In what could be one of the most important Delhi visits of the year, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is scheduled to visit Delhi the coming weekend, possibly June 12. This will be her first visit to the national capital after assuming the office of Chief Minister for the sixth time. She will be coming to Delhi after two years.
During the two-day visit, on the first day, the CM will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a memorandum on the requirements of Tamil Nadu and issues needing to be resolved.
The memorandum will likely include a demand for formation of a Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulation Board, to implement the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. She will also likely touch on Tamil Nadu fishermen's woes at the hands of the Sri Lankan Navy and higher financial allocations to the state.
The Prime Minister will be anxious to know what her stance on the coming goods and services tax (GST) Constitution amendment Bill will be. It would help the government a lot if her party, the All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, were to dilute its opposition to GST and if it can't, at least opt to stay out of the Rajya Sabha during voting.
On the second day, she might meet political leaders and MPs. A public reception is unlikely.
Rajya Sabha elections
Voting for the Rajya Sabha, where necessary, will take place on June 11. Many MPs have already been elected unopposed. But, there are a number of candidates who are relying on transferred votes because the parties backing them do not have the requisite number.
For instance, Bharatiya Janata Party treasurer in Jharkhand, Mahesh Poddar, will need votes to be transferred to him to win the second Rajya Sabha seat from the state - the first went to Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha acting chief Hemant Soren has met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, seeking the latter's support for Basant Soren, his brother. If Soren can get the Congress seats, Poddar will not make it. Similarly, Nakkinti Bhaskar Rao could be the Biju Janata Dal (BJD)'s third candidate if he can get some other party to back him by transferring their votes to him. Rao, the most prominent BJD face in southern Odisha and district president in Rayagada, has declared property worth Rs 33 crore in his affidavit.
In UP, Preeti Mahapatra has filed her papers to become the third candidate from the BJP. Mahapatra is not so well known in UP but is a familiar face in Gujarat. BJP officebearers have signed her nomination papers. Another wild card is Zee TV chairman Subhash Chandra, seeking to enter the Rajya Sabha from Haryana.
Rahul should become de jure Cong chief: Ramesh
"Rahul Gandhi is de facto Congress chief but he should become de jure" and make the party battle ready without waiting for anti-incumbency to build up against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said on Sunday.
Ramesh also said it was high time that the Congress changed in tune with changing India as "our communication strategy is not very effective" and "we need an aggressive outreach" with various sections of society against the backdrop of successive poll debacles.
