Priyanka Chatur...
Ever wonder why dramatic party desertions have been starring spokespersons of late? Gaurav Bhatia, Rahul Narvekar...and of course the two big ones from the Congress. One just before the elections, Tom Vadakkan, and now Priyanka Chaturvedi. Simple. Well, a lot of cross-party fertilisation happens right in the TV studios, where they come into contact with the other side and a lot of off-stage networking happens.
Priyanka, a protege of Randeep Singh Surjewala, has cited the recent reinstatement of party members who had abused and harassed her in Mathura some two years ago as the reason for her quitting. But while she took the high ground on a core gender issue, the fact is that she has been in talks with the Shiv Sena for about six months. Her objective then was to wangle a Rajya Sabha seat for herself. And now, it was her thwarted ambition for a Lok Sabha ticket from Mumbai that was the final trigger. Indeed, she did try to join the BJP too.
But her words as Congress spokesperson came back to haunt her there. Smriti Irani, against whose educational qualifications Priyanka had been quite vocal, made sure that her routes into the BJP were blocked. The Sena, then, was the only other viable option for her -- in terms of her assessment of landing on the winning side post-election. Who knows, perhaps that Rajya Sabha seat beckons too.
Whose case it Anyway?
Why was the media space abuzz on a non-political issue in the middle of a general election? Well, serious charges have been laid against the Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, involving inappropriate behaviour against a former Supreme Court employee.
The charges themselves found media play, and are of a dramatic nature. Their veracity or otherwise will be the subject of scrutiny of a bench to be constituted. Now go back to that phrase, “non-political”.
Nothing as big on the scale of events can really be non-political, can they? Chief Justice Gogoi, in a sitting today, alleged a conspiracy to frame him. By whom? Well, there are all sorts of theories.
The Supreme Court is going to be examined a variety of big-ticket cases, pertaining to all sides of the political divide. Take your guess.
Rising star
K.C. Venugopal, the recent import from Kerala to the central AICC echelons, is the rising star in the Congress.
It was he apparently who finally decided on Wayanad as a constituency for Rahul Gandhi. He is also apparently in the loop of decision-making on the precise trajectory for Priyanka Gandhi.