Today in Politics: Official transfers pick up, as do poll rallies as ground laid for elections

Priyanka in MP, PM in Uttarakhand; as a G20 parliamentary presiding officers meeting starts today

PM Narendra Modi will make a day-long trip to Uttarakhand. (Photo: PTI/File)

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Marking the beginning of poll season, the Election Commission on Wednesday ordered the transfer of several top police and administrative officers, including 25 police commissioners and superintendents of police, in the five poll-going states. The poll panel has asked the transferred officials to immediately hand over charge to their respective immediate juniors, and directed respective state governments to send by Thursday evening a panel of officers to replace those shunted out.

Earlier this week, the Election Commission announced the poll schedule, lasting through November, for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram. Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh governments are headed by the Congress, while in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress was dislodged after narrowly winning in 2018 following defections. Liz Mathew and Manoj C G had laid out why the elections are so crucial for the BJP and Congress, respectively, with the first trying to have a new leadership in place and swing victories before 2024, and the Congress banking on the demand for a caste census to woo OBCs to its side.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who has been addressing poll meetings in the coming elections across states, will be in Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh for a rally Thursday, accompanied by state party chief Kamal Nath.

The Congress, which sees bright prospects for itself in Madhya Pradesh, is yet to announce any candidates for the elections, though Kamal Nath has been declared as the CM face. On Tuesday, Kamal Nath said the Congress will declare the names after the “Shraadh” period, considered inauspicious, which ends on Saturday.

The BJP has so far announced three lists for Madhya Pradesh, with its surprise move to bring in heavyweights from the centre and displacing local leaders triggering brewing or open rebellions across. Anand Mohan J reported on leaders coming out openly to say they were weighing their options. As the BJP tries similar approach in Rajasthan, similar voices are growing in Rajasthan too, reported Deep Mukherjee.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has had to take it easy following an injury, will inaugurate Durga Puja festivities on Thursday virtually. The injury had earlier seen the CM scrapping her plans to join the Trinamool Congress’s protest in Delhi over pending MNREGS payment from the Centre. Atri Mitra reported the smooth replacement by Abhishek Banerjee, confirming his rise not only as the rising face of the TMC in Bengal but now also the national capital.

In Haryana, another scion is making his presence felt. Deepender Singh Hooda will have another busy day in Haryana, a state where poll activities have peaked ahead of next year’s elections, attending religious functions to felicitating medal winners. The son of former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who has several detractors from own ranks, clearly has his father’s blessing.

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The G20 spillover continues, with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla set to kick-start the three-day summit of the Presiding Officers of Parliaments of G20 member nations in New Delhi Thursday, during which he will chair a Parliamentary Forum on LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), a movement proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to advocate sustainable lifestyles to safeguard the environment.

The summit will be formally inaugurated by the PM on Friday, and will bring together parliamentarians from G20 nations, along with invited countries and international organisations.

Before that, Modi will make a day-long trip to Uttarakhand, to “offer prayers at Ma Parvati Kund”, “receive the blessings of Lord Adi Kailash”, as well as visit Jageshwar Dham, which has 224 stone temples.

Watch out for: Before the election season, a rich harvest of schemes and the weekly Data Pack column. This time, Anjishnu Das takes a deep dive into poll-bound Telangana.