In his parliamentary constituency of Jangipur, Pranab Mukherjee was to
attend the inauguration of a school as a chief guest. This school was
to have started in the name of a now deceased Bengali woman, whom
Pranab Mukherjee knew well. So, his presence there was justified. The
program was to start at 2 p.m. but Pranab reached there an hour late.
As soon as the program started, Pranab took the mike into his hands
and started off. The organisers were left shocked, as per the schedule
Pranab was to speak last as the chief guest. Aware of the surprised
look on the faces of the organisers, `dada’ himself handled the
situation well – `I know that I was to speak last, but pardon me
because if I would get late then my helicopter would not be able to
fly to Kolkata’ … and then Pranab continued with his extempore speech.

When the newly nominated BJP president Nitin Gadkari paid a courtesy
call to Sushma Swaraj at her 8 Safdarjang official residence, he was
greeted with much fanfare. Sushma herself performed `arti’ on the
Gadkari couple, applied vermilion `tilak’ on their foreheads,
presented them with a shawl and took them inside the house. Sushma
knew that since Gadkari is a diabetic patient so he would avoid
sweets, so there was a range of salty dishes. Everyone knows that
Gadkari is fond of eating and drinking. When a journalist asked him
about this habit of his, Gadkar explained in his own inimitable style
– `In BJP’s constitution, there is a restriction on taking bribes, not
on having good food.. ` and he immediately went back to food,
something he really loves.

In this Parliament session, those aspiring for the post of Governor
were seen spending most of their time chatting or lobbying while
sitting or moving around the Central Hall. The pulse of the weather
tells us that in the days to come the States of some of the Governors
could be changed. There are also some Governors who have the
responsibility of two States with them. So, now the time has come for
announcement of the names of some new Governors too. The Congress high
command believes that N.D. Tiwari while being in the Andhra Pradesh
Raj Bhawan failed to find a commonly acceptable political solution to
the vexed Telangana issue. So N.D. Tiwari can be shifted to some other
State. Shivraj Patil’s tenure as Rajya Sabha MP is coming to an end
and so he too could be elevated. Prime Minister’s secretary T.K.A.
Nair has also joined the race for the post of Governor. The names of
Santosh Mohan Deo, Padmanabaiah and Shivraj Patil are coming forward
for the post of Governor of Punjab. Former Defence Secretary Shekhar
Dutt is a close relative of Sonia’s favourite Pulak Chatterjee and he
too has entered the race for Governor. In such a scenario, the problem
before the Government is serious, who all should be elevated.

It was when Pranab Mukherjee was away to Jharkhand for the election campaign and he was busy preparing a strong message for the Maoists that the much talked about statement of the Home Minister came on Telangana. And simultaneously, the soft stand of the Congress on the issue of Telangana also came forward. This really annoyed Dada. Though Chidambaram tried to give an explanation to Dada over the phone, but it did not lessen his anger in any way. When he returned to Delhi, Sonia called him and told him to find an acceptable solution to the Telangana issue. Then Dada called a meeting of the alliance partners of UPA. And in that meeting, this issue was put to consideration. So in the days to come, there is a plan to put the issue of Telangana in a cold storage. The Congress has already suffered the damage it had to.

What will BJP president Rajnath Singh do after giving up the post? Is this worth asking because we had earlier mentioned in this column that the Thakur leader would now be concentrating fully on U.P. and he would pose a formidable challenge to the Mission 2010 of Rahul Gandhi. Rahul is young and Rajnath also believes that he is young and so these days he is rampantly calling the leaders of U.P. and inviting them over tea to his residence. But in Rajnath’s list comprises mostly those regional satraps who have either lost elections in the recent past or who do not have much of a political base in the State now: for example Kalraj Mishra, Om Prakash Singh, Vinay Katiyar and the like.

The marriage of BJP leader Gopinath Munde’s doctor daughter was recently solemnised in Pune. The mahurat of the Friday wedding was at 6-21 in the evening. But since Advani’s flight got late, he reached the venue with his dear Arun Jaitley at 9-20 p.m. And in the list of
the chief guests too Advani’s name was probably the last because before him leaders like Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Ramlal, Ashok
Chauhan, Chhagan Bhujbal, Narayan Rane, Venkaiah Naidu and Sudhanshu Mittal had arrived. Ashok Chauhan, Mittal, Rajnath Singh and Venkaiah were among the leaders who arrived the earliest.

Now the big question is by when will the new president of the saffron party form his team? Perhaps till April and the most explosive return could be of Sanjay Joshi who is facing the brunt of the CD scandal. It is being said that Joshi would have an important role to play in Gadkari’s team. And now even the secret is allegedly out on what role the Chief Minister of Gujarat had played in embroiling Joshi in the CD scandal. It is also being revealed that in the CD in question the real face was of Sohrabuddin and Kausarbi. Sohrabuddin’s face had been morphed and replaced with that of Joshi. Look at this fact, not the face, the fact is true the face false … but is Joshi ready to strike back at his opponents?

The Sangh has started searching the history and geography of the very Anglicized Uday Singh alias Pappu Singh. And Uday Singh’s present and past bears testimony to how his family is divided among various political parties; like his sister Shyama Singh and brother-in-law Nikhil Kumar are at the mercy of the Congress, brother N.K. Singh is famous for his Ambani and Congress connections, he is a Rajya Sabha MP from JD(U) quota and these days his only ambition is to bring Nitish Kumar and Congress together on a common platform. So, the Sangh is of the considered view that people like Uday Singh do not believe in politics of ideology but of convenience. And these people are given to individualistic politics rather than party politics and this is also their ladder to success. So the Sangh does not believe in paying heed to the advice or comments of such people.

While the outgoing president of BJP Rajnath Singh seems to represent the rural India through his dhoti-kurta attire, the `president-in-waiting’ Gadkari is usually seen in shorts and `bundi’ (vest) in his Mumbai home. And what Gadkari does have in the name of wealth can be seen in this list – a few sugar mills, one distillery and a PVC pipe factory. And his manner of talking is also not that of the Sangh, he falls short of expressions when it comes to picking up the right words.

Advani is pained and hurt at Sangh’s attitude. Advani’s pain is clearly reflected in his words that `what is my fault if I have turned 83? When Morarji bhai had turned 82, who had asked him to step down?’ But Sangh has its own argument. Sangh says that it had handed the reins to Advani when he was 44 and ideally Advani should have made way for the next generation 15 years ago and should have himself taken up the role of a mentor. But in this matter, Advani has been very rigid and insists that `there is no power without post’. Earlier, the Sangh was agreeable to having a new post for Advani in the party, but his adamant nature has made the Sangh uneasy and in the changed scenario the Sangh is only appealing that `Advaniji you have to go by December’. And Advani on the other hand is not ready to call it quits yet.