Waiting for the fall

The prophecies are weak...

Frequent visitors to the BJP headquarters in the capital were surprised, but only mildly. This was the second or third time LK Advani has changed the entrance to the party office in accordance with vaastu recommendations. Those who take the entrance everyday say that this is a reflection of the BJP PM-in-waiting’s pre-election jitters. But aren’t the elections still some distance away? Not if you believe Advaniji, who feels that 2008 is the year of mid-term polls. But this again is not the first time the lauha purush has heard the drumbeat of elections. Soon after the UPA came to power, Advani predicted that the government would not last its full term — a comment that was repeated sometime in September 2004. In 2005, he got hold of a German reserve bank report airing similar apprehensions (hope, for Advani). This yearly ritual was faithfully observed by the party in 2006, and in 2007, it went ahead and predicted early polls. The Congress could well explore the idea of encouraging Advani’s prophesies. Clearly, they have managed to keep the Congress-led coalition in its seat quite snugly so far.

...But the spirit is willing

Even if Advani appears to be a man in a hurry, he always has time for a movie. And if it has a spiritual tint to it, nothing like it. That is how Calcutta’s actor-singer, Saheb Chatterjee, got an unexpected audience with him. Shatrughan Sinha, once a Bollywood baddie, had organized a special screening of the film where Saheb played the Bhakti movement guru. After the film was over, Advani is known to have cracked a few jokes as well. He embarrassed the ‘Mahaprabhu’ actor by asking whether his blue eyes were for real. But this could just be Advani’s way of making it up to the young actor, since he found the film disappointing.

No country for old men

Arjun Singh has a problem, and it has got nothing to do with infirmity. He does not want to leave Delhi, but the Congress babalogs don’t want him to stay in the capital — or more precisely, at the helm of the HRD ministry. They thought they had a good bargain for him, in the form of the governorship of Maharashtra. As always, the prime dilemma harked back to the fable about belling a cat. One understands from Sonia Gandhi’s invitation to Singh’s wife, Saroj, that the responsibility must have fallen on the Congress president finally. Sadly, not even the walls of 10 Janpath could confirm whether the Mumbai Raj Bhavan had figured in the chat.

Natwar Singh’s problem is that he’s eager to get back into the Congress fold, but no one is waiting with a red carpet for him. Under the circumstances, the former external affairs minister had the option of joining the BJP or the Samajwadi Party. While he found the Samajwadis too parochial, it is heard that the Rajasthan lobby of the BJP found him a tad too unpleasant to share political space with. And so we have two oldies left with little to do but bask in the glory of the days of yore.

Three women

This column continues to follow Mayavati’s developing enmity with the Congress. There was a new turn in the tide when the BSP chief and Uttar Pradesh chief minister came to meet the Congress president. Strange bedfellows, again? But the buzz is that Maya memsaab had come calling only so she could register her complaint against the PM, Manmohan Singh. Apparently, it is the PM who is refusing to release the package for Bundelkhand even after Rahul Gandhi raised a demand for it.

Yet another lady in distress is Ambika Soni (but then, that has been her state for quite some time now). So disgruntled is she with Sonia Gandhi’s role (or the lack of it) in the Ram Setu affidavit that she is considering getting her portfolio changed. And to think that she was once Madam’s closest confidante!

Deepa Das Munshi, on the other hand, is bailing her party out in Tripura. The Congress’s leaders from the east, Pranab Mukherjee, Santosh Mohan Dev and Deepa’s husband, Priya Ranjan, are either busy with national duties, or are not great orators. And Deepa’s stint in the Bengal assembly has improved her political acumen by leaps and bounds. Congressmen in the Red stronghold are not complaining about her.

Ticket, please

The race for the Rajya Sabha has begun. And the Shiv Sena is in a particular spot this time. It has given Rajya Sabha tickets in the past to several non-Marathis, but with the rival outfit of Raj Thackeray taking up the cause of the Marathi manoos, Balasaheb can ill afford to do otherwise. Prakash Javdekar, the Maharashtra BJP chief, is a picture of contrast. Quite sure of getting a berth in the upper house, he has been spotted happily buying designer kurtas.

Footnote

Brothers at war

Messrs Stalin and Azhagiri may well be brothers but they are like chalk and cheese. A look at their birthday celebrations is enough to spot the difference. Azhagiri’s bash was a gala affair: his supporters thronged to Madurai, where his fan club compared him to, hold your breath, Pope Benedict XVI. Surprised? No need for that. On his past birthdays, Azhagiri has been projected as an incarnation of Ram and Shiva as well. In contrast, Stalin’s birthday, which falls on March 1, will supposedly be a tepid affair. The mayor of Chennai has asked his followers to distribute books and uniforms to needy children. Azhagiri, one hears, is counting on divine blessings to help him win Karunanidhi’s crown. Stalin too is hoping that his good deeds will earn him his stripes. But perhaps they first need to stop squabbling. Otherwise, who knows, the crown could land on the lap of their dear sister, Kanimozhi.