When Sonia met Babu

Political watchers eager to read signals in every gesture are going crazy interpreting the message in the brief exchange between Andhra Chie...

Political watchers eager to read signals in every gesture are going crazy interpreting the message in the brief exchange between Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Sonia Gandhi at a conference of international policymakers on HIV/AIDS last week. He says he only wanted to thank her for agreeing not to field a Congress candidate against late Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi8217;s widow in the forthcoming parliamentary bye-election. But political circles are convinced that these are signs of a thaw in the adversarial relations between the TDP and the Congress.

Certainly, Babu spent more than the necessary few seconds whispering into Sonia8217;s ear on the dais while cameramen clicked excitedly at the photograph of the week. And Sonia showed herself to be no less media savvy than the Andhra CM. Later, over a cup of tea, she brushed aside her own Congress Chief Ministers to chat with Babu, sending everyone into a tizzy again.

Congress circles say the gesture to leave the Amlapuram seat for Balayogi8217;s widow is an 8216;8216;investment8217;8217; for the future. With Babu going out of his way to personally thank Sonia, it seems both sides want to open up another option for themselves, however strange it may sound.

Song and dance in Parliament

It8217;s ironic that the golden jubilee celebration of independent India8217;s first Lok Sabha sitting passed almost unnoticed. There was a symbolic celebration topped by a grand dinner hosted by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan. But the opportunity for today8217;s parliamentarians to rededicate themselves to the vision of the country8217;s founders was lost in the absence of a function in the historic Central Hall.

Perhaps the need for a moment of introspection disappeared in the chasm created by current day divisive politics. It seems no one really thought of putting together a ceremony to mark the occasion. And when the thought finally occurred to the powers-that-be, the main players bowed out. The head of the Indian Parliament, the President, had already booked himself for a two-week break in Ooty. The Vice President was reluctant to substitute for the President as he is technically not a part of the parliamentary system. Besides, there was a niggling fear that it may have an impact on the presidential elections for which he is a candidate.

Now, it seems Mahajan is trying to make up with a song-and-dance show during the monsoon session, using Parliament8217;s Bollywood stars who are increasingly filling in for the absence of tall political leaders. His plans are still on the drawing board but they include a song by Lata Mangeshkar, a soliloquy by Dilip Kumar, a dance by Jaya Pradha and yet-to-be-decided items performed by star-turned MPs like Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha and Raj Babbar. Filmi entertainment may at least ensure a good turnout.

Tension on Thakre8217;s heels

The fall guy for the BJP8217;s poor performance in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh assembly polls has been former party president Kushabhau Thakre. Much to the state unit8217;s distress, Thakre was drafted in as a kind of superboss in UP a few months before the elections. The move only exacerbated the factionalism in the UP BJP but it served to identify a scapegoat for the party8217;s defeat. Thakre8217;s now been shunted off to look after the virtually non-existent BJP units in the Northeast. But this may prove to be a worse decision than the UP one. With precious little work to demand his attention in the Northeast, Thakre is spending more and more time in his home state of Madhya Pradesh. And it8217;s upsetting the local unit which is already split into pro-Thakre and anti-Thakre factions. Considering a crucial assembly election is due in the state next year, BJP circles are wondering at the strange ways of its high command.