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No jail call

Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule is good friends with Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi,and they are frequently seen together in Parliament. But during Kanimozhi’s six-months incarceration in Tihar,Sule did not visit her even once. It is not that Sule did not sympathise with her friend,but she feared the media would find out about the visit, make it into a big issue and draw unfounded conclusions. “I had my fingers burnt with the media over the IPL and I don’t want to get into a position like that again,’’ she explained. The moment Kanimozhi was out of jail,Sule called on her friend.

Family discord

At the three-day festival on Kashmir at the India International Centre last week,the strained relations between J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his father,Minister of New and Renewable Energy,Farooq Abdullah,were evident. When the elder Abdullah put out his hand,Omar ignored his greeting and muttered,“I don’t want to talk to you.’’ Omar had reason to be peeved. He had hosted the event to boost tourism in the Valley. The Chief Minister spoke of Kashmir’s rich cultural heritage and idyllic scenery and pointed out that Kashmir this year had the highest number of tourists in the last two decades. Farooq,on the other hand,appeared to sabotage his efforts to stress normalcy in the state by remarking that the shadow of Pakistan continued to loom over Kashmir. Farooq also took a dig at his son for speaking in English,commenting that though he was married to an Englishwoman,he would prefer to speak in Urdu,a language of refinement in which even swear words sound like praises.

House hunting

Rahul Gandhi’s Young Turks are looking for a spacious private bungalow in Lucknow to be used as the unofficial party headquarters for the UP Assembly elections,which will include a war room for strategy sessions. Some suitable houses in the UP Capital have been identified but the landlords are reluctant to rent their premises for fear of getting caught in the Mayawati-Congress crossfire. While Gandhi’s young colleagues are keen for him to devote the next few months in preparations for the UP assembly elections due in April,the seasoned seniors in the party feel it is an unwise strategy for Gandhi to put all his eggs in one basket. They point out that even if thanks to Rahul’s efforts,the Congress doubles the number of Assembly seats from the present 22,it is still a drop in the ocean. The UP Assembly has some 403 seats so Gandhi may not get much credit for his efforts.

Looking to her advantage

Mamata Banerjee is unlikely to be content with the rollback of FDI in retail. She is all set to scuttle some other economic reforms. Banerjee can afford to be obstreperous— unlike other UPA allies,she is not concerned if the government falls. The Trinamool leader believes that a parliamentary election in the near future would be to her advantage. At present,she has only 19 of the 42 Lok Sabha MPs from West Bengal,whereas if an election were held in the near future,she hopes to pick up more seats. However,two years down the line,some of the shine of the Trinamool would have worn off and Banerjee might not be so favourably placed.

Observing social niceties

Sharad Pawar was seen last week deep in conversation with L K Advani in Parliament’s central hall. Some time back in London,BJP president Nitin Gadkari had a lengthy meeting with Pawar. The NCP leader’s daughter Supriya Sule made news by calling on Bal Thackeray recently,and Pawar acknowledges he keeps in regular touch with the Sena’s Manohar Joshi. The Congress believes the NCP is deliberately hobnobbing with the NDA as part of a game of brinkmanship to bring about an understanding over seat sharing for the Mumbai Municipal Corporation election. The NCP sees it differently. It does not believe in political untouchability and is happy to accept social invitations from any quarter. It rankles that Sonia has yet to invite the NCP leaders to tea.