the BJP.
04:59MLA's Kamal Akhya Dev Purkaistar, Shashikant Das and Basant Das have also joined the BJP.
05:06Chief Minister Himanta Sarma continues to poach Congress leaders and Pradyut Bordoloy is the latest catch.
05:12For the Congress, the challenge is now two-fold under Gaurav Gogoi, taking on the BJP while holding its ranks
05:19together.
05:20Bureau Report, India Today.
05:26Radyut Bordoloy was not just a two-time MP but crucial to the workings of the Assam Congress.
05:31To give you an example, he was the chairman of the Manifesto Committee of the election that Congress was to
05:37fight or is going to fight on the 9th of April.
05:39So just understand of him leaving and that coming in at the back of the former Congress president in Assam's
05:46defection.
05:47What could it actually mean to the Congress?
05:50All of it coming in on the eve of elections.
05:53Let's take it to our panelists.
05:55Joining me, Ashutosh, political analyst, Amitabh Tiwari, founder of Vote Vibe, Sanju Verma, national spokesperson, BJP, Happy Gogoi, spokesperson, Congress
06:03and secretary of APCC Media Department.
06:06Appreciate all of you for joining us.
06:08I'd like to begin with Happy Gogoi.
06:10Ms. Gogoi, the exit of Mr. Bordoloy right on the eve of election appears to clearly shine a light on
06:21the internal fault lines that exist within your party.
06:24And it's not just one defection.
06:26It comes at the back of your former president of the Congress leaving the party.
06:33You'll get a two minute timer.
06:35Your time starts now.
06:37Thank you so much for inviting me.
06:39Well, I would start with an opening line that the rise of an opportunistic leadership prioritizing personnel gain over public
06:47welfare while projecting otherwise deeply is unfortunate and undermine public trust.
06:53I would say that Pratdud Bordoloy, a senior congressman, he was a four time MLA, twice he's become the state
07:01cabinet, cabinet minister.
07:03He was, you know, been given a very good post twice.
07:06He has been the MP currently.
07:07He's still an MP.
07:08So Congress has given him a lot of things, a lot of respect and everything.
07:12And now all of a sudden, now by surprise, all of a sudden, yesterday he comes up with a statement
07:19saying that, you know what, I'm very upset with the Congress leadership.
07:22It doesn't work that way.
07:23And I am not very happy.
07:25I feel suffocated.
07:27And today he has joined BZP.
07:29My question is that, you know, with due respect to Pratdud Bordoloy ji, when he has a moral responsibility for
07:36the entire, you know, constituency of Ngao in Assam, have we ever discussed with those, you know, grassroot workers who
07:45have actually supported him, who have voted him?
07:47Have we discussed about anyone?
07:49No.
07:49He is only thinking about his, you know, opportunistic career.
07:53He's thinking about, you know, his good things.
07:56He is not thinking about the public.
07:58Is he thinking about the Congress people and the allegations that, you know, people are saying that Gaurav Gogoy ji,
08:04under his leadership, is not doing good?
08:06No, this is absolutely false.
08:08Because since the time, you know, during Tauran Gogoy ji's regime, Pratdud Bordoloy ji has got a lot of things.
08:15In fact, his son has got the ticket this time, you know, thinking that he is a youth, he is
08:20doing good, he is working hard and out of, you know, calibrity that Gaurav Gogoy ji has given him the
08:24ticket.
08:25And now that all of a sudden, you know, Pratdud Bordoloy ji will come up saying that, no, he is
08:29very upset with Gaurav Gogoy ji is not working.
08:32This is absolutely false.
08:33Because he definitely has to take that moral responsibility for all the people of Nogha that he has done today.
08:39He has betrayed them.
08:40And out of a sudden, just to make sure that you are playing a blame game, saying that Congress is
08:45not giving him due respect and that is why he is joining BZP, is very unfortunate, I would say.
08:50All right.
08:51Okay.
08:52Ma'am, we gave you 10 minutes, 10 seconds extra earlier.
08:54So, I'm going to stop you there.
08:55I want to bring in Sanju Verma into this conversation.
08:58Sanju Verma, you know, there are two parallel conversations in this.
09:02One, which talk of political morality, but that finds little space in today's discourse of politics.
09:09But on the other side, what is clearly working for your political party and your chief minister, Mr. Hemantabeswar Sarma,
09:15is putting psychological, organizational pressure right on the eve of election, leaving your opposition with no elbow room.
09:23Okay.
09:26You know, Preeti, yeah, am I audible?
09:29Yes, ma'am, go ahead.
09:30You're audible.
09:31Yes.
09:32Preeti, the man who gave us the famous James Bond character, you know, there's that famous saying by Ian Fleming,
09:39once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, and three times is enemy action.
09:46You know, I think the Congress is to learn.
