It's been touted as the power wedding of the season. The wedding of Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani’s son Jayant, is perhaps as keenly awaited in country’s political circles as that of Karisma Kapoor in Bollywood. More than 1,000 invitees are expected to attend the wedding reception, to be held in the sprawling lawns of Air Force Auditorium, Subroto Park, tomorrow evening. The actual ceremony will take place earlier in the day at the same venue, and unlike the evening jamboree, just about 40 guests will be attending it. These include some relatives and close friends of the Advanis. All the arrangements for the wedding have been made by Advani’s daughter Pratibha and private secretary Deepak Chopra. Sources said that the invitation card had been personally designed by Pratibha. Made of handmade paper in ochre, maroon and bronze, it has traditional Rajasthani motifs on one side and the text in gold. Sources close to the Deputy PM said the pre-wedding ceremonies, including the engagement, had deliberately been kept low profile considering it is the second marriage for Jayant. The first one had ended in an acrimonious divorce two years ago. Not many people in the power circles — including those who considered themselves close to Advani — were happy at being kept away from the engagement ceremony on August 31. But the Deputy PM is going to make up for it at the reception tomorrow with almost everybody ‘‘powerful’’ in the country included in the guest list. President Abdul Kalam, PM Vajpayee, Governors and CMs of all states, National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra, Cabinet ministers, secretaries to the government of India, industrialists including Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, some filmstars (Advani being a self-confessed movie buff) and prominent media personalities. ‘‘All have been invited. No differentiation has been made on political grounds. Among the CMs, for example, if a Narendra Modi has been invited, so has Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Rabri Devi and Capt Amarinder Singh. Among others who are expected to attend are Shiv Sena heir-apparent Uddhav Thackeray, Jayalalithaa and Mayawati,’’ sources said, adding that Advani was not looking to make any symbolic political statement on the occasion. Air Force Auditorium lawns were chosen as the venue for the wedding since the area is considered safe from the security point of view. And the landscaped lawns are big enough to accommodate 1,000 guests. However, on the more mundane side, the wedding and the tight security arrangements are likely to throw traffic specially near NH 8, Delhi Cantt and Palam completely out of gear. Those wanting to catch a flight are best advised to bear this in mind and leave for the airport well in advance.
