Best suited

Nehruvian socialism may be dead and gone, but a bit of Nehru continues to live in the lives of most Indians, particularly the politically-inclined. The Jawahar jacket forms an essential part of the attire at the Delhi durbar and is considered to exemplify both chic and sophistication. It is a favourite with Nehru’s great grandson, who has taken to the trademark white of the Congress with gusto following the launch of his political career and is now rarely seen in anything else. Rahul recently led the Congress youth brigade to the prime minister’s to discuss the pros and cons of the national rural employment guarantee scheme. What struck the PM, who received them, was that the 10 other young men — Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada, Milind Deora, Sachin Pilot among them — who had followed Rahulbaba also wore the same clothes: white kurta pyjama and black Jawahar coat or black jacket. Dress alike, think alike! Hopefully, their connection with Nehru does not end there.

Mother figure

The dress code of the sanghis and the Congresswallahs is not too different. They don’t differ much in public conduct either. In fact, in sycophancy, the saffronites could give the Congresswallahs a run for their money. At a recent BJP meet at the Ramlila grounds in the capital, partymen were seen trying to catch the attention of the Advanis with the same keenness shown by Congressmen in the company of madam. While most confined themselves to addressing Mrs LK Advani as bhabhi, Rajnath Singh, the BJP chief, called her Ma. And with that, we may safely assume, the path has been cleared for the wife of the prime-minister-in-waiting to be accepted as the matriarch of the parivar.

Out of sight

There are other political traits in which the BJP could give the Congress a competition. Take factionalism. At a recent biggish Akali-BJP meet in New Delhi, Arun Jaitley was conspicuous by his absence. Yet, Jaitley was the principal architect of the BJP’s victory in Punjab. Inquiries revealed that the fault lay with the Akali organizers of the rally who did not want to annoy Rajnath Singh, who is known to be not particularly fond of Jaitley.

Bull fight

Smriti Irani has already occupied a pride of place in the hearts of countless saas, bahus and their patis. Come April, she might find place in the Rajya Sabha too, courtesy the nomination of Narendra Modi, who is supposed to have assured her of such a possibility. This has triggered an intense rivalry among BJP cardbearers on the Bolly(wood) and telly circles. Mukesh Khanna, Nitish Bhardwaj and Suresh Oberoi have registered their protest. They think that Smriti, despite being a late entrant, is getting all the cream. Whoever accused women of being selfish?

Travel free

Now that more and more private companies are getting contracts for building roads and bridges, the political class is becoming increasingly agitated. This is not merely because of losing out on lucrative contracts, but because of what is seen as the indelicacy of toll collection. The elected representatives of the people — and also those who aspire to become one some day — believe that since they are entitled to free air, train and bus travel, they are also free to go in and out of toll gates without paying a dime. With the general and assembly elections round the corner, MPs, MLAs and their cronies are taking more and more liberties with the toll-collectors, much to the consternation of state governments. The latter insist that MoUs signed with private players do not have a clause for VIP exemption. But, then, who’s listening?

Tough call

When the going gets tough, Akki gets going. Akshay Kumar recently found himself cornered by King Khan, who made fun of him by saying that given half a chance, Akki would perform at every wedding or birthday. Akshay promptly agreed with Shah Rukh and told the audience that he had in fact just got a call from Gauri Khan, asking him to perform at her son’s birthday. That fib was enough to shut up Khan for a while.

Footnote

Answer to the point

Digvijay Singh, AICC general secretary and member of the Madhya Pradesh assembly, was speaking at the assembly when his wife, Asha, walked in. Diggy is said to have paused and greeted his wife before continuing with his speech. That was enough to set off wild guffaws in the house, particularly among members of the BJP who could not get over the strange interlude. The speaker, Ishwardas Rohani, too joined in the merriment, observing that Digvijay “roars” in the house and “mews like a pussycat” before his wife. Quick-witted, Diggy did not let go of the opportunity to hit back, in his own polite way. He nodded in agreement with the chair and added, “Sir, I feel privileged to be in the same league as the chief minister of this state.” The reference was to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, whose wife, Sadhana, has often been accused of interfering in official work and appointments.