Though the poll surveys predict an NDA victory, the BJP camp remains nervous. One reason for the BJP’s insecurity is astrologer Lacchman Das Madan’s prediction in the March issue of his Babaji magazine that neither Vajpayee nor Advani, nor for that matter Sonia, will be the next Prime Minister. A BJP leader who approached the 82-year-old astrologer to discuss his prediction, hoping that that there was a possibility of the situation improving, received further bad news. While the earlier prediction had foretold an NDA victory, Madan has now put in a rider because of the strong planetary influences working against the BJP and its allies. If the ruling coalition was not very careful, there was the possibility that it might not be able to form the government at all, Madan warned. The astrologer fears that there will be violence in the country between April 19 and mid-May. He feels that Sonia Gandhi’s stars will start improving after April 14 and she will give an impressive performance in the polls. Superstitious politicians take Madan seriously. After all he was the man who predicted that though the Congress would return to power in 1990, Rajiv Gandhi would not become Prime Minister. He also foresaw the Gujarat earthquake. Rajni can’t: Jaya DMK leader Karunanidhi was rattled by the decision of Tamil superstar Rajnikant to back the NDA, but ironically the AIADMK’s Jayalalithaa wants to keep the popular actor at bay. Pramod Mahajan along with two BJP leaders from the State has been working behind the scenes to convince Rajnikant to come out openly in support of the party. Rajnikant is to visit Vajpayee in Delhi next week. The original plan was that the PM would address an election rally with Jayalalithaa and Rajnikant on May 5. But Jayalalithaa has vetoed the suggestion. Despite poll surveys to the contrary, Tamil Nadu’s czarina is certain she will sweep the State and she doesn’t want Rajnikant trying to steal the credit. When the polling agent for the AIADMK candidate from Central Madras put up posters of Rajnikant along with the AIADMK candidate Balaganga, Jaya was so furious she suspended the agent who is her party MLA. Who’s Kishori Lal? The most powerful people in the Congress after the Gandhis are their PAs and secretaries. R K Dhawan’s clout was legendary. During his years of service with Indira Gandhi, ministers, senior government officials and governors bowed and scraped before him. Vincent George may have begun his career as a rookie steno-typist from Kerala, but once he was appointed Rajiv Gandhi’s PA, he emerged as a major power centre. His influence continued even after Sonia Gandhi took charge of the Congress and his powerful rivals in the party have not succeeded in totally clipping his wings. Priyanka Gandhi may not have formally joined politics, but S Madhavan who looks after her tour programmes is also considered a person to reckon with simply because of his proximity to her. Now, those with their ears to the ground in the party are closely watching one Kishori Lal Sharma, a secretary at Satish Sharma’s Rakabganj office. Kishori Lal coordinated all party work for Amethi from Delhi. When Gandhi moved to Amethi he took the affable Lal along with him. Lal serves as Rahul’s driver, PA and butler all rolled into one during the campaign. Picture perfect Since Congress MP Renuka Chaudhary was once a professional model it is understandable that she posed for a calendar to be distributed to the voters in her constituency. But Ram Jethmalani at 77 seems a trifle old for the modelling business. But before launching his campaign in Lucknow, Jethmalani hired a photographer to shoot him posing in different outfits. In one photograph Jethmalani posed in a maulvi’s cap and achkan with his hands raised as if he was saying namaz. In another photo Jethmalani donned a black coat and had one hand outstretched as if he was arguing in court. A third picture shows him smiling genially in a checked shirt and pants. Before the PM made his public appeal to Jethmalani to withdraw from the contest, he had sent his emissaries to persuade the maverick lawyer. The messengers to Jethmalani included not just high-ranking officials in the PMO but also a suave industrialist with a propensity to dabble in politics. Vajpayee is probably not concerned about Jethmalani’s ability to attract votes, but fears that the maverick is capable of much mud-slinging during the campaign Ungovernable Gov Rajasthan Governor Madan Lal Khurana regularly provides copy to local journalists with his statements and press conferences. In fact, after Khurana’s arrival in Jaipur, several Rajasthani newspapers have appointed a reporter specially to cover the Raj Bhavan beat. The numbers have been steadily increasing at Khurana’s weekly darbars for those below the poverty line. Last month, there was such a stampede to attend the darbar that the police had to resort to a lathi-charge to clear the road in front of the Governor’s residence. The darbars have recently been suspended because of the elections, but now Khurana plans to visit tribal areas later in the year and look into their problems. So far Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia has good naturedly kept silent over Khurana’s frequent encroachment on her territory, but it is a moot point whether she will remain silent much longer.
