A new atmosphere has been created in Jharkhand with the political alignment of Congress and Babulal Marandi and following this arrangement the kite of Marandi’s party has taken such flight that party ticket aspirants are even offering up to Rs 1 crore for it. Babulal is definitely pleased with the development.

Former Karnataka minister and a close associate of Yeddyurappa, Shobha Karandlaje, is constantly in tears. Ever since she was removed from the ministerial post, let alone senior party leaders, even small workers are not giving her any importance. Shobha’s biggest grievance is that the party asked for his resignation through the media and via Karnataka BJP president Sadanand Gowda. Yeddyurappa did not even talk to her, neither then and nor till date. When Shobha calls up, the Chief Minister refuses to take her call – `O’ love, it pains seeing your plight…’.

It appears that the Sangh has decided to take Advani head on. When Advani’s statement came in the media that “so what if I have turned 83, it is not my fault’, the Sangh immediately retorted stating that nowhere in the world is a Leader of Opposition more than 83 years of age and Advani can by no means match the young Rahul.

Lovers of Hindi are extremely upset with the United Progressive Alliance government’s disinterest in promoting the national language at the international level. The ministry of external affairs was assigned the task to lobby for Hindi as the seventh official language at the United Nations. But the one hundred crore project has not made much headway. As part of the programme, the ministry was supposed to have lobbied for Hindi in 50 countries. Activists feel that one major reason for the lack of an aggressive drive is the absence of Hindi-speaking ministers in the ministry. Neither SM Krishna nor his predecessors went beyond the routine to promote Hindi internationally.

Is something cooking between the saffron party and the red party? Is the change in the attitude of the comrades who once considered BJP untouchable indicative of new political equations? Or else how is it that when a senior leader of Communist Party of India Gurudas Dasgupta went to the house of Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj of BJP they had a long discussion spanning well over an hour. Sushma later issued a statement that this meeting was about floor management on the joint working of both the parties in Parliament. When the earth seems to be slipping from under the feet of both the parties, what is there for them to manage. Except for their political ambitions.

Advani has told the Sangh clearly that no matter what its leadership says, at this stage of his life he would not demit his position. He has made it clear that “I am 82 years old and my party is in great need of my experience. So I do not want to resign from my position. For reviving the party I will travel across the country.’’ The Sangh is astonished by this reasoning of Advani. So, the name that the Sangh is considering for the next president of the party is former Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parikkar who is an IIT graduate. A spicy statement of Parikkar has recently come in the media – `Pickle remains good for a year and putrefies thereafter.’ So is one to believe that Advani has also putrified.

Former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer is leaving no opportunity these days to loudly chant the Gandhi mantra. He is taking every step to hawk his loyalty to the first family of the Congress party. Having lost the last Lok Sabha polls, Aiyer is desperate for rehabilitation (read hold-on to his official accommodation), which doesn’t seem to be happening with the speed with which the former Minister would have wanted. He is losing no opportunity to tell the world that it was he who renamed Delhi ’s famous market Connaught Place as Rajiv Gandhi Chowk. He has gone to the extent of saying that those who still call it Connaught Place were anti-national. Now Mr Aiyer you would really have to work hard to find nationalists under this category — there aren’t many who are sold to your view on the issue.

The former Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Professor Jagdish Mukhi stands vindicated. The veteran of several electoral battles was first denied the opportunity to lead the BJP in the last assembly polls and then asked to vacate the seat of the Leader of Opposition for Professor Vijay Kumar Malhotra. Misfortune continued to trail him during the Lok Sabha poll, when he lost the West Delhi seat to Mahabal Mishra of the Congress. When the bypoll for Dwarka assembly seat, which Mahabal Mishra had vacated, was announced Mukhi pushed for the candidature of Pradhyuman Rajput ahead of former DUSU president Ashish Sood, taking the personal responsibility for party’s victory when nobody gave BJP a chance. With Lotus blooming in Dwarka, Mukhi has scored a point or two both within and outside the party.

Now the fight over who would be the next Chief Minister has ended in Haryana. It is as if all the three prominent Opposition parties have already laid down their arms and they too are praying for another term for Hooda. Now the moot question is who would be the next Leader of Opposition in Haryana? Kuldeep? Chautala? Or will Krishnapal be the lucky one?

This time Mayawati is treading cautiously. After burning her fingers on the Taj Corridor issue, Mayawati now sends every file to the Cabinet Secretary. So while the decision is hers, the signature is of the Cabinet Secretary or the sword continues to hang over the bureaucracy.