THE ELECTION MANAGER

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s behind-the-scenes skills were once again at work in the presidential and vice-presidential polls. In the July 18 presidential election, Sarma ensured that 22 Opposition MLAs—the highest from any state—cross-voted for NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu. More intriguing was his sudden, unscheduled meeting with rivals Jagdeep Dhankhar and Mamata Banerjee, one the former governor and the other the chief minister of West Bengal, in Darjeeling on July 13, four days before NDA announced Dhankhar as its VP pick. Later, Trinamool said it would abstain in the VP polls. And guess who Margaret Alva called after being declared UPA’s VP nominee? Ex-Congressman Sarma, of course.