Decks, not desk, cleared

Yuvraj’s vizier

If Rahul Gandhi has emerged the yuvraj of the Congress, then Jairam Ramesh sees himself as his vizier. For Ramesh, the hours he has spent in Parliament listening to debates and chatting with Gandhi, who sits in the row immediately behind him in the Lok Sabha, have paid off. Gandhi, who worked for the Monitor Consultancy Group, is impressed by people who mouth management jargon and have a World Bank approach to development. As convener of the newly set up group that looks into future challenges, Ramesh will be in charge of what could turn out to be the Congress’s key think tank, which will set the agenda for both the party and government. Some even describe it as the cabinet of the next government.

Ramesh, who was part of the strategy group that coined the successful aam admi campaign in 2004, will be writing Rahul’s English speeches. Meanwhile, contrary to popular impression, Ramesh’s publicly attacking his former mentor Ambika Soni has not gone down well with either Ahmed Patel or Sonia Gandhi.

Last ditch stall

BJP President Rajnath Singh is fighting a rearguard battle to stall L.K. Advani’s total takeover of the party. With key office-bearers of the RSS making it clear that they are not taking sides in the BJP’s succession struggle, almost all those who matter in the party have switched to the Advani camp. The only two still with Rajnath are Suresh Soni and Bal Apte. Vajpayee’s letter to the national executive indicating that he should not be ruled out of the reckoning came as a bolt from the blue for the Advani camp, since Vajpayee had offered verbal assurance that he was not in the running for the prime minister’s post because of his failing health. Most attribute Vajpayee’s letter to a close confidant of the former PM who fears he will have no role to play if Advani is in the driver’s seat.

Fount of inspiration

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was dazzled by all things Chinese; from the country’s SEZs to its power plants, metros, and skyscrapers, during his visit this month to the World Economic Forum at Dalian. Modi was particularly impressed when the Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai, a former mayor of Dalian, pushed a remote control switch. The curtain in front of the guests opened and a musical fountain started playing. Don’t be surprised if you see a musical fountain operated by remote control being constructed soon in Ahmedabad.

Joint publicity

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and actor Dev Anand share their birthday. Last year, the Centre for Media Studies pointed out that on television channels, a total of three minutes was devoted to the prime minister’s birthday compared to 35 minutes for Dev Anand. This year, the prime minister’s media advisers saw a smart way to ensure that he was not overshadowed by the evergreen star, now 85. Singh, 75, basked in the publicity generated by his release of Anand’s autobiography.

Jolly Moily

When Janardhan Dwivedi headed the media cell, correspondents on the Congress beat had a tough time, with Dwivedi habitually evading their queries. Under Veerappa Moily’s amiable dispensation, glasnost is anticipated. Already, Moily has promised that journalists are free to phone spokespersons at any time of day or night. Some from the media cell looked distinctly unhappy when Moily made this announcement.