Through the third eye

Second to none

AS TRS chief Chandrashekhar Rao and TDP leader Chandrababu Naidu struggle to revive their political fortunes, the Congress high command seems to have become aware of the lack of a credible leadership in Andhra Pradesh. The party high command may have finally got CM Rosaiah elected as the CLP leader after a balancing act with YSR loyalists saw his widow entering the state assembly. But then, both Rosaiah and PCC chief Srinivas lack mass appeal and a social base. In a state where the Congress’ traditional support comes from the Reddy community, the party now finds itself without a single established Reddy leader. And any attempt to groom a second-rung Reddy leader could invite swift resistance from the YSR Jr camp. The ‘leadership vacuum’, party old-timers say, posits the pitfalls of the present high command’s style of putting all the eggs in one basket unlike the traditional Congress style of grooming 2-3 leaders in every state as part of the in-house balancing and ‘checkmating’ games.

Vanishing act

The ongoing twists in the Mulayam-Amar Singh partnership have made some people in the RJD take a closer look at the life and friendships of their boss, Lalu Yadav. Many RJD fellows think that what Amar is to Mulayam, Prem Chand Gupta is to Lalu. In fact, Gupta, once a small businessman from Haryana, had become so important
to Lalu that he even became one of the RJD cabinet ministers in the first UPA regime, much to the anger and envy of old associates of the RJD chief. With Lalu’s blessings, Gupta even made it to the Rajya Sabha more than once from Bihar. But he seems to have done a Houdini ever since the RJD lost its way in Bihar. This MP, RJD people say, is now ensuring he doesn’t attract media glare or cross the path of party colleagues. Practical stuff in a battered party!

Dr Indispensable

BJP president Rajnath Singh’s entry as the opening BJP speaker in the Liberhan report debate was not the only twist that upset the Advani camp’s script for the Lok Sabha floor show. Murli Manohar Joshi is the other issue. It is well known that LK & Co would love to push Dr Joshi into a tight corner. But then, they are also paranoid about Joshi’s proximity to the RSS. BJP floor leaders also found, much to their dislike, that Dr Joshi became a key party speaker when the House debated inflation and the Indian stand at Copenhagen. The LK camp then devised a ploy to keep him off the Liberhan debate, saying none of the saffron leaders indicted in the report would speak. After all, why allow Joshi to steal the thunder and end up indicting Advani for expressing tactical ‘regret’ for the demolition? So, many in the BJP are now praying Joshi doesn’t make any unscheduled ‘intervention’ during the two-day debate, especially after Mohan Bhagwat’s debate-eve margdarshan.

The Left angle

The Left may have become marginal, but that doesn’t stop the comrades from gaining a strategic role in the present House. With a giggle, many Left MPs aver the BJP, faced with post-Liberhan House isolation, is going out of its way to appease the comrades to remain afloat in the ‘mainstream opposition camp’. So, the BJP, which often demanded the dismissal of the WB Left Front regime, has joined the CPI()M in protesting the alleged ‘UPA bid to sack’ the Buddha regime. From the cane farmers issue to price rise, BJP played second fiddle to the likes of the Left, Mulayam and Ajit Singh. It even sacrificed ‘parivar pride’ by not raking up the Liberhan issue before the scheduled debate on the issue. The Left is now taking credit for forcing the BJP to play the ‘constructive cooperation’ role. The things the spectre of political isolation can do...