It looks like Gehlot may have to go, more sooner than later. The accusations of trying to protect Maderana in the Bhanwari Devi episode may not be too serious for Gehlot, but his inefficiency with administration is being looked at by the Congress high command seriously. He has lagged behind in trying to being all castes together and making them work together as one. Usually, the Congress formula that would work in Rajasthan was that no matter which caste the chief minister belonged to, the state head was always made keeping in mind the caste equations in the state. And this is where Gehlot tripped. He made the state head one of his own people – Chandrabhan – and is having to face the ire of the Jat votebank. The Congress high command is considering two names for Gehlot’s position – Shanti Dhariwal and C P Joshi. Which means Gehlot may have to pay the price of all the corruption in the state. The other issue that the party people have against Gehlot is that a lot of importance is being given to people from outside.

On the occasion of Diwali, BJP’s National President Nitin Gadkari organised a dinner for journalists in Delhi. A horde of journalists attended the do at his residence at 13, Teen Murti Lane – almost to start a stampede. But Gadkari met all journalists candidly and was proudly telling people how he had lost 11 kg in the past few days. A foodie, he stayed away from the food area. Rudy kept him company all the time, Nirmala Sitaraman was surrounded by journalists all the time, albeit Tarun Vijay looked a little aloof from everyone else. Gadkari’s media advisor Ashok Tandon and Raj Kumar Sharma acted like hosts and asked after the well-being of those present. Manoj Gaikwad was the most active and flitted from table to table asking after everyone. Dinner was a lovely array of Maharashtrian dishes – from Jhumpa Bhakri to Marathi-style Baigan ka chokha. As a diabetic, Gadkari may stay away from sweets but for the journalists, there was everything from jalebi and gulab jamun to ice creams. The ice cream was a tad hard, but Gadkari was all soft and yielding with the journalists.

Regarding the 2G scam, the CBI has appeared before the court and said it will not contest Kanhimozhi’s application for bail. Which means the UPA government is under direct pressure from the DMK. But there are also indications that Jayalalithaa doesn’t seem to be sharing a good equation with the Congress and so the party will now have to look to Karunanidhi again.

Yeddyurappa is not welcome in Advani’s yatra since the charioteer of the rath, Anant Kumar is an announced Yeddy rival. Advani’s rath will enter Karnataka on October 31. But Anant Kumar and Karnataka BJP President E S Ishvarappa have decided that Yeddyurappa will not be seen anywhere near the rath. When asked by the journalists, Anant Kumar says that it is up to the core committee to decide who will come and who will not be invited.

The organizers of the rath yatra set down a guidelines for the same. According to this, when there are people on the dias, the first row will be occupied by Pratibha, Anant Kumar and Deepak Chopra. The other senior party members will sit in the second row. It also says that only Advani, Pratibha and Chopra will wave to the government as a form of greeting and none of the other members will do the same.

It remains to be seen if Advani’s rath yatra will make the BJP announce him as the prime ministerial candidate or not, but it will surely decide his successor. Before his yatra, there was a lot of activity in the Advani household and Advani’s wife Kamla wanted that their son Jayant should accompany him on the yatra so that the saffron gates of politics open up for him. On the other hand, Advani’s daughter Pratibha is of the view that Jayant is not fit for politics and so, against the mother’s wishes, Pratibha is accompanying her father on the rath yatra, as she is already a daddy’s girl.

Advani’s rath has been made in Pune and Prakash Javdekar has played a crucial role in the same. The rath has two generators, a great sound system and a lift as well. The doors are hydraulic and close automatically the minute the rath starts to move. Things went bad in the beginning when the exhaust fans in the rath broke. The minute the fans broke, the fumes from the generator started to go into the air-conditioner duct. The fumes then started to fill the cabin. The fumes rose to such alarming levels that the carbon monoxide in the fumes started to choke the people. Jaitley, who was sleeping there, lost consciousness. C P Thakur took ill and started throwing up. And the doors in the rath just wouldn’t open because they would open only when it stopped and Advani didn’t want the rath to stop and his yatra disturbed. But when things became too much, the rath was made to stop. The doors opened and people managed to come outside. Some people were moving forward making way for the rath but had come some distance far. They were called back since no other vehicle was traveling with the rath. A team of doctors was summoned and a cardiologist advised Jaitley not to travel at night. Sushma’s BP (135/80) and oxygen level (97) was normal. C P Thakur was given first aid and other leaders were taken away in other cars. When the rath traveled some more, it had a bumpy ride in Ara, and when it couldn’t maneuver the slope, its tyres were deflated, punctures treated and put back on. But Advani’s excitement level was still going strong.

Uttarakhand’s former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank is now trying to find a place for himself in national political arena. He is eyeing Tarun Vijay’s Rajya Sabha seat and feels that come what may, Vijay will have to relinquish his post in connection with Shahla Khan murder case. So he is already in the process of sharpening his skill to stake his claim on the seat. On the other hand, BJP’s central leadership wants Nishank to be limited to Uttarakhand politics. It is trying to convince Nishank that he will soon be made the Speaker and the present Speaker in Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly will be made a minister in the Khanduri government. Actually, the party knows that if the party does not keep Nishank on a tight leash, he may end up ruining 10 or more party seats. So the party’s plan is to keep him in the dream sequence of “Mungerilal ke haseen sapne”.

Knowingly or unknowingly, the Central Law Minister Salman Khurshid’s comments on the 2G scam have gone in favour of the corporates and against the court. The Congress party itself is shocked by Khurshid’s comments. Ten, Janpath had out him there in place of Verappa Moily only so that a general impression is given that the Congress is in favour of a strong law minister. There is still no clarity if Khurshid’s comments have come on directions from 10, Janpath or because of closeness to corporate houses. When Khurshid was the corporate affairs minister, he became close to several business houses. Such equations were handled by his wife Louis.

After 2G, this is the PMO’s second top secret note that could create another furor in the political alleys. This one has to do with a strict comment from the prime minister to the Stock Exchange Regulator. It is said that former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had a big role to play in the exchange’s well-being and to give it direction.