Flipside: Dilip Bobb

OTHER COLUMNS

For each and every prediction, there is one that says the opposite. The truth of that slightly distorted truism has not, however, deterred India's sun-sign industry, its ever-expanding army of astrologers, from kicking off 2000 with their version of the events that will dominate newspaper headlines during the year. Here are some.

Sonia Wins Trust: Congress President for Life, Sonia Gandhi will win her court battle to retain control of all the trusts she had lost after the ruling party announced "off with the heads". She will be restored as president of the Indira Gandhi Trust, the Rajiv Gandhi Trust, the Priyanka Gandhi Trust and the Congress President Trust. There will, however, be a price to pay. All this will be at the expense of the People's Trust.

Rise of a New Party: A powerful new political force will emerge from the shadows. It will be called the Former Prime Minister's Party (FPMP) and will bring together such well-known personalities as V.P. Singh, I.K. Gujral, Chandra Shekhar, H.D. Deve Gowda and P.V. Narasimha Rao. Apart from Singh, whose ideological hues change almost every day, depending on which art gallery he is playing to, the rest will spend the next few years fighting over who will make the best prime minister.

Janata Dal United Unites: After months of acrimonious negotiations, the Janata Dal (United), the Samata Party and the Lok Shakti will give up their merger plans following differences over the leadership issue between George Fernandes, Sharad Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan and Ramakrishna Hegde. However, the biggest merger in Indian political history after the original Janata Dal was formed, will be resolved when a new candidate for president emerges from the defunct FPMP.

Scramble for Airline Seats: Following the latest hijack, it will become impossible to predict whether passengers with confirmed bookings on Indian Airlines flights will get on board or not. This is largely due to the new policy of sky marshals on random flights who now occupy half the aircraft. Having found it a convenient way to fly free to various destinations on leave, postings or vacations, a majority of officials connected to security apply to become sky marshals and join the airline's frequent-flyer programme.

Power Crisis Helps Laloo: With electricity becoming extinct in Bihar, it will lead to an upsurge in popularity for the former chief minister. He will be hailed as a visionary by those left groping in the dark for having the foresight to choose a kerosene lantern as his election symbol. Since everyone in the state now uses them, at home and work, Laloo will justifiably claim that he is Bihar's leading light.

Indian Cricket Team Honoured: The Indian cricket team will be inducted into the Museum of Natural History which features rare creatures from the deep who display unique characteristics. The Indian cricket team's uniqueness lies in the fact that it has a tail that is longer than its body, and it is the only species capable of grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory.

	METRO TODAY \| DAILY NEWS \| ASTROLOGY \| ARCHIVES \| INDIA TODAY \| HOME