India’s Congress readies for polls amid opposition split

NEW DELHI: India’s embattled ruling Congress party geared yesterday for next year’s elections with a cabinet reshuffle, boosted by a bitter split in the opposition over the elevation of a hard-liner.
Congress was to swear in four new cabinet ministers, as it readies for a tough battle to try to win a third term in office amid a slew of graft scandals, policy malaise and the slowest economic growth in a decade.
The reshuffle comes a day after Congress unveiled its campaign committee, with members picked from a diverse range of areas throughout the country.
“It is a significant rejig as it marks a transition within the party ahead of the polls,” author and political analyst Rasheed Kidwai said of the reshuffle due later Monday.
The move comes as the Reserve Bank of India left its key lending rate unchanged, dealing a blow to the government and underscoring the challenges it faces as it tries to boost investment and kick-start the economy.
The Reserve Bank of India held rates steady, saying the local currency’s sharp decline could adversely impact already high inflation in Asia’s third largest economy.
The government has been dogged by a string of corruption scandals, which has derailed efforts to push through promised pro-market reforms, curtail inflation and revive the economy.
But the left-leaning Congress has been bolstered by turmoil within the opposition coalition after the pullout of a key partner over the elevation of right-wing hard-liner Narendra Modi to head its campaign for the elections due by next May.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accused its partner, the Janata Dal (United) party, of betrayal over the pullout after a 17-year alliance as the bitterness of the turmoil played out Monday in the Indian media.
“We will take revenge of this insult in the Lok Sabha (Lower House) elections next year,” Sushil Kumar Modi, a senior BJP official, was quoted as saying by the Times of India newspaper.
The head of Janata Dal, Nitish Kumar, hit back, telling reporters that Modi’s elevation was unacceptable for his party and would prove disastrous at the polls.
“They wish (us) long life but give medicines to kill,” Kumar said, referring to Modi.
Modi, who is the chief minister of Gujarat state, was earlier this month named the BJP’s election committee chairman, and is likely to be tapped as the candidate for the prime minister’s post should the party win elections.
Modi has painted himself as a pro-business reformist who can revive the fortunes of the world’s largest democracy.
But he remains a hugely divisive figure nationally after being accused of doing little to stop religious riots in his state in 2002 in which some 2,000 people — mainly Muslims — were killed.
Kumar, the chief minister of eastern Bihar state, fears Modi could alienate voters, especially Muslim voters, not only in this state but nationally, at the election.
But the BJP, which is planning to stage a “Betrayal Day” to protest the pullout, remains firmly behind Modi.
Modi’s rise is likely to pit him against Rahul Gandhi, seen as the reluctant scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, which is at the helm of the Congress party, during the election campaign.
As well as the four cabinet ministers, four other ministers are expected to be sworn in later in the day including to key transport portfolios.
A new railways minister is expected after the resignation of Pawan Kumar Bansal over accusations his nephew took a $ 160,000 bribe from an official in return for a plum post in the state-run network.