The Right Address
Congress MP Kumari Selja has been allotted Rahul Gandhi’s old bungalow in 12 Tughlak Lane. If you recall, in 2023, Rahul Gandhi had vacated his old bungalow after being disqualified as an MP in a defamation case against Narendra Modi. However, even after his disqualification was revoked, Rahul had not moved back into his old bungalow but was staying at 10 Janpath along with his mother. Since then he had been scouting for a new residence and finalized a Type VIII bungalow at 5, Sunheri Bagh Road last year. His old bungalow was initially allotted to former Punjab Chief Minister and a current Lok Sabha MP, Charanjit Singh Channi, but eventually it was decided that Kumari Selja would move into Tughlaq Lane instead. Given her proximity to the Gandhi family this move would have their blessings.
In Lutyens’ Delhi, certain bungalows have their own aura and come with their own backstory. There was some heartbreak for Chirag Paswan, for instance, when his father’s old bungalow, 12 Janpath was allotted to former President Ram Nath Kovind. Jayant Chaudhary too would have preferred to move into his father’s old bungalow at 12 Tughlaq Road, but has been allotted 25 Tughlaq Road down the road, as his father’s old bungalow is now occupied by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Incidentally, Jayant’s current address was once occupied by Lalu Yadav. Jayant’s father Ajit Singh also occupied 12 Tughlaq Road as a Union Cabinet Minister. To deviate a bit, there is an interesting anecdote about the time when Jayant and his wife Charu were staying there as well, when the doorbell rang they answered the door to find Salman Khan on the other side. He was looking for Rahul Gandhi’s address, at 12 Tughlaq Lane.
Within the Congress there are 10 Janpath, 1 Safdarjung Road (Indira Gandhi’s former residence is now a museum), or even 12 Tughlaq Lane. Within the BJP a much sought after address is 6 A. Krishna Menon Marg that was with former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee till his demise and has since been allotted to Home Minister Amit Shah since 2019. For a long time, synonyms for the Congress and the BJP were 24 Akbar Road and 11 Ashoka Road, respectively, till they moved into their new party offices. Again, while the BJP had no qualms taking residence at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, the Congress was allotted a bungalow nearby, but changed its entrance so that the address would not fall on the same road named after a BJP ideologue. The Congress headquarters’ official entrance is now from Kotla Road and so is its address at 9A Kotla Road. And then there is always 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, earlier known as 7 Race Course Road.
What next for Shashi Tharoor?
Given the amount of primetime debates allocated to Shashi Tharoor’s political future, it is clear that the erudite parliamentarian has built an enviable afterlife for himself, with or without the Congress. Although Tharoor once said that he has “options” other than the Congress, he has not yet revealed what these are. Politically, of course, the BJP would be the most viable option, but will Narendra Modi give Tharoor what he wants? There is a newfound bonhomie between Modi and Tharoor that was visible even before Operation Sindoor at the Vizhinjam International Seaport inauguration in Kerala recently. For his part, Modi has been appreciative of Tharoor’s outreach to the western media explaining India’s actions during Op Sindoor. But in practical terms, will the PM offer Tharoor the foreign ministry? This looks doubtful, for that would mean admitting that the current incumbent, S. Jaishankar has not been able to deliver the needful. Of course, there could be other placements, an Ambassador-at-Large post could be crafted for Tharoor, for instance. But the key question really is, will Tharoor take the leap? Will he be able to retain his constituency in the next elections on a BJP ticket? Or will he take the Rajya Sabha route? It is easy to see what the BJP would gain, for the articulate Tharoor with his enormous fan following, especially amongst the youth, would be an asset for the party, especially since it lacks the bench strength that Tharoor brings to the table. The question really is, what will Shashi Tharoor decide? Will he carry on with the Congress, that is going to sideline him more than ever, or will he bask in the now—and join the BJP?