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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000328 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PTER IN EAGR
SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, FEBRUARY 16-20, 2009 
 
¶1.  (U)  Below is a compilation of political highlights from 
Embassy New Delhi for February 16-20, 2009, that did not 
feature in our other reporting: 
 
-- Congress Reshuffles Ahead of Elections 
-- NC-Congress Sweep J&K Rajya Sabha Elections 
-- More Jobs if BJP Elected 
 
Congress Reshuffles Ahead of Elections 
--- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  The Congress Party carried out a relatively major 
organizational reshuffle on February 19 ahead of April-May 
national polls, bringing senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad back 
into the party fold as an All Indian Congress Committee 
(AICC) general secretary and changing the work allocation for 
most other general secretaries.  In addition to the AICC 
role, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Azad will also 
take charge of election strategy for the three key electoral 
states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Orissa.  In addition, 
Congress President Sonia Gandhi selected a new team to manage 
other states.  These include: K. Keshav Rao for Jharkhand, 
West Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands; B.K. Hari 
Prasad for Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Daman and Diu, Dadra 
and Nagar Haveli; and Prithviraj Chavan for Haryana and Jammu 
and Kashmir. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Congress is clearly gearing up for elections with 
the return of Azad into the party fold.  He is seen as a 
crafty tactician as well as a superb strategist, who has been 
given responsibility for key battle ground states.  Described 
as an "amiable, soft-spoken" negotiator, party leaders are 
also hoping to capitalize on Azad's political experience in 
J&K to further consolidate Muslim vote banks in other states. 
 
 
NC-Congress Sweep J&K Rajya Sabha Elections 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) The ruling National Conference (NC) and Congress 
Party coalition won all four of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajya 
Sabha (upper house of parliament) seats when the newly 
constituted Jammu and Kashmir state assembly voted on 
February 13.  From the Congress Party, former Chief Minister 
Ghulam Nabi Azad and current Indian Water Resources Minister 
Saifuddin Soz were elected unopposed.  Former NC Chief 
Minister Farooq Abdullah and NC leader Mohammed Shafi Uri 
comfortably defeated their independent opponent (who was 
supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party) but won by a narrow 
margin over People's Democratic Party (PDP) nominee Altaf 
Bukhari. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The NC and Congress needed some crossover voting 
from independents and smaller parties to ensure that it 
bagged the four seats.  These elections return Ghulam Nabi 
Azad to Delhi where he will re-take his position as a 
courtier in Sonia Gandhi's inner circle.  With the return of 
Azad to Delhi, it strengthens the position of Saifuddin Soz, 
who now becomes the main political advisor to the Prime 
Minister and Sonia Gandhi on Jammu and Kashmir.  He continues 
to wear two hats, serving as Water Resources Minister in 
Delhi and J&K Congress Party chief in the state.  Some 
analysts believe that the loss of the PDP candidate in the 
Rajya Sabha elections does not bode well for reconciliation 
and stability in the state.  The PDP fared surprisingly well 
in the J&K assembly elections and demonstrated it has a 
considerable reservoir of support in the valley.  But, it now 
has no voice in either Delhi or in Jammu and Kashmir where it 
sits in opposition.  This alienation may push the PDP to take 
more radical and confrontational positions on autonomy and 
separatism in order to consolidate its support in the valley. 
 
 
More Jobs if BJP Elected 
 
NEW DELHI 00000328  002 OF 002 
 
 
--- 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The BJP on February 14 promised to generate more 
jobs if elected to office.  Party prime ministerial candidate 
L.K. Advani underlined his commitment to economic stability 
during a briefing with leading economists.  Advani expressed 
concern over the ruling United Progress Alliance's (UPA) 
handling of India's economy, noting rising unemployment and 
slowing projected growth.  He underscored the lack of talent 
within the UPA, pointing out that the government had yet to 
appoint a permanent Finance Minister amidst international 
financial turmoil. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  Following state assembly elections defeats last 
December, the BJP has struggled to refine strategy and hone 
its message ahead of April-May national polls.  The party's 
heated "soft on terror" rhetoric failed to capture Indian 
voters in Delhi and Rajasthan.  Since then, the party has 
attempted to play to all sides by pledging continued support 
for a hardliner agenda while, at the same time, appealing to 
moderate voters by touting secular development and governance 
issues. 
 
 
MULFORD