09:49Can I hold, I just want to come in, and I'm sorry I'm coming in, but I'm going to hold.
09:52When you say three times is enemy action, are you calling yourself the enemy?
09:55Because you've taken now three big leaders of the BJP.
09:58So, go ahead.
10:00Your timer is on hold, but you're calling.
10:02Go ahead, ma'am.
10:03Yeah, and please give me those extra 10 seconds if you can.
10:06You know, Preeti, I just want to say this.
10:08Who's the enemy here?
10:10The enemy here is Indian narcissistic Congress.
10:14It's not Indian National Congress.
10:15You know, the fact that it is Muslim Mahobadi Congress, that is now, you know, publicly documented.
10:21I want to ask this question.
10:23How is it that Himanta Biswa Sarma exactly said the same thing?
10:28Isolation, humiliation, suffocation.
10:31Ghupen Bora, who quit the party a few weeks back, a very senior leader of the Congress party in Assam,
10:38he said the same thing.
10:39Humiliation, suffocation, isolation.
10:43And today, Pradyut Gordaloy, who was a four-time MLA, served as a minister in the Tarun Gogoi cabinet,
10:50and now is a member of parliament from Nagao, he said the same thing.
10:54Humiliation, suffocation, isolation.
10:57But more importantly, I have only this to say.
11:01If you cannot hold your flock together, do not blame the BJP.
11:06In the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha, Sophia Firdaus, Ramesh Jaina, Dashrati Gamang,
11:12your own three leaders refused to agree to the Congress party whip,
11:17and they crossed over and voted for the BJP.
11:20You start blaming the BJP.
11:22Who will ask questions of Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra?
11:25She was supposed to be screening the candidates,
11:27and Mr. Bordaloy is on record saying that Imran Masood of Boti Boti Same,
11:34who is a close loyalist and acolyte of Priyanka-Vadra,
11:38and has no knowledge about Assam,
11:40has zero idea about Assam's geography, topography, or politics.
11:45He has been promoting career-charge-sheeted criminals.
11:50Ma'am, that's it, because we started your timer again,
11:53and I'm stopping in 15 seconds.
11:55Ma'am, we've given you 20 seconds extra, other than what your time was.
11:59I want to bring in Ashutosh into this.
12:00Ma'am, I'll come back to you.
12:02Please finish then, because that's a grouse all panelists can have.
12:05I want to bring in Ashutosh, Ashutosh ji into this conversation.
12:08Ashutosh ji, your two minutes start now,
12:10because the optics of it all are terrible, Ashutosh.
12:13The sheer fact that the Congress did not even anticipate this.
12:17You are losing, bleeding, one senior leader after the other.
12:20Pradyut Bordaloy was, many would suggest,
12:24even a bigger hit than losing the former president of Assam to the BJP.
12:31See, Prithi, this is nothing new on the eve of election.
12:34This Ayaram-Gayaram politics does happen.
12:36This happens every time.
12:38This happens in UP.
12:38This happens in Assam.
12:39This happens every time.
12:41So I'm not surprised about it.
12:42This is basically a politics of optics.
12:44You said it rightly.
12:46One political party always likes to project that,
12:48look, the other political party is losing ground,
12:51and the people are getting disillusioned,
12:53because that party is not winning.
12:55The idea is to create an optics that this party
13:00to whom the members of other political parties are coming
13:03is basically winning,
13:04and that is why people are coming to that party.
13:06This happens every time.
13:07I'm not very surprised.
13:08The issue is slightly different.
13:11The issue is all these two gentlemen
13:14were so popular in Assam, across the Assam,
13:18that they can change the...
13:25Can they change the atmosphere?
13:28Are they that popular?
13:29I don't think that they are that popular.
13:31And most of these leaders who switch at the last minute
13:35are not that important enough.
13:38Either they think that they will not get the tickets
13:39from the party to which they belong,
13:41or they think they might lose elections
13:43if they continue with the old party.
13:44So basically, these are the career politicians.
13:46They want to win elections at any cost.
13:50Otherwise, somebody a day before
13:52was calling BJP communal,
13:54or criticizing Himanta Vishwa Sarvam
13:56for all kinds of reasons.
13:57Suddenly, a hard change takes place,
14:00and he becomes...
14:01BJP gets all kinds of qualifications,
14:04and they are praising like anything.
14:06And the political party,
14:07which they remain in that party
14:09for God knows how many years,
14:11suddenly becomes...
14:12They start feeling suffocating.
14:13So I'm not surprised.
14:14This happens in every election.
14:16This will happen in future also.
14:17Nothing surprising.
14:18Yes, for a timing,
14:20this can be a blow to the Congress party.
14:22But in the long run,
14:22it's good that such leaders leave party
14:25and join other political parties.
14:27Okay.
14:28But, you know, Ashutosh,
14:29the fact is that Pradyut Bordula
14:30is not an opportunistic politician.
