It seems BJP is on the roll in UP. Special lieutenants have been assigned to ensure that Amit Shah’s strategy is a success. Sunil Bansal, Shah’s Man Friday, is at the rudder. The saffronites have indicated that the elections in UP should take place in February, so that the party can finalise its candidates in December. BJP has identified 60 seats where it is on sticky wickets. Shah feels that tickets for these seats should go to those who have recently joined the party’s Gold Rush. In 100 seats, Musilms call the shots. The most interesting thing is that almost in all these seats, both BSP and SP have fielded their candidates. In fact, BSP has replaced half of its earlier candidates to field Muslim candidates. Pundits opine that this may benefit the BJP, splitting the Muslims into SP and BSP camps.

Officials were busy greeting Nripendra Mishra, former chief telecom regulator and now Principal Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Diwali noon. He had made it clear that he would be available only till 2.00 pm. It was written on a board outside his house that only good wishes (read ‘no gifts please’) will be accepted. The house was flooded with ‘seekers’. Mishra was not meeting anybody for more than two minutes. But one newly recruited UP cadre officer just would not budge. He wiped off his tea and snacks, yet was not willing to leave. Mishra finally lost his patience and said, “If you want to have some rest, shall I arrange for a pillow as well?” The babu left in a huff.

This was the first time that the ‘Yaduvanshi’ chief Mulayam Singh’s family did not celebrate Diwali together in their native village Saifai. Mulayam celebrated with his younger son Pratik – from his second wife, the latter said to be Akhilesh’s bête noire ‑ at his Vikramaditya Road house in Lucknow. Akhilesh had no scheduled programme in Saifai but he took off for his native village to be with his uncle Ram Gopal. There, Shivpal’s supporters had a different kind of fireworks for the CM: black flags. Naturally, Akhilesh’s supporters did not exactly respond with roses! Next morning, Akhilesh took off for Lucknow, where he celebrated Diwali with his wife and children but did not visit father Mulayam. Ram Gopal remained in Saifai and did not meet many people.

Famous Indian-American hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal on his India visit wanted to have a fund-raising dinner for Hillary Clinton. He had already booked a Five Star hotel. The hotel owner too was showing keen interest in the event. But the American Embassy swung into action at the last moment and made it amply clear to the Ministry of External Affairs that the function did not have the approval of either Hillary or the Democratic Party. Neither had Chatwal met them, the embassy stressed abundantly, nor spoken to any of them. The programme was abruptly cancelled, though Chatwal had to forgo the advance money he had paid, quite a Prince’s Ransom, as they say!

Rahul Gandhi recently convoked a meeting and had important discussions with his core team from UP. Discussing the father-son tussle, Rahul asked his state team captains who they would settle for as an alliance partner if Mulayam and Akhilesh split. They came to the conclusion that the party will not get any benefit by joining hands with either of them. The current situation has eroded the voter base of the Samajwadi Party. Even Muslim voters have been swimming across to BSP. Congress will get benefitted only if there is a grand alliance a la the Bihar “Mahajot”. But it seems the possibility is low as Mayawati is not ready for it. Mayawati is under BJP’s control and people know the reasons for it.

People wait all year long for the grand Diwali party thrown by famous business tycoon Uday Kotak. Celebrities, businessmen, politicians and media biggies all anxiously wait for their invites. But this year, people waiting for this super gala were surprised to receive an email from him, saying “It has been decided that the party will not be organized from this year and the amount spent on this party will be used for a charitable trust.” Kotak has also asked his friends and relatives to come forward for the charity and help needy people. Well, heartbreak for the stinking rich could mean a hearty meal for the poor!

Mukesh Ambani’s kids Akash and Isha had been griping for a long time about the miserable internet speed in India every time they would visit their home on vacations from Yale University. The country’s wealthiest father wanted to give something special to his children and so thought of Jio. To bring Jio to life, though, Ambani made great expenditures and wanted their kids to take the responsibility of carrying this company to greatest heights. But unfortunately, Isha craves to study further and complete her Masters either from Harvard or from Stanford University. Mukesh wants his daughter to study in Harvard where Chanda Kochar’s daughter is already studying and Barack Obama’s daughter is willing to join a course.

Najma Heptullah’s love for Delhi is not hidden. In spite of the fact that the Governor’s role is very important in the troubled northeastern area, she is often found travelling to Delhi. All governors need to take prior permission from the President before leaving the state for more than two days. Sources revealed that Najma is trying her level best for the post of Vice-president. But Najma has been too openly identified with LK Advani, the second tallest leader in the BJP after Atal Bihari Vajpayee. And Advani is not even seen anywhere in Modi’s pantheon!

The changed attitude of the judiciary towards the Central Government has led the Modi-Shah duo not to give a second chance to Mukul Rohtagi as Attorney General of India. Rohtagi’s term will end on 18th June 2017. He is known to be very good palls with Modi’s bête noire, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely. So now it is also unclear if Rohtagi will even complete his full term.
Sources said that Rohtagi could not meet the expectations of the Centre. As a result, Amit Shah has cleverly played the trump card to suggest Tushar Mehta’s name for this position; Mehta was once Gujarat’s Advocate General and is now Additional Solicitor General in Supreme Court. Scuttlebutt is, Mehta’s Gujarat conncetion is what has opened the doors for him

A prominent regional channel of UP broadcasts a special coverage on Mulayam’s family tussle within. The crux was that Mulayam’s second wife Sadhna Gupta is adding fuel to the fire. She was termed as Kaikayi. The well wisher of Mulayam-Amar Singh felt bad he literally rang up Mulayam Singh and said how could you bear her insult. It was then decided that the head of channel should be summoned and UP head should be shown the exit gate. In a tearing hurry, Mukesh Ambani was telephoned but he did not even speak to them. It was said that he is out of the country. Finally, HFCL head Mahendra Nahta was caught and coerced to apologise to Mulayam’s second wife. Despite the fact that Nahta has nothing to do with Reliance and the news channel. He just sold his spectrums to Reliance group. As per sources when Nahta left Mulayam lovingly asked his wife. Are you happy now? She smiled coyly. He said ‘even if some channel refers you as Kaikayi then I also become Dashrath and he used to listen to kaikayi only.”Does it mean 14 years of Vanvas to Akhilesh?