Which man, which post? Talking about rules and regulations in the Congress Party is akin to cracking a joke, unless the same serves your purpose. Take for example Anand Sharma. He is Congress’ deputy leader in Rajya Sabha. However, he clearly has eyes for an opening. From the day Ghulam Nabi Azad was made incharge of Uttar Pradesh, Anand Sharma has been hopeful that under the one-man-one-post rule, he’ll be promoted as the leader of the Party in Rajya Sabha. Curiously, several newspapers and channels started mentioning the rule around the same time. Seeing the post slipping from under his feet, Ghulam Nabi Azad started saying that only a person more deserving that him can be elevated. While no names were mentioned, the insinuation was not lost on those who were in the know. Although this made the entire thing very messy, Sharma hasn’t been perturbed at all. The dream remains… the post too…
frying pan or… If Sidhu’s status inside BJP was of an also-there, his status in AAP is no different. He left his seat for Arun Jaitley in lieu of the promise of a Rajya Sabha seat. That never came along because of opposition from Prakash Singh Badal. Eventually, Sidhu was nominated to the Rajya Sabha and was promised a ministerial berth. That didn’t materialize either courtesy a veto by Badal and Jaitley. Sidhu had no option but to say goodbye to the Party. But the rumour has it that AAP might be rescinding on its promise of making him the CM candidate for Punjab. Congress already has a CM candidate in place, so there’s no chance of Sidhu going there. Meanwhile, Sidhu is trying to choose between the frying pan and the fire…
Crossroads’ crossword After Najma Heptulla has left the cabinet, she has pretty little to do. There’s no ministry to go now, so Rajya Sabha is the only place to hang-out. When she was with the Treasury Bench, it required the involvement of all her attention. Now, at the crossroads of her political tenure, she has been spotted playing crossword on her mobile. One would recall that when she was Deputy Speaker of the House, she used to make remarkable and memorable caricatures of members during the proceedings. She does not have the vantage point to do that anymore. Apparently, Indira Gandhi also used to solve crosswords during her idle time. Rumour has it that the PM is happy with her; hence, she might be nominated as a governor soon. What, more crossword time?!
reach out to seek out Priyanka Gandhi does not think twice before going to someone and seeking his or her advice. Rahul Gandhi, as any one covering the beat will tell you, is a stark opposite. In his defence, he says that since he keeps meeting people in the Parliament as well as Congress headquarters, he does not need to pay anyone a visit. But these things matter. Priyanka, for example, reached Ghulam Nabi Azad’s house to deliberate about UP. She didn’t wait for him to visit her. Azad has been singing her praise since then and has made her meet many party workers in UP. This has helped establish her considerably within party workers.