14:32He's been a congressman for many, many years.
14:34Number one.
14:35Number two,
14:36he was the chairman of the manifesto committee
14:38of this very election for the Congress.
14:40So not just somebody, you know,
14:41who has broken ranks and gone to the BJP.
14:44The third,
14:45it's not that it's happened out of the blue
14:47and we'll get in the Congress spokesperson on this.
14:49He's been repeatedly been writing,
14:51at least what we do know
14:53or what he says he's done,
14:55is written two letters to the high command
14:57suggesting that he wasn't happy
14:59with the functioning of things
15:00and the way they were being carried out in Assam.
15:02We'll cut across to the Congress spokesperson
15:04after that,
15:05but I want to bring in Amitabh Tiwari.
15:06Amitabh Tiwari,
15:07there are certain political parties
15:08that have the stamina
15:11to absorb shocks like this.
15:12And one can go back
15:13to the 2021 election of West Bengal
15:16where you had a Suvindu Adhikari,
15:17the right-hand man of Mamata Banerjee,
15:19breakaway contest against her.
15:21She lost to him,
15:22but the TMC managed to sweep Bengal.
15:25The Congress, strangely,
15:27doesn't seem to have that kind of stamina.
15:30See, essentially,
15:32whatever is happening in Assam Congress,
15:34there is a history and context to it.
15:37Himantabh Vishwa Sarma,
15:38as per his claims
15:39and even the book written by Gulam Nabi Azad
15:41who was in charge of Assam,
15:43was assured by Sonia Gandhi
15:46that he would be the chief minister
15:47because he had the support of majority MA days
15:50and as per him
15:52and in the claims made by the book also,
15:55this was stalled at the last minute by Rahul Gandhi.
15:58So Himantabh Vishwa Sarma,
16:00I think,
16:01is on a mission
16:03to finish the Congress in Assam
16:05and that's why we see
16:07leaders
16:09from Congress party
16:10thronging to BJP
16:12not only in 2016,
16:14this trend is continuing
16:15for the past 10 years now.
16:18Incidentally,
16:18the 60 MLAs of BJP
16:20in Assam today,
16:22if you do an analysis,
16:23almost 37 are ex-Congressmen,
16:26only 10 to 12 are
16:27hardcore BJP RSS
16:29or old guard
16:30in that sense
16:31and around 10 are
16:32again
16:33have come from other parties
16:35like AGP or others.
16:37that's number one.
16:38Number two,
16:39people like
16:41Bhupen Bora,
16:42when they left,
16:43I think
16:43the Congress party
16:45was not able to handle
16:46the situation
16:47because
16:47he has been losing
16:48for the last two elections.
16:50So that narrative
16:52was not set aside
16:53or not sent to the public.
16:55Rather,
16:55people were making a beeline
16:57at his residence
16:58which Ashutosh ji was thinking
16:59that they do not have a base.
17:01Bhupen Bora,
17:02of course,
17:03fits into that
17:04but I don't think
17:05the current MP
17:06who has left
17:06fits into that box.
17:08Thirdly,
17:09if you see
17:09Priyanka Gandhi's statement
17:11which you showed,
17:12shows that
17:13the Congress leadership
17:14was cognizant of the fact
17:16that the MP
17:17was unhappy
17:18with ticket distribution
17:19but she herself admits
17:21that perhaps
17:22she did not get a chance
17:23to speak to him.
17:24So I think
17:25this is
17:25not correct
17:27from Congress
17:28leadership perspective.
17:29They need to take steps
17:30to
17:33stop this kind of exodus.
17:36All right,
17:38Ashutosh,
17:39you know,
17:39I'm going to come,
17:39I think you wanted to come in
17:41but you stay on with us.
17:42I want to
17:42cut across to the Congress
17:43spokesperson
17:44for a quick comment on this
17:46because,
17:47you know,
17:47Ms. Kogoi,
17:48the larger question
17:49in all of this
17:50is this particular leader,
17:51it's not that he has
17:53upped and left
17:54the Congress
17:54and he has joined
17:55the BJP overnight.
17:56He said he was humiliated
17:58and as per him
17:59there is a background to it.
18:00He wasn't happy
18:01with the ticket distribution.
18:02He says that
18:04he has written twice
18:04to the high command
18:05suggesting he wasn't happy.
18:07He is one of
18:08the oldest
18:09members of the Congress
18:11where Assam is concerned
18:12and not to take him
18:14in account
18:14in ticket distribution
18:15even though he is
18:17your chairman
18:17of your manifesto committee
18:18it doesn't quite add up
18:20so therefore
18:20the humiliation
18:21he says.
