Claiming to pioneer independent journalism and published from Delhi, a leading English daily newspaper was supposed to come out with a record of Modi government with a list of “10 best” and “10 worst” Central ministers, on December 31. The newspaper group had been working on it for one month. A survey agency had also been engaged for the same. Around Christmas, when an editor of the newspaper met Arun Jaitley, he mentioned it during a conversation and also let it slip who featured in the “best” and “worst” lists. The “10 worst” list was headed by a Central minister who is handling more than one portfolio, and who is known in the Parliament to be ill-natured and eccentric. And because this involved the government’s image, Jaitley sprung to action and got into the damage control mode. First of all, the minister was sent to the newspaper office to say the report should not be published. Mr Minister made a lot of requests, but the newspaper group didn’t change its stance. Sources say the PMO had to ultimately interfere and it was only then that the publication of the report could be stopped, and the minister heaved a sigh of relief.

A changed political situation, the Opposition’s attacks that have hit bull’s eye, a bruised ego, and problematic people from his own party have forced Prime Minister Modi to come out of his shell of self-delusion and self-praise. Is that the reason why he is forming new bonds of friendship with his enemies as well? He made some self-discovery about relations with Pakistan, and accepting Nawaz’s hospitality on the way from Russia-Afghanistan is just one example of Modi’s far-sightedness and his well-thought out strategy. A few days before that, he didn’t hesitate to meet his political rival Sanjay Joshi either. Sources say that at the behest of the Sangh Parivar, he met Joshi with great warmth and informality, and his general body language and countenance indicated that he wants to bury the hatchet and move on. But despite this, he didn’t make any promises to Joshi saying he will try to get him back in the party. Possibly, he wants to give some more time to the old friendship to germinate and bloom again.

An unprecedented loss in Bihar elections has forced Modi to change his strategy. Earlier, in the first phase of his political rise, he preferred to put his stakes only on faces that had a clean image. It didn’t matter if the regional satraps were facing ignominy; for instance, Manoharlal Khattar in Haryana, Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra, and Raghubar Das in Jharkhand. But sources say that in future elections, Modi’s intentions are to field only faces that stand a chance to win. In this, the first name to appear is the biggest Lingayat political leader from Karnataka – B S Yeddyurappa, who has recently been buried by the high court related to criminal cases against him. It seems the Modi-Shah duo is ready to put its stake on Yeddurappa in the coming Karnataka Assembly elections in 2018. That is because in the past two elections, the saffron party has had to face defeat in the absence of Yeddurappa. The Congress is in power in Karnataka at the moment and the public seems to be pretty upset with it. Another prominent power in Karnataka politics, Deve Gowda’s JDS, also seems to be on the verge of a split and several leaders are ready to change their party. Sources say a few days ago, Modi had clearly told his Cabinet minister and party’s veteran leader Ananth Kumar that he should stop meddling with Karnataka politics now, and should focus completely on politics in Delhi. Sources also say that Modi has also promised Ananth a meaty ministry; thus, in the next Cabinet reshuffle, he might get a crucial ministry such as telecom.

Last Wednesday saw IB’s annual endowment lecture being held at New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan. The initiation from the IB to give the lecture had been sent to Central Finance, Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley. During the question-answer session, IB’s former Additional Director Rajendra Kumar shot a piercing question at Jaitley. It is worth noting that this is the same Rajendra Kumar who had grabbed headlines regarding the famous Sohrabuddin case and Ishrat Jhan encounter in Gujarat. Rajendra Kumar’s question was, “People like us carry out our duties without any political ill-will. Then why is it that we are made scapegoats in the political game of chess?” Jaitley gave the answer in one sentence. “There is no bigger sin than political obligation.” People had understood what Jaitley was trying to indicate. It is worth remembering that before this, for last year’s endowment, the IB had invited DRDO’s then chief Avinash Chander. The chief lost his post only a few days after the lecture. Political turmoil has engulfed Jaitley from all directions ever since he gave the lecture, too. Is this a script for a familiar incident?

The day AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and his team cast aspersions at the almighty Arun Jaitley of the BJP regarding the DDCA case, a meeting of party politicians, which was presided over by Party President Amit Shah, decided the party’s spokesperson Sambit Patra will make Arun Jaitley’s view public, and will give relevant answers to the public. When Jaitley came to know about this, he was mighty upset about it. Sources say that without mincing his words, he told Amit Shah that he himself holds fort for any prominent BJP leader – irrelevant of whether he or she is a Cabinet minister — is in trouble, or has some serious charges against him. It is he who fields all the tough questions then. And now when he himself is facing charges, what can a mere party spokesperson manage to do? He then said that a Central minister should come forward to defend him, but the minister should be such that he or she does not have an image of being Jaitley’s prodigy. Thus, people such as Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Seetharaman and Dharmendra Pradhan must be kept off-stage. Jaitley then suggested Smriti Irani’s name. Irani did emerge in front of the media, but her aggression reflected not in what she said, but how she said it. Thus, Jaitley made a loss in the deal.

