CHATTERBOX

Ready to drink poison

A top Congress leader and a top Left leader were discussing the possibilities and chances of the formation of a programme-based coalition against the Bharatiya Janata Party. After the substantive part of the conversation was over — the line on China and the US, on minimum wages and jobs, disinvestment, labour law, etc, the Left leader said: “yes, we could consider the possibility of becoming part of an anti-BJP front” And then added: “But will I also have to say that I am a Shiva bhakt?”

Rahul Gandhi as President

Rahul Gandhi, will, if everything goes well, take over as president of the party after 4 December. What are the first changes he will make? Some appointments are expected. Delhi Congress leader and former union minister Ajay Maken and ideologue K Raju (the head of the Dalit wing in the party) will likely be made important pointsmen. To keep the connect between the old and the new in the party, there could be a panel of three vice presidents — a kind of Margdarshak Mandal — to advise him. Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot and Meira Kumar could figure on this.

Can something go wrong?

Meanwhile, there is some anxiety about whether there will be a challenger to Rahul Gandhi. A senior Congress leader who is a former Union minister has sent out alerts, asking reporters to watch out for ‘some developments’ in the next few days. However, the Congress leadership is not worried and believes no challenger to Gandhi will appear.