18:23See,
18:23there are a lot of
18:24side things
18:24that I don't think
18:25it is good to disclose
18:26as of now
18:27because we know
18:27what is happening
18:29internally
18:29and out of due respect
18:31Pradud Bordalaji
18:32definitely is a senior
18:33personnel
18:34and I would not like
18:34to comment much on that
18:35but let me tell you
18:36one thing
18:36in today's
18:38as of now
18:39if BJP declares
18:40that you know what
18:41there will be no
18:42washing machine
18:43agenda
18:43trust me
18:4470% of the people
18:46who are there
18:47in BJP
18:48in Assam
18:48they would come back
18:49to Congress
18:49this is what is happening
18:50this is BJP's agenda
18:51they would try to go ahead
18:53and blackmail
18:53or either they would try
18:54to suffocate
18:55the Congress person
18:56they might have some nerve
18:57that they could catch off
18:58and this is what
18:59the planning keeps happening
19:00of course
19:00if this washing machine
19:02doesn't work
19:02they would have
19:02definitely come back
19:03and the surprising fact is
19:05in today's
19:06you know
19:06in Assam BJP
19:08it is not called BJP
19:09anymore
19:09it is called KongJP
19:10because 70% people
19:12are ruling now
19:12in BJP
19:13forget about that
19:14now the thing is
19:15Gaurav Gogoi
19:16is a young
19:16dynamic leader
19:18he believes
19:19in bringing up
19:19you know
19:20and projecting
19:20young people
19:21and we are very
19:22happy with it
19:22because I'm sure
19:23success doesn't
19:24come up overnight
19:25it might take
19:26a little while
19:26but yes
19:27we are fighting
19:27for it
19:28and this time
19:28the kind of
19:29candidate
19:29that have been
19:31you know
19:31declared
19:32are very young
19:33very dynamic
19:33irrespective of
19:34all the caste
19:35and all the religions
19:37of all the
19:38you know
19:38different
19:39tribes that we have
19:40it has been projected
19:41and I'm sure
19:42you never know
19:43public
19:43you know
19:44the sentiments
19:44you never know
19:45overnight
19:46you know
19:46the sentiments
19:47can change
19:48and we
19:48definitely
19:49we might come
19:50with a bang
19:51saying that
19:51you know
19:51what
19:52congress
19:52has formed
19:52the government
19:53so I believe
19:53in his leadership
19:54it might take
19:55yes
19:55it is a tough
19:56time as of now
19:57but yes
19:57if someone
19:58has got
19:58so much
19:59of respect
20:00working 30
20:00years for the
20:01congress party
20:02and congress
20:02has given him
20:03everything
20:03and still he
20:04says that
20:04he feels
20:05humiliated
20:05he is a senior
20:06person
20:06he could have
20:07definitely
20:07gone ahead
20:08and talked
20:08to Priyanka
20:08Ji
20:09Rahul Ji
20:09anybody
20:10he has access
20:10to that
20:10still if he's
20:11finding a blame
20:12he did go
20:13he did write
20:14two letters
20:15which he says
20:16were never
20:16responded to
20:17he's been taken
20:18care
20:18I said
20:18there are a lot
20:19of internal
20:19things which
20:19I don't feel
20:20as of now
20:20to disclose
20:21because that
20:21is not good
20:22we don't
20:22congress doesn't
20:23believe in
20:24much of blame
20:24games
20:24congress is a
20:25very reputed
20:26and very
20:26very old
20:26you know
20:28okay
20:29with what
20:29you say
20:30that there's
20:30you know
20:31the
20:32SAM BJP
20:33looks like
20:33the
20:33JP
20:34more congress
20:35but that
20:35documentary
20:36is also
20:36new
20:36that you
20:37allowed
20:37that to
20:37happen
20:38but I
20:38want to
20:39cut across
20:39to Sanju
20:39Varma
20:40Sanju
20:40I believe
20:40you have
20:41a problem
20:41with the
20:42time that
20:42you were
20:42given
20:43we started
20:43your timer
20:43from two
20:44minutes
20:44so you've
20:45actually
20:45gotten 20
20:46seconds extra
20:46than everybody
20:47else
20:47I just want
20:47to say
20:48that on
20:48record
20:48so coming
20:49back to
20:49you on
20:50the question
20:50the sheer
20:51fact
20:51Sanju
20:51that you
20:52are
21:05but having
21:07said that
21:07Sanju
21:07Varma
21:08the question
21:08the larger
21:09question
21:09is the
21:09same man
21:10till yesterday
21:10has called
21:11RSS
21:12he's called
21:13BJP
21:14multiple names
21:15especially
21:16where it's
21:17non-secular
21:18credentials
21:19as per him
21:19is concerned
21:20you are
21:21inviting
21:21someone like
21:22that
21:22in your
21:23fold
21:23despite
21:24what he
21:24was saying
21:25till yesterday
