Through the third eye

The nervous four

RSS boss Mohan Bhagwat has set the cat among the BJP pigeons by declaring that there ���are not just four��� (Modi, Sushma, Jaitley and Naidu) but ���70 to 75 party leaders��� competent enough to lead the BJP. Well, pretenders to the BJP throne are now labouring hard to humour Big Brother.

The striking ���saffron��� kurta Arun Jaitley wore while defending Jaswant Singh���s expulsion at the Shimla press conference might be just one sign of the precautions the aspiring lot are taking after the Bhagwat comment. But how could Jaitley remain indifferent, especially after Sushma Swaraj took the lead in targeting Jaswant by pronouncing his book ���anti-Sardar Patel���.

Narendra Modi, as usual, tried to beat everyone else by banning the book. That left Venkaiah Naidu with just one option: warning the country against believing what Jaswant is saying about Advani these days. Here���s to hoping all that creative hard work by the foursome doesn���t go waste, especially since the ways of the RSS brass, of late, have been making some of them nervous and edgy.

Pressing for trouble

AICC general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi is known for his desperation to make a mark as an effective media manager. So, a goof up was bound to happen. Dwivedi, the AICC media cell head, recently thought it���d be a great opportunity to show off his connections with the Fourth Estate by arranging a meeting between some Delhi Press Club office bearers and Sonia Gandhi last week.

Soon after Dwivedi played the master of ceremonies at the 10 Janpath meeting, came the news of some party leaders questioning the political correctness of his action, saying the Press Club office bearers were facing charges of corruption and mismanagement and a raging in-house campaign for their ouster.

Some leaders are now questioning Dwivedi���s suitability as a prudent 10 Janpath gate-keeper. Meanwhile, the club chaps who met Ms Gandhi have, of course, pasted the photos of their meeting with the Congress chief all over the club as part of their campaign for the ensuing office bearers��� election.

Familiarity breeds...

For the Congress brass, who battled the daily ���pull-out��� threat from the Left, dealing with the Samajwadi Party���s ���empty gun��� is proving to be kids play. The SP���s Agra conclave, once again, exposed the UP outfit���s lack of credible options while being sandwiched between a bulldozing Congress and a merciless BSP.

Every time the SP threatens to withdraw support to UPA-II, the Congress lot just laughs it off, saying nobody from their side ever sought the crumbling UP party���s support. In fact, Congress leaders say the SP is putting up a facade of being a supporting party due to its own insecurity in ���Mayaland���. By now the AICC is so used to the SP���s ways that Congress leaders openly aver Mulayam���s outfit will next ���threaten��� to contest all the assembly seats in Maharashtra.

Die-hard socialists

The SP���s Amar Singh is playing quite the dedicated leader. Recuperating after a kidney transplant in Singapore, the man still didn���t miss a chance address the party during its Agra meet last week. There have been mutterings that Singh���s long absence from the hurly burly was marginalising him or that his health would prevent an active political role henceforth.

Well, Singh came up with a riposte by beaming his address via video link to the conclave on giant screens at the venue. And yes, he spoke from his bedside with a medical mask covering his face. The things one has to do ....