The reds are on a roll

The left will probably never admit it, but the new-found proximity to the fount of power, the knowledge that they can actually make or mar government — especially economic — decisions, has made them quite light-headed. And has brought out the latent star-struckness of the left apparatchiki. It was in full evidence in the air of suppressed excitement at Ajoy Bhawan the day P Chidambaram was to pay a visit to the UPA government’s left “allies”. Senior leader D Raju was especially voluble. The new finance minister had been all praise for the left in his campaign speeches, he told journalists. The left are a very responsible ally from my experience of working with them in the United Front government, Raju reported Chidambaram as having said at his rallies. And what’s more, he had a “left orientation”, he claimed. In truth, a “left leaning” wasn’t much in evidence during Chidambaram’s earlier stints as FM, but for Raju, the fact that he had been at Harvard at the same time as long-time “comrades” N Ram and Maithili Shivaraman settled the matter. Now if only the reds are starry-eyed enough, they just might forget to oppose every one of the FM’s proposals. At least, that’s what the stock markets will be hoping for.

A picture of grace

Hers was always a gracious presence, all chiffon sarees and glowing pearls. But Vasundhara Raje Scindia’s presence at the swearing-in of the new cabinet (she was the only one from the BJP, other than AB Vajpayee and LK Advani to attend) showed that the grace is not a matter of appearances alone, but goes deeper still. She was rewarded with a warm greeting and a hug from Sonia Gandhi. Perhaps it Vasu’s royal lineage, or perhaps it is her life’s ambition to be a diplomat that makes her put her best foot forward, every time. If only her party-mates, especially the women, took some lessons in grace from her.

Neither seen, nor heard

Set aside putting up a brave front in the face of defeat, BJP leaders seem to be wishing for the earth to open up and swallow them — so suddenly and completely have they disappeared from the public eye. And the ones who find their vanishing act the most perplexing are news TV channels. Earlier the bright shirts and designers kurtas of not just Arun Jaitley, Pramod Mahajan, Sushma Swaraj, but sundry BJP spokespersons, ministers and leaders were ubiquitous. Post-May 13, the electronic media has been reduced to playing the stock responses of Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and other small-fry. Really, in how many ways can you say, “We lost?”

Home run

In retrospect, what has really stumped the BJP is the sheer unexpectedness of the blow, the fact that nearly every pollster, every channel, every newspaper, had predicted a victory — and a big victory at that. The other day, a senior journalist was telling LK Advani that the mess was the result of PM’s (presumably Pramod Mahajan) insistence on early elections. That may be true, said the deputy prime minister, but what was the IB doing saying we would win 300 seats? Couldn’t they gauge the undercurrents? Good question, Mr Home Minister, but may we remind you that the IB falls under your ministry.

Losers take all

If the BJP is having a tough time of it, Sonia Gandhi isn’t doing too much better. Now that she has set a precedent by granting cabinet berths to persons who had lost the elections, she has aroused the “aspirations” of all losers, and the Congress has lots of them. Salman Khurshid and Mohsina Kidwai are two of them, who would like at least a Rajya Sabha seat. The former wants recognition for all his pre-election strategizing and trouble-shooting. The latter of course is banking on her seniority and the fact that, after Najma Heptullah’s exit, the party is on the look-out for a Muslim woman face. As the BJP well knows and Sonia is just finding out — these are the wages of power.

Bad news for Modi?

The rumour-mills are working overtime — is JM Lyngdoh to take over as the new governor of Gujarat? Now that will really set the cat among the pigeons.

Little big star

The defeat of the BJP has made a dent in the film industry’s representation in the corridors of power. No Shatrughan Sinha or Vinod Khanna in the ministry, a Dharmendra in the Lok Sabha — but what good was a mere MP from the opposition benches? Thus it is that poor Govinda (an MP too, but from the winning party), is now being beseiged by all those who want sarkari help. Our Virar boy is a clever one — he coolly palms them off to Kamal Nath.

Foot in the mouth

Why did Arjun Singh insist on giving an extension to the multi-disciplinary monitoring agency overseeing the Rajiv Gandhi assassination? It had the potential to really rock the UPA boat since it is an extremely touchy issue with the DMK. Or was that the intention — keep the DMK, which had thrown up a mighty tantrum over the allocation of portfolios — on tenterhooks? Unlikely. But neither could the Congress bosses admonish Arjun, or pack him off with a governorship. A high-profile G-sec was said to be keen but had to give in considering the associations with Sonia and the children. So was that what the wily Arjun intended? To prove that he was more loyal-than-thou? Or does he really believe that the last word — or even the first thing — has not been said about the matter? But Arjun’s move has underscored one thing — that all is not well in the cabinet and that it is full of people who are working at cross-purposes. Arjun Singh has made the first move, cynics are waiting for Sharad Pawar to follow. With friends like these, Manmohan Singh really does not need enemies.