21:25so is it
21:26all about
21:27politics
21:27zero
21:28ideology
21:30you know
21:30Preeti
21:31I love
21:32coming on
21:32your debates
21:33you and
21:33me can
21:33agree to
21:34disagree
21:34I don't
21:35think I
21:35got 20
21:36seconds extra
21:36but let
21:37me utilize
21:37my time
21:37right now
21:38I got
21:3814 seconds
21:39less
21:39the limited
21:40point is
21:41this
21:41who called
21:42Rahul Gandhi
21:43Pappu
21:43who coined
21:45the term
21:45Pappu
21:45it was a
21:46man called
21:47Navjot Singh
21:48Siddhu
21:48and Navjot Singh
21:50Siddhu
21:50went on to
21:51become a
21:52part of the
21:52Darbari ecosystem
21:53of Rahul Gandhi
21:54and an
21:55acolyte of
21:55Priyanka
21:56Vadra
21:56the fact that
21:57Pradyud Bordolai
21:58has resigned
21:59speaks very poorly
22:01of Rahul Gandhi
22:02speaks very poorly
22:03of Priyanka
22:04Vadra
22:04who is in charge
22:05of screening
22:06candidates for the
22:07Assam elections
22:07speaks very poorly
22:09about a communal
22:10hate monger
22:11called Imran Masood
22:13I still remember
22:14I still remember
22:14after Deepu Das
22:15Khokond Das
22:16and Amrit
22:16Mandel
22:16were butchered
22:17in Bangladesh
22:18if you can't
22:19show up
22:20just keep
22:21quite
22:22zip it
22:22he said
22:23what do we need
22:23to give us
22:24this is the kind
22:27of communal
22:28dietric
22:29that needs
22:29to be condemned
22:30and I am glad
22:31that Pradyud
22:32Bordolai
22:32called out
22:33the communal
22:34hate mongering
22:35speeches
22:36by Imran Masood
22:37and he has
22:37said
22:38I wrote
22:3920 times
22:41almost
22:42two dozen
22:42times
22:43to KC
22:44Venu Gopal
22:45but he refused
22:46to meet me
22:47in Maharashtra
22:48it is
22:48Prithviraj Chawan
22:49versus
22:50Varshag Ayekwad
22:50in Rajasthan
22:52Ashok Gailot
22:52versus Sachin
22:53Pilot
22:53for the longest
22:54time
22:55in Chhattisgarh
22:56Bhupesh Baghel
22:57versus T.A.
22:58Singh Dio
22:58for the longest
22:59time
22:59in Kerala
23:00in Tamil Nadu
23:01Girish Chodhankar
23:02versus KC
23:03Venu Gopal
23:03versus
23:04Ramesh Chenitallah
23:05versus
23:06K Sudhakaran
23:07versus
23:07VD Satishan
23:08versus
23:08Shashi Tharoot
23:09the limited
23:10point is
23:11Congress has
23:12failed to get
23:13its house in
23:13order
23:14and at the
23:14cost of
23:15sounding cliched
23:16and repetitive
23:17I will again
23:18reinforce on
23:18your show
23:19what Hardik
23:20Patel said
23:20300 km
23:22Rahul Gandhi
23:23chicken sandwich
23:24which Congress
23:25does reward
23:27the
23:28land
23:29work
23:37and
23:38have
23:39a
23:40little
23:57sense of
23:59what was
23:59really taking
24:00everything is being sorted out and the resignation had already gone out.
24:06See, Priti, I basically I have very little sympathy for anybody who changes his party or defectors.
24:12Basically, I have no sympathy for such leaders, whether he belongs to the BJP or belongs to the Congress party
24:16or anybody.
24:17So look about what is important.
24:20The one fine morning or second or the next fine morning, you become a nationalist.
24:24But how long you can take a soma salt?
24:26If you are humiliated, I can understand that.
24:30Because if there is a change of guard, there is a change of leadership in Assam, the new leadership will
24:35take decision at its own.
24:36So some people will feel uneasy because of the change of leadership in Assam or any other places.
24:42But to change your color from Congress to the BJP, I can understand somebody going from the Congress to the
24:50Samajwadi Party or to the RJD or to the Jantadil Secular.
24:52Because there is an ideological affinity there.
24:54But here, these are the two poles, these are two different poles, two different ideologies.
25:00And both ideologies are so antagonistic to each other.
25:05And suddenly you decide to jump from one party to another party and you start calling somebody that somebody is
25:10not singing Mandemataram and all kinds of things.
25:14This is what he has been saying for the last few days.
25:16So issue is very simple.
25:18He wanted to go to the greener pasture.
25:21Either he was not confident about winning elections from where he was contesting or was asked to contest.
25:25Or he has been promised something which he couldn't refuse.
25:28It's as simple.
25:29And then he started building the argument that look, I wrote two letters, I wrote five letters, I was being
25:35humiliated or something like this.
