Rahul Gandhi is all set to appear in a new avatar. He seems determined to take over the reigns of the Congress party on the 100th birth anniversary of his grandmother, Indira Gandhi on November 19. In a bid to engage ground level workers with the party for the forthcoming Assembly elections, he has constituted an election commission within the party under a little-known person – Mullapalli Ramchandra. Meanwhile, Madhusudan Mistry, lying in the cold storage for a long time, too has woken up and entered the commission as a member. But, he is learnt to have restarted old tradition of taking “prasadam” for the post of even PCC delegates. Motilal Vora has already complained to Rahul Gandhi about it. Vora has apparently received maximum complaints from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. If Rahul can’t contain such old practices of his party, how can one expect him to give the party a facelift?

Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation has been in the constant glare of controversies ever since Modi entered the state in 2001, giving enough fodder to the main opposition party, Congress which alleges that the corporation has been constantly milked from 2001 to 2014 for political reason. They even allege that BJP contested several elections with funds generated by the corporation which incurred accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore. It was then that the Centre merged it into the biggest Navratna company – ONGC. Congress is likely to raise this issue during forthcoming Gujarat elections.

Akhilesh Yadav is learnt to be working overtime to give a new face to his Samajwadi Party. He had a long meeting with his father Mulayam Singh Yadav last week to discuss future strategies of the party. Akhilesh made it amply clear to his father that he can’t tolerate uncle Shivpal anymore. He also mentioned that Shivpal was in touch with the BJP before the Assembly elections and returned to SP only when he was put down by the BJP that either he should join the BJP or start his own regional party which too should be merged into the BJP later. Akhilesh wants Shivpal to be sent to Delhi somehow so that he himself can run the party as per his wishes. Sources claim that at least three members of Akhilesh’s family are likely to be denied tickets in next Lok Sabha elections – Dimple Yadav, Ram Gopal’s son Akshay and Mulayam’s nephew Tej Pratap Yadav who also happens to be the son-in-law of Lalu Yadav.

Sachin Pilot might have to wait a little longer to hold the reigns of Rajasthan because Ashok Gehlaut has captured the mind and imagination of Rahul Gandhi. There are enough indications that Gehlaut will lead party’s next election campaign. Gehlot is in fact, being rewarded for his successful stint as the election in charge of Punjab. Nobody had hoped for such stupendous electoral success there. Captain Amarinder Singh too put all his might into the campaign. Then, as a party in charge of Gujarat, Gehlot ensured Ahmed Patel’s victory in Rajya Sabha polls, again against all odds. It is because of his efforts that a moribund Congress in Gujarat is showing signs of revival.

Arun Jaitley might be BJP’s in charge in Gujarat but his face is absent from all election material. The banners and hoardings depict only Narendra Modi and Amit Shah’s faces. Jaitley’s picture is nowhere to be found. He visited Gujarat recently but no one could find even smallest mention of his visit in the Gujarat media. Are these ominous signs for the Master of Media Management?

A prominent industrialist from Gujarat Gautam Adani is learnt to have sought an appointment with Rahul Gandhi. Are these signs of the changing times or are people changing colours with changing circumstances?

BJP has been forced to change its electoral strategy in Gujarat. Now it is searching for star campaigners, for the first time after 2002 elections. Several union ministers have been asked to camp in Gujarat. Mahesh Sharma has been spending his week-ends in Gujarat. Sushma Swaraj and Yogu Adityanath have been asked to address meetings there. Some others are likely to be tried. From 2002 to 2014, Namo used to be the only campaigner for the BJP. Even Lal Krishna Advani, who represented Gandhinagar in Parliament, was kept away from the election campaign. But, this time Modi’s development plank will be tested hard in the elections. Social Media is already mocking the ‘development gone crazy’. Even Amit Shah’s Gujarat Gaurav Yatra has been unable to leave an impact. That is BJP is looking for fresh faces to hard sell the party’s 15-years reign in the state, often labelled ‘Hindutva Laboratory’.

There is a mad scramble for the post of new chief of Bihar Congress. The state in charge CP Joshi has recommended the name of a person with whom Rahul Gandhi doesn’t enjoy good vibes. Joshi has been batting for Akhilesh Singh who is a Bhumihar and won the 2004 polls in a Laloo wave and also became a minister in UPA-I courtesy Laloo Yadav. But, Akhilesh quitRJD in 2009 to join Congress. Ever since, he has failed to win even a single election, not even the Assembly election he contested once. His detractors have been questioning abilities of a perennial loser to run the party. The second claimant to the post is Sunder Singh Dhiraj who was Youth Congress chief in the state for 17 years and was a blue-eyed boy of Sitaram Kesri. But, Kesri had sidelined him after Dhiraj demanded that Sonia Gandhi is made party chief. He is an OBC and Rahul Gandhi seems favourably disposed towards him. Prem Chandra Mishra is another contender who has come via student union politics but he too has never won an election. Yet another name being bandied about is that of Madan Mohan Jha who had won the last election. Bihar Congress thus in the throes of possibilities because Laloo is on a sticky wicket and Congress can gain at RJD’s cost.

BJP has launched a full-fledged investigation into the people behind the rumour that Arun Jaitley had resigned from the Cabinet. A pro-Congress newspaper had even published the news. According to sources, Prime Minister had summoned Amit Shah and Jaitely for a briefing on the eve of GST council meeting on October 2. Jaitely was supposed to present government’s stand while Shah had to present the feedback gathered from the public. Shah’s confidante Bhupendra Yadav had been speaking to small and medium entrepreneurs to find out their problems with the GST. He had prepared a dossier and taken it to the PM. In the meantime, somebody spread a rumour that Jaitely had put in his papers. The ‘news’ reached Rajnath Singh who was in Lucknow. Out of panic Rajnath suspending his official engagements, rushed to Delhi in the apprehension of some untoward development. While social media was abuzz with rumours, Jaitely and Shah emerged out of PM residence unaffected.

Remember Vijay Wadettiwar who has shifted from Shiv Sena to Congress? But, this time Congress’s Presidential candidate Meera Kumar complained that Wadettiwar along with 10 other people, had cross-voted for NDA candidate Ram Nath Kovind. But, Wadettiwar’s journey continued unhindered. First, he was appointed Deputy Opposition Leader in Maharashtra Assembly. Though it’s not a constitutional position, he was given the status of a Minister of State- perhaps a first in the country. He is included in Mohan Prakash’s coterie. But, now his name figures in the irrigation scam and he is on the radar of various investigative agencies including ED. But, Wadettiwar has too much confidence on his contacts across the political spectrum to be bothered about such trivial cases.