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 Birthday
Surprise
Delhi: Amar Singh's parties are not always
about good food and booze. Sometimes, they are also the occasion for fine
tuning strategy as was the case at the Samajwadi Party (sp) general secretary's
44th birthday bash last week. Surprisingly one of the guests was film star
Dimple Kapadia -- the Congress had nominated her husband Rajesh Khanna to
contest against Akhilesh, son of sp chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, in the Kannauj
by-election. What wasn't surprising was that Khanna was "missing"
the next day, forcing the party to rope in someone else for a token fight.
In Tune With Diplomacy
Delhi: With the high-profile Jaswant
Singh as his senior, Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Panja
does not have much work on his hands. A dejected Panja is now trying out
his thespian talent by acting in plays, singing Tagore songs and ad libbing
select dialogues from Sri Ramakrishna in which he recently played a central
character. In deference, Singh has got a powerful audio system installed
in Panja's room, assuming that music is the food for diplomacy.
Not So VVIP
Delhi: Those of you who watched the Republic
Day parade and Beating the Retreat on TV may have noticed that for the
first time Sonia Gandhi found herself relegated to the row behind the
VVIPs. Sonia loyalists are likely to see this as another effort to belittle
their leader. Nothing of the sort really. For a decade, as the widow of
a former PM, she was informally clubbed with ex-PMs. Now as leader of
the Opposition, she was seated with cabinet ministers.
Cut and Dry
Gandhinagar: Having resurrected his political
career after joining the Congress, former BJP rebel Shankersinh Vaghela
is taking on bete noire Keshubhai Patel in his own den. His technique
bears the stamp of his old party. Traversing Saurashtra, Patel's constituency,
on a rath, Vaghela is blaming him for all the state's ills, including
the drought. Talk about dry humour.
CONFESSIONAL
Four years after he quit the Congress to protest its decision
to ally with AIADMK, G.K. MOOPANAR announces a tie-up with Jayalalitha's
party.
Why this volte face?
It is not a volte face but a wise decision. As an opposition party,
the Tamil Maanila Congress wanted to pin down the ruling DMK-BJP coalition.
Will you review your decision now that Jayalalitha has been convicted
in the Pleasant Stay Hotel case?
The decision was taken after much thinking. There is no need to change
it now.
You could have contested on your own?
That would only have helped
the DMK-BJP alliance as we would have split the secular vote as we did
in the Lok Sabha elections.
But you still support the DMK-led Government in Pondicherry?
That is because we don't want to force an election there.
P. Chidambaram must have been dead set against your decision to back the
AIADMK ?
Did he tell you that? No. Everyone was consulted before the decision
was taken.
But R. Chokkar, MLA, has already resigned.
Everyone knows his heart lies with the DMK. He is close to M. Karunanidhi.
-L.R.Jagadheesan
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