25:36Somebody who was a minister in Tarun Gogo is given four or five department, suddenly he feels that he is
25:42being humiliated by the Congress Party or by the leadership.
25:45So these are the arguments concocted to get to ship from one, to jump from one ship to another ship.
25:52I, frankly speaking, I have no sympathy with these kind of defectors, whether he belongs to the BJP, I belongs
25:57to the Congress Party or to any political parties.
25:59If he is so weak with his conviction, then God can only say help him.
26:04Amitabh Tiwari, you know, you and your agency have been tracking the mood of the people in Assam.
26:09And if you look in terms of the political optics of defection that have come out in the last one
26:14month,
26:15do you seem to think that this is an election that possibly Congress now needs to write off and possibly
26:21start from the grain with Gaurav Gogoi as its leader
26:25and build an all new party where Assam is concerned?
26:31I think it's a very common discussion, even amongst media, journalists, political experts, influencers, etc.
26:38that Gaurav Gogoi or Congress is actually preparing for the next election, which is 2031.
26:43Because if you see, Gaurav Gogoi has been appointed, is popular amongst young, youth and minorities.
26:49However, he has a division of responsibilities.
26:52Half of the time he is in Delhi because he is also deputy leader of Lok Sabha and Rahul depends
26:58upon him a lot
26:59for making speeches or interventions on key bills.
27:03And in a state where it is poised to go for elections, if you do not have a full-time,
27:10100% president staying on the ground,
27:12it is very very difficult not only to manage this kind of situation, but also to conduct campaign and yatras,
27:19etc.
27:20Secondly, see, in terms of optics, this is not good for the Congress party, but Congress party is on a
27:27back foot already in this election.
27:30Largely, if you see, what is happening is that even in Aas Tak Panchayak, Himantabishwa Sarma very confidently said that
27:3830 tickets from Congress party will be allocated to men who are now positioned in Congress and who could make
27:46further switches in the future.
27:49Now, this sort of narrative is also very very seeded in the ground because Himantabishwa Sarma has come from Congress
27:56and it is perceived that he has a lot of connections within the Congress party itself.
28:02See, for an MP who has given up his ticket, correct, because if he resigns, he has to resign as
28:10a Lok Sabha MP as well and to contest as a MLA from the BJP, there must be something which
28:17has gone wrong.
28:18Because even if he was offered a ticket to contest from the Congress in the bidhansa by-elections, even if
28:25he lost, he would have held on to his MP chair or MP seat. So something horribly has gone wrong.
28:33All right, Amitabh ji, we have to cut your timer there. That's all the time that we have for. But
28:37I have a feeling that Assayam is going to be a state that would be up for discussion in days
28:41to come.
28:42I thank all of our panelists for joining us. Well, this evening, it doesn't look good for the Congress.
28:47Some can call it mere optics, but sometimes in politics, optics go a long way.
28:58From massive crowds to growing political ambition, actor-turned-politician Vijay is entering the most decisive phase of his career.
29:13Tamil Nadu is now headed towards a clear three-way contest, after Vijay's TVK confirmed that it will contest independently
29:21in all 234 Assembly constituencies.
29:24The party has ruled out alliances, positioning itself as a secular alternative and emphasising that it will not yield to
29:33external pressure.
29:44This is a inevitable.
30:01reports suggest that multiple Alliance proposals were explored including seat
30:06sharing arrangements and even a rotational chief minister formula however
30:11Vijay chose to move forward alone attempts to bring TVK into ADMK led
30:17Alliance also did not succeed Vijay wants to be the chief minister of Tamil Nadu while EPS has
30:26been projected as the NDA CM face if he allies with the NDA TVK narrative of being BJP's ideological
30:33enemy falls flat a tie-up would have also fed a narrative of buckling under pressure something
30:40TVK is keen to avoid not allying with NDA boosts his image of being the third front on the other
30:48side the Congress ultimately stayed aligned with the DMK TVK was built on an anti DMK plank with
30:59Vijay repeatedly attacking the ruling party as an evil force Alliance with the DMK would have
31:04alienated his supporters and diluted his pitch of taking an entrenched power corridors Vijay also
31:11has a cinema legacy battle with DMK and allying with DMK would lead to Vijay's corruption narrative
31:18falling flat so what does a solo contest by TVK mean for Tamil Nadu three possibilities stand out
31:29Vijay could influence outcomes as a vote splitter in tight races he could emerge as a thinkmaker in a
31:36closely contested election the party may struggle to convert enthusiasm into electoral strength
31:44the road ahead is challenging for Vijay with new candidates and a virtually non-existent
31:51organizational structure TVK faces its first major electoral test which is message remains ambitious
32:00and direct presenting himself as a representative for all 234 constituencies the star power is strong
32:12whether it translates into votes will determine if Vijay is a hit or flop in Tamil Nadu politics
32:28all right I'm taking off from our story now Vijay has made it very clear right ahead of the
32:32Tamil Nadu polls that he belongs to the people's team and no camp false campaigns about potential
32:39alliances claiming that I am going to join this front or that front no question of negotiation or
32:46compromise for the sake of politics practically stating that Vijay will go it alone well what
