Rani Kanhimozhi may have got bail in the 2G spectrum scam but former Telecom Minister A Raja has refuses to come out on bail. Sources reveal that Raja has told his lawyers that they should not move a bail application since he fears for his life once he is out. He fears he may meet the same end as Sadik Bachha, whose sudden death is still a mystery. But seeing his behaviour in the court and the prison, there is a sense that Raja may get bail. Raja is a law graduate and has a great sense of the legal intricacies. Sometimes even his own lawyers are surprised by his understanding and grasp of the subject. But what Raja is saying now tells a lot about his understanding of politics.

Gadkari, who has brought about a corporate-like running of the BJP is on cloud nine nowadays. He has expressed his desire to contest the Lok Sabha elections and sent shock waves through the party. Now the most crucial question is whether he will contest elections from Nagpur or Wardha. Nagpur is his karmsthali and has learnt everything from grocery selling to sticking posters in the city. The Sangh may have its headquarters in Nagpur but it has never been able to register a win from here, except once in 1996. So a politics pro Gadkari knows that if he has to win from Nagpur, he will have to do what the Congress does. And contesting from the city is, in any case, an expensive proposition. As much as Rs 6 crore to Rs 7 crore is spent on an election here and punters have already started to place bets that if Gadkari does decide on contesting elections from here, how much will the budget increase. That’s because Gadkari knows about finances and is also a pro at getting it. When Gadkari was the public works minister in the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra, he had brought a lot of big infrastructure plans to Nagpur. But he may have to lock horns with the old hand of Congress – Vilas Muttemvar. So he is also eyeing the Wardha seat. In the last elections, BJP’s Suresh Vaghmare lost the seat to Dutta Meghe. Vaghmare and Gadkari have never really gotten along with each other and Congressman Dutta Meghe is one of the closest friends of Gadkari. And he recently took everyone by surprise when he announced his retirement from politics. Those who know are well informed why he took this step. So the next Lok Sabha elections are like a penalty kick for Gadkari. His inclination and body language may suggest that he may go for Nagpur, but he may snub his nose at his opposition within the party and register a win from Wardha. This is not only his style but may also be the only choice he’s got.

Since the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have got their own channel, people get to see the Parliament as it is. In such a scenario, Ekta Kapoor gave up her love for mega serials and got into the business of film production and has entered the arena with soft porn movies such as “Ragini MMS” and “The dirty picture”. To promote and market her movie, she sent Emraan Hashmi to Parliament House. Thank god for Smriti Irani of the BJP, who spoke against it and Hashmi, who is also known as the “kissing hero” went back or he would’ve shown his “dirty” intentions to the Parliament, too.

Why is the UPA government in the Centre so defensive about the black money issue? If reliable sources are to be believed, as many as five central ministers have the needle of suspicion pointing to them. Of these at least two of them are ministers from Madhya Pradesh, one from Punjab and one from a state adjoining Delhi. The said list that is with the Indian government has names of 792 Indians. It is being said that the account holders have money ranging from Rs 10 crore to Rs 8,000 crore. The maximum money is said to belong to a trust that is run by an Indian corporate house. There have been previous instances when names of account holders in Swiss banks have been leaked, lists have been stolen. Once such a list was bought by the German government for the asked price.

Advani’s much popularised Jan Chetna Yatra is about to come to end. As many as 5,000 chairs were placed for Advani’s speech at Dhampur, Bijnor, in Uttar Pradesh. But only 10 per cent of the seats were filled. Advani turned to Anant Kumar and said, “Simply ridiculous.” Since there is a BJP government in Uttarakhand, all preparations were done to get enough crowds. People were stuffed in government buses and enough people were there only when the state government used its entire machinery.

During the monsoon session of the Parliament, several such incidents took place that showed a clear break in the relation between Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj. A lot of disturbance happened during Swaraj’s take on Telengana, and in reply Sushma tore through Rahul Gandhi’s speech on the Anna issue. She also raised several questions on Speaker’s decision to give time to Rahul Gandhi. Then Sushma also loudly raised the issues of chief secretary’s post in Lok Sabha secretariat. But it looks like Meira Kumar is trying to assuage Sushma’s anger. For starters, she gifted the Opposition leader a lovely sari for Diwali. Then she gave daily newspapers a big chance to carry pictures of her warmly holding Swaraj’s hands – just before the winter session starts. All so that at least this session passes peacefully.

A significant ruling will be passed by the Nagpur High Court on December 12, and which could decide the political future of Nitin Gadkari. It can also decide whether Gadkari will get another term as party president or not. Yogita Thackrey’s family is all out to wage war. But the Congress doesn’t want to give it too much importance because Gadkari suits the Congress as a BJP president. December 12 is also the birthday of a significant Maharashtra politician – Gopinath Munde. But it is pure coincidence that the day has nothing to do with Munde and Gadkari’s one-upmanship.

Shriramlu, close to the Reddy brothers of Bellary has changed tact. His supporters have started to clear BJP banners and posters in the Bellary area, which means the BJP camp from the area may be uprooted. Yeddyurappa is also back from jail and claims that he still has the support of 70 Assembly members and that he can make the state’s BJP eat dirt anytime he wants to. But before this, Shriramlu is in talks with Devegowda about the formation of a new party in the state. It is believed that the idea is agreeable to Yeddyurappa, too. Understanding what the clouds of worries predicted, Gadkari spoke to Shriramlu who replied asking which party doesn’t have people who deal with mining? Doesn’t the Congress have such people? But parties such as the Congress always try to protect their people, whereas BJP disrobes its own. Seeing Shriramlu’s aggressive stance, Gadkari decided to shut up.

The tiff between Pranab Mukherjee and Chidambaram may well have been stopped by the high command’s intervention, but the cold war between the two leaders continues. And speculation is rife that during the Parliament’s winter session, this cold war may heat up anytime and lead to a lot of chaos. This is happening for the first time that the most powerful trio in the central government – the prime minister, home minister and the finance minister are at loggerheads with each other. So much so that all these three Constitutional heads are spying on each other, not knowing that if the curtain ever drops on this, the UPA government may come undone.

The list of people meeting Sonia after she came from the United States has reduced considerably. Since her return, when she started to give time to meet people, the list would not have more than three or four people. And they too don’t get more than two-three minutes which is hardly sufficient. Sonia has passed an unwritten rule that those wanting to meet her can first meet Rahul and place their issues with him. But for any Congressman, the ultimate Mecca of solutions is Sonia herself and maybe that is the reason why there is so much unrest in the party, several big and significant issues are on the back burner and no big decision is being taken.