The second round

If our weather-beaten and now hoarse Pranabda takes Jangipur, he will be winning it twice-over. The first round was won against didi. Let us explain. Mamata Banerjee had apparently been thinking of fielding a zabardust candidate in Jangipur, till, the disingenuous say, Mukherjee won her around. Didi relented because with Mukherjee as a winner, she was made to believe, she could fulfil her long-cherished desire to snub Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. But before things fell into their present place, Mamata had seemingly zeroed in on three choices — two of them former actresses. The first is supposed to have been Rakhi — given her Bengali antecedents and cross-cultural milieu, she could be invincible. But she refused, apparently with the excuse that she could not take the stress. The second is said to have been Tanuja, another Bengali favourite, who opted out saying politics wasn’t her cup of tea. The third had been a headline-grabbing former cricketer, who, with his actress wife, shuttled between Hyderabad and Mumbai. The third man refused because of a deep-seated grudge against all politicos he believed did not help him in his crisis, and also because he wasn’t sure how his mentors in Delhi would react to his taking on the Bengal wicket. Anyway, this problem was solved as well. Sheesh Mohammad became the chosen one — a former RSP member whose equation with Mukherjee is reputed to be as solid as the Left Front’s hold on office. Good going, Pranabda!

Right choice, baby

This one is for those who had doubts about the utility of stars in the campaign. Congresswallahs are surprised at the way Zeenat Aman has been able to mobilize their partymen, if not their supporters. The party control room had been having complaints about how the CMs of the 11 party-ruled states were not doing enough for the campaign. The scene changed in an instant however. ND Tiwari is believed to have readily agreed to go out into the burning fields when he was told that Zeenie baby would be accompanying him on his chopper. The AICC treasurer, Motilal Vora, is said to have obliged, as willingly as Tiwari. Meanwhile, Sushil Kumar Shinde is alleged to have been inquiring about the younger lot — Celina and Namrata. Giving some others company, presumably.

Same old strategy

Meanwhile, the BJP is also trying to think and rethink its strategy. At a meeting also attended by RSS bigwigs to oversee the arrangements, the BJP president, M Venkaiah Naidu, urged everyone to give their ideas about improving performance. Speaker after speaker highlighted the need for better “booth management” till Naidu burst out, “Yeh to humko bhi pata hai (I also know about this)”. A RSS functionary snapped back saying it was not too late to think aloud. Venkaiah?

Keep the third man out

Just as worried as Mullah Mulayam about the BJP inching closer to Muslims was the party’s own Shahnawaz Hussain and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. They believe a too pro-Muslim image would mean more booties for the newly inducted Arif Mohammad Khan and others like Arif Beg and Siraj Qureshi. They are supposed to be particularly wary about Arif, whose former Union minister status and greater acceptability in the minority community might bring him the “token slot” in the cabinet. Last heard, the two were trying to bury their differences so that a third party did not make much headway.

Hand of madam

The red are turning redder for what is happening in Hoshiarpur. The Congress left this seat for the CPI(M) to keep Harkishen Singh Surjeet in good humour, and whether Surjeet is grateful or not, the left candidate for Hoshiarpur, Darshan Singh Mattoo, cannot forget the favour. Which is why Mattoo’s campaign is all about the Congress and Sonia. Posters of Sonia adorn the walls, the hammer and sickle relegated to the bottom. All in the game, is it Prakash Karat?

Leaving star dust

Like father, like son. BJP leaders got the taste of Varun Gandhi’s legacy while accompanying him on his trip from Bhopal. At the airport, when Varun found the party-requisitioned chopper meant to carry him was ferrying another saffron star, Jitendra, he was livid. He asked who Jitendra was, and when told about the star, made some unkind remarks about his age. The BJP old guard, who anyway suffer the ignominy of escorting the son of the man who had sent them to jail, felt peeved. But then stars will be stars.

Mother of battles

Congresswallahs are a bit apprehensive about the presence of Sonia Gandhi’s mother in the country. The last elections she was here, in 1999, Sonia had failed to form the government.

Headless, but thinking

In the din of elections, one thing has gone unnoticed — the Indian missions in the key capitals of London and Washington are headless. Ronen Sen, India’s high commissioner in London, signed out a fortnight ago and Lalit Mansingh, ambassador to Washington, returned a few days ago. The model code of conduct prevents the government from deciding on such crucial issues at this moment, but many feel that the matter could have been decided months ago. Naturally, all this has set the rumour mills working overtime. Some feel that the matter is the sole preserve of the PM’s principal secretary, Brajesh Mishra, and since Mishra has been otherwise occupied with the elections, the matter has been left undecided. The other speculation is that Mansingh’s successor has already been decided. NK Singh, close to Mishra, former secretary in the PMO, and well known in the World Bank circles, is the man with the right credentials. But that is if the BJP comes to power. If the NDA trips, it will be Kanwal Sibal, retired foreign secretary and brother of Kapil Sibal. Keep a watch on this space.