Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat has recently started to put pressure on Nitin Gadkari and Narendra Modi that Sanjay Joshi be reinstated in the party. It is possible, thus, that in the days to come, Joshi may get a significant responsibility in the party.

Sangma and Gadkari got along well at a time, and it is believed that Gadkari played a big role in getting Sangma get close to Jayalalithaa and Navin Patnaik. Gadkari had also told Sangma that the BJP’s first choice was Dr Kalam but in the changed scenario, it was ready to support Sangma. But the minute the whiff of Gadkari-Sangma friendship reached Sharad Pawar, he got in touch with Gadkari and reminded him of their friendship. After this Gadkari went on the backfoot on Sangma.

On the other hand, BJP heavyweight Jaswant Singh is restless to become the President. The party may not have circulated his name for the post, but he is meeting the leaders of other parties and lobbying for himself. A few days ago, Jaswant Singh went and met SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and asked for his support, too. Vice-president Hamid Ansari, Central Minister Faroukh Abdullah and Dr Karan Singh are nurturing the same thoughts. Pranab Mukherji is patiently waiting for his turn and knows that the Left and Mamata Banerjee will not oppose his name. He also has somewhat nice relations with the BJP and it seems he has in a strong position as of now. Mamata Banerjee had floated former West Bengal Governor Gopal Gandhi’s name but doesn’t look like it will work. Gopal Gandhi is a former IAS officer and a secretary to former President R Venkat Raman. It may not be so easy for a secretary to become President. At such a time if Mulayam Singh proposes APJ Abdul Kalam’s name, the entire NDA coalition in the Opposition may have to toe the line in favour of his name and in any case, India can’t get a better President.

The search for the name of Congress Legislative Party leader in UP Assembly is over. Two names have emerged – Madhukar Narayan Singh and Pradeep Mathur, of which one of set to become the CLP leader.

Sangh head Mohan Bhagwat has made up his mind to get Nitin Gadkari his second tenure as the party president. The Sangh wants Gadkari to stay in the post till 2014 so that leaders such as Advani, Joshi, Sushma, Jaitley and Rajnath can be kept under control. Sangh has also made it clear that Narendra Modi will be the party’s face for the 2014 elections. The Sangh has made its intentions clear by making a little-known Lakshmi Shankar Pandey the party president in UP; Dharmendra Pradhan and J P Naddha will also be a part of Gadkari’s future team. Murlidhar Rao may be the party’s next secretary. And if there is too much opposition with making Gadkari the president again, lightweight leaders such as J P Naddha, Shanta Kumar or Sushil Modi may be made the next national president of the BJP.

New Chief Minister Akhilesh Singh continues to tighten the noose around officers close to Mayavati in order to tell them who’s the boss. A Bill will be introduced in the UP Assembly shortly, and according to the same, such officers in Maya government will not be suspended but their services terminated. Some officers close to Mulayam-Akhilesh are themselves drafting the Bill.

There are questions being asked on the CBI’s role in several defence deals. The CBI’s record is nothing to envy when it comes to defence deals and matters relating to the same. Since 2004 to 2012, the CBI has registered 18 cases and they have been concerning bureaucrats, army officers and officials related to the defence ministry. Of these, a charge sheet has been filed for 13 cases. Two cases have been closed for lack of sufficient evidence and three cases are pending because there has been insufficient information from other countries related to the cases.

After the Parliament break, the government is going to take a decision during the Budget session that it is rolling back the decision to put a 1 per cent tax on gold jewellery, as was decided in this year’s budget. Actually, the problem for jewellers doesn’t lie in the one per cent tax but are scared that an excise inspector will be sitting on their heads in the name of this tax of one per cent

It was the farewell party of those who had been Rajya Sabha members. The prime minister himself was present at the high table. BJP spokesperson and usually-excited leader Prakash Javdekar put the prime minister in a fix because the PM didn’t have an answer to his query. What happened was that Javdekar, in the course of a conversation, asked the prime minister, “Sir, was yours an arranged marriage or a love marriage?” The PM didn’t know what to say and was seen getting shy and avoiding the question.

During the break after the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, the Congress may consider the appointment of new governors. Several officers close to the Congress may be in a stroke of luck. There were talks that the former director of Enforcement Directorate Arun Mathur may get the responsibility of a significant state. It is worth mentioning here that Mathur got retired only last month.