Get set, go

An added responsibility. But Priya Ranjan Das Munshi does not mind it. He has apparently vowed to stem the flow of minority sympathy towards the left ? the community?s brief honeymoon with the Trinamoolis long over ? and veer it towards the Congress again, at least in West Bengal. The stakes are undoubtedly high, given that the race for the state Congress committee chief is already on, and a brownie point scored with the minorities will go a long way in assuring that Priyada?s own horse is way ahead the rest ? certainly ahead of Somen Mitra?s or Pranab Mukherjee?s. The grapevine has it that Priya is betting on Muzaffar Khan, diehard Trinamooli, and hoping to pitch him against Malda heavyweight Ghani Khan Choudhury. Khan has already faced Barkatda twice and managed to snatch away substantial votes, if not the seat, from Ghani. Which is why Priya is alleged to be wooing Khan so hard. At a recent iftaar at the Press Club, Khan is supposed to have been told that anyone who was backed by Munshi made it to the CM?s post. There was Vilasrao Deshmukh as proof. At this point, a Somen Mitra acolyte, who was eavesdropping, is supposed to have warned Khan, reminding him that if the Munshi-speak was true, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee would have to be made to lose his job first. Which isn?t a difficult thing to do, is it, Mr Munshi?

Without the cake

It?s been decided. The Uttaranchal CM, ND Tiwari, has been hinted that he should stick to his chair. His detractors, led by Harish Rawat, who had been camping in the capital to see that Tiwari did not get his cake, have also been categorically asked to go back. Tiwari, however, is not giving up so easily. He is always keen to find any excuse to return to the capital. At the recent wedding of a high-profile cabinet minister?s son, Tiwari?s men apparently called up the the minister?s office and reminded them of inviting old friend and colleague Tiwari. No prizes for guessing the reason for the desperation. Madam was among the other invitees.

Stuck in a corner

This is probably time to look for a safe place for political hibernation. The former NDA minister and JD(U) leader, Digvijay Singh, may be speculating on whether he should join the Congress, especially now that there is little chance of a saffron comeback. The rumours became stronger when he was spotted at Ghulam Nabi Azad?s Id-Diwali milan party recently. Madanlal Khurana and Makhan Lal Fotedar were there, talking to each other frantically. Nobody knows who was trying to woo whom, because both are in a spot.

Back to square one

Brahmins are back with a vengeance, both in the BJP and the Congress. The nomination of a disproportionately high number of Brahmins as party gen-secs is being seen by many as a throwback to the old Jan Sangh days when the party commanded less than 8 per cent of the popular votes and had only 12 members in the Lok Sabha. The predominantly upper caste line-up at the symbolic relay fast in protest against the arrest of the Kanchi seer also shocked many. The Congress brigade in Delhi, particularly the Jat, Punjabi and Bania leaders, is similarly baffled by Sonia Gandhi?s decision to impose a Brahmin leadership. Beginning with the CM, all top posts have been awarded to Brahmins ? be it the lieutenant governor, the police chief, or the state Congress chief. The lone Rajya Sabha member from Delhi and the recently appointed PRO for the organizational election in Delhi are also Brahmins. Is it all coming full circle?

What?s in the wheat?

A snide report from across the border. Pakistan?s diplomatic relations with Australia have hit a new low, what with the Pakis returning a shipload of wheat from the latter country on grounds that it is substandard. Imagine what a shock that must have been for the Aussies! The ship was happily welcomed by the health-conscious sheikhs of the UAE. Pakistan apparently has its own reasons for rejecting Aussie product. If that wheat was accepted, Pakistan would have had to allow Indian wheat, and more important, allow it passage to Afghanistan. Now how can the Pakis do anything to allow Indo-Afghan friendship to prosper?

Up in the AIR

Its in the air. AIR has apparently been asked to cut down on some programmes on its FM channels because of a resource crunch. People who were paid for their programmes weeks ago have been asked to deposit their cheques pronto, that is before they started bouncing. Which means S Jaipal Reddy cannot stop his boat from rocking.

Inverse image

It?s democracy season all over again in Pakistan. And it is the release of Asif Zardari (more popularly Mr Ten Per Cent) which started it. In a chain reaction, Nawaz Sharif called up Benazir (wife of Asif Zardari), and the MQM chief-in-exile, Altaf Hussain, who responded by making pro-democracy noises. There was someone else who joined the fray ? Ghinwa Bhutto, who projects herself as the Sonia Gandhi of Pakistan. Ghinwa is the young widow of Murtaza Bhutto, Benazir?s brother, who was killed in a police encounter some years back. But Ghinwa as Sonia? Well, she has her reasons. She too is of foreign origin, hailing from Jordan; is the daughter-in-law of Pakistan?s unofficial number one political family; and her husband too died under tragic circumstances. But this is probably where the similarities cease. The grapevine has it that there is little reason to believe that Ghinwa ever made herself into a model bahu like Sonia, nor go into a similar self-sacrificing mode ever. True, Ghinwa?