Force FourIn Delhi, the BJP has a fight on its hands against incumbent chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's well-entrenched Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). An early lesson the BJP has taken from its recent electoral debacle in Jharkhand is to be wary of factionalism-the party might choose not to declare a chief ministerial candidate before the upcoming assembly election for fear of upsetting rival factions. Four known MPs-Vijay Goel, Harsh Vardhan, Parvesh Verma and Manoj Tiwari-will be fielded in the February 8 polls, while the BJP is also planning to field over 40 new candidates in the 70-seat house.Dubious distinctionWhat do J. Jayalalithaa, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy have in common? All three figured in disproportionate assets cases as chief ministers. Seeking exemptions from appearing in the special CBI court presided over by judge B.R. Madhusudhan Rao, Reddy seems keen to make the distinction that elections and his responsibilities as CM keep him too busy. Rao isn't impressed and has refused to allow further exemptions, directing Reddy to be present at the next hearing on January 10..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Flag of Convenience (Photo: Mandar Deodhar) Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray reportedly plans to replace his party's blue, white, saffron and green flag with a single saffron band, possibly bearing an image of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji. However, previous attempts to rebrand-such as by tweaking the MNS's railway engine symbol-have had no effect, with the party winning only one seat in the 2014 and 2019 assembly polls.Fee hike anger There has been a transparent attempt to spin the attack on JNU students and teachers by weapon-wielding thugs as a fight between left-wing and right-wing students that spilled out of hand. The university's students' union leader Aishe Ghosh, left bleeding from the head during the violence, has been the subject of at least two FIRs filed by the Delhi police for allegedly vandalising university servers and attacking security guards. This, as the police have yet to arrest anyone for attacking students despite video footage widely shared on social media of masked and armed men casually walking out of the university after the beatings. There is circumstantial evidence linking right-wing student groups to the violence. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the students' wing of the RSS, has also put out videos it claims bolsters its case that its student members were victims of left-wing violence. But there has been no push from university authorities to hold anyone to account other than those largely left-leaning students and faculty who have been protesting against fee hikes for months. While the police investigation drags, and politicians, from both the ruling party and the opposition, fill the gap with mud-slinging, the violence in JNU has galvanised students across the country to continue with their protests against what they believe to be the divisive ethos and policies of the present government.The Iran Imbroglio The killing of Iranian major general Qassem Soleimani, as ordered by United States president Donald Trump, had a knock-on effect on the price of crude oil and gold and shook markets across the world. Mourners flooded onto the streets in Iran, but dozens of anti-war protests also took place across the US. Trump has been bullish in the face of anger, threatening further attacks on Iranian sites, including those of cultural importance, and warning Iraq, which has voted to remove US troops, of retaliation through economic sanction. Outright war, many political analysts say, is unlikely, though most also agree that the situation is unpredictable. This volatility has been reflected in the price of gold and oil, and in stock markets across the world. And nuclear non-proliferation has been postponed, with Iran abandoning, at least temporarily, any restraints on uranium enrichment. While calling for restraint, the United Nations said that geopolitical tensions were at their highest this century.Published By: Snigdha ChoudhuryPublished On: Jan 10, 2020--- ENDS ---
