Sonia146;s stun gun

Now that she8217;s shed her reserve and decided to go the whole hog, Sonia Gandhi is springing surprises every day. She disarmed Sharad Paw...

Now that she8217;s shed her reserve and decided to go the whole hog, Sonia Gandhi is springing surprises every day. She disarmed Sharad Pawar with her candid comments on her party8217;s electoral prospects when she met him for that famous cup of tea last week. Much to Pawar8217;s shock, she was brutally frank. The initiative is with them the BJP, she apparently admitted and added that they had the advantage of allies, a well-oiled machinery and sentiment. She said she had already made changes in the Congress set-up and would be making more. She feared, however, that it may be too late.

Sonia went armed with facts and figures and, putting their heads together, the two did a state-by-state assessment of the Congress8217; strengths and weaknesses and places where the NCP could make a difference.

The meeting left Pawar stunned. More so because she told him that Manmohan Singh would negotiate the seat sharing arrangement with the NCP. Now Singh knows next to nothing about Maharashtra and its demography. By keeping her Maharashtra stalwarts out of the discussions, Sonia seems to have handed the state to Pawar on a platter.

That sick feeling

For the past five years, Atal Behari Vajpayee has been the victim of rumours of ill-health. Last week, L.K. Advani was stung for the first time. A story about a supposed heart attack spread like wildfire, causing the Sensex to plunge, the BJP grapevine to buzz and Advani to get that haunted feel.

It all started with the deputy prime minister8217;s no-show at Vajpayee8217;s rally in Hyderabad during the party8217;s national executive. His absence was initially attributed by none other than his own party leaders to a fit of pique because his cut-outs were missing from the venue. Actually, Advani was in bed with viral fever.

The next day, he had to change his plans suddenly because of Janata Dal leader R.K. Hegde8217;s death. He flew to Bangalore to condole with the family. When he didn8217;t return to Delhi as scheduled, rumours began that he had suffered a heart attack and his residence was swamped with phone calls.

The episode became the conversation centerpiece at the banquet he hosted for his counterpart from Singapore the day after. All the guests inquired after his health. One of them even joked that the Vajpayee malaise had transferred to Advani. Vajpayee, who was standing within earshot of the many solicitous enquiries, must have empathised with Advani8217;s discomfiture.

Mix and match

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The most unlikely political match that8217;s being pushed in this season of merry alliances is between the Congress and Kalyan Singh8217;s Rashtriya Kranti Party. And the matchmaker is none other than Singh8217;s confidante, Kusum Rai. A few days after Congress leader Subodh Kant Sahay wished Singh on his birthday with a bouquet of flowers and an invitation to join the 8216;8216;secular front8217;8217;, Rai got the former BJP chief minister to talk to Sonia Gandhi on the phone. The next step was a secretive, two-hour one-on-one meeting between Rai and Sonia.

Rai opened channels to the Congress several months ago through Priyanka Vadra. But it is only now, when Singh is actively negotiating a homecoming with the BJP, that Rai is openly pushing the Congress connection. She knows it8217;s all over for her once Singh is back in the BJP.

She8217;s probably fighting a losing battle, however. Singh8217;s son, Rajvir Singh, wants to reclaim the BJP brand. He feels that there8217;s no future for either of them in a small party like the RKP. Like a good father, Singh seems to have opted to put his son8217;s welfare first. According to the buzz in the BJP, the deal with Singh is almost through and he should be rejoining the party any day now. It8217;s quite a change for a party that8217;s never taken back any one who8217;s been expelled.