Will Kamal Nath bloom in MP?
So the MP chief minister has got creative with words: "BJP already has one kamal, it does not need any other Kamal.'' This came by way of a denial that Congress veteran Kamal Nath was about to join Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s party. Well, Kamal Nath's name was not mentioned when news surfaced in a social media group in Delhi that a 'top leader close to 10 JP is about to join the saffron camp'. The Bhopal media was less kind. They splashed KM's name all over. To be fair, Kamal Nath vehemently denied talking to Amit Shah. But he's not denying what's being whispered in party circles: that he actually met Sonia Gandhi and proposed to take care of the Madhya Pradesh elections next year -- provided he's made the PCC chief. News of his impending rumoured defection surfaced subsequently. Before Nath, Amarinder Singh and Virbhadra Singh had to adopt similar lines to get the Congress high command to back them in their respective states. The problem with Madhya Pradesh is that Rahul Gandhi is still keen on Jyotiraditya Scindia. Though the latter would rather be deputy leader of the Lok Sabha than try his luck in Bhopal.
Mehbooba’s mission
Mehbooba Mufti is indeed coming to Delhi, but not to ward off another spell of President's rule in her state, but for the NITI Aayog meeting. It's another matter that governor N N Vohra in his report, citing the Srinagar-Badgam bypolls violence, suggested such a course of action. But more than her PDP, it's the BJP legislators of Jammu who are dead against going into 'suspended animation'. All this may come up when Mehbooba meets the PM on the sidelines of the NITI Aayog meet.
Another tussle
While on N.N. Vohra, the J&K guv has another crisis on his hands. He's being pushed into the IIC president's job, which is currently held by jurist Soli Sorabjee. As the 87-year-old Sorabjee battles it out with another life trustee of the hallowed club, 88-year-old Kapila Vatsyayan, others want Vohra to take over. Not that Sorabjee is being allowed to vacate the chair by his favourite official. Meanwhile, two ex-diplomats are in the race for the fifth life trustee slot, Lalit Mansingh and Shyam Sharan. The slot has been vacant since M.G.K. Menon resigned. The bigger question is whether this is a sign of an imminent change of guard in Kashmir, as has been speculated upon for a while? Apparently not. Vohra has been on an extension for a while. He is an old Kashmir hand, and the the government is unable to get a replacement.
In the heat of the moment
Tamil Nadu politics is so heated over the merger talks between the two AIADMK factions -- which seem to be going nowhere -- that any political movement is blown out of proportion. TNCC chief Su. Thirunavukkarasar got into a flap when he met film star Rajnikanth recently. It was later found that it was only to invite Rajni for his son's wedding!
Queen of gossip
Gossip column writing has become a little more staid affair. What with the Queen of Gossip, whose snippets have not just led to Lok Sabha disruptions but had everyone from Lutyens' conclave to the state enclaves scurrying for cover, calling it quits. Nora Chopra passed away last Wednesday, leaving her readers bereaved.