Congress riddles
Surprising as it may seem, the tattle in the Congress is not so much on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘takeover’ or who’ll become the new political secretary to the new Congress president. As it is, the old guard has arrived at a ‘working relation’ with the young chief, and Rahul has already put his key people in the frontal organisations of the party. Please note: It’s neither a ‘compromise’ nor a ‘rapprochement’ -- but a ‘working relation’, with a clear chain of command.
There isn’t that much anxiety that a dual power centre has been created and the old guard has enough free time to hotly discuss the third installment of Pranab Mukherjee’s memoirs. The specific point of discussion being whether Mukherjee really stood a chance of becoming PM in 2012 had Manmohan Singh been elevated to the biggest mansion on Raisina Hill as the constitutional head of the country.
CWC veterans dispute his claim and say a clear decision was taken when the 2009 manifesto was released that Singh will be the PM for the full tenure. Some veterans are wondering how this vital point escaped Mukherjee, otherwise known for his photographic memory. Well, this will remain another one of those Congress riddles that will never be solved, one of the old guard quipped.
Who’s behind it?
In Lutyens’ Delhi, where politics is done through intrigues, and intrigues through politics, what’s kept the conspiracy theorists busy this one week was the question of who could have been behind the story on the son of a powerful politician.
Initially, a close aide of a well-known industrialist was blamed. It was said the industrialist’s phone calls were not answered by the politician and the gesture was returned when the latter was in need of help. However, all that is being junked now. The new take is: The grand old party is striking back. It’s the GOP’s ‘dirty tricks’ department up to mischief. Three others could be in the line of fire next. With a secret sniper at work, there’s palpable fear in all camps.
The NDTV saga
Though the Roys have denied that their channel has been put on the block, the deal that was being spoken about seems to have fallen through. Apparently the promoters didn’t get a satisfactory offer. The channel’s liabilities, it seems, have come in the way. Nonetheless, to stay afloat the channel may need a new financial backer within the next three months. That’s the reason why many of its celebrity anchors and star reporters left or are leaving one by one. The attrition has hit the technical team as well.
The Gujarat trio
The grapevine has it that the Gujarat trio — Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mewani and Alphesh Thakor -- have been in talks with the Congress for some weeks now. It’s being said that one of them quoted constituency-wise price for support.
Thakor, however, is interested in finding a foothold in mainstream politics and that is influencing his decision. Negotiations are under way all around, and it seems the moribund Congress is opening up its purse-strings to rope in any young leader who can swing the elections. Some among the Congress old guard, however, crib that Shankersinh Vaghela should not have been allowed to leave the party.
Verma’s significant silence
Former diplomat Pavan Verma, who has been at a loose end in the JD(U) ever since his term in Rajya Sabha ended (with no scope of a renewal), was recently hauled up by Bihar Chief Minister and party boss Nitish Kumar after he took a critical view of the Election Commission’s delay in declaring the Gujarat poll dates. Kumar was angry enough to call up and instruct spokesman K.C.
Tyagi to publicly put Verma in his place, lest he damages his relation with the BJP any further. Verma, who people thought was exploring other options, has kept a significant silence ever since. He probably has in mind the fate that befell Sharad Yadav, who is about to lose his RS seat for crossing paths with Nitish.
Santwana Bhattacharya
The author is Political Editor, TNIE.
Email: santwana@newindianexpress.com