Deep Throat

Sitting Blues

Suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad has embraced the Congress—the party that had his father Bhagwat Jha Azad as the Bihar CM. But where does it leave the former cricketer? He has been a three-term MP for Darbhanga and if fielded from there in the summer general elections, RJD’s M.A.A. Fatmi, a Laloo Prasad Yadav man, will have to sacrifice his seat (assuming a RJD-Congress alliance). Else, Kirti may be shifted to Madh-ubani—where Congress’s Shakeel Ahmad and RJD’s Abdul B. Siddiqui are strong. Another option is Kirti versus BJP’s Manoj Tiwari in East Delhi. But with an airport and a proposed AIIMS in Darbhanga, would Kirti like to shift seat?

Untested Factor

Her political debut may have been relatively low key, but the Priyanka Gandhi factor has certainly entered the political narrative. Though her first scheduled press conference had to be postponed because of the Pulwama attack, she reached out to the families of the slain troopers through an empathetic statement. The Congressmen say, she writes her own script. “You wait for her book, Against Outrage. It is going to be a bestseller,” one of them said. All eyes are now on the Congress working committee meet in Ahmedabad next month which Priyanka will attend as party general secretary. It is apparent that the Congress wants to take the battle to PM Narendra Modi’s home turf. The BJP remains unfazed. Party leaders say she is an “untested factor” likely to evoke only curiosity but no votes.

Repeat Star

Rajinikanth has become predictable and repetitive. When he announced his decision not to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha polls the superstar said his fans can vote for a party that would give a stable/strong government, and solve Tamil Nadu’s water crisis. If he rewinds a bit, the actor would discover he said something similar ahead of the 2014 elections, asserting he would support any party that interlinked rivers. When he reiterated that the state assembly elections (in 2021) would be his focus, his fans began counting and reached the conclusion that their leader would be 70-plus then. Will his health hold up till then? They can only wait for his next movie.