Back in the reckoning

Getting the numbers correct ahead of the crucial confidence motion in the Lok Sabha is giving sleepless nights to Congress managers. And amid the desperation to boost the tally, many a forgotten power player has become much sought after. One of them is noted lawyer R K Anand, who is politically associated with both the Congress and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. The buzz in Congress circles is that he is being used to persuade the five JMM MPs to vote in favour of the UPA. Keen to make hay while the sun shines, JMM chief Shibu Soren is playing a deft hand, refusing to reveal his party’s inclinations. Let’s not forget that it was Anand who had represented former Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao in the JMM bribery case in which, among others, Soren was an accused.