Body of Evidence

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The Sanjay Dud-Mayawati fracas over the "jhappi and pappi" stuff provided comic relief from the never-ending venom, vitriol , Varun and vehemence on constant display during this summer-time election. Almost everyone has had an EC warning, and the standard pretext has been the " context" in which the happening sentences have been gleefully uttered. Either way, what has been conspicuously missing in this election has been a sarcastic exchange laced with biting humor. For instance, just why hasn't anyone from the Congress yet said about Narendra Modi that he is always trying to save both his faces? The electronic media has had a field-day as most political parties have appointed spokespeople for dedicated channels on permanent standby. So sound-bytes are completely underwritten, and it is a win-win proposition on both sides, which is a fair deal . But what has been particularly noticeable is the almost condescending manner and....

The Kandahar Effect

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It sounds like a surprising surrender half-way ( almost literally ) in the election sweepstakes by the once-vaunted LK Advani, and more importantly, by the usually burgeoning with scathing over-confidence , BJP. First, their usually reticent and much-calibrated intellectual Arun Shourie makes a " private" disclosure---Narendra Modi for PM ( at an unidentified moment in the future). Then as if on a subtle nudge, the other Arun ( Jaitley) dutifully follows---Modi for PM. As the we-want-Modi chorus threatens to over-take BJP election propaganda, it manifests the party's rising discomfiture, if not simmering discontent with it's Prime Ministerial choice whatever the external facade shows on TV screens. As I have frequently pointed out before, the BJP considers LK Advani like an old, tired horse best reserved for hill-station rides for unsuspecting tourists , not for winning the prestigious Derby--- for that they had rather have their "young" stud machine Modi....

BJP's minor 'aberration', says Kulkarni

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First, let's give credit where it is deservedly due. Mr Sudheendra Kulkarni, the BJP spokesman and PM-aspirant L K Advani's electoral strategist, usually does his homework with thorough conscientiousness. Unlike some of his famous colleagues from the saffron brigade (who look like mouthing practiced obeisance to their great cause), he looks genuinely soaked in his party ideology and the big boss. Although Kulkarni possesses the same zealous over-load that frequently makes Arun Jaitley resemble a snorting bull aimlessly banging his own head against the wall, Kulkarni normally makes an effective pitch for his rather confused party. He makes for a combative contestant that you must respect even if you find him rather insufferably self-indulgent. But yesterday, during a nationally televised election debate (which was far more entertaining than the rain-truncated and lights-failure curtailed IPL circus in South Africa,) Kulkarni went clearly overboard. Or made a tactical lapse. Or maybe....

Sanjay Dud and all that

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Poor Sanjay Dud. One always thought he was a bit over-the-top type, but Dud Saab has stretched the elastic a bit too far. Sometimes you wonder if all those hours we folks invested worrying about his mental sanity and physical state when he was in prison was just a colossal waste of our private time. Sanjay's recent silly communal diatribe against the prison cops, whereby he has now even dragged his late graceful mother Nargis' religion, is in trashy taste. Not surprisingly, it has invited another of those Election Commission notices which by now could become a bestseller given its copious, colorful content. Dutt comes across as an overgrown imbecile, but we should have perhaps guessed that earlier from his new illustrious company and "big brothers". Also, from the brazen-faced way in which he publicly chastised his sisters, family, Congress party, just about anyone for not giving him adequate "love".....

Rahul Gandhi has arrived

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10, Janpath, wore a disconsolate, deserted look in February 2004 when I drove past its long stretch of barricaded compound. Barring the Black Cat commando-led high-security and birds sitting in a disciplined pattern on its imposing walls, there was a perceptible silence around it, with none of the pre-election fervour you would expect. It housed a simple woman, a late prime minister's widow, on whom the great Congress party founded in 1885 had now bestowed their rapidly dwindling hopes. In a few months, India's general elections beckoned. Just a day before, a popular TV channel and a regular national daily's joint opinion polls had indicated that the Congress would achieve a dubious distinction; a new historic nadir comprising a paltry two-digit 99 seats in Indian Parliament. Rumours abounded in high circles that there would be serious internal party revolt if and when the Congress catapulted into oblivion. "India was....

Advani, The Outsider and Aamir

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Shri LK Advani was making a sad spectacle of himself, indulging in taking personal pot-shots at the fast-recuperating PM Manmohan Singh, terming him as a timid weakling, even as Narendra Modi, much inspired, launched his own sharp volley of typical derogatory. For a veteran leader who has perennially planned an ambitious restful night at 7, Race Course Road, it was sheer self-mockery where the BJP supremo was concerned. Advani has had a deep pathological disrespect for Manmohan Singh, and this is not just evident because of the expected mud-slinging during election time. Even at the time of the nuclear debate and other issues, the 0.5 kg dumb-bell lifting marathon man could only think of accusing Manmohan of being a pulpy softie, being guardedly observed by Mrs Sonia Gandhi. But the true reason why Advani loathes Singhji is because in the deadly inner club of the political....