Mani Shankar Aiyar’s book is making news, some for the right reasons and some for reasons that are uniquely Mani. The book, “Memoirs of A Maverick: The First 50 Years” is the first of three volumes. Now usually one’s memoirs fill one volume, but remember this is Mani Shankar Aiyar we are talking about, and to quote him, he needs 500 words just to clear his throat. So, three volumes for a memoir should not be too surprising. However his comments at a very high profile book launch in the capital (with Sonia Gandhi in the audience) have caused some controversy, for while commenting on former PM P.V. Narasimha Rao’s “communal tendencies” he observed that Rao was the first BJP PM. But speaking at the Festival of Ideas in the national capital, Mani also commented that he could pin point the exact moment in time when he realised that his political career was over. That was when he told Sonia Gandhi that he planned to write his memoirs, and she told him “Go ahead”. That was when I knew that she had no plans for me (in active politics). Well, some would say the alternate employment was more rewarding as the publishing world is richer by three volumes.
Rahul in Amethi?
Is Rahul Gandhi going to contest from Amethi or did the local Congress chief make a comment that was above his paygrade, so to speak? Congress spokespersons are yet to confirm this on record, but off record, they outline the dilemma at hand. Going by ground reports the Congress feels that it is in a strong position to wrest back Amethi from Smriti Irani, especially with a tie-up with the Samajwadi Party on the horizon. But at the same time Rahul is equally keen to contest from Wayanad and has developed a special equation with the constituency and the state. If he wins both then which one will he give up, asked a Congress leader? So why enter into this quandary, he added. As for the other claim that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may contest from Varanasi, there are not many takers for this as this is the Prime Minister’s seat and there is no way he will lose, no matter who contests against him. So there is nothing to gain, apart from some headline play. Hence, Congress leaders state in a battle where every seat counts it makes sense to pit Priyanka in a seat where she has a winning chance. Then, will it be Priyanka from Amethi?
As for Rae Bareli, the former Congress president still enjoys a tremendous amount of goodwill and will probably retain the seat if she contests again. But one thing is clear, the Gandhis are very keen to ensure that at least one—if not two of them—are Lok Sabha MPs from Uttar Pradesh, the state that traditionally sends Prime Ministers to Delhi. In fact there is even a buzz that Mallikarjun Kharge may even contest from the cow belt, but so far it’s only a buzz. Then again, isn’t that how waters are tested?
ROAD TO DELHI VIA LUCKNOW
While attending the Festival of Ideas conclave in the capital, Akhilesh Yadav, former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh got a rousing welcome from the audience, leading the moderator to quip that perhaps Akhilesh should consider the Chief Ministership of Delhi. Quick to retort, Akhilesh said that currently his only aim was to be Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and then added with a smile, “besides, aren’t all roads to Delhi via Uttar Pradesh?”