Man in the middle

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has accused the Election Commission of double standards...

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has accused the Election Commission EC of double standards, pointing out that while the notice against him referred to the EC8217;s 8216;displeasure8217;, the notice against Sonia Gandhi merely 8216;cautioned8217; her. Initially, the legal adviser to the commission, S.K. Mendiratta, had prepared the same notice for all three leaders show-caused in the Gujarat campaign 8212; Modi, Gandhi, and Digvijay Singh. But later it was reframed. Modi and Singh received a more strongly-worded note, because they were charged for violation of provisions of the election code which concern creating mutual hatred or causing tension between different castes and communities. Sonia, however, was reprimanded for violation of a milder section of the code, which talks about top leaders making unverified allegations against rivals. Of course, that does not explain why the EC took so long to take cognisance of Gandhi8217;s remark.

When the EC8217;s decisions are finally announced, they are usually termed as unanimous. But behind the scenes there is often a tussle between Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami and Election Commissioner Navin Chawla, who generally hold opposing viewpoints. Which is why, often, the way the third commissioner, S.Y. Qureshi, swings decides the outcome.

Modi-fied tussle

Much has been made of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS being anti-Modi. Actually it is merely a section of the RSS high command led by Suresh Soni, considered Number 3 in the Sangh hierarchy, that is opposed to Modi. Soni8217;s faction includes Sanjay Joshi, a former general-secretary, who has a long-standing rivalry with Modi over control of the Gujarat unit of the party. Others close to BJP president Rajnath Singh, such as Prabhat Jha, a party secretary, are also in the anti-Modi camp. Modi, on the other hand, is backed by Mohan Bhagwat, the Number 2 in the RSS, who is also the effective head of the organisation on a day-to-day basis.

The basic animosity towards Modi stems from the fact that the chief minister did not permit senior members of the Sangh Parivar to exercise power independently in his state.

Raw deal

The website saag.com is associated with RAW because it was started 10 years ago by retired RAW officers. Three former RAW operatives still write regularly for it. SAAG is an abbreviation for South Asia Analysis Group and most of the articles on the website project an Indian perspective and take a hawkish position. The channel has been hacked thrice this year. Recently, two unidentified persons approached the domain management posing as owners of the site and managed to change the website name and password. The IB is trying to track down the saboteurs, the principal suspects being the ISI and the LTTE.

Calculated gamble

It is still a mystery as to who penned the offending line in Sonia Gandhi8217;s 8220;maut ka saudagar8221; speech, which in hindsight, many claim, was the turning point in the Gujarat campaign. Janardhan Dwivedi, who usually pens Sonia8217;s speeches in Hindi, is most likely the author. The speech writer was merely following instructions. The party high command took a decision to deviate from the initial strategy to focus on exposing Modi8217;s development claims when a poll survey showed that Modi was well ahead. It was not only Sonia who diverted the issue to Modi: the prime minister talked of re-opening the 2002 cases against Modi, and Digvijay Singh spoke of Hindu terrorism.

Unsung talent

Both Chhattisgarh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami are very fond of Carnatic music and have on occasion even sung in public. After the Gujarat election, Gopalaswami left for Chennai to take part in a concert, taking along instruments like the mridangam and harmonium. Narasimhan is scheduled to sing with a group of 250 top Carnatic musicians at Thiruvaiyaru, the birth place of saint-composer Thyagaraja Bhagavatar.