Topping the list of those who will be ushering out the 'noughties' is AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi who will be in picturesque Jaisalmer in the New Year.
