Petit Sushma Swaraj seems to be the ideal consensual choice of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Nagpur saffron commandeers. The Number Two in the khaki brigade in Nagpur, Bhaiyaji Joshi has been pushing the envelope for Swaraj for quite some time now.
Sources close to the goings on coo that even as BJP heavyweight Venkaiah Naidu met (till now) Congress chief Sonia Gandhi last Friday to iron out such ‘up-Hill’ issues, Swaraj came a clear First in the effort to have a consensual candidate. Though the Congress has been as silent as a cuckoo on a winter night on this, our ears and eyes in 10 Janpath assure us that out of a list of names of probable candidates for the post of President, Sonia Gandhi had raised no finger on just one such: Swaraj.
This despite the fact that a number of senior BJP satraps are still eyeing the top slot, which includes the likes of the now side-tracked old party builder Lal Krishna Advani, perhaps Naidu himself, the rendered-useless Indian finance minister Arun Jaitley, former heavy-weight Murli Manohar Joshi, sitting Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh as well as current Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Governors Vidyasagar Rao and Draupadi Murmu. These, even as some senior BJP players are also propping up the name of “Metro-man” E Shridharan. Also in the naming are RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, proffered by BJP’s ‘love-not-hate-not’ partner-in-arms Shiv Sena, as well as ‘Food-Man’ MS Swaminathan. However, sources close to the bosses tell us that Sushma is still the wining mare, to be politically correct.
Birds from the lawns of 7 RCR tell us that there has been a recent and long meeting between party boss Amit Shah, the PM and Ram Madhav on this issue, and even during that, Sushma has been found to be the most pleasant – and the one acceptable by the Opposition – face to grace the Hill-top.

It was just last week when an ambitious Venkaiah Naidu met the PM Modi with an urgent plea. Sources reveal that he told Modi: “I have been a ‘blind supporter’ of yours. Besides, I have been keeping an indifferent health these days. So, if I am given a good assignment (he meant Presidentship), I will be your obliged servant.” Modi, of course, retained by now his famous ambivalent silence.
However, during Naidu’s pleadings, there also appeared the emanation of former party strongman Murli Manohar Joshi, who had been given time to meet the PM at the same hour. Both Joshi and Naidu were crestfallen at seeing each other.
Apparently, Joshi told the PM: “I just need a few minutes with you alone,” to which Modi said, “Well, Venkaiah ji is also one of our very own, so you may speak your mind right in front of us.” On that, Joshi seems to have somehow mumbled: “I have served the party all my life. This calls for justice for me.”
Modi allowed a rare smile to escape his lips. That smile was an entire screenplay. Naidu was made part of the screening committee for the party’s next presidential candidate, just as finance minister Arun Jaitley and union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, both presidential aspirants were also turned from runners in the race to umpires in it!

If everything goes as planned, then Modi’s patron saint and crisis manager Venkaiah Naidu may well be the next resident of Raisina Hills, the Presidential Palace. The wily Modi, whose finger on the country’s political pulse has been proved repeatedly, calculates that getting a politician from the South will have a salutary impact. This, especially at a time when Modi and his political soul mate Amit Shah is desperate to get a strong entrée into the southern bastion. It is learnt that a couple of days ago, Modi held a critical meeting with top aides Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Nitin Gadkari on the issue of the Prez polls. There he is learnt to have proffered Naidu’s name and asked for the responses of the foursome. Sources say that apart from the political calculations, Modi also desires to pay off an old debt. At the time of the Gujarat anti-Muslim pogrom in 2002, Naidu was the party’s national president. The then Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya was majorly against Modi. The central leadership of the party had tried to tell Modi, much to his ire, not to make Pandya a prestige issue. But it is at this juncture that Naidu asked Pandya to stay away from the fray in the Gujarat polls. This, sources reveal, Modi considers a great favour. Which is also the reason that despite his abject failure as Parliamentary Affairs minister, Naidu today has two plum ministries under him: urban development and information & broadcasting. But a section of the party is also hoping that the moment Naidu’s name is officially announced the old skeletons in his cupboard will tumble out. It may be recalled that Naidu’s name had figured in a Rs 100 crore scam in the allocation for Andhra Pradesh when he was rural development minister in the Vajpayee government. That report by yours truly had appeared in Punjab Kesari leading to the Opposition virtually shutting down Parliament for four days.