32:53could be the political implications of that we'll only know when that last vote is counted many would
32:58have thought that politically TVK would have benefited if it would have formed an alliance but TVK
33:05Vijay has now made it very clear nothing doing he belongs to only one team and that is the core
33:11team of
33:11the people and there is no negotiation where politics is concerned his motive very clear
33:18joining me Pramod Madhav from Chennai for more Pramod what more can you add to this news break
33:24aspect that we see since after Vijay has come out of VCBA inquiry and yesterday amidst this
33:29Radhikant issue Adhav Arjuna is the one who actually first said that TVK is going to contest in all 234
33:36constituencies alone and that has been retreated once again by Vijay right now and the place he chooses to make
33:41this
33:41announcement is at an if they are party where he goes ahead and claims that they first tried to
33:45create slander by claiming that Vijay is that team this team but when they came to know that Vijay is
33:49going to be the people's team they have decided to go ahead and say that they is going to join
33:53some
33:54alliance or not and Vijay very clearly says that there are two aspects there will be no kind of
33:58compromise one is about the secularity the secular belief of his party and the second one that his party
34:03will be forming the government so very clearly it looks like Vijay was is and will be eyeing for
34:09these chief ministers role and but you know our sources very clearly said that only the deputy
34:13chief ministers role were given here so that seems to be one kind of like issue and finally Vijay has
34:18made it very clear that TVK is going to go along because we don't find any other major party in
34:22the
34:22state of Tamil Nadu that is free foreign alliance now all right thank you Pramut for joining us with
34:27that quick update allow me to bring in Suman C. Raman political analyst Shekhar Raiar senior journalist
34:33Mr. Raman we've had you back or at least on my show after a very long time welcome the both
34:38of you
34:39but what you know how are you looking at the latest developments so no pre-poll alliance do you
34:45still think that post-poll maneuver is still open no no for post-poll maneuver Preeti you need to win
34:53something and the way things are going I don't even know if the party will win anything of any
34:59consequence you know so I think that this is political suicide and let's not say that he has
35:05chosen to go alone because for the last one year he has been asking for allies there have been nobody
35:10who's been willing to align with him so I think it's except in the last few weeks when the NDA
35:17made
35:17a concerted attempt to reach out to him nobody really has been willing to go with him the Congress
35:24strung him along and pretended that they used him to get a better deal from the DMK and dumped him
35:29so I think that this whole argument that we are going only with the people and we are not going
35:35with anybody else I think it's a bit of a forced dialogue that these people are giving so it's not
35:40that there's been a queue of parties waiting to align with him and he has decided to go alone that's
35:45not
35:45the case but again I doubt if they will even get 234 significant candidates to contest the election
35:54there is panic inside the party the district secretaries desperately wanted an alliance and
36:00the vast majority of them as quoted in almost all the Tamil dailies had expressed a fervent plea saying
36:06please let's have an alliance because otherwise we would be wiped out so I don't know whether this is
36:11basically to help the DMK in some form or what the agenda is because you know some of his associates
36:18are seen as very close to the DMK so whether it is some kind of backroom deal that's gone on
36:24otherwise it makes no sense there is no single poll which shows Vijay winning anything of any consequence
36:31and you know while he could end up with 10 percent 12 percent 15 percent what does it what do
36:37you do with
36:37that Mr. Samansi Raman there are quite a few polls and credible ones on that if we can actually call
36:43any poll credible in these you know time of day you know in these days but which are actually going
36:48up to 20 percent up to 20 percent will still not win you anything of consequence because this is a
36:57distributed this is not a concentrated vote and therefore it will be extremely difficult for them to
37:03win maybe he will win his his seat should he contest but increasingly the talk is we are we are
37:11comparing
37:11him with Prashant Kishore well you know if he doesn't contest then he has a huge possibility of going down
37:18the Prashant Kishore road because Prashant Kishore did not contest and optics backfired in that regard
37:24completely but Shrekhar Iyer do you concur with Sumansi Raman who calls this political suicide not to align
37:29before the election well I think he was looking forward for an alliance with the congress you know
37:38that was the kind of alliance that would have made a lot of difference to him and to the political
37:43situation but the congress decided to stick with DMK I think that was a huge disappointment for Vijay
37:50because NDA was never his first choice because he had already declared that you know his political
37:57enemy was DMK and an ideological enemy was the BJP and because ADMK's association with BJP oh so that was
38:07out of question but then there were back-channel efforts and in fact even before ADMK aligned with BJP
38:15there was some back-channel efforts between ADMK and Vijay's men but the point is Vijay didn't want
38:23to concede the first slot he called for a you know he was the first when he started I mean
38:29when he got
