Chatterbox: Battle for Amethi and Rae Bareli

Sonia Gandhi is not going to be in a position to campaign and contest 2019 general elections

Battle for Amethi and Rae Bareli

As 2019 general elections beckon, you can’t help but wonder what will happen in Amethi and Rae Bareli. Clearly, Sonia Gandhi is not going to be in a position to campaign and contest. If that happens, Priyanka Gandhi might be fielded from the family constituency. And if that happens, whom will the Bharatiya Janata Party field against Priyanka? Could it be Smriti Irani who contested against Rahul Gandhi in the last election? That is, for sure, going to be a battle to watch. 

Ruling party’s new headquarters

As the BJP’s electoral victories add up, its quest for real estate intensifies. The party is likely to move into its new headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, (near ITO), after Pongal and Makar Sankranti (January 14). And no, it will not vacate its present office on Ashoka Road, a stone’s throw from Parliament and in the heart of the Lutyens Delhi zone. The new office, built on a two-acre plot has 70 rooms. It is a seven-storey building with an underground parking, conference rooms, auditoria, studios for spokespersons and other leaders to participate in TV debates, library, documentation centre, reading room, media centre, a canteen and cafeteria. The complex will be adaptable for Z+ security requirements for the Prime Minister and other dignitaries. It is entirely possible that the National Executive committee meeting scheduled later this month, will be held here. In this meeting, the party will take stock of its performance in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections and discuss strategies for the states that will go to polls in the first half of 2018.