Not long ago, this man was a mere doctor in Delhi’s Apollo Hospital. But today he has a firm grip on saffron politics. He is today the apple of party president Amit Shah’s eye. Naturally, he has not only been made one of the national general secretaries of the BJP, but has been made the whole and sole controller of two important states, both under the BJP. He has been given a plush ‘corner office’ in 14 Ashok Road, from where he manages his political wares. And all this power is clearly seen in his arrogant demeanour. He recently issued an undeclared diktat that all the MPs of a major northern Indian state must come and meet him and take political dictations. The same was told the party’s MLAs and leaders from that state. So, they queued up at his door and genuflected. They took his dictations and left for their state. However, one heavyweight MP refused to be cowed down. He clearly told doctor sahib that he takes his guidance and orders from Modi and Shah, and does not see the need for such obeisance to be paid to any other. The daggers were drawn. The doctor warned the MP and challenged him to see from where he gets the party ticket for the next elections. Not to be shouted down, the MP also vowed to end the doctor’s political career.

This is from about a fortnight ago. The biggest boss of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Mohan Bhagwat, went for a lunch at the home of the tallest of Bollywood stars, Amitabh Bachchan. Sources say that Amitabh and wife Jaya left no stone unturned to make it most comfortable for the RSS chief. Big B, in fact, went to the extent of touching the feet of Bhagwat and seeking his blessings. Later, Jaya went to the Mumbai airport and spent some valuable moments in his company at the airport lounge. It was only when she saw a Mumbai BJP MP (and a veteran RSS pracharak) reach the lounge that she took leave. A few days later, when Jaya was in Delhi to attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee, she was met with a senior Modi minister from Uttar Pradesh. Mantriji asked Jaya, “So how did you like our Sarsangh chalak?” Jaya waxed eloquent about the man’s politeness, his unassuming demeanour and so forth. In a manner of conversation then, Jaya said: “So Amitji has served the country all his life. Don’t you think it is time the country did something for him?” The mantra synaptically got the message and shot back, “So will he agree to become the next President of India.” The bees hum that Jaya did not respond to that but a streak of ambition did sparkle in her eyes.

Lucknow rumour mills are abuzz. Mulayam Singh’s younger brother, the much disgruntled uncle of Akhilesh, Shivpal Yadav had a long and ‘strategic’ meeting with BJP superman Amit Shah, aimed at some serious confabulations for the 2019 general polls. Insiders say that this is the start of the process of Shivpal merging his party or outfit into the saffron party just ahead of the 2019 polls. And the prize for him? Shah says Shivpal’s son Aditya will be given a ticket from BJP to contest for the Lok Sabha from Kannauj, to dethrone Dimple Yadav, Akhilesh’s wife, the sitting MP. Sources say it has been agreed between the twosome, Shah and Shivpal, that even if Akhilesh himself contests fro Kannauj instead of his wife, he would have to face his cousin Aditya at the hustings. That been agreed upon, Shah suggested that Shivpal should contest from Mainpuri, his elder brother Mulayam’s constituency. To which Shivpal, a good brother, no doubt, said a flat “No”. Instead, he suggested, he could contest from Etah, which has a huge Yadav vote bank. A smirk appeared, birds sing, on Shah’s face… this suited him two ways. Aditya against Dimple… Shivpal against? Well it goes like this. Etah is currently the stronghold of Kalyan Singh, a Modi bête noire, and his son is the Rajbir Singh is the MP from there. So since BJP has already gotten Kalyan’s grandson Sandip Singh to the Yogi Adityanath ministry in UP, it could take away Kalyan’s claims to the Etah seat under the clause of ‘one family one position’. So be it, erstwhile archrival Shivpal against party ‘comrade’ Kalyan!