38:30politically very active he gave out a call saying that he would go in for an alliance with the promise
38:35of a coalition but nobody was willing to come and under his leadership so that hardly left him anything
38:42but he looked forward definitely he was looking forward to congress DMK breaking up and congress and
38:49TVK coming together but that did not happen because Tramilada congress leaders did not have in them
38:55that any energy for a political adventurism at this stage no fair point but you know in retrospect
39:06Shekhar Iyer for the congress that's not a that's a prudent choice to make at this juncture look
39:13what's happening across you know the country and all the other four elections that it's fighting
39:18a prudent choice but Rahul Gandhi fell sidelined because ultimately Stalin used the services of
39:25Pichadambaram to get Sonia to intervene and Karge and then they settled it I don't think Rahul Gandhi was
39:31very happy with the final outcome because Rahul Gandhi plan was that the congress has to one day
39:37fight alone and you know you know stand on its own feet so that it gets a better bargain but
39:43other
39:43leaders were not willing to go that way and Stalin somehow managed to persuade I mean to use the good
39:52offices of Chidambaram to persuade Sonia to accept the thing see the rank and file are not very happy
39:57because what they feel is there is definitely anti-incumbency and that is lot of it is going
40:03to rub on congress and they have got 28 seats and they have to pick people think okay so Mansi
40:10Ravan wants to come in go ahead mr. Ravan yeah yeah uh pretty just a simple point had he aligned
40:15with
40:16the NDA it would have been a sweep I mean even uh a child could have told you that it
40:21would have been
40:21a sweep how big a sweep was the only uh you know debatable point here now he's chosen to go
40:27alone
40:28I would not be surprised if you see the parties starting to implode even before the elections
40:33because look at the end of the day if a party also runs on its organizational strength and the
40:39organizational strength to a large extent even though you have to go down to the booth level workers
40:43the district secretaries are a very very important part of the organizational strength of any party
40:48and in Tamil Nadu uh parties like the DMK and the AIDMK they hold tremendous uh clout and here are
40:54the district secretaries who are literally pleading and apparently that it was an overwhelming majority
41:00of district secretaries who pleaded for an alliance so clearly they can see the writing on the wall they
41:05can smell the coffee which their uh uh you know hero is not really able to do so I think
41:11going forward
41:13what we are going to see is I would expect some of the uh those who joined the party recently
41:19maybe to
41:19exit um not showing enthusiasm to contest the election because you know who would want to just
41:25contest knowing you're going to lose badly and spend a lot of money as on the process and the party
41:31doesn't
41:31have funds the candidates do not have the resources which are and in Tamil Nadu Priti is uh is a
41:38very very
41:38expensive state to contest an election probably the most expensive state in india because uh voters
41:44also expect to be paid off uh that's the tragedy of the state but that's the fact so man you
41:49haven't
41:49been to maharashtra have you no i have but we started it the last election we started it with the
41:57tiramangalam formula 12 13 14 15 years ago and that is now become an all india phenomena so tamilnadu has
42:04been a pioneer in that regard i love the way you say that tamilnadu has become a pioneer in that
42:10regard as if it's something to be proud of but that's the age of politics now but shikara your
42:15final comments and then i'm going to get into a break oh you see definitely finance is going to be
42:21a very big issue even if you have to allot one crore for a constituency it comes to 234 crores
42:28and none of the prospective candidates are willing to spend money uh as tvk candidates just to register
42:36the kind of poll percentage that tvk draws that is a statistical interest people want to contest
42:42election to win but vijay has been trapped by his own ideological position that he cannot align with
42:50anybody who is connected to bjp he is more worried about his support among the minorities
42:56which the dmk is any case uh holding it tight that is why today is participation in an iftar
43:02and making that final statement from uh you know by statement by himself that we are going it alone
43:08because all through the last four five days it was his functionaries who were you know talking in
43:14riddles but today finally has come out that too on an occasion like iftar but basically wants to ensure
43:20that is one of the strongest base that is minorities because he feels he has a good support among christians
43:26particularly dalit christians it was a question of uh muslim support which has always been in dmk
43:31see today many muslim leaders who are backing the dmk they have they are questioning vijay as to why
43:37was he silent during the tirpar kundram controversy why was he playing safe during that situation why did he not
43:44come out then
43:44so therefore i think vijay has tied himself in knots and uh maybe this election is not going to be
43:51his election the way it looks like it though he may manage to register rather his party may register
43:56a decent uh two-digit uh you know poll percentage in its favor all right i thank both of you
44:03for joining
44:04us uh you know but like i said you never know what really comes down but uh with what at
44:09least our experts
44:09seem to suggest that uh it was better for him politically to ally he's decided to go it alone
44:15let's see what comes of vijay and the tvk
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