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In fact, Lucknow is abuzz with reports that Priyanka Vadra dropped in at Singh’s haveli on her recent visit to Amethi.

Singh was not at home so the two did not meet but Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati hit the roof when the story reached her. She immediately ordered the local CID police to snoop around and report back to her. After all, Singh’s wife, Amita Modi, who was elected from Amethi on a BJP ticket in the last Assembly polls, is Minister for Technical Education in her government. Singh cannot hope to bag Amethi as his constituency as long as the Gandhis are in politics but he is said to be eyeing neighbouring Sultanpuri, for next year’s Lok Sabha polls.

Round one to Patnaik

The first round in the latest rebellion in the Biju Janata Dal has gone to Orissa Chief Minister Navin Patnaik. The four Lok Sabha MPs who split from the party recently were unceremoniously dropped from the guest list of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s traditional end-of-the-session dinner for NDA parliamentarians last week.

Thanks to some dexterous handling by Patnaik’s managers in Delhi, it seems to be curtains in the NDA for the BJD dissidents. What cooked their goose apparently was the threat they held out publicly that they would walk out of the coalition if one of them does not become a Cabinet Minister. It sounded too much like blackmail for Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani to stomach.

The four MPs, Prabhat Sawant Ray, Prasanna Patsani, Jagannath Mallik and Kumudini Patnaik, have asked Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi to formally recognise them as a separate group. Their letter did not, however, mention anything about quitting the NDA. Now, of course, the decision has been taken out of their hands.

Whither team spirit

Something happens to their team spirit when Indian cricketers return home. Only four of vice-captain Rahul Dravid’s teammates showed up at his wedding reception in Bangalore — Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman, Mohammed Kaif and Parthiv Patel. Although Anil Kumble is a local and attended the wedding, he did a no show at the reception. And forget the team.

The BCCI was equally lacking in camaraderie. Its only representatives were Board Secretary S.K. Nair and member Rajiv Shukla. Of course Dravid is a low-profile man and didn’t want a glitteratti show. There were no film star invitees and the only politician present at the reception was Chief Minister S.M. Krishna. But he did send cards to his cricketing colleagues. Solidarity seems to be restricted to the playing field.

Stumbling block

The Government’s ambitious plans to resurrect the defunct Indian Council of World Affairs have hit a Congress roadblock. The main Opposition party has refused to give the green signal for the passage of a Bill in the Rajya Sabha to turn the ICWA into a high profile foreign policy think-tank. Although Minister of State for External Affairs Digvijay Singh met Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Manmohan Singh last week in a last ditch attempt to get Congress approval, he is believed to have come away empty-handed. The Bill could not be introduced in the Rajya Sabha although it was passed in the Lok Sabha.

The ICWA, located in Sapru House, was one of Jawaharlal Nehru’s pet projects. He visited Sapru House at least once a week for discussions and meetings. Over the years, however, it fell into disrepute till finally the MEA took it over. The Government’s revival plans include the creation of a 45-member body of foreign policy and security experts under the chairmanship of the Vice-President.