The Union Minister for Minorities seems extremely keen to do his two bit to give shape to Prime Minister Modi’s slogan of inclusionism, “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” on development for all. The ministry had been carved out in 2006 for the development of the six notified minority communities in the country: Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, Christian and Sikh. But till now most ministers have taken this assignment as a ‘part-time’ one. But after Modi give this ministry to be run by his bold Muslim face, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the persona, so to say, of the ministry has undergone a sharp change. Last Friday, Naqvi actually addressed a press conference to outline the activities undertaken by his ministry. Particularly, Muslims are a focal point. One the one hand, Modi government is trying to build in assurance amongst Muslim women by hitting out against the triple talaq. On the other, the minorities ministry is putting in uncounted millions in developmental projects for the community. Sources in the ministry say that the ministry will announce a programme called Tehrik-e-Taleem on October 15 to mark the occasion of the birth anniversary of Maulana Azad. The idea is to identify 100 Muslim dominant districts in the country where new schools will be opened, old schools and madrasas repaired and toilets constructed in them and set up skill development programmes. Along with that, Ustad Samman Samagam, or felicitation ceremonies for stalwarts, will be held in the six biggest cities of the country, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow and Guwahati, where the focus will be on education, sanitation and communal harmony. Besides, the green signal has been given for creating 235 Harmony Halls in various places where people of all religions can congregate and communicate.

Now here’s the real saucy bit. How did the conspiracy so meticulously hatched by Kapil Mishra, Kumar Vishwas et all, against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, get exposed so ridiculously? Apparently, the drivers of Kapil Mishra and Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia are bum-chums. And one of these days, the former gave away the game to Sisodia’s chauffeur. “My boss is going to become the CM soon,” Mishra’s chauffeur gaffed to Sisodia’s. When this was ‘leaked’ to Sisodia, he immediately summoned Mishra and asked about the shady goings on. Sisodia, the birds coo and the bees hum, told Mishra: “There is going to be a cabinet reshuffle soon, and better be prepared for losing your chair.” Mishra apparently initially said “Okay”. But then, he went out and had a 15-minute chat on the phone with someone. Immediately thereafter, he went back to Sisodia’s chamber and in a threatening tone, said: “Kejriwal will have to pay a heavy price for this!” Then started the look-ins into the goings on. The rest, as the wizened say, is history.

Even as Arvind Kejriwal is still smarting at the upper cut his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) got in the Punjab polls, the organisation is agog with all kinds of rumours, straight out of a Tollywood B-grader. Apparently, the head of the party’s Punjab unit, Bhagwant Mann has submitted a tome titled “Why we lost in Punjab” to his boss, as many as four candidates have given it in writing that the money given for the polls hadn’t even reached the party funds in the state. But this is a minor side-show in the increasingly sleazy AAP affairs. For at least half a dozen women activists have alleged their modesty had been tested. Or twisted, as you please… in particular is the episode of a very pretty actress who has said much more. She comes from a village adjacent to Amritsar and is very well known for stunning looks and acting in South Indian films. She has actually threatened to post on Facebook the video of a very senior party leader making her the ‘Indecent Proposal’ in a top Chandigarh hotel. Her father is a top Leftist leader in Punjab and she herself had joined the party because she was interested in social service. And now the haggard leader desired her special service. The birds and bees are all aflutter that the moment Kejriwal learnt of the social media threat from the ’Pretty Woman’, he himself jumped in to save the party’s face. Kejriwal apparently assured the lady that he would personally resolve the issue and requested her not to blast the social media. So, for a while, the blast has been contained, but the way things are going, nothing can be taken for granted in AAP.

Narendra Modi and his political aide Amit Shah, the master blasters of the politics of check-mate, have finalised the plans for their Gujarat sweep. We have said earlier that the polls in the state may be advanced and held before the legal tenure of the present government is over. It is being learnt that to add to the BJP’s own strength, many top Congress leaders are beelining to the saffron party. Grapevine has it that stalwart state Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela is hugely upset with the party, and not only refuses to attend any state party rally or function, he did not even meet Rahul Gandhi when the latter visited the state recently. Apparently, then Rahul took the initiative to meet Vaghela. During the tête-à-tête, Vaghela is said to have put some tough demands to RaGa. The first is he should be made the party’s face in the next state polls; and second, that he should be given complete freedom in ticket distribution in at least 100 seats. But Rahul clearly said that the party would not declare anyone as CM-designate. Vaghela, in the meanwhile, has been in constant touch with Amit Shah through one businessman of Mumbai named Merchant. Besides, the BJP is also in conversation with two scions of former Congress biggies: Tushar, son of late Amarsinh Chaudhary; and Bharatsinh Solanki, son of Madhavsinh Solanki, and they may join the saffronite camp any day.