Home Minister P Chidambaram isn’t in an uncomfortable position for sure. The way there was so much ruckus in the Parliament on Friday and the Opposition was bent upon his resignation, one thing is clear – Chidambaram is now alone within the Congress itself. The issue of Delhi-based hotelier S P Gupta, who has come under the scanner for several scams, was also raised and he is said to be an old associate of Chidambaram. This man, who has made a stage in the name of Rajiv Gandhi, has been blamed of using letterheads of several Parliamentarians to further his own interests. It is said that this includes a fake letter by Sonia Gandhi as well. That is why 10, Janpath and its loyalists didn’t come forward to talk in favour of Chidambaram. It is also believed that Pranab Mukherjee is the cynosure of the eyes of 10, Janpath currently. That he doesn’t get along with Chidambaram is not unknown. At such a time, Sonia also wants to see another political calculation take its course. That, at a time when she knows that this hotelier may allegedly have links with the 2G scam, because Gupta and Raja got along really well.

Kapil Sibal is in a fix – six of his bills are pending in the Lok Sabha. Since the last session, none of his bills have passed in the Parliament and there is no scope in the future that they will.

Before the Lokpal Bill was introduced in the Parliament, four draft copies of the same were distributed. Of these copies, one was given to the Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, another to Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha, one was given to Advani, and it is said that another had reached Kiran Bedi through the back door. The Congress managers told Lalu about the different between the two bills, what Anna’s bill was about, what were the changes brought about by the BJP and all this made Lalu excited. And whatever he said in the Parliament proved to be profitable for the Congress. This trust that the Congress has on Lalu more than it does on Mulayam may be indicative of future equations. Two Congress managers had merely briefed Mulayam orally about the two bills but Lalu was sent a copy of the same.

Those who were there to notice Sonia’s mannerisms and body language during the Lokpal Bill debate must have clearly understood why the Congress was so aggressive and attacking towards Anna. A smiling and giggling Sonia during Lalu’s speech against Anna and Lokpal made it clear what her intentions were and people are well aware of it, too. But why is Sonia so upset with Anna? Anna has terribly upset Sonia by directly attacking Rahul Gandhi. After all, not only is Rahul Congress’ successor but also a PM-in-making. So this time, the Congress wants to settle scores with Anna.

The Congress may be confident in the Uttarakhand elections this time, but Opposition leader of the Congress Harak Singh Rawat is worried and shocked that he isn’t getting the seat he wants to contest the elections. Rawat is the current Assembly member of Landsdowne. But this time, the father of Uttarakhand Raksha Morcha Major TPS Rawat has proclaimed war against Harak Singh. TPS had quit the Congress and joined the BJP and then had quit the BJP and formed a party of retired armed forces officials. The major has proudly announced that he will personally pose a challenge to Harak Singh from Landsdowne and contest the elections from there. Looking for a safer seat, Harak Singh looked at Shrinagar, but before the Opposition leader could have settled down there, Satpal Maharaj announced that his protégé and former Assembly member Dhaundiyal will contest the elections from there. With no more choices, Harak Singh has now moved towards Doiwala for a decent safe seat. Initially, the Doiwala seat was under the Hardwar Parliamentary Area, but is now a part of the Dehradun Parliamentary Area. An alert Harak Singh is now trying to keep an ear out for opponents advancing.

Consider this: Who will speak in the Parliament on the Lokpal issue on December 27 on behalf of the BJP and the Sangh, who have always advocated transparency and correctness in political thinking? None other than respected Mr Anant Singh, whose Shrikatha Ananta is known to all. Be it the HUDCO scam or the Niira Radia case, everyone knows of Anant’s role in it. Looks like Dushyant Singh had such situations in mind when he said, “Is tarah toote hue chehre nahi hain/ jis tarah chaho baja lo sabha mein/ hum nahi aadmi hum jhunjhune hain.”

The BJP chief minister of Chhattisgarh Raman Singh, was until now, only being blamed for favouring his own. BJP President Nitin Gadkari conducted an opinion poll in Chhattisgarh and it is giving the party sleepless nights. The survey says that if elections take place in the current scenario, the BJP may see the verdict going against them. According to the survey, if the elections take place at present, the Congress may come out the winner with 55 seats. Under Raman Singh’s lead, the BJP will have to be content with 26 seats. In the popularity race, too, the saffron chief minister Raman Singh has slipped to the fourth position. Charandas Mahant stood first, then Vidyacharan Shukla, Ajit Jogi in the third place, and then Raman Singh. Is it time to write Raman’s farewell song?

Why wasn’t a special session called for in the Parliament for Lokpal? According to constitutional custom and tradition, the first session of the New Year starts with the President’s address. Three days after the Presidential address, three days are reserved for debate. But if a special session was organised for Lokpal, what would the respected President have said? It would also have clearly reflected the government’s policies. The government, thus, considered it better to continue with the current session rather than announced a new one.

The Congress is seeming confident in the five state elections. It is confident that it will fare much better in Uttarakhand and Punjab. The Congress’ hopes have lifted because of their coalition with Ajit Singh and Muslim reservation. Now the party feels that on its own, it can win nothing less than 50 seats. Ajit may also get close 20 seats and Mulayam Singh nearly 130. Which means Mulayam, Congress and Ajit Singh may, together, manage a majority this time.

Going through several political upheavals, the Congress’ dependence on its “crisis management group” continues to grow. Alienated in the government and the party, P Chidambaram, is also a part of this group. Other members of this group includes Kapil Sibal, Ambica Soni, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Salman Khurshid and Pavan Bansal. This ministerial group makes the final strategy for coping with the Opposition’s moves. Important decisions are taken by this group in room number nine in a meeting that takes place around one. Sometimes when this group does not meet in room number nine, it collects in Ambica Soni’s room. This is probably one of the reasons Ambica Soni and Kapil Sibal are often seen together in the PIB room.