V.George's moment of glory
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All roads led to Kochi. The survival of UPA might have been under threat but a wedding led all flights to Kochi. The occasion was marriage of Dennis, son of Sonia Gandhi's private secretary Vincent George on June 30. Sonia and her children traveled from Delhi to Kochi along with half the Congress Working Committee (CWC), members of union cabinet and chief ministers of the Congress ruled states. It turned out to be Lily and George's moment of glory and personal satisfaction
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SMS Obsessions

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Manmohan Singh government may be on notice period but its managers are unfazed. A senior functionary is known for his penchant for sending 'sms' to media giving constant update about the health of the government and its leader. Politically, some Congress leaders feel such frequent information flow is having an adverse effect on the
party. At 24, Akbar Road, a probe is on to establish the identity and attempts are on to curtail it.
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Sonia's Flavour of the season

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A.K. Antony is emerging as flavour of the season at Raisina Hills. The defence minister has submitted a report on revitalizing the party to 10, Janpath. If its recommendations are implemented, a dozen ministers in Manmohan government who are holding additional posts in the AICC secretariat may have to give up their organizational
assignments or step down as ministers.

Antony has also become inseparable part of UPA's negotiating team on n-deal. His induction said to have come from the other power centre in the UPA -- the Prime Minister's office (PMO). Antony's presence has ensured that trust quotient between the UPA and Left parties remains intact and misunderstandings that arose during the heady presidential polls are not repeated.

However, Antony's rise has not pleased everyone in the Congress. His cabinet colleague Vayalar Ravi has been continuing his tirade against the defence minister.
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Changing alliances in Maharashtra

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Political scene in Maharashtra is ever changing. The AICC's move to slap show case notice to state revenue minister Narayan Rane asking for an explanation into the fracas at Sonia Gandhi's rally in Goregaon has not gone down too well with the principal dissident leader in Maharashtra Congress.  The buzz in Mumbai is that Rane may float his
own party, with younger son Nitesh at the helm. Rane recently visited New Delhi seeking a change of leadership in Maharashtra but his plea said to have been turned down by the Congress high command,

Nitesh, is the general secretary of the Mumbai Youth Congress. The Ranes and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, Raj Thackeray, are close friends. However instead of teaming up with Raj, Rane may prefer floating own party and then consider forming an alliance with MNS. If it happens, Maharashtra will have three layers of alliances –
Congress-NCP, Shiv-Sena-BJP and MNS and Rane's party.
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Rajnath's pious shenanigans

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BJP president Rajnath Singh was recently spotted at the shrine of Vaishno Devi. On downhill trip, Rajnath was seen riding a pony. A closer look showed that three ponies were moving in a group. Rajnath's aide K.P. Singh was on another pony but it was a presence of another person in the third pony that was laced with political significance.
The person in question also belongs to the 'Parivar' but considered to be extremely close to an influential BJP national general secretary who is perceived to be a rival to Rajnath.

The prime minister in waiting L.K. Advani's move to keep the 'BSP option' open in Uttar Pradesh has not gone down well with many in the BJP. Sources close to Rajnath Singh insist that Advani did not clinch the issue at the party forum before speaking at Kanpur. A section of the BJP is nervous too pointing that closer to 2007 Uttar Pradesh
assembly polls, the BJP had soft-peddled Samajawadi Party and paid heavy price for creating an impression as if the BJP and SP had some tacit understanding. This time around, the Lok Sabha polls are slated to be held sooner than expected and Advani's 'soft' attitude towards Maya memsahib may prove costly.
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Preparing for eventualities

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There is considerable speculation if Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will be going to Tokyo to attend G-8 summit. Not leaving anything to chance, the ministry of external affairs is said to have requisitioned two aircrafts for the visit. The bigger one will be pressed in action in case the prime minister goes and the smaller one
is earmarked for the external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee. MEA sources however insist that Dr Manmohan Singh will be going to Tokyo irrespective of the Congress party's stand on the n-deal.
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Kamal positions himself

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Kamal Nath is born optimistic. Having served at the centre for decades, the Chhindwara MP is keen to become Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. It is a different matter that each time, Nath made a bid to play a greater role in the home state, he was forced to retreat. Now that Madhya Pradesh assembly polls are scheduled for November, Nath is
busy playing host 'unity meets' at his Tughlaq road residence. A recent gathering saw absence of Arjun Singh, Digvijay Singh and Satyavrat Chaturvedi but Nath camp is gloating that most leaders present favoured union commerce and industry minister as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh if the Congress wins the state.