If there is one person who is most upset with the Cabinet reshuffle at the Centre, it is Lalu Yadav, also considered Sonia Gandhi’s “mouthpiece”. He was really anxious to be a part of the Central Cabinet this time. Sources reveal that he let his expectations be known through several medium to Sonia Gandhi, so much so that he had even requested time to meet her. It is also being said that Lalu had sent Sonia a message that this time he was ready to contest the Lob Sabha elections along with the Congress. On his own, Lalu had given the offer to have the Congress contest 12 of the 40 Bihar seats but Rahul and Sonia didn’t relent. Rahul is especially against any alliance with Lalu for Bihar elections. Maybe that is the reason a leader of such repute didn’t get anytime to meet Sonia even before the swearing-in ceremony.

“Ve khaam-e-khwah hatheli pe jaan rakhte hain, ajeeb log hain muh mein zubaan rakhtey hain/ Ve jinkey paon ke neechey nahi zameen koi, ve muthhiyon mein kayi aasmaan rakhtey hain.”
Team Kejriwal is ready with surprises. In the line of fire this time is the chief minister of a prosperous state adjoining Delhi, whose closeness to Robert Vadra is well-known. The CM’s Mauritius connection is being investigated. It is believed that he has several accounts in Mauritius. Sources reveal that India Against Corruption also has several documents in regards to this and several of Team Kejriwal’s members are there investigating the matter further. The IAC is also coming out with a white paper on the same soon. Which means the days to come are going to be even more troublesome for the Congress-led government.

Robert Vadra, whose only claim to fame is that he is the son-in-law of the Gandhi family recently gave his beloved country the title of “Mango people in a banana republic”. Is it a mere coincidence that of all of Vadra companies, there is also one called East India Hotels? It goes without saying that somewhere along the line, it reminds one of the East India Company, because of which the British ruled us for 200 hundred years. It looks like Vadra is alone or has been left alone when it comes to fighting for his integrity. If not, what other reason can it be that Hindustani media, which has always saluted the country’s biggest political family is ripping apart Vadra with new findings about his finances everyday? Two things come to the fore with this: one that Team Kejriwal not only has the support of the common man but also has a powerful support that is backing him. Two, even the media is sure that the Congress is going to be at the helm of things for only a few months now. But if you see carefully, you will notice that with the advent of Kejriwal on the Indian political scene, you don’t hear FDI being mentioned anymore. So should it be believed that Manmohan Singh is no longer important for the all-powerful America?

In different to new attacks on him everyday, BJP President Nitin Gadkari is busy planning and looking for possibilities of a new team. After the BJP Conference in Surajkund, the road to a next term for Gadkari looks pretty possible. This time, Gadkari wants to see considerably new faces in his team. For the national party secretary, Varun Gandhi, Amit Shah and Smriti Irani are some of the names he is mulling over. If Amit Shah gets arrested in the Prajapati matter, he may not get the post. The responsibilities of Rajiv Prasad Rudy and Nirmala Sitaraman are likely to increase further. A few new faces may be introduced as spokespersons. Gadkari may announce his new team on Makar Sankranti, which is January 14.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his favourite man Montek Singh Ahluwalia consider the rise in petrochemical products and FDI in retail as some tough choices that were made in the name of reforms. However, political analysts are calling it hara-kiri measures by the UPA government. Boasting about not caring of any opinion or analysis, the government may take some more bold decisions about the FDI in the days to come. For instance, after retail, there are chances that FDI will be introduced in insurance and pension; the announcements may be made in the next few days.

There are all chances of a reshuffle in the Manmohan Cabinet. At first, this was supposed to happen on September 10, but Sonia Gandhi had to go to the US for her treatment at the last moment. And although she was back on September 9, but the right names for the respective portfolios had not been marked. It finally seems that after due discussions with Sonia and Rahul, the possible list of people who will be joining the Cabinet is ready. The names that may find a place in the Cabinet include Kiran Reddy, Prithviraj Chavan, Deepadas Munshi, Meenakshi Natarajan, Sanjay Nirupam, Jyoti Mirdha and so on. Anand Sharma has been lobbying for a foreign ministry for quite some time now. His journeys to 10, Janpath may finally bear fruit and he could be the country’s next foreign minister. Corporate affairs ministry may soon be handed over to Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

There is likelihood that big organisational changes will take place in the Congress. It is being said that Rahul Gandhi is ready to take big responsibilities within the party and the government as well. Foreign Minister S M Krishna may be made the state president of his home state, Karnataka. Parneet Kaur may get the responsibility for Punjab and Jyotiraje Scindia may be made the head of Congress in Madhya Pradesh. If he shows a reluctance to go to Madhya Pradesh due to the in-party fighting within the state, he may be promoted in the highly expected Cabinet reshuffle.

When the embers of Coalgate threatened to turn into leaping flames, Sonia took it upon herself to douse the fire. She contacted prominent leaders from the Opposition parties and asked them their demands. And with a changed political stance, she assured the BJP that all its demands will be met – which is cancelling all the allotted blocks to companies. Sonia also agreed that the entire matter will be investigated by a sitting judge. And all the cancelled coal blocks will be open for tenders from the market. After the assurances, Sonia met the prime minister and the President and no one knows what transpired but after that she went back on her word. And before she left for her check-up to the US, she didn’t forget to tell the Opposition leaders that party and the PM have a different opinion on the matter. So it means that the ruckus will continue in the Parliament on Monday, too.

Surrounded from all sides about Coal-gate, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may address the nation on Monday before he leaves for Tehran. He will be doing it at the insistence of some of his advisors. But there is a group of his well-wishers that doesn’t want the prime minister to address the nation on Coal-gate and invite trouble but Dr Singh himself believes that it is crucial that he clarifies his position about Coal-gate.

President Pranab Babu may have called up BJP leaders and asked them to bury the hatchet, but the strain in relationships show that Advani, Jaitley and Sushma and other saffron party leaders have come back so upset after meeting Pranab da that things may not get better in the days to come. There are two entries to Rashtrapati Bhavan – a main gate and a side gate. The prime minister, speaker, UPA chairperson and other VVIPs can enter from the main gate, but the chairperson of NDA, Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have to use the side gate. It is said that it took nearly 25 minutes to half an hour for the BJP leaders to get inside to the venue for the programme, because there was such a jam of vehicles at the side gate. When the BJP leaders reached the venue, the President and the prime minister were there with their wives, along with Sonia Gandhi and the Speaker and having a snack. The BJP leaders had not been assigned a ‘separate’ place. The line for tea and samosas was as long as the one to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with the President. Sources reveal that prominent Opposition leaders were told that if they wanted to meet the President, they would have to join the queue. The leaders got upset about this and went back without meeting the President, swearing they will never return. India has certainly not only got a new President but a new culture at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, too.