Political shocks across continents: UP BJP trembles as Donald dodges death

Greetings readers,

We are back with the major developments that rocked the political arena this week. From Donald Trump, the Republican US presidential candidate facing an assassination attempt (though probably the first one to get a ‘badass’ click in the aftermath) to the I.N.D.I.A. bloc mirroring the Lok Sabha election results in the bypolls, the political landscape this week was action-packed! Apart from the international and national politics, Karnataka’s political pot also simmered up with the draft Reservation Bill being put on hold as soon as it was introduced due to protests from the industrial corridors.

So buckle up as we take you on the political rollercoaster right from the US to Karnataka in this week’s DH Political Theatre.

Trump survives gun attack right where he vowed to 'protect firearm owners'

The biggest news of this week and decades of American politics was the attack on US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday (July 13). The 78-year-old former US president survived the attack as the bullet grazed past his right ear. After the attack, Trump called for Americans “to stand united and not allow the Evil to win.”

The gunman was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about an hour’s drive from the rally site, according to an FBI statement. Crooks was killed by Secret Service agents at the site and later identified to be a ‘would be’ first time voter.

Oddly enough, according to an Al Jazeera report, earlier this year, Trump, while addressing an event held by the National Rifle Association in Pennsylvania itself, promised the attendees that, if he is re-elected, “no one will lay a finger on your firearms”.

Days after the attack, political surveys in the US gave a clear edge to Trump in the presidential polls. However, according to an Economic Times report, these surveys which had earlier indicated a clear victory for Trump have now indicated a neck-to-neck competition, with some even giving Biden a double-digit lead.

Meanwhile, Trump announced J D Vance- an erstwhile ‘never a Trump guy’, who has now rebranded himself as ‘only Trump guy’- as his running mate.

The sound of the gunshot fired at Trump echoed in India too with leaders from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi condemning the attack. The ruling BJP meanwhile showed concern on “the usage of words like ‘hinsa’ (violence) and ‘hatya’ (murder) by the opposition to target PM Modi” saying that “it can produce a direct result and an unnecessary tension in the society.”

What is interesting to note is that BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya has justified the assassinations of former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi during TV channel debates claiming that they were killed due to their “political choices”.

‘Bye-BJP’ elections?

After the Lok Sabha elections hitch, BJP received yet another blow after the I.N.D.I.A. parties on Saturday bagged 10 out of 13 Assembly seats while restricting the saffron party to just two in the keenly contested bye elections in seven states. The bypolls were held just a month after the general elections and gave another shot in the arm to the opposition bloc.

Their pro-Hindutva stance isn't favouring the BJP as well, as after Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram, BJP lost the Badrinath seat as well.

The big gainers in the bypolls were the Congress and Trinamool Congress, which won four seats each, while AAP, DMK, and an independent won one each.

Yogi vs Maurya and 'The Monsoon Offer'

The strife within the Uttar Pradesh BJP is an open secret now. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya have been spotted taking veiled digs at each other, right when the assembly bypolls in ten seats of the state are right around the corner.

The central BJP leadership is said to have asked the UP leaders to not make public statements that could prove detrimental to the party. This was directed at Maurya who had posted, “Sangathan sarkar se bada hai… (The party is bigger than the government)”, a statement that exposed the wedge between the leaders in Uttar Pradesh.

Whether the BJP manages to control the damage before the bypolls or the monkey will benefit in the fight of cats will be interesting to note as Samajwadi Party chief and Kannauj MP Akhilesh Yadav has already made “the monsoon offer” to Maurya.

“'Monsoon Offer-Sau lao, sarkar banao'' (Monsoon offer-Bring 100, form government), Akhilesh said in a message on 'X' (formerly Twitter) apparently for Maurya.

‘Kannadigas only’ bill on hold

The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had drafted a bill to reserve managerial and clerical jobs for Kannadigas in the private sector, including information technology companies on Tuesday. Not even a day passed and the government had to put the bill on hold owing to the backlash from India Inc, which warned that the move would “drive away companies” and “stifle startups”.

Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw also opposed the bill.

According to The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 50 per cent of jobs in the management category -- supervisory, managerial, technical, operational, administrative and higher positions -- should be reserved for local candidates.

The Bill also expected employers to reserve 75 per cent of non-management category jobs -- clerical, unskilled, semi-skilled, employees in IT and ITeS firms, contract and casual workers -- for locals.

CM Siddaramaiah however has clarified that the bill is still in the preparation stage. On the other hand, opposition BJP has called the government’s decision to hold back the bill “cowardly” and warned it to be ready “to face the wrath of the people.” Ironically, the BJP government itself could not implement a similar law in Haryana in 2023 after the Punjab and Haryana High Court declared it ‘unconstitutional' and struck it down.

Siddaramaiah government under fire for MUDA, Valmiki scams

The Congress government in Karnataka continued to face the heat over the alleged multi-crore scams at the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation, the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA), and other issues.

The alleged scams rocked the Karnataka Assembly as well as the streets with BJP leaders alleging that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was shielding his party leaders—former minister B Nagendra and Basanagouda Daddal.

Replying to the allegations, the CM asserted that the police complaint filed by the corporation’s accountant P Chandrashekharan’s widow, in which accusations were made against officials, there is no mention of the then minister (Nagendra) or the chairperson of the corporation (Daddal). Chandrashekharan had died by suicide leaving behind a five-page suicide note, naming officials involved in the alleged scam.

State BJP chief B Y Vijayendra was detained by police on Thursday after a group of protestors tried to lay siege to the Vidhan Soudha.

On Friday, Siddaramaiah assured that the embezzled amount of Rs 85 crore was under recovery. In a classic pot calling the kettle black moment, the CM listed 21 scams that happened when the saffron party was in power.

Junior Stalin to Deputy CM Stalin?

The buzz around Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi Stalin becoming the deputy CM of the state has strengthened. It is said that the senior Stalin is mulling over the idea to make junior Stalin and the state’s current sports minister his deputy.

If the speculations come true, the 2026 Assembly elections of the state will see a face off between two Tamil actors. While Udhayanidhi is a film producer as well as an actor, another Tamil star—Thalapathy Vijay—has launched his political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.

In what can be called a twist of fate, Thalapathy Vijay had starred in Kuruvi, the first film that Udhayanidhi produced under his production house Red Giant Movies in 2008.

That sums up the most headline-grabber political developments of the past week. DH Political Theatre will be back again next week with more zesty and dramatic political affairs from the national and international stage.

Exit Stage Left,

DH Newsletters Team