The buzz about new alignments in Tamil Nadu has increased after Rahul Gandhi met actor-turned-politician Kamal Hasan recently. The meeting assumes added significance because Priyanka Gandhi dropped in unexpectedly, say sources familiar with the shifting political ground in the south Indian state. The brother and sister talked hard politics with Hasan for about 45 minutes.

It seems Priyanka is keen to form an alliance with Hasan who she feels is a fresh face in Tamil politics. The budding friendship with the former actor is ripening because the Congress has received indications that DMK leader M K Stalin may not give the party more than a handful of the 40 Lok Sabha seats to contest.

This will put the Congress at a disadvantage. The party wants to increase its tally in 2019 as much as possible for better bargaining power with its regional allies. But to push up its tally, it must contest as many seats as possible.

It is said that Rahul is exploring the option of an alternative grand alliance in Tamil Nadu to take on the two Dravidian giants, AIADMK and DMK. Apart from Hasan, Rahul is said to be also talking to the two Communist parties and to TTV Dhinakaran, nephew of Jayalalitha’s close aide Sasikala.

Dhinakaran floated his own party AMMK after winning the R K Nagar assembly seat in a controversial and hotly contested bye-election in December 2017.

The 2019 general election could see some new and interesting political realignments.

RS race hots up

The race for the post of deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha is heating up as the monsoon session of Parliament nears. The post has fallen vacant with the exit of Congress leader P J Kurien from the Upper House after his term ended.

The Congress is believed to have offered to support a Trinamool Congress MP for the coveted post as a joint opposition candidate. The contest would give the opposition an opportunity to test its strength as a united front against the BJP and its remaining allies.

On paper, the opposition has the numbers to win the election. But there are cracks in its unity. BJD, for instance, has not made any promises about which way its nine MPs will vote. Although BJP chief Navin Patnaik shares a good relationship with Trinamool boss Mamata Banerjee, he does not want to be seen in any arrangement that includes the Congress. His motto has always been equidistance from both Congress and BJP. BJD could thus decide to abstain.

The other troublesome party is TRS which has six members in the Rajya Sabha. Although at one point TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao was all fired up about a federal front and travelled all the way to Kolkata to discuss it with Mamata, he seems to have cooled off in recent weeks.

According to the political buzz in the Capital, the BJP has approached KCR to support its nominee for deputy chairperson. It seems KCR is wavering. Like Patnaik, he does not want to be seen in any front that includes the Congress which he regards as his main rival in Telengana.

Meanwhile, the BJP is rushing to fill vacancies in the Rajya Sabha so that it has more numbers on its sides. There are at least three vacancies for elected members and a similar number for nominated members. The election for the deputy chairperson will be held only after these vacancies are filled, say BJP managers.

The monsoon session is scheduled to begin on July 18. Much of its time and energy are likely to be expended on gathering numbers for the election of the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

Miffed Mamata

Mamata Banerjee has made no secret of her annoyance with TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao. Her anger was visible during the recent meeting at NITI Aayog for which chief ministers from around the country descended on the Capital.

While she was here, she dispatched boxes of Bengal’s newly developed Amrapali mango to friends and important people. This is a hybrid mango grown in the Malda region and is known for its juice and delicate flavor.

Mangos were sent to Narendra Modi, Sonia Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Chandrababu Naidu and many others. But KCR did not receive a box. Some may say it’s an unwise move on Mamata’s part especially when she could do with TRS support for her candidate in the upcoming contest for the Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson post.

But those who know the mercurial Trinamool chief say that Mamata never forgives a betrayal. And she feels betrayed by KCR after he reneged on his assurance of support to her idea of a federal front.

Interestingly, KCR is one of the few chief ministers who Modi met, apart from his own BJP CMs. The PM did not give time to opposition CMs.

Caste card?

It looks like Aam Aadmi Party has decided to compromise and play caste politics for next year’s assembly elections in Haryana. It recently announced its candidate for chief minister of the state and puzzled AAP supporters by adding a caste prefix to the nominee’s name. “Pandit Navin Jaihind,” the AAP spokesman said while declaring the name of the party’s CM candidate.

AAP supporters are also mystified by the choice of a Brahmin. Haryana is a state dominated by Jats, OBCs and Dalits. Brahmins are a miniscule community. So, why choose a Brahmin and why emphasise his caste? Clearly, there is confusion churning in the party.