Dalits disappointed by Mahesh’s resignation
The last state assembly election had thrown up unexpected results. Some of the important ones on that are Siddaramaiah's charisma losing its charm, BJP getting highest number of seats and HDK becoming the CM even with least seats in the assembly.Even BSP which had entered into an agreement with JDS bagged a seat. Most respected and adored Dalit leader from Kollegal N Mahesh was elected. This is a major milestone for BSP which barely had any presence in the state. The party was excited about one of their own candidates becoming a Minister. This could have been a major opportunity for the party to create a base for itself in the state.
The party should have deemed it as an opportunity to grow itself in the state instead of just assuming one of their own men became a minister. But to toppling everybody's expectations Mahesh has resigned from his post of primary education minister.It is said that this was done owing to Mayawati's instructions to him over Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh elections and the coalition partners of BSP in these states.The number of BSP voters in the state is rather dismal. Forget the other community votes, even if the party had managed to bag 50% of dalit votes, it didn't have to worry so much about its existence now.
If the party hadn't struck a deal with JDS as a coalition partner, Mahesh's victory in Kollegal was a tough deal since BSP could win only one seat of the 20 seats it contested from in the state. And even for one victory, it was Mahesh's individual persona that worked more than the party's image. If this isn't the case. Mayawati's image should have cast it's magic on other constituencies too for people to win or make a good cut among voters elsewhere.
BSP gained some weight with its coalition with JDS while the latter didn't get much benefit from the partnership. There is a difference between BSP in other states such as Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, as against Karnataka. Dalit ideology is still a mirage at root level here. Already the Dalit leaders are indulging in selfish politics, even as BSP is yet to make a cut in the state. Though BSP won't gain much from the resignation of Mahesh, his departure has left a huge feeling of void and disbelief among Dalits and marginalised communities. This would also have an effect on the spirit of BSP activists and workers in the state. Mahesh was given primary education as portfolio. Most of the dalit kids are getting affected by closure of government schools in their villages and areas. He could have worked to constructively change this for their future. He could have improved the situation of schools and improved syllabus to give children an empowering childhood through scientific and rational education. One does not know whether this could have helped BSP, but surely enough it would have uplifted the marginalised communities to arm them with most modern thoughts and education.
Now with his resignation, Mayawati has to provide some logic on how it would help the party's image and growth in the state. The finality of stating ‘won't truck with any other party’ by Mayawati is to go with new coalition partners such as BJP. But let us, for a moment, respect her statement that it is better to go it alone instead of joining hands with someone else for the sake of seats/posts. BSP now has a base in the state. It does not have to go with a begging bowl to others. It has one just one seat while being coalition partners with JD(S).
Mayawati’s hope of capturing Dalit votes through coalition with JD(S) and Cong itself if somehow deeply lacking in understanding and strategy. This shows Mayawati is no different from other North centric politicians who have no understanding of Southern states. If she is indicating through Mahesh’s resignation that Dalits should not support JD(S) or Congress, who is she indicating that the community supports? What’s the main reason behind Mahesh’s resignation? This has caused a big loss to the Dalit and marginalized communities. If a high-command of a yet-to-be-stable party can stunt its own growth, what can we say about other national parties?
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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar takes oath as Rajya Sabha member
New Delhi (PTI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha, marking the end of his two-decade rule in the eastern state and paving the way for a new chief minister.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan in his chamber at a brief ceremony. The Chairman later welcomed him as a member of the Upper House and also on his return in Parliament.
Kumar took the oath in Hindi in the presence of Union Minister J P Nadda, who is also leader of the house, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur and Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal.
Bihar deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary was also present at the oath-taking.
JDU leader and party's working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh, besides BJP MP and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy and BJP chief whip in Lok Sabha Sanjay Jaiswal, were among those present during the oath-taking.
"Vice President of India and Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Shri C. P. Radhakrishnan, administered the oath to Shri Nitish Kumar as an elected Member of Rajya Sabha, from Bihar, at Parliament House today," the Vice President's office said on X, while sharing pictures of the oath-taking.
After the oath-taking, Kumar came out of the new Parliament building and spoke about the time he was a member of the Lok Sabha and sat in the old Parliament building.
As Kumar assumes the Rajya Sabha role, it marks the end of his long two-decade rule in Bihar. Kumar will soon resign as chief minister and the NDA is likely to elect a new chief minister of Bihar on April 14.
He has already resigned as a member of the State Legislative Council on March 30 after he was elected to Rajya Sabha.
The JD(U) supremo was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16, and he had to quit as an MLC in the 14-day period after his election.
