Georgian mystery

Chautala suggested Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and NCP leader Sharad Pawar also be drawn into the unity talks. According to sources, Fernandes smiled mysteriously and said Mulayam and Sharad are already part of the NDA.

His remark stunned the others but Fernandes8217; body language forbade questions. So no one dared ask what he meant. He flew to Ukraine the next day. Political circles have since been buzzing about a Fernandes-inspired plan that has the blessings of the BJP and the RSS.

Incidentally, shortly before Mulayam was sworn in as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, he had a lengthy meeting with the defence minister. The meeting went largely unnoticed but a significant outcome was that Fernandes attended Mulayam8217;s oath taking ceremony and was the sole member of the NDA to do so.

Mayawati8217;s new lieutenants

Watching the image makeover of Mulayam, BSP chief Mayawati seems inspired. She8217;s said to be on the lookout for her very own Amar Singh and Amitabh Bachchan to give her a new look. What else explains the dizzy rise of a smooth talking advocate from Lucknow, Madhukar Jaitley, in her circle and the quiet visit to her residence by Bollywood star Shekhar Suman?

Jaitley first made waves by accompanying Mayawati on her tour of Europe and the United States. She gave him more prominence than the officials in her team. He hooked his tentacles in more firmly by taking Suman to meet the BSP chief amid speculation that she8217;s hunting for a film mascot for her party.

Mayawati8217;s confidence in him has puzzled all those who know Jaitley8217;s past. Ironically, he hung around Amar Singh before switching sides. He was also hotelier Lalit Suri8217;s election agent for the Rajya Sabha polls.

In return he expected a Samajwadi nomination to the Uttar Pradesh legislative council. When it didn8217;t come, he crossed over to the BSP. Unfortunately, his dalliance with Mayawati has got the CBI asking uncomfortable questions.

RSS ditches the VHP

The VHP doesn8217;t have to look far to figure out why its sankalp programme in Ayodhya was such a flop. At the last moment, after behind-the-scenes discussions with the government, the RSS withdrew support. Consequently, RSS workers did not show up at Ayodhya as expected.

It must have come as a shock to the VHP. When the programme was announced, RSS general secretary Mohan Bhagwat had written a letter to all prant pracharaks to participate. The intervention by Vajpayee and Advani changed all that. In an unusual step, joint secretary H.V. Sheshadri overruled Bhagwat at the last minute. Verbal instructions went out forbidding pracharaks from going to Ayodhya.

More than the decision, what8217;s surprised Sangh supporters is the revocation of a written order from the number two man in the hierarchy. The leadership rarely backtracks so openly. Obviously, the compulsions of keeping the Vajpayee government afloat are greater than the desire to keep the VHP in business.

Secular civil war

Is the honeymoon between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress over? Senior CWC member Arjun Singh lambasted Mulayam at a meeting in Lucknow recently, going so far as to say the latter8217;s secular credentials needed checking. Predictably, Mulayam hit back by announcing his party would contest all the seats in the December 1 assembly elections.

With NCP chief Sharad Pawar already on the warpath on the sensitive 8216;8216;foreign origin8217;8217; issue, the Congress-led alternative front already seems a non-starter.