Murmurs for Murmu as President
There’s some anticipation in the BJP that the PM will reveal his mind on the presidential candidate on the sidelines of the national executive in Bhubaneswar. Till now the only clue from him, shared with NDA allies, has been that he wants a ‘consensus’ candidate. The Shiv Sena, which ditched the BJP in the last two presidential polls to back Pratibha Patel and Pranab Mukherjee, has pledged support this time only after the PM hinted at a consensus. But the real surprise may come from the Congress. Even as it confabulates with other opposition parties for a joint candidate against the BJP/NDA nominee, the GOP is keeping its options open. It’s not averse to ‘consensus’ provided someone like Jharkhand governor Draupadi Murmu is the candidate. A senior Congress leader admitted it would be “very difficult” for the party not to support the first tribal woman for the president’s post. Murmu is Santhal, a Scheduled Tribe with a sizable presence in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
She’s one of the reasons why Naveen Patnaik too has refused to commit the BJD to the opposition camp. Murmu was a minister in his cabinet when he was in alliance with the BJP. The Odisha CM is also waiting for Narendra Modi's announcement before he takes the final call.
Tharoor in MEA crosshairs
Smooth-talking MP Shashi Tharoor has really got into the crosshairs of the MEA. A claim that he would assist Sushma Swaraj in drafting a parliamentary resolution on Pakistan’s death sentence on Kulbhushan Jadhav forced her to issue a late night denial and neither foreign secretary Jaishankar nor national security adviser Ajit Doval were amused by Tharoor’s attempt to inveigle himself into the action. The case is considered so sensitive that even Swaraj read from a prepared text in Parliament. Those in the know said Swaraj chose to speak in English and not Hindi because every word of her statement was carefully chosen and vetted at the top level. In the aftermath of her denial, Tharoor was left to issue a lame defence about his services always being available to the country.
Spoiler brothers
The older Yadavs of UP, Mulayam and Shivpal, are not willing to learn. Despite the wipeout in the Assembly polls, they are coming in the way of a grand alliance with the BSP. Though Mayawati has a good equation with Akhilesh Yadav, and is willing to get into an anti-BJP grand alliance, Mulayam and Shivpal are not ready to forget the past. Such is their animosity for Maya, the Congress feels a tie-up of anti-BJP parties is impossible as long as the brothers are in the SP.
Papa’s connections
Supriya Sule has clearly inherited her father’s famed talent for cross-party friendships. It was in full display at a recent dinner she helped Sharad Pawar host in Delhi. The power elite of Lutyens’ Delhi – except for the Gandhis -- as well as top industrialists were in attendance.
Being out of power and badly losing the recent local body polls in Maharashtra seem to have had little impact on his clout and connections. The highlight of the evening was a Hindi film music medley played by a Mumbai DJ, specially flown in.
Three is better than two
Ever since minister of state Balbul Supriyo chaperoned Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina during her New Delhi visit last week, he’s been reeling out anecdotes. It seems, at one point, to impress the two PMs, Supriyo gushed about how Tagore’s poems serve as the national anthems of India and Bangladesh. Only to be corrected by Narendra Modi: “No three -- Sri Lanka also.”