It is being said that when Sheila found out about Rahul’s reluctance to have her name as the chief ministerial candidate, she got really upset. What’s more, she cited her health reasons and refused to accept the offer. Then it fell upon Rajiv Shukla to placate her, who went to her home with a special message from Priyanka and Rahul, and succeeded. Priyanka’s logic was that only allegations had been made against Sheila. She could not be charged with any thing. It is said Priyanka also put the argument in front of Rahul that the charges against Lalu Prasad Yadav, the main pracharak of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar elections had been proved.

The recent reshuffle in Modi’s Cabinet has made it clear that every ministry is under the eagle eyes of the PM and the PMO, and that a review of each ministry is done at intervals. For instance, a few days ago, Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Seetharaman’s department secretary got a call from the PMO that the PM would like to speak to him. The prime minister himself spoke to the shocked secretary and asked questions about several important matters of his department, and then signed off by saying, “I’ll come visit you one of these days.” As soon as he hung up, the secretary went rushing to meet Ms Minister and told her the entire thing. For a moment, even Nirmala Seetharaman was taken aback; she was even more surprised when she found out that the PM had mentioned coming to visit the ministry. Sources say when Seetharaman could not contain her curiosity any longer she called the PMO, wanting to know when the PM would come to her ministry. She was told, “Hold on for a minute, I will ask sir and let you know.” The reply came within half-a-minute, and Ms Minister was told that the PM has said this was a matter between him and the department secretary; what did it have to do with the minister? Seetharaman understood the entire thing and she brushed the matter under the carpet.

The phone call went to Uma Bharti’s department secretary as well, and the PM called for him and both had a long one-to-one conversation. Sources say Modi’s real worry was about Namami Gange, and he asked for a clear picture of the same from the secretary. When Mr secretary came to the department after the meeting, Bharti, who had been eagerly waiting for him, called for him and wanted to know what had transpired. But the clever secretary gave a very roundabout reply and Ms minister didn’t realize until the end what the conversation had been about.

A similar incident took place with Central Minister of Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan. When the department secretary told him that there had been a long conversation with the prime minister, Paswan, who aces the political game, played a bigger hand. He surprised the secretary by saying, “Yes, I know; when coming out of the room after the Cabinet meeting, the PM spoke to me and said that he would be speaking to you in the next few days.” Sources say Paswan did not care to find out about the conversation between the secretary and the prime minister. He knew that he won’t get a clear answer even if he asked. Paswan handled the matter in his own way.

Organising iftar by different embassies in the country is a tradition that has been going on for some time now. The American embassy also used to organized an Eid get-together, but since there was no iftar party from the Centre this time, the embassies of other countries in India kind of sensed Modi government’s attitude and didn’t organize any iftar. But the American embassy that would organize an Eid party held an iftar. The event took place at New Delhi’s Hotel Ashok; 80 guests were invited but more than 100 turned up. Sources say the embassy was inspired by the Sangh’s branch organization “Muslim Rashtriya Manch”, which is headed by Indresh. He had organized a big iftar party on behalf of his organization and surprised everyone.

Having been busy with the launch of Reliance Jio for the past 18 months, the Ambani family has taken a vacation to south France. The special thing is that actor Ranbeer Kapoor is also a part of the Ambani family vacation this time. After this, Mukesh Ambani’s son Akash and Ranbeer Kapoor will head for Denmark’s Copenhagen from there, where they want to attend the Cold Play concert. Ambani’s daughter Esha was a special guest at a fashion event organized by Europe’s powerful industrialist Bernard Arnault. At the same time, Mukesh and Nita Ambani were seen spending most of their time with each other.

In a way, the Sangh has given up in front of the Modi-Shah duo regarding their favourites. The way Smriti Irani, who is a favourite of prominent Sangh leader Krishna Gopal, has been taken out of human resources and given the textile ministry, is an indication that all is well between the duo and Sangh. Sources say Smriti has been advised that she should let go off her stubborn nature, or she might have to say bye to even a Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat. Sources say those close to Irani are putting it out that she might be projected as the chief ministerial candidate from UP. But a few days ago, the editor of a big English daily newspaper met Amit Shah and asked him about it. Shah didn’t mince his words; he dismissed the idea and said, “No way.” So has Smriti Irani played her most happening political innings already? Will this ruler of headlines have to satisfy herself with being on the sidelines?

Our famous prime minister, who is trying to write a new political script for the country in today’s changing times, is getting caught in the web of stars and their orbits. The prime minister, who is struggling with a Cabinet reshuffle, has been advised by some of his reliable astrologers about the auspicious time and date when then the Cabinet changes can be made. Reliable sources from the PMO that the dates of July 4 and September 1 have been named as the most auspicious. Some more dates are also available, which the PM’s astrologers have termed auspicious. On June 29, a marathon meeting between the PM and Amit Shah took place and the Cabinet reshuffle was discussed. The next day, that is June 30, the prime minister spoke to his ministers about it. Sources say a miffed Yogi Adityanath is being placated, while Yogi wants to become the BJP’s face as the chief ministerial candidate in UP. There were talks that Purshottam Rupala might replace Anandiben in Gujarat, but considering Anandiben’s stern response to this, it has probably been decided that Rupala, too, will be given place at the Centre. Some 75-plus ministers might be made governors, and unconfirmed reports from sources say the news of a Cabinet reshuffle may be followed by Amit Shah’s announcement of a new team. On July 5 midnight, that is July 6, PM might go for his now-frequent foreign tour. The speculation is rife that the PM might do his Cabinet’s reshuffle on Monday.

MK Stalin of the DMK is very unhappy with the Congress these days. Last week he had come to Delhi and was requested by Ghulam Nabi Azad to come and meet Sonia Gandhi. He expressed his inability to do so and instead met 2 senior cabinet ministers. DMK is upset for 2 reasons: First that the Congress performed very badly in its share of seats that it was allocated winning 9/41. And secondly that with that low winning percentage the alliance lost. But they subsequently won above 50% of all their contested seats. The other reason is that with the Congress is looking increasingly weak, Stalin feels that for the next 2 years he must have a working relationship with the BJP so that it keeps them out of financial scrutiny and also gets some work done in their respective areas. He told Ghulam Nabi that Sonia was welcome to meet Karunanidhi in Chennai for a meal, but right now they could be equidistant from both parties.

Haryana Congress is witnessing a mammoth internecine struggle. With Kuldeep Bishnoi back in the fold, the anti Hooda camp has got emboldened. Kiran Chaudhary is positioning herself as the leader of the camp. Recently she hosted a lunch at her Delhi home, attended by Captain Ajay Yadav, Kuldeep Bishnoi, Randeep Surjewala, Ashok Tanwar and others. When Hooda got to know, he called her and asked her why she hadn’t called him, she said they happened to be in Delhi and therefore a lunch was hurriedly arranged. So, furious Hooda called a senior leader of the party that day itself and complained, stating that he shouldn’t be made to feel like an outsider else he will really become one soon. And show his strength in wrecking what is left of Congress in the state.