OF the string of "political birthdays" celebrated by the nation, the three most celebrated and significant included the BSP "Miss. India" Mayawati herself. This was a very important pre-poll birthday which could be as potent and powerful in its outcome for destiny of various political parties in the great Indian Dalit belt of Northern and Central India, and even other states in which BSP, like the BJP, is trying to open its political account in state vote banks in order to mass the national capital. Of course, she received crores worth of gifts at her birthday, even though it was celebrated at a low-key this year. But the real gift she seems to be waiting for is from Sonia Gandhi. It is the gift of "seat share" in the next Lok Sabha poll. Like Kalyan, Maya is also a crucial stake-holder to the march to chief ministership in some north Indian states and also to the crown of the Prime Minister of India, which she too, like many from UP like Mulayam and Kalyan, hopes to wear one day. She is bargaining hard to get the maximum seat-share from Congress. Her calculation seems to be that if the BJP and the Congress go it alone in the Lok Sabha poll, the BJP score cannot cross 150 and the Congress score might come down to 114. Every seat would matter to them. She would not go with the BJP but she could certainly have a controlling role in the choice of the formation of the next government and the Prime Minister. So, why not bargain as hard as possible for seat-share. Her admirers say Yehi to Maya ki maya hai.

THE veteran of politics, diplomacy and many other arts and crafts of public life, the one and the only Natwar Singh, is whispered to be in anguish these days. He is unhappy that his cherished and sacred bond with his professional and political guru is under heavy strain because of adverse circumstances. While the BJP is enjoying a feel-good factor, Natwar is suffering from feel-bad factor. The feel-good feeling of the BJP with rosy dreams of the future full of wealth and power, arise from its successful performance at the SAARC, in attracting favourable FDI responses, increasing consolidated strength from the Non-Resident Indian community and even thaw in hostile relations with Pakistan and China and some successes in tackling the North-East militants and North-West separatists like the Hurriyat Conference. And in almost every single of these successes, those who know, see the hand of Brijesh Mishra, Natwar Singh’s Guru. Natwar’s dilemma is that he learnt most of his states-crafts at the feet of Brijesh Mishra and through political thick and thin, he has maintained his respectful relations with his guru. But now, he is anguished because his party interest is becoming a stumbling block in the maintenance of his guru-shishya parampara. Will he let the party come in his relations with his guru? Wait, watch and wonder.

After BJP’s great leader, Atal Behari Vajpayee ji was offered a laddoo of friendship at his birthday party in Lucknow on Christmas Day, last year, the very politically trend-setting state of Uttar Pradesh was under the great wave of laddoo diplomacy and laddoo politics. When runaway veteran Kalyan Singh celebrated his birthday later, there were many who rushed to him with their political laddoos, including the present Chief Minister Mulayam Singh and his son, several BJP leaders and Union Minister Chinmaya Swami. The laddoo friendship offered by Swami was seen as a laddoo of distress and discord for Swami himself. It seems, some wondered, if Kalyan Singh would really come back to BJP. The rumour network sought to make the maximum out of the discomfiture of the good Swami. They floated whispers that he was taken to task by the party leadership and specially the iron man of the party who wanted to know who had asked him to go to Kalyan, offer him a laddoo and invite him back to the BJP. The rumour-mongers also linked the Swamiji’s absence at talks with Bangladesh and his own Ministry for quite some days to the laddoo backlash. The mystery was becoming deeper and deeper and the laddoo was back in Kalyan’s court. Where would he go finally and why would he go, and who will offer him the next laddoo? There are several questions whose answer can be offered only by the mysterious master of the Lodhas, Kalyan himself.

The two great Naidus of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu and Venkaiah Naidu, are caught in serious poll trap. Chandrababu was swift to dismiss the Andhra State Assembly and demand an early poll to ensure that his party TDP comes back into power. Seeing that early poll strategy of Chandababu Naidu could be very faithful, Atal Behari Vajpayee also mooted the idea of holding the Lok Sabha elections along with the assembly elections, and the iron man of the BJP, L.K. Advani, too supported the strategy. So the BJP and all allies in the NDA were on the upswing. That was the time Congress was in panic and in low morale with no allies and undecided about coalition. Now that the Congress is in for coalition strategies and the expected poll notification in the first week of February, possibly on February 5, the poll bugle is sounded. The two Naidus now face a new situation ----- Chandrababu in maintaining his supremacy, Venkaiah Naidu in his desire to open the BJP account in the Lok Sabha elections from Andhra Pradesh. And Congress is seeking to fight them out as a coalition with other local parties. Will the Naidus swim together or swim in their own lanes?