Year end plans 

All is well that ends well, and that is what will happen with the two diverse political leaders at the end of the year. After a gap of several months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata. The Chief Minister has told state government officials to make elaborate arrangements for welcoming the Prime Minister in the city. The Prime Minister will attend a function hosted by the Indian Navy at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose dockyard, to which the Chief Minister has also been invited. PM Modi will also flag off a brand new ‘Vande Bharat’ train from Kolkata to New Jalpaiguri in North Bengal. The Chief Minister has requested a separate meeting with PM Modi. 

Speculation on MP politics

A wedding reception ceremony has become topic of discussion in Madhya Pradesh. Recently, a reception was organised at the residence of Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar for the nephew of BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya. The event happened in the first week of December. But Vijayvargiya was waiting to get a date from the Prime Minister to attend the ceremony and bless the couple. Ultimately, the PM gave consent to attend last week. Among those invited were the prime minister and industrialist Gautam Adani. However, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan could not attend the ceremony, which was held in New Delhi, as he was busy with the assembly session of the state. Many central ministers, former Chief Minister Kamal Nath, and Shibu Soren were also present at the reception. As the PM attended the ceremony, speculation in the state is rife that Kailash Vijayvargiya would be given some important responsibilities in the state’s upcoming assembly elections.

Offer to join Yatra

As the Bharat Jodo Yatra approaches the capital, Rahul Gandhi has written to all opposition floor leaders in Parliament, inviting them to join the foot march. While DMK MP Kanimozhi joined the yatra in Haryana, TMC declined the offer. Rahul had sent a letter to TMC floor leader Sudip Bandopadhyay. Sudip contended that since Rahul is not a Parliament floor leader, the letter should have been written by the Congress party’s president, Mallikarjun Kharge. With this, it is clear that though TMC is cooperating with the opposition parties in the House on many common issues, including the demand for discussion on the Chinese aggression in the border region of Arunachal, it is not ready to accept the leadership of Rahul Gandhi.