BJP all-powerful leader Arun Jaitley has made some discoveries in a changed political environment. He confessed as much in a meeting with some close friends and aides at the information and broadcasting ministry – he said it is during adverse conditions that one realizes who your true friends really are. Sources say that when Jaitley was supposed to go to Patiala Court to register a defamation case against Kejriwal and his associates, he actually had to call up several of his “champus” (followers, yes-men) for the same. These people were the same who had become ministers only because of Jaitley. But when it came to defending Jaitley in the media and on news channels, Nirmala Seetharaman conveniently took a flight for Nairobi. People such as Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan and Bhupendra Yadav, who have climbed the political ladder only because Jaitley was supporting them, were noticed to be avoiding the scenario. So much so that when Kirti Azad openly talked about the DDCA matter in the Lok Sabha in Jaitley’s presence, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu was absent from the Parliament. At such a time, floor management was his responsibility, but he had conveniently left the House and started for Sharad Yadav’s residence. A biography on Sharad Yadav was supposed to be unveiled there. In Naidu’s absence, the floor management was to be the responsibility of Rajiv Prasad Rudy, who could manage neither the house, nor Azad. Clearly, there is so much happening off the political stage that is enough to make Jaitley uneasy.

Sources say that the prime minister was pretty upset with the fact that the Opposition, led by the Congress, was trying to portray the government’s image as anti-farmer and anti-villages. They also say that before his Russia-Afghanistan trip, the prime minister had called for his able finance minister and had a long discussion with him, and the manifesto of Jaitley’s third Union Budget was decided upon. It was decided in the meeting that the next Budget by the Modi government might prove to be a tough one for urban India, and might hurt it even more. That is because tax recovery during the entire financial year had been slow, there is no hope of immediate foreign investment, and neither has the disinvestment agenda moved forward. At the same time, the pressure of debt on the government continues to mount. Just to carry out the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations, the government needs Rs one lakh crore.
Modi government has spent money like water on sectors such as railways and infrastructure, but has not cared to find out how rural India is faring. The coming near future will see West Bengal, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh hold Assembly elections, where six out of 10 voters stay in villages. Bihar has already taught Modi what happens when you ignore the villages. Thus, in the new Budget, a lot of money will be assigned for projects related to agriculture, farmers, and villages. Projects on farm insurance will be reconsidered, and urban India might face the brunt of taxation and rising cost of living. There is also talk about increasing service tax to 16.5 per cent. That means, to shirk off his pro-urban image, Modi government is going to put urban India through a fresh batch of problems.

The search for Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar’s successor is nearly over. Jaishankar is due to retire next year, and the PMO has given the green signal to India’s ambassador to China, Vijay Gokhale, in his place. It is believed Gokhale’s understanding and specialization in China has worked in his favour; he also speaks fluent Chinese. Sources reveal that the prime minister himself is interested in pushing his name forward, while S Jaishankar too is a personal favourite with him. Thus, after retirement, he might get a job as an advisor to the PMO. Sources close to the PMO say that for a while now, the prime minister has wanted to appoint two national security advisors. If his plan works, Ajit Doval might get internal security, and the foreign front might be taken care of by Jaishankar.

Something interesting transpired at the Parliament last week – BJP Parliamentarian from Darbhanga, Bihar, Kirti Azad was seen coming out of Sonia Gandhi’s official room in the Parliament. Reliable sources say that Gandhi family has old relations with Kirti, and his father Bhagwat Jha Azad has been Bihar’s chief minister from the Congress for many terms. Kirti Azad, who fought with his own party heavyweight Arun Jaitley regarding Delhi cricket, is said to have internal support from many senior BJP leaders. Thus, if despite the advice of party President Amit Shah and senior party leader Ramlal, Kirti has gone so far ahead with the issue, it is not only because of his own belief; there is speculation that a decisive meeting between him and the Congress may have also taken place regarding the politics in future.

The BJP is busy assessing the depth of the roots of the lotus flower in the coming Assembly elections in UP. Reliable sources say that to explore more possibilities, the party has conducted two different public opinion surveys in states such as UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Assam and Bengal, but that the results of these surveys are not what will give the BJP leadership any relief. The BJP seems to be in a bad shape in all these states. There might be some hope in Assam, but there too regional satraps such as Badruddin Ajmal might undo all the hope it may have harboured. Amit Shah and the Sangh’s biggest worry is concerning UP; they feel that if the party loses in the state, it will lose hope of any political rejuvenation. UP’s saffron leaders have been asking for a long time that the party should present the face of the chief ministerial candidate. For this, the party has even conducted a survey to assess the popularity of its leaders. If sources are to be believed, the results are very surprising – Varun Gandhi has unanimously emerged as the favourite with 58 per cent, while Rajnath Singh was liked by only 21 per cent of the people. Other party leaders could not even get a decent fraction of the votes. Right after this, Amit Shah invited Varun Gandhi to meet with him, and both of them had a decisive meeting regarding UP.