Congress’s internal debate over CJP | Powertrip #167

Hello,Welcome to this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter curated exclusively for subscribers of The News Minute and Newslaundry. This week’s edition is by Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna.In this week’s edition, we learnt why the Congress remains divided over whether to support or distance itself from the CJP after the recent protests against the CEC.What is the strategy behind the Congress pursuing police FIRs and legal action in Karnataka and Telangana over the alleged bulk misuse of Form 7?Despite potential political benefits from anti-ECI protests, the YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh has chosen to stay neutral and avoid joining either the NDA or the INDIA bloc.Powertrip is a newsletter that senior political reporters of TNM put together every week. For those who can’t access the full newsletter, get a subscription and read every Tuesday..Congress’s CJP dilemmaWe told you in an earlier edition that the Congress was wary of the CJP when the group first protested against the NEET issue in Delhi.The apprehension was fairly simple. The movement had a large and young following, but no clearly defined ideology. Some Congress leaders worried that if CJP turned out to be AAP 2.0, an anti-establishment movement that eventually became a political competitor, it could backfire on the Congress.In the days that followed, sections of the Congress ecosystem went after CJP and its founders online, accusing them of being a BJP or RSS “B-team”.But CJP’s second big protest has changed the political equation somewhat.This time, the movement has gone beyond specific government failures and schemes. It has directly attacked the BJP’s communal politics and the broader question of how the government and the Election Commission are handling the electoral rolls. Its October 2 protests were explicitly aimed at Gyanesh Kumar, with a demand for his resignation.And yet, sections of the Congress ecosystem have continued attacking CJP.The reason, we’re told, is partly tactical. Congress leaders and workers do not want their own protests against Gyanesh Kumar to be overshadowed by a movement they don’t control. There is also still an old suspicion within the party that CJP could eventually become a political competitor.But some within the Congress have been raising concerns about this approach. Their argument is that the party risks unnecessarily antagonising a young constituency that is already angry with the BJP and the Election Commission.So far, however, these voices have not managed to get Rahul Gandhi or his immediate team to significantly tone down the attacks.And in some cases, there is another problem: Congress workers trying to prove their loyalty appear to be going further than the leadership itself.More loyal than the king, essentially.Congress takes the Form 7 fight from politics to the policeThe Congress in Karnataka and Telangana may not have been as active on the ground against SIR as it has been politically, but it is now taking a more targeted approach to one of its biggest concerns: the alleged misuse of Form 7 to get genuine voters deleted from electoral rolls. Form 7 is used to seek deletion of a voter’s name.In recent weeks, allegations of bulk applications, including cases where forms were reportedly pre-filled with voters’ details, have emerged in several constituencies in both states. In some of these cases, the Congress has alleged that BJP workers or supporters were behind the applications, particularly where large numbers of Muslim or opposition-leaning voters were allegedly targeted. The allegations are still being investigated.In Karnataka, this has led to FIRs in places including Belagavi, Bidar and Mysuru, with one case involving applications targeting over 3,000 voters. So far there are seven or eight FIRs over alleged misuse of Form 7. In Telangana, the Congress has flagged similar allegations in Hyderabad and has sought an FIR and an SIT probe.The Congress’s strategy, we’re told, is less about expecting every case to end in a conviction and more about creating a deterrent.The thinking is that proving intent in every individual case may be difficult. But if BJP workers or others filing mass or fraudulent Form 7 applications know they could face an FIR and a police investigation, it could make them think twice.And that, the Congress believes, will keep the heat on those it suspects of trying to manipulate the electoral rolls.So the party is trying to shift the battle over SIR from just a political fight to a legal one: if you deliberately try to manipulate the electoral rolls, be prepared to answer for it.YSRCP wants to remain non-alignedWith the protest against the Election Commission of India gaining momentum across the country, one political party that could potentially have benefited from the campaign is the YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh.However, barring a statement by Jagan Mohan Reddy calling for greater transparency in the functioning of the ECI, the party has largely stayed away from the protests.A source who works closely with Jagan told us that the YSRCP wants to remain clearly non-aligned and has no plans to join either the NDA or the INDIA bloc. The source acknowledged that capitalising on the growing protests against the ECI could benefit the party, particularly as questions are already being raised about the 2024 Andhra Pradesh elections.Economist Parakala Prabhakar has been among those questioning the ECI’s claims about large-scale voting after polling hours.Yet, for now, the YSRCP does not appear keen to jump on the bandwagon. Perhaps the party believes that the potential political benefit of aligning with the INDIA bloc is far smaller than the risks for Jagan, who is facing multiple cases.Zero HourA political story of public importanceBeyond Jantar Mantar: When does crowd control become ‘excessive’ police force? .PowermovesTop 5 political storiesKerala orders fresh probe into 2006 graft, harassment allegations against Gyanesh KumarBeyond ‘cleaning’ voter rolls: The digital machinery behind SIRHyderabad Muslim voters say BJP BLA sought their deletion despite knowing them since childhoodLands and livelihoods under threat: Why Pattinapakkam fishers are protesting TN’s new SecretariatKarnataka’s new data centre policy puts water, energy in focus: What does it say? .Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.