Food for thought

When it comes to the health of Bihar, Laloo Prasad Yadav makes no compromises. Which is probably why he has turned so conscious of his own. When he had to oblige a greater god recently by stepping into the house of Arjun Singh to have discussions about electoral matters, Laloo asked for (hold your breath) broccoli soup. Singh?s much-impressed wife immediately ordered the lassi and chhanch, specially prepared for the guest, to be discarded for the soup. Meeting over a couple of hours later, Laloo was heard checking on the whereabouts of rival Ram Vilas Paswan. On being told that Paswan was about to board a flight to Patna, Laloo too headed for the airport. While the leaders sat comparing notes, the food arrived. Laloo once again demanded (guess what!) broccoli soup, which unfortunately was not available. A piece of unsolicited advice soon reached Paswan?s ears, who seemed to be relishing his chicken. Laloo on broccoli, ?This is one vegetable that won George Bush the second term?. There was a tailnote as well. Laloo is supposed to have claimed that it was because Bush Sr hated his broccoli so much that he lost the polls. Moral of the story: eat broccoli, vote Laloo.

Playing ball

They were in white all right, but playing cricket instead of politics. Eleven were required, but 40 MPs turned up to play against the visiting British MPs last week. The Indian skipper was the indomitable Navjyot Sidhu, who steered youngsters like Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia and the not-so-young Rajiv Shukla and Arun Jaitley alike. Jaitley is supposed to have done particularly well with the ball, while Vijay Mallya tried a thing or two with his bat. But habits die hard and Shukla is supposed to have been heard complaining of a Sidhu-conspiracy behind every ball he missed. All in all, it ended well. The Brits took a beating, but then ?We don?t have former test cricketers who are MPs?, is how they explain the fiasco.

Time to fly high

Every dog has its day, and every actor-turned-politician his own. The BJP might deny Shatrughan Sinha his wish to be projected as the chief ministerial candidate in Bihar, but it does not deny his public appeal. Which is why the wise party is supposed to have placed a helicopter solely at the disposal of Shotgun so that he can campaign for another CM hopeful. The other of the two helicopters the party has been able to borrow, will have to be shared by the rest of the senior BJP and JD(U) leaders. Divine justice!

Long term planning

The giant waves of December has woken up the five-year-old disaster management cell headed by AK Rastogi, who is otherwise secretary, border management, ministry of home affairs. Rastogi is supposed to have proposed a visit to Japan to have first-hand knowledge in disaster management. And given the current concerns, the usually niggardly PM who discourages foreign travel, might even sanction the trip. The problem is that Rastogi is supposed to retire in two months, and his visit in that case will not be of much use. That is unless his tenure is extended by another two years. Is that the gameplan Rastogi?

Another storm brewing

Another bomb seems to be quietly ticking away ? in Telengana. K Chandrasekhar Rao (Sonia?s closest competitor in matters of tyaga) apparently misses no opportunity to remind Congress bosses about the promise made in the election manifesto. And now to buttress the demand, a Telengana Intellectuals Forum has been formed. A CD documenting 50 years of the Telengana struggle has also been allegedly sent to several mediapersons and politicians.

Hills aren?t alive yet

The rumour mills have it that Ambika Soni is once again trying to convince madam of the necessity of sending Ghulam Nabi Azad to J&K the moment the three-year term of Mufti Sayed ends this November. Azad, who enjoys the proximity of both the PM and 10 Janpath, is supposed to have made known that he has no intention of leaving Delhi. The Congress president in that case may allow the PDP to continue, but with a new face, possibly that of Mehbooba Mufti.

The right choice

For her seat negotiators and selectors of candidates, Sonia has chosen the old guards. Is it reflective of Priyanka?s choice over Rahul?s preference for the young pros?

His mistress?s voice

The fire seems to have left Uma Bharti completely, well almost. She arrived in Bhopal last week and within hours summoned scribes to a ?tea party?. Given the significance of tea parties in the country?s politics, news hungry journos turned up in full strength. But Uma did not utter a word. All questions were stonewalled with ?no comments?. The sadhvi then cleared her throat to say what she wanted to say. She said she was tired to see reports of her arrival in the state laced with political undertones, and the roster of those who came to see her and receive her being read as a dossier of her political plans. Bhopal is my home, she said, and it is ?my human right to be here?. Message conveyed, Uma got up to serve tea, mithai and samosas. There was a familiar glint in her eye when disheartened scribes were beginning to leave. Summoning her favourite Doberman, Golu, she said, ?Dekho beta tumhare mama log ayen hain?. The scribes left in a huff.