Election fever: They revisit past flings, discover new flames

Marriages of Commitment Despite India’s ‘‘janam janam ka saath’’ tradition, there are only two political alliances ...

Marriages of Commitment

Despite India’s ‘‘janam janam ka saath’’ tradition, there are only two political alliances (barring the LF, LDF and UDF) in this category: BJP-Shiv Sena (bound by the bonds of Hindutva) and Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (the Bihar PCC may chaff but Laloo and Sonia are a hit pair).

Marriages of Convenience

They are together, and will be together in Poll 2004, but what binds them is not love but realpolitik. Top of this list is the BJP-TDP, closely followed by BJP-BJD (neither TDP nor BJD can go with the Congress because the Grand Old Party is still the main Opposition force in AP and Orissa). BJP-Trinamool and Congress-PDP are other tie-ups in this list.

Marriages of Inconvenience

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This is a weird category that turns conventional Kautilyan wisdom — ‘‘my enemy’s enemy is my friend’’ — on its head. The Left’s immediate enemy where it counts is the Congress. But the Congress’ national enemy, the BJP, is the Left’s greater enemy. Ergo, even if it’s Left versus Congress in the states, when it comes to keeping the BJP out of power at the Centre — a Left-Congress marriage (without the certificate) is a distinct possibility, state-level inconvenience notwithstanding.

	POLL WINDS

	• With Bal Thackeray calling Sharad Pawar’s ideology doubtful and slamming the door on him, NCP Maharashtra unit says it prefers Cong • Akali Dal will stay with NDA but wants its seat share in Punjab to go up from the 10 out of 13 of 1999 LS polls • RJD’s Raghuvansh Prasad Singh calls on Ram Vilas Paswan, says join hands

Promiscuous Partners

Also known as Roving Eye Romeos — they are married to one of the Big Two at the moment but may well jump ship and go the way the wind blows. NCP strongman Sharad Pawar and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav are the two Romeos in the ‘‘secular camp’’ but the NDA has a fair share of them too — George Fernandes, Nitish Kumar, Sharad Yadav (all JD-U) and Dr Ramadoss (PMK). George, of course, will never join hands with Congress but could be a player in a non-BJP, non-Congress alternative.

Fresh Flirtations

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With poll-eve divorces on the rise, old flames are being rekindled and potential partners wooed on all sides. The DMK, after walking out of NDA, has just sealed a new alliance with the Congress. The Congress, wary of a moody Mulayam, is flirting with the even moodier Mayawati. And with DMK and MDMK out of their embrace, BJP is now wooing Amma, never mind that Jayalalitha brought down their government in 1999. A BJP leader — playing psychotherapist — has even recommended ‘‘selective amnesia’’ as a cure for past heartaches and future hope. In other words, BJP should forget Amma’s treachery as Sonia has forgotten the DMK’s alleged role in her husband’s assassination — all in the interest of a winning alliance.

Footloose and Fancyfree

They are neither here nor there but everywhere. We are talking about Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP), Omar Abdullah (NC), H.D. Deve Gowda (JD-S) and sundry ‘‘breakaway groups’’ (BJD rebels, Samata rebels, JD-U rebels, RJD rebels…). They are ready and waiting for suitors. Some of them insist they will have no truck with BJP, but everything depends on what kind of configuration the 14th general elections throws up.