BJP Faces Grand Alliance Trouble
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Established 1864 RNI No.2016/1957, REGD NO. SSP/LW/NP-34/2016-18 Follow us on: @TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneer instagram.com/dailypioneer/ Late City Vol. 154 Issue 5 Published From *Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable LANDMARK 5 WORLD 7 SPORT 10 DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL TRUMP THREATENS NATIONAL BHUBANESWAR RANCHI VIOLENCE UNLEASHED BY KIWIS BEAT SL IN 2ND RAIPUR CHANDIGARH KERALA GOVT: BJP EMERGENCY ODI, SEAL ODI SERIES DEHRADUN LUCKNOW, SUNDAY JANUARY 6, 2019; PAGES 12+8 `3 www.dailypioneer.com SP, BSP pact in USUALSUSPECTS UP taking final Fugitive economic SWAPAN DASGUPTA BJP faces grand shape; NCP all offender Vijay Mallya’s Anti-Modi brigade to set to embrace alliance trouble Cong in Maha properties face seizure DEEPAK K UPRETI n NEW DELHI seat-sharing pact, the BJP TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI set the ball rolling would need to search for a he BJP’s nightmare of fac- non-Yadav and non-Jatav win- bsconding liquor baron n Friday evening in a vain bid to find out if anything Ting strong regional alliances ning combination by way of AVijay Mallya on Saturday Osignificant — other than the Lok Sabha debate on the in different States in the wooing non-Jatav Dalits and became the first person to be contrived Rafale controversy — had happened in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is Other Backward Classes (other charged under the Fugitive country, I switched on the TV. On at least three ‘news’ seemingly turning true with than Yadavs) to sail through in Economic Offenders Act channels, I was greeted by a lot of indignation over a some clarity reaching in at the electorally most important (FEOA), 2018, as a special promotional advertisement by actor Naseeruddin Shah for least two major States — Uttar state which also happens to Prevention of Money Amnesty. Later, I found this anger expressed in social media Pradesh (80) and Maharashtra have the home constituency of Laundering Act (PMLA) court messages by those who are broadly part of my political (48) — accounting for 128 Prime Minister Narendra declared him as a “fugitive ecosystem. Lok Sabha seats. Modi in Varanasi. economic offender” under the It is understandable that people get rather worked up Formidable regional tie- For the Congress though, new anti-fraud law. when cocooned celebrities suddenly start bleating on about ups against the ruling BJP have it does not seem to be part of In a significant develop- intolerance and the shrinking space for dissent in India. Ever taken some shape in the last the SP-BSP alliance with the ment that came on the heels of Special PMLA court on June 22 since the hour on May 16, 2014, when it became clear that two days with the Samajwadi regional powerhouses report- the Westminster Magistrates last year, the Enforcement Indian voters had chosen Narendra Modi to lead the country Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj edly keeping 37-37 LS seats for Court in London ordering Directorate (ED) had urged the for the next five years, the anti-Modi brigade has declared Party (BSP) almost set to seal themselves and leaving bare- Mallya’s extradition to India, the court to declare Mallya as democracy to be comatose in India. This perception, of a pact in Uttar Pradesh even as poll, would be up against a fatal growing voices of dissent from ly six seats for the rest, includ- special PMLA court declared “fugitive economic offender” course, has not stopped them from either doing their own the Nationalist Congress Party NCP-Congress combine. This its own stable from the likes of ing the Congress and the him a “fugitive economic and allow it to confiscate all his thing or broadcasting how terrible life in India has become. (NCP) has gone ahead forging even as a taciturn Shiv Sena Anupriya Patel’s Apna Dal and Rashtriya Lok Dal. In such a offender” under the Fugitive properties, estimated to be With another general election due in barely four months, it is a 20-20 seat sharing deal so far continues to remain belliger- Omprakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev scenario, if the Congress goes Economic Offenders Act, 2018, around `12,500-crore, mak- only natural that the old message will be re-broadcast with a with the Congress in ent, demanding a clear upper Bharatiya Samaj Party. alone in the State, it may pro- a law that provides for confis- ing it the first such case of its measure of added shrillness. In 2014, the chief cheerleaders Maharashtra. hand in the assembly polls also Though the SP has sound- vide a marginal relief to the cation of all his properties. kind registered under the new of the anyone-but-Modi cry were the non-resident The BJP will also be up due this year. ed on the seat sharing alliance, BJP, albeit indirectly. Though the two proceed- FEOA law. intellectuals; in 2019 there are likely to be a larger number of against a massive challenge in The Congress and the NCP there is no word yet from BSP Congress Rajya Sabha ings are independent of each The ED had earlier filed resident intellectuals cheering on Rahul Gandhi. the national Capital if the rul- have left eight seats for others chief Mayawati who has been member PL Punia said his party other, the authorities expect two complaints for investigation I don’t know why some of my friends have got upset over ing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that would be finalised later. unpredictable in the past. is preparing to contest alone in that the declaration of Mallya into alleged money laundering Naseeruddin Shah’s message that, in effect, calls upon enters into a tie-up with the Like in UP, it would again be a The BJP, which had won a UP. “A coalition is not impor- as a “fugitive economic offend- against Mallya, Kingfisher Indians to liberate themselves from Modi rule. As I Congress, an announcement massive political challenge to record 71 Lok Sabha seats ( 73 tant... Our workers are ready... er” will come in handy to press Airlines Limited, and United discovered, Shah is an old sinner and had penned his name for which could be made in the the BJP which had posted its with NDA allies) in UP in 2104 We have not spoken to anyone for his early extradition from Breweries Holdings Limited to a similar anti-Modi initiative in 2013. He is, contrary to coming weeks. Delhi has seven best performance in the 2014 riding on the Modi wave, has about an alliance,” he said. the UK, where the absconding and others for the loan default whatever impression he may now choose to give, a person Lok Sabha seats. Lok Sabha polls. in recent times faced major However, senior Samajwadi businessman is appealing and money laundering scams. who had welcomed Modi with lots of hope and ended up The BJP, which alone won The political scene in UP reverses losing in Gorakhpur, Party leader and uncle of SP against the extradition order The PMLA court had sum- disappointed. He has had an old allergy to Modi. Whether 22 seats in Maharashtra and would get shriller for the BJP- Phulpur and Kairana Lok head Akhilesh, Ram Gopal passed by Westminster moned Mallya to appear before this allergy stems from inheritance or is acquired is a matter together with Shiv Sena (which led-National Democratic Sabha by-elections where BSP Yadav tried to downplay the Magistrates’ Court Chief it on August 27 last year. of detail that doesn’t concern me. In any case, it doesn’t pocketed 18 seats) had swept Alliance (NDA) if the finality had backed SP candidates. reports saying talks of sidelining Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot However, Mallaya failed to stop me from regarding 40 of the 48 LS seats in the of SP-BSP alliance is In the eventuality of SP- the Congress are “imaginary”. on December 10, 2018. appear before the court. It is quite clear that the him as a talented actor. As State in the 2014 Lok Sabha announced this month amid BSP announcing an official Turn to Page 6 In its plea filed before the Turn to Page 6 2019 election will witness a a matter of rule, I don’t think we should judge the CAPSULE bitter fight. Unlike 2014, professional competence of individuals by their when the Cong conceded a voting preferences. Utpal Violence rocks Kerala, CBI may go after Akhilesh 6 KIDS DIE AFTER BUS walkover in the belief that Dutt was one of my FALLS INTO GORGE IN HP favourite actors and he Shimla: Six children and the there would be fractured was a doctrinaire Marxist. houses of rival leaders driver of their school bus were verdict and that its energies But so what? He was a in UP sand mining scam killed on Saturday when the bloody good actor. vehicle fell into a gorge in could be conserved for the One of the grave Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur distortions in Indian public attacked on Sabarimala Agency raids district, police said. next round, this time the life is that we expect old Establishment is everyone, apart from PTI n KANNUR/ 12 locations CAN’T RETURN DUE TO professional politicians, to THIRUVANANTHAPURAM SAFETY CONCERNS: NIRAV leaving nothing to chance. keep their political in Delhi, UP Mumbai: Fugitive diamond What I am not sure of is preferences under wraps. iolence involving BJP-RSS merchant Nirav Modi, a prime This doesn’t happen in Vand ruling CPI(M) work- PNS n NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW accused in the PNB fraud case, the extent of the BJP’s other countries. It is fairly ers rocked politically volatile told a court here on Saturday counter-preparedness routine for American Kannur district in north Kerala he CBI is likely to examine that he cannot return to India celebrities to come out on Saturday with a number of Tformer UP Chief Minister due to safety concerns and also quite openly in favour or houses and shops of rival lead- and Samajwadi Party chief because his case has been against their presidential candidates every four years.