Anil Shastri’s article in the official Congress magazine, Sandesh, declaring that a Dalit should become prime minister some day had several overzealous party members protesting, “What happens to Rahul Gandhi?” The Gandhi scion seems in no hurry to take over. And Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is keen to project himself as the party’s candidate in the forthcoming election, judging by his speech in Parliament earlier this week. Singh’s attack against the previous NDA regime, which mentioned the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, L.K. Advani, by name five times, was to demonstrate that he can deliver a political punch when required. The snag was that Singh’s mild-mannered delivery and bureaucratic style of turning pages did not match the fighting tone of the text. Pawar play Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar feels that his performance as president of the BCCI should be judged not merely by the wins and losses of our cricket team. There are several important measures that he introduced in Indian cricket of which he can be justifiably proud when he steps down on June 31. The cash-rich board has benefited not just the cricketers who are presently playing for India but has also done much for the welfare of retired Test players. The board has fixed an annual pension of Rs 30,000 for retired Test cricketers who have played more than 15 test matches, and Rs 25,000 for those who have played for less than 15 matches. All Ranji trophy players are entitled to Rs 15,000 annually. This is a far cry from the past when a cricket great like Polly Umrigar did not have enough money to pay his hospital bills.Every state cricket association gets a crore annually and the board is willing to put down Rs 12 crore for building infrastructure. Thousands of training camps have been set up throughout the country. Pawar says, contrary to the impression in some quarters, he does not devote more than two to three hours a week on his work for the BCCI. He believes in delegating authority to the right people. Unfriendly allies Political rivals Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav were in an animated conversation for quite a while in Parliament’s Central Hall. Perhaps it was a reaction to the strained relations between the JD(U) and its senior alliance partner, the BJP. JD(U) president Sharad Yadav even stayed away from an NDA meeting last month. The JD is upset with the BJP poaching its leaders, the latest instance being S.R. Bommai’s son Pasavraj Bommai. A no-poaching policy has been put in place. But there is still bad blood, with the BJP claiming that the JD(U) wants to ride piggyback on BJP shoulders in states where it has little political following of its own.In Bihar, meanwhile, there are differences over the third candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat, where both parties are required to pool their surplus votes. The choice is between a prominent journalist and an equally high-profile former bureaucrat. Resigned to fate Even after he lost his ministership and was consistently humiliated by the Congress party, Natwar Singh steadfastly refused to resign from the party, since he would have lost his parliamentary seat. So what made him change his mind and put in his papers? Last month, Natwar Singh attended, along with Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Scindia, a rally in Jaipur of over 200,000 Jats to celebrate the 300th birth anniversary of one of his ancestors from the Bharatpur royal family. Carried away by the occasion, Singh lashed out at the Congress publicly. Conscious that the Congress could use his speech as grounds to expel him, Singh felt it was better to take the high moral ground and resign on his own. Generational change Sharad Pawar, who was elected to the Lok Sabha six times, is categorical that he will not stand for election again from his pocket borough of Baramati. He is conscious of a generational gap. There was a time when he could identify some 40 to 50 per cent of his voters by name, but now he finds he can only place them by asking for their father’s name. Supriya Sule will take over her father’s Lok Sabha seat in the next election. This means the division of power in the family will continue to be clearly demarcated, with nephew Ajit Pawar in state politics and Sule at the Centre.
