The appointment of senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kamal Nath as general secretaries has resulted in fresh allocation of rooms at the Congress headquarters. This is touchy as a leader’s standing in the pecking order is determined by the office space s/he occupies. Since it is the norm to accommodate the seniors in the main office building, Congress general secretary Mukul Wasnik’s room has been allotted to Mr Azad while Mr Nath has been given the room occupied by the party’s communications department chief Randeep Singh Surjewala who has been moved to a room in the rear. While the scramble for rooms continues, nobody is able to understand how Mr Wasnik, who never visits the party headquarters and is perceived to be the most lackadaisical general secretary, has been housed in a set of four rooms in the main building, once occupied by the all-powerful Congress president’s political secretary Ahmed Patel. This obviously means Mr Wasnik continues to be the leadership’s favourite despite his failures.
Meanwhile, the relatively junior party secretary Asha Kumari, who was recently given charge of Punjab, got carried away by her new appointment and wanted Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed’s spacious room. When her request was turned down, she argued that she needed a large room since Punjab was an important state and it was imperative to win the Assembly election. Unmoved by her request, party treasurer Motilal Vora told her, “If you want to win Punjab, camp in Chandigarh.” When MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan declared his intention to create an Anand Mantralaya or “happiness ministry” way back in March, several ministers in his government — notably Yashodhra Raje and Maya Singh — set their eyes on this unusual portfolio. They were particularly keen to take on this assignment as it was perceived as a novelty.
More importantly, all the popular welfare schemes like “Kanyadan Yojana”, “Teerth Darshan” and “Ladli Laxmi” are expected to be administered by the new ministry, which will automatically make the minister the face of populist programmes. However, they could be in for a disappointment as Mr Chouhan has been advised by his aides to head the ministry himself, since the welfare programmes were initiated at his behest and the creation of a “Happiness ministry” was his brainchild. Having to live in the shadow of charismatic Prime Minister Modi, Mr Chouhan is constantly thinking of new and ways to establish his popularity. He wants to be the first minister to head the country’s first “Happiness ministry”.
The Presidential election is not due till next July, but the RSS is learnt to have started shortlisting possible candidates. It is said to be keen on RSS loyalist Murli Manohar Joshi and has apparently sought feedback from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. The Prime Minister will not be happy with this choice as Mr Joshi, along with senior leaders L.K. Advani and Yashwant Sinha, has publicly criticised the Modi government on several occasions though he has maintained a low profile for some time now. While the race for Rashtrapati Bhavan is going to heat up in the coming months, President Pranab Mukherjee, who completes four years in office on July 25, is oblivious to the swirling speculation about his successor. He is now planning a three-day sojourn in Darjeeling at the insistence of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who is planning to join Mr Mukherjee on this holiday.
The iftar party hosted by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav last week was attended by a host of Opposition leaders, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi. While attendance by leaders from the Congress and Left parties was expected, the presence of minister of state for parliamentary affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as the sole representative of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, created a buzz at the party. Mr Naqvi usually seeks to play down his Muslim identity and goes out of his way to speak out on his party’s pet subjects like love jihad and the beef ban. Nobody can forget his public outburst when he angrily declared that those who wish to eat beef should go to Pakistan. But Mr Naqvi was seen in a new avatar at the iftar party as he appeared eager to highlight his minority status. He even donned the traditional Muslim skull cap — nobody can forget how Prime Minister Narendra Modi had once refused to do so. Maybe this change of heart has something to do with the widespread speculation that he could be given charge of the minority affairs ministry in place of Najma Heptulla in the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle.
