Poster Boy Modi

Modi has now shifted focus to target Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf as his chief opponent. Modi’s election posters carry pictures of himself and Musharraf. The poster reads: Musharraf talks about Hindu terrorists, Modi talks about national pride. Do you want to insult the country or to bolster its pride. The choice is yours. Perhaps the Election Commission should take note of this unethical poster.

Reuniting, Then Splitting

A reconciliation between two bitter political foes last week may well herald major changes in the political line-up in Tamil Nadu in the near future. DMK chief M Karunanidhi is frail and ailing and does not like to travel for even short distances. Nevertheless, he drove all the way from Chennai to Vellore jail to visit MDMK boss Vaiko, who is held under POTA by Jayalalithaa. The two have not been on speaking terms ever since Vaiko quit the DMK some six years ago because he felt that Karunanidhi’s son Stalin was trying to cut him out of the party.

Vaiko’s wife acted as peacemaker in the hope that Karunanidhi could persuade her husband to apply for bail. Vaiko, whose followers have brought out posters comparing him to Nelson Mandela, is determined to sit out a year in jail, but he agreed readily to bury the hatchet and meet his former political mentor. Both men nurse a major grievance against their NDA partner, the BJP, which has been cosying up to their common enemy.

Vaiko, who was the Prime Minister’s most loyal ally from the south, is deeply hurt that national BJP leaders like Vajpayee and Advani have not even bothered to call on him in jail. Karunanidhi was similarly aggrieved that the NDA government did little to save him from Jayalalithaa’s vengeful treatment. As long as his brother-in-law and closest lieutenant Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran continues to be in critical condition in hospital, Karunanidhi does not plan to quit the NDA. But before the budget session, a major announcement is expected.

Sibling Rivalries

Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj organised a press conference for L K Advani last month to celebrate three years of the Vajpayee government. Since Vajpayee was out of the country and his absence was duly commented upon, Swaraj assured that the PM would address a press conference to mark the valedictory function of the fortnight-long celebrations. Doordarshan repeatedly referred to the proposed Vajpayee press conference.

But the PM, irked at the earlier Advani press conference in his absence, did not keep the promised date with the media. On the other hand, Swaraj’s rivals in the party, party president Venkaiah Naidu and General Secretary Arun Jaitley, held a grand function at Delhi’s Talkatora Stadium to mark the culmination of the birthday celebrations. Swaraj, not surprisingly, was missing from the dais.

Luck Runs Out

Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief, Ghulam Nabi Azad had an unerring ability to cultivate the people who mattered and remained a favourite under four different Congress Presidents—Rajiv Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao, Sitaram Kesri and Sonia Gandhi. A feat few in his party could match. Considered a political lightweight, Azad was dispatched to lead the party’s election campaign to the J&K Assembly largely because the powerful Congress General Secretary Ambica Soni wanted him out of Delhi. Though reluctant to leave the Capital, Azad nevertheless covered himself in glory thanks to the voters’ disillusionment with the BJP.

But Azad’s luck seems to have finally run out. While his choice of friends had worked to his advantage, now old enmities have deprived him of the chief minister’s chair. Not only Soni, but also fellow Kashmiri M L Fotedar felt that if Azad became CM, he would grow too big for his boots. Similarly Azad has an old vendetta with Mufti Mohammed Sayeed since he ensured that he had a cosy relationship with Farooq Abdullah.

Money Talk

Hotel owner Lalit Suri has performed the incredible feat of bringing the BJP and Samajwadi Party on the same side even while Mulayam Singh attempts to topple the BJP backed Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh. Both parties have agreed informally to parcel out their surplus votes in Suri’s favour since he is standing for the Rajya Sabha from UP. A BJP MP noted disgustedly that the political consensus which eluded major parties over A P J Abdul Kalam, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Najma Heptullah has been reached with Suri’s candidature; vindicating the old adage that big money has no particular political colour.