Who's afraid of a Chintan Baithak?

Hectic efforts to keep the leadership debate off the table in Shimla seem to have failed. With the RSS cracking the whip, it looks like the BJP's chintan baithak will discuss nothing else. Instead of a tame affair then, the three-day meet could turn explosive. To prevent media leaks, cell phones have been banned at the venue, a three-star hotel run by the Himachal Pradesh tourism department. All the 25 leaders going to Shimla will have to deposit their instruments at the reception desk on arrival, for collection only at departure. It's a tough call for a party that loves to wash its dirty linen in public, in full glare of TV cameras. At the last baithak several years ago, Pramod Mahajan would emerge every evening to brief the press. This time, the BJP is being made to observe RSS rules, which forbid contact with the outside world during chintan. The team that's going to Shimla is a deeply divided one. There are at least four camps, some of which are barely on speaking terms. There's an Advani camp, a Rajnath Singh camp, an RSS camp and a Murli Manohar Joshi camp. Their forced cohabitation under one roof for three days, with only each other for company, throws up interesting possibilities. They could either emerge as great friends or there'll be a fight to the finish for a final resolution of the leadership issue that's tearing the BJP apart.

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The minister with the heaviest burden in Manmohan Singh's council of ministers is Prithviraj Chavan. He is heading the department of science and technology as minister of state with independent charge. He is also a minister of state in the department of personnel and training, the Prime Minister's Office and the ministry of parliamentary affairs. As if this wasn't enough, he remains a Congress party general secretary in charge of Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. And he retains an interest in Maharashtra politics. His detractors envy his full plate but Chavan is believed to be pressing to lighten his burden so that he can channel his energies more creatively and usefully. If anyone in the government is looking forward to a reshuffle, it's Chavan. The other minister who wants a change of portfolio is Ghulam Nabi Azad. Health just isn't his cup of tea. And his swine flu gaffes have only made the brew more bitter.

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The difference between 145 and 206 has hit the DMK the hardest. It no longer has the status of most favoured ally, not after the unexpected surge in Congress numbers. DMK circles have noted with concern that in the three months since UPA 2 assumed office, Sonia Gandhi hasn't telephoned their chief, M Karunanidhi, even once. In the UPA's last tenure, she had made it a habit to speak to the DMK boss regularly, if only to say hello. It was part of coalition management. Times have changed. The allies are beginning to realize that this is not a UPA government. It's beginning to look and feel more and more like Congress party rule.

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Tailpiece
With the constitution of a group of ministers on drought last week, the list of GoMs headed by Pranab Mukherjee has grown to 10. It's still a far cry from the 55 he headed at one stage in the last term but these are early days yet. In any case, Mukherjee is well prepared. His staff includes one officer whose only job is to look after Mukherjee's GoMs and the attendant paperwork.