Bardhan did not pick up the figure out of his hat. He got his information from Prakash Karat, who, in turn, was briefed by Mayawati. At least this was what Bardhan revealed to a group of journalists. The CPI leader was piqued when CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury distanced his party from Bardhan’s claim. Yechury took the high moral ground and said that the CPI(M)’s differences with the Congress were on ideological grounds and it did not want to be a party to attempts to malign the Government or the PM. Bardhan snapped that Yechury appeared ignorant of the ground realities. At a rally he had been asked by Karat to mention the 25 crore figure in his speech. The CPI(M) general secretary had got his information when he called on Mayawati.

SMS Baru

The departure of the PM’s media adviser Sanjay Baru this week will leave a vacuum in the PM’s media relations. Baru, a former journalist, who is taking up an academic assignment in Singapore, perfected the art of the informal SMS to convey what he wanted without making it official. On the day the Left withdrew support to the Government, he sent out an SMS to friendly journalists — “Liberation day”. To make clear that his boss was no pushover, he once sent a message, “The tiger has gone to Parliament in a defiant mood”. He described an opposition leader’s speech in parliament as “pathetic”. After the parliament victory on the trust vote he dispatched the message, “Singh is King”.

Look who’s talking

The changed political equations in the wake of the trust vote, which turned longstanding political alignments upside down, were apparent at Harkishen Singh Surjeet’s funeral. Mulayam Singh and Amar Singh came early and sat in a corner. They were practically ignored by their old comrades from the Left. It was Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party men Prem Gupta and Jai Prakash Yadav who kept them company. The Communist leaders, greeted Sonia Gandhi respectfully, but did not go beyond that.

Mayawati was accompanied by her lieutenant, S K Mishra. The BSP’s newest recruit Shahid Siddiqui placed himself immediately next to Mayawati, but he was soon shooed away by Mishra, who made it clear to Siddiqui that the culture of the Congress, a party to which Siddiqui once belonged, is very different from that of the BSP. Newcomers cannot stick to Mayawati for a photo opportunity and to curry favour. There is a definite hierarchy in the BSP.

Sonia Gandhi made a regal entrance without looking to the left or right and sat in the centre of the dais. Mayawati seeing the Congress leader grab the prime position got up and sat next to her. Despite the political rivalry, the two women talked cordially to each other for several minutes.

Oil and water mix

One of the latest recruits to the UNPA is already having second thoughts. Before the trust vote, Ajit Singh was wooed arduously by the BJP, Mayawati and Congress-SP combine, not just because of the votes of the RLD MPs but because Jat vote can tilt the balance in western UP in the general elections. Surprisingly, Ajit opted for Mayawati. Perhaps his logic was that by allying with UP’s star vote catcher he would benefit the most. Charan Singh’s son forgot the deep-rooted animosity between Dalits and Jats in the region. Till a few years back, Dalits were not even allowed to cast their vote. There is an angry backlash in Ajit’s own biradiri. Jats have not forgotten that Mayawati intimidated farmer leader Mahendra Singh Tikait into withdrawing his remarks against her just a short while back.

Antony shuts gates

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates visited India in February on a bilateral visit to further Indo-US defence ties. Gates’ visit was to have been followed by a reciprocal trip by the Indian Defence Minister to the USA. But despite the best efforts of our ambassador to Washington, Ronen Sen, Antony has thus far avoided being pinned down on definite dates. Perhaps Antony fears political repercussions back home in Kerala.