It would seem the Great Yadav Patch-up is on! Sources say Gujarat industrialist Ketan Desai has played a key role in oiling over the differences that have divided the Yadav family. Desai’s role is curious as he is reported to be close to BJP’s Amit Shah (he was also chairman of the Medical Council of India). But insiders say Mulayam has been close to Desai ever since the latter gave the green signal for a medical college in Mulayam’s Saifai constituency. Mulayam is not known to forget those who do him favours. But let’s get back to the Great Yadav Patch-Up. After Desai’s intervention, the buzz is Mulayam summoned Ram Gopal Yadav to Lucknow and they talked for an hour. Then brother Shivpal was brought in and directed to sit with Ram Gopal and clear all issues. Finally it was Akhilesh’s turn. He was summoned before the patriarch, touched his feet and told to talk to his uncles. It is said that Akhilesh touched the feet of his uncles and asked for their blessings. After this family drama, it was decided that those young leaders denied tickets by Shivpal would get them. Clearly, Mulayam was trying to create balance and harmony.

But months of drama cannot be wished away. Shivpal, who had kept quiet as the Yadav family went through the motions of patch-up, appeared gripped by strong feelings. Standing next to Mulayam, he said the next time the SP came to power, Netaji would be chief minister not Akhilesh and that the latter was only enjoying the fruits of government not realizing that the party foundations had been built by father and uncle. He recalled the efforts they made to form a mahgathbandhan, meeting Deve Gowda in Bengaluru, Lalu, Nitish and Ajit Singh. If this had happened, Shivpal lamented, Netaji would have been the prime ministerial candidate. Mulayam’s silence spoke volumes. Shivpal had struck the right note.

The Congress will field 403 candidates for the UP assembly elections but party funds are limited. Therefore, only 100 candidates will benefit from party funding, the rest of the 303 candidates will have to make do. They will have to generate their own funds and find innovative ways to drive their campaign.

The nation was hurt by the cowardly Pakistan- sponsored Uri attack. According to information by many investigative agencies, Indians were feeling angry, despondent and vengeful after this. India’s attempts to use diplomacy and show Pakistan’s real face on international platforms was on, but it wasn’t enough for the nation to put its faith in Modi government. India’s Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar was returning in a special IAF aircraft after surveying the Uri attack, when he asked the army chief sitting next to him, “What can we do? What can be done so that Pakistan is taught a lesson and India doesn’t have egg on its face in front of the international community?” Sources say Parrikar made it clear to the army chief that the very next morning, there was a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) meeting, where he would have to present a solid strategy in front of the PM. It is said the army chief told the defense minister, “Sir, before tomorrow morning, you will get the entire plan.” And that is exactly what happened; according to sources, the plan had three different strategies, of which one was the surgical strike alternative. In his conversation with the army chief, Parrikar had understood that this was a time when the Indian Army’s confidence was at an all-time high. And despite the truth that it is facing a paucity of arms and ammunition, Modi’s leadership was giving it much more confidence than other state leaders in the past. It was then that a green signal was given to the surgical strike strategy at the CCS meeting. A strategy was also devised that media would get to know about it only after the entire operation would be complete, and that the information would come from the army chief. The entire plan went according to the devised strategy and it worked perfectly.

At BJP’s National Working Committee meeting at Kozhikode in Kerala recently, Modi addressed the party people on two occasions, but in a very well-planned way. Needless to say, his mind was still under stress about the Uri attack. His speeches reflected his state of mind. Words showed exactly how he felt, and he clearly told his party people that he was a secular person in every way, and that it was some people from his own party who spoke out garbage and put a question mark on his being secular. He gave an example about the same and said that last year when he was in the US during navratri, some party leaders spoke about it in a different way to the media, and it didn’t have a shred of truth. He said he fasted only to purify his body and mind, and when water arrived for him in a glass, he merely made arrangements for water in a tumbler made of something different. Modi made it clear that his intentions were not to hurt anyone. He gave another instance from his Kozhikode trip and said that when he goes a new place, he likes to first pay a visit to a local temple there. He did the same in Kozhikode, and this should not hurt anyone from any religion. He spoke about Pakistan in the same cryptic way and said, “When the situations are not in our favour, our minds should be cool as a cucumber, but there should be a fire burning in our hearts.” Pakistan has finally tasted the flavour of the embers emanating from that fire.

The matter of suicide of former director of corporate affair ministry, V K Bansal, his son, wife and daughter is only becoming murkier. The matter is connected to a bribe of just Rs 9 lakh, but CBI’s attitude about the entire thing is suspicious. The country is reeling from the news of suicides of all family members. Sources close to the Bansal family say the CBI had committed atrocities on V K Bansal’s wife and daughter. The social media is rife with news that an officer of DIG rank, who was investigating the matter, is said to be a sacred cow and that no one can harm him because he has the protection of Amit Shah. It is said that before killing himself, Bansal knew well that the police and CBI might tamper with his suicide note. So he had already gone to the post office and posted his suicide notes to many newspapers beforehand.

The BJP has found its Manohar Khattar in UP. He might be made the chief ministerial candidate for the elections; the name has been given by the Sangh. Efforts are on to get an equivocal opinion and support for his name. The man is Shahjahanpur’s BJP MLA Suresh Khanna. Like Mr Khattar, he too is a bachelor, has been a swayamsevak with the Sangh, and is working towards propagating Sangh ideology. He has been an MLA for seven consecutive times, and has a clean image. Not just that, the BJP high command will also be capable of feeding its own words in his mouth.

India’s home minister, too, wants to be active and visible on social media. In the past few days, several companies have come in contact with him to manage his digital media. This exercise will be done to improve the home minister’s personal image. But those close to Rajnath ji have put some strange conditions in front of the media companies. For instance, all the people handling Rajnath ji’s account will have an Apple Mac computer, so that any kind of hacking can be prevented. The company, on the other hand, it taking pains to made them understand it all depends on not the company but the programming. That is, what kind of programming and level of programming is done for the digital assignment so that hacking can be prevented?

Punjab’s chief minister Prakash Singh Badal wakes up at 4 am. After his morning routine, there is only one thing he does – wait for his son Sukhbir Singh Badal to wake up. His first question at 7 am is, “Has Kukki (Sukhbir) woken up?” The wait continues until 8-9 am. Badal senior can sit in peace until his son wakes up and speaks to him for some time, appraising him of what his programme for the day is, what is happening on the election front, and what new is AAP coming up with.

The changed stance of the Sangh and its branch organizations may have brought frowns of concern on the minority community’s brows, but the prime minister himself seems to be changing his take on Muslims. On his directions, the minority welfare department is fully proactive. After saying bye to Najma Heptullah and handing over the reins to Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Modi seems to be pretty excited about some of his pet projects. For instance, one of Modi’s brilliant ideas is to make more than 1,000 “Sadbhav Mandap” in the country; these mandaps will be made in the minority community areas, which will have a community centre, library, skill development centre, as well as the facility for people to collect there in case of an natural disaster or calamity, such as drought, flood, earthquake or war, and live and eat there. The minister of the department Naqvi has also announced more than 100 progress panchayats, under which minority community areas will have girls’ hostels, nursing schools, and so on. This project will kick off in Mewat in Haryana on September 29, after which the project will reach Alwar in Rajasthan on October 6. South Indian states are also being brought into the fold of the project rapidly, and according to Naqvi, “We will not wait for the states to approach us; instead, the ministry will go to the states.”