Opinion Changes in fiefdom

Maneka Gandhi,who gave up her Pilibhit seat for son Varun in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections,will be moving back to her old constituency,which she has won six times in the past. Varun will contest from Sultanpur,which is adjacent to Rae Bareli and Amethi and is considered a part of the Gandhi family fiefdom. Varun belongs to the other branch of the Gandhis and is considered an interloper by Sonia’s side of the family. (Though it was Varun’s father Sanjay Gandhi who had originally picked Amethi as a suitable constituency to contest from.)

Meanwhile,present Sultanpur MP Sanjay Singh is contemplating switching from the Congress to the BJP. Singh and his wife Amita have met Narendra Modi. Singh in fact wants to contest against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi. Though he belongs to the Amethi royal family,his popularity has diminished. In the Assembly polls of 2012,the Congress did not win a single seat from Sultanpur. The BJP also does not command much following here,so Varun will be fighting on his own steam. His aides have been working in the constituency for the past six months. Varun says he will not campaign in nearby Amethi. Will Rahul show the same courtesy to his cousin in Sultanpur?

Mistry missives

There was a major showdown between the Congress old guard and Rahul Gandhi’s nominees over ticket distribution in Madhya Pradesh. The differences were not just about ticket selection but also the style of functioning. Senior leaders like Kamal Nath,Digvijaya Singh,Jyotiraditya Scindia and Suresh Pachauri did not take kindly to being summoned to 99,South Avenue,office of the general secretary in charge of Madhya Pradesh,Madhusudan Mistry,to formally discuss selection of candidates for the forthcoming polls. They are accustomed to sending in their list of nominees and holding informal talks. Jaivardhan Singh,the much-written-about son of Digvijaya Singh,was taken aback when he introduced himself before the selection committee and found that Mistry did not even recognise him.

Jibes and poor vibes

The vibes between Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and NCP chief Sharad Pawar are not very friendly. Recently,Pawar commented sarcastically that Chavan seems to get paralysed whenever he has to sign a file,hinting that his Congress ally in the state is not decisive enough. Chavan retorted in his defence that he signs files immediately when the issue is clear cut,but clearing controversial files takes time. His implication was that he did not try to bend the rules like some others. Chavan also took objection to Pawar’s remark that Rahul Gandhi was not yet ready for the post of prime minister. He told newsmen that he does not take Pawar’s evaluation seriously considering that over a decade back the NCP supremo had been totally off the mark in his assessment of Sonia Gandhi’s capability to be the president of the Congress.

Double crossed

Both the Americans and the Pakistanis were aware that spy David Headley was a double agent. But both felt that he was too useful to be dropped. The ISI suspected that Headley was playing them,but it still needed him for Operation Mumbai to succeed. As a precaution,instructions were issued to keep Headley at arm’s length and withhold dates and not introduce him to key players. The Americans,similarly,were so anxious to recruit someone they felt could get them close to Osama bin Laden that they ignored his numerous questionable activities. Headley’s mother and Portia,his second wife,both complained to the FBI that Headley attended training camps in Pakistan and talked about how much he hated India. Headley’s third wife Faiza even tipped off Embassy officials in Islamabad that Headley,apart from his suspicious double life,was making frequent trips to Mumbai even though he had a pathological dislike of India. The US Embassy simply passed on her complaint to Headley. This is one of the interesting nuggets to emerge from Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott Clark’s just-released book The Siege,which provides fresh insight into the Mumbai terror attack.

Quite a steal

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury joked about Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s bid to appropriate Sardar Patel as a BJP icon. He remarked that the BJP was out to steal the man of steel from the Congress’s pantheon of leaders.

Coomi Kapoor