Balram Jakhad may be 88 years old but age is not coming in the way of his ambitions. Suited in a crisp bandgala suit and looking dapper, Jakhad met Sonia Gandhi on Friday at 10.15 in the morning and requested her to give his political career a boost. A surprised Sonia could only stare at him.

The second-generation BJP members agree on this – Advani should now retire from politics. But Advani is no green thumb and is using pressure tactics through the Vivekananda Foundation. The foundation is headed by former IB head Ajit Doval, and others such as BJP’s thinktank Govindacharya, S Gurumurty, who is said to be close to the Sangh Parivar, and Subramaniam Swamy are a part of the organization. The moment a cable was leaked regarding Arun Jaitley and Hindu opportunism, S Gurumurty promptly wrote a letter to the Sangh head Mohan Bhagwat with the Wikileaks as the topic. Advani is not only displaying political acrobatics, but is also taking extra care of his health. After all, he is getting ready for a long political innings.

A new chargesheet is going to be filed on April 25 about the 2G scam and prominent players may be named in the same. Loop Telecom, which belongs to Essar, Videocon as well as Kanhimozhi may be at the receiving end of the chargesheet. Several may even be jailed, and some behind bars may be granted bail.

Delhi BJP is a little worked up with its party president’s big mouth. The silly saffron party doesn’t realize that it is through his oratory that Bijendra Gupta has reached the Delhi politics from neighbourhood politics. Since the poor man has lost the Majnu ka teela elections, no political person is ready to come close to him. It is worth seeing him and his wife Shobha Vijendra in the Delhi BJP party. Those against him in the party say that nowadays, more than the party, Gupta is concentrating on his wife’s NGO Sampoorna. A few days ago, National Mahila Morcha President Smriti Irani met Nitin Gadkari and complained a lot about Gupta saying that the person has become the party in Delhi and that she is being constantly ignored here. Smriti considers it an affront to her and openly believes that Delhi BJP is working on the orders of Shobha Vijendra. Wonder what the party president must have said to pacify her.

No matter what the popularity chart of Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley has to say, his popularity has crossed geographical borders and he has got an invite from the US state department to visit the country. Jaitley will be in the US from June 21-27, and not as an Opposition minister but in a personal capacity. As it is, he has lot of friends and family in the country – at least half-a-dozen relatives from east coast to west coast.

Ever since Prithviraj Chavan has taken over the chief minister’s post in Maharashtra, he’s been more worried about RTI than the Opposition party. As a result he is so wary of signing files that the rate of progress in the state has almost stalled. Actually, BJP’s Kirit Somaiya approached the CM with a file that was a confidential one dealing with a space deal. Surprised, Chavan asked Somaiya, “Where did you get this file from? I had merely glanced at it when I was a state minister in the PMO?” “But these are your signatures,” replied Somaiya. The worried minister agreed that they indeed were his initials, but had signed only because he has been asked to, by the PMO officials. Somaiya then told him that he had got all these documents through the RTI. Since then Maharashtra’s right to information is taking a toll on the right to work.

“Kya tej jagmagati thi quatil ke haath mein/ ab uski aasteen mein to khanjar bhi na raha…” Women’s blush and red lipsticks remind him of the terrorism in J&K. When he became the information and broadcasting minister in the NDA government in 1988, he gave his house in Allahabad to his own ministry’s “Song and drama division” at the quoted price. When he became the party spokesperson, he was caught consuming alcohol in the party headquarters on 11, Ashok Road. On Advani’s insistence, he was removed from the post, he lost the Lok Sabha elections from Rampur dismally, and currently he calls himself the party’s spokesperson, but isn’t. But if journalists covering the BJP beat are to be believed, there is no one better than him when it comes to “off the record” quips, and is also called the party’s “Off the record twitter”. This Friday, party President Nitin Gadkari ran him down, but doesn’t look like Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is going to mend his ways anytime soon. What to do: “Wo bhi manzilon ki baatein kartey hain, jinka apna pata nahi hota.”

A lot is happening against Anna’s troupe in the political corridors, where Justice Sawant’s report is a thorn in Anna’s side. (Anna was pronounced guilty in a defamation case, but the state government later pardoned him), There are documents against Shanti Bhushan regarding the Anand Vihar robbery, a case against land in Allahabad, while there is a matter against Prashant Bhushan owning a house in Palampur, a file against Kiran Bedi by Mizoram’s IB, because of which she couldn’t become the police commissioner as well as her daughter’s admission into a medical college. Against Swami Agnivesh there are letters by donor agencies against him, which have been distributed by Kailash Satyarthi. When Arvind Kejriwal was in the revenue services, there are documents about his deportment proceedings and documents about Santosh Hegde’s father’s trust, which also runs a medical college. All in all, there’s a lot flying around in Delhi, you just need to sniff it out.

The Congress also feels that Anna and company’s people are trying to meet their own ambitions. For instance, Kiran Bedi, who couldn’t become the capital’s police commissioner, is now eyeing the CVC’s post. Unable to become a part of the NAC, Arvind Kejriwal wants to have a say in the UPA, while Santosh Hegde wants to become the Lokpal, while Anna wants to see all of these disciples of his become something or the other.

Why is the Congress showing so much aggression against Anna Hazare and party? It is clear from Sonia’s letter to Anna dated April 13 in which she clearly writes in the second para that through Aruna Roy as the council member, the National Advisory Council was always working on the Lokpal Bill’s transparency, answerability and governance from the beginning. And the team of Roy and Harsh Munder met with the Bhushan father and son, Arvind Kejriwal and Santosh Hegde regarding the matter. The Congress feels that Anna and his people are trying to own the idea from the NAC and sat at Jantar Mantar in agitation.