While his party remains in crisis and his mother, Sonia Gandhi, valiantly holds fort in the Lok Sabha every day, Rahul Gandhi disappeared abroad last week. According to highly placed sources, he had gone to the US to consult with among others, Sam Pitroda, who he considers his political guru. Apparently, Rahul hopes to chart his future course of action with Pitroda and others.

One of the ideas under discussion is a nationwide padyatra for Rahul to connect directly with people. But before he can launch his action plan, the Congress has to formally accept Rahul’s resignation and relieve him of his responsibilities as party president. The problem is that the Congress Working Committee has to complete this formality but it cannot meet till Rahul returns.

The length of his visit was revealed inadvertently by a senior Congress source the other day when he said the CWC will meet only after July 23.

Puzzled media persons pondered over the stated timeline. Then came the news that Rahul has gone abroad and will only return on July 22. The party can take the next steps forward to drag itself out of its current leadership crisis only after that. Meanwhile, despite her health problems, Sonia has stepped in to fill the void left by her son. She is directing the firefighting operation in Karnataka as well as helping floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhry to the Congress charge in the Lok Sabha.

Rival territory

Jyotiraditya Scindia created a stir in Madhya Pradesh recently when he ventured into arch rival Digvijaya Singh’s territory of Bhopal. Scindia visited a famous adda for gupshup in the city, Coffee House. Apparently, Digvijaya is a regular visitor to Coffee House where he sits and chats with media persons and others. He usually goes there around lunch time which is when correspondents hang out there.

Curiously, Scindia dropped into the well known haunt much later in the day. He went at around 4. There was no media present to chat with so he posed for selfies with the waiters who were all excited to see the Maharaj. He also visited the kitchen apparently where he quizzed the cooks on the dosas they make.

Although no correspondents were present, the media got wind of Scindia’s unexpected visit. His appearance at Digvijaya’s favourite adda made headlines in local newspapers which had a field day speculating about the reasons for Scindia’s intrusion into rival territory.

Finger on lips

Lalu Prasad’s RJD has imposed a total TV ban on spokespersons and leaders and forbidden them from appearing in debates and one-on-one interviews as well. In fact, RJD has clamped down so tightly that it has disowned even those who are presented by TV channels as party supporters. The party has sent a letter to all channels denying any connection to those appearing in shows as RJD sympathisers.

The RJD blackout is quite different to the selective bans imposed by other opposition parties.

The Congress continues to boycott some channels which it feels are biased against it. Official spokespersons are not allowed to appear in debates on the other channels. But leaders are permitted to give interviews. Samajwadi Party, JD(S) and NCP continue to send its spokespersons to TV debates.

The BSP appointed a spokesperson for TV for the duration of the election campaign. But it has retreated behind a wall of silence once again. Enterprising channels manage to find persons they call BSP supporters and include them in debates. Apparently, RJD has no intention of reversing its blackout policy

Change in BJP

BJP organizing secretary Ram Lal’s exit from the party was quite an event. He has gone back to the RSS after being the Sangh’s representative in the BJP’s team of office bearers for 13 years. Party circles believe that Ram Lal was recalled because RSS wanted someone over whom it would have greater control. Ram Lal was seen as someone embedded in the BJP because of his 13 year long stint in the party.

Also, because of his seniority in the RSS hierarchy, the second rung of Sangh leaders who interact with the BJP on a more regular basis than the top brass, hesitated to be assertive with him.

Ram Lal’s successor B L Santhosh checks several boxes. He is younger than the second rung of Sangh leaders. This is particularly important for Krishan Gopal who oversees the BJP on behalf of the RSS. It was felt that Krishan Gopal was unable to take a tough stand with Ram Lal who is far more senior than him. Santhosh is also seen as a hardline Sangh ideologue.

The RSS hopes that this will ensure that the BJP does not deviate from the right path. The third advantage is that Santhosh is a south Indian. Having succeeded in its mission of breaking into non-traditional areas like the northeast and the east, the BJP intends to concentrate on south India. This is the final fortress the BJP must breach to realise its dream of replacing the Congress as the dominant pan-Indian party.