Jolt in Jharkhand, an issue flagged in Karnataka, and some Punjabi 'tadka'

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After Bihar stole the show last week, it was its neighbour Jharkhand’s turn to be in the spotlight this week. While in Bihar the government changed but the CM remained the same, in Jharkhand, a new CM was sworn in with the same government in place.

Even as Jharkhand was the main drama this week, the other supporting acts were no less entertaining. The Union Budget, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Chandigarh mayoral polls and the row over pulling down Hanuma Dhwaja in Karnataka kept the politics ticking.

Stay tuned as we bring you every major act that was played in the political theatre last week.

Jolts in Jharkhand

Former Jharkhand CM and JMM leader Hemant Soren being produced before a PMLA court following his arrest by Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in a money laundering case, in Ranchi, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024.

Jharkhand took the baton from Bihar and raised the drama quotient in Indian politics. The week began with a brief suspense over the whereabouts of the then Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. On Tuesday, Soren appeared at his Ranchi residence. The next day ED arrested him after a long interrogation in relation to a land ‘scam’. However, Soren did not go down without a fight. An FIR was registered against the ED sleuths alleging they were trying to “harass and malign him and his entire community”. After Soren's resignation, and after a brief delay, Champai Soren was sworn in as the next CM of Jharkhand on Friday.

In the meantime, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLAs have been moved to Hyderabad as the party is wary of BJP’s ‘poaching’ attempt.

The ball is in the court’s court now as politics over this development picks pace.

BJP is targetting Hemant Soren for being "corrupt", while the Opposition is allegeing the misuse of ED by the Centre to silence political opponents.

A tall order

A protester trying to free the Hanuma dhwaja from the police in Mandya.

Politics sprang up as a 108-m tall Hanuma Dhwaja was brought down by authorities in Karnataka’s Mandya. In place of the flag with the Hindu deity a tricolour was hoisted. Protests began, joined in by BJP, JD(S) and Bajrang Dal, with demands of the restoration of the Hanuma Dhwaja. BJP accused Congress of being "anti-Hindu", while the ruling Congress hit back at the Opposition saying it was an "instigation" with an eye on Lok Sabha elections.

Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have taken up a campaign to hoist Hanuma Dhwaja across the state till February 9.

In the state, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s brother and MP D K Suresh’s statement that - "Southern states may get compelled to demand a separate nation" if the "injustice" is not rectified - invited controversy. 

The echoes of this political storm were heard in the Parliament as well.

BJP's Punjabi 'tadka'

In the run up to the Chandigarh mayoral polls, Congress and AAP were confident of victory. BJP had 16 votes while the I.N.D.I.A. partners, Congress and AAP combined had 20. A majority was enough to have their party's mayor in Chandigarh. However, when the results came, it was Manoj Sonkar of the BJP who was elected as the mayor of Chandigarh. Eight votes of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc were controversially disqualified and hence its candidate fell short of majority.

This disqualification became contentious as the AAP and Congress both alleged that the election was "stolen" from them despite the bloc having a majority.
The AAP has moved the Supreme Court wanting a stay on the poll results and its members were detained as they protested against the result in Delhi.

What happened in Parliament?

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Interim Budget 2024 in the Lok Sabha, at Parliament House in New Delhi, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024.

Parliament’s Budget session kicked off on Thursday with the unveiling of the interim budget. On Friday, the I.N.D.I.A. bloc MPs staged a walkout from both Houses of Parliament over Jharkhand Governor’s "delay" in calling Champai Soren to form the government.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge asked why there was no delay in Nitish’s swearing in, while pointing out that he resigned in the morning and was sworn in by the evening. “Why did this not happen in Jharkhand?”

Also, BJP has demanded an Ethics Committee probe and an apology from the Congress on their MP's "separate South India" remark.

Where's the 'justice yatra'?

Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra ended its Bengal and Bihar phase last week and entered Jharkhand on Friday. In Bihar, Rahul addressed a rally in Purnia and reiterated his demand for caste census, calling it the "X-ray of the country". He also said that the demand for the caste census in Bihar was the reason Nitish Kumar switched sides.

Now Rahul will be in Jharkhand, where the CM has just changed. With one of the regional leaders in jail and another in the rival camp, this yatra has seen the strength of I.N.D.I.A bloc reduced.

Former Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad had a different view on the yatra. As per Azad I.N.D.I.A bloc’s unity was broken on the day Congress took out Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra "alone".

CAA out of cold storage?

Union Minister and Bengal BJP MP Shantanu Thakur stirred a row when he said on Monday that CAA will be implemented across the country within the next seven days. Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin issued strong statements announcing that they would not be applying the CAA in their respective states.

With Lok Sabha elections around the corner, is BJP trying to revive the CAA or it was just an isolated statement by a minister? Time will tell!

Budget reactions... as expected

The interim Budget was out on Thursday, with the Opposition seeing the budget as "visionless" and the ruling party and its partners hailing it as the "document for the foundation of a developed India".

In other news

In Tamil Nadu, superstar 'Thalapathy' Vijay announced his entry into politics and floated a new party called 'Thamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam'. Vijay announced that his new political party will contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls and that 2024 Lok Sabha elections wasn’t his forte.

In Bihar, the new government is settling in well with Nitish Kumar vowing to be in the NDA fold for his life now.

In Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party and Congress are brainstorming how seat sharing will work in the state. SP has already declared the first list of candidates.

Also, the VHP rejoiced as the Allahabad High Court gave the Hindu side permission to start worship again in the Gyanvapi mosque cellar, as the SP wondered if the court orders are always "correct".

In Bengal, TMC staged a dharna in Kolkata against the Centre’s fund-freeze to the state. TMC has also been very clear that the party will fight the Lok Sabha polls in Bengal without Congress. This has also put the I.N.D.I.A. bloc under stress as Mamata has repeatedly fired salvo on Congress and CPI(M).

In neighbouring Pakistan, former PM Imran Khan was sentenced in two different cases, while his nomination papers for polls for two National Assembly seats in Punjab province were rejected.

Meanwhile in the US, Trump’s campaign targeted the only remaining Republican rival Nikki Haley calling her a "‘warmonger". The South Carolina primary is scheduled for February 23 and before that we can expect more verbal volleys from both sides.

That's it from this week. We will be back after seven days with more such drama.

Exit Stage Left,

DH Newsletters Team