Sonia’s foreign origins were, of course, questioned by NCP leader and Maharashtra strongman Sharad Pawar, who is now a UPA ally.

Then there is a Bal Gopal, a character who hands over his chief ministership to his wife — no prizes for guessing that.

Besides this, the narrative sheds light on a series of meetings Kirti has with power brokers. Singh calls this “my imagination about how Surjeet would have conducted the entire show during this period”.

The novelist also takes several digs at Marxist leaders who take over the reins of the party after Kirti steps down. He dwells on the CPI(M)’s links with the Russians in the person of a counsel called Lyubov, who comes to meet Kirti from time to time.

Praising the book, well-known short story writer Gulzar Singh Sandhu says: “It is interesting to see how everyone is looking for Sonia, Amar Singh, Lalu and Pawar in the book, which they forget is a piece of fiction. This book is a balanced and correct account of politics of the eight weeks that changed the fate of this nation.”

But some Left leaders like Tarlochan Singh Rana claim Bhau shows “the fall of Surjeet”. According to him, “As a Leftist leader, it was his duty to strengthen the Left and not to side with elitist parties like the Congress. This book clearly shows how Surjeet played politics and helped the UPA win. He comes across as a great political leader but not a worthy Communist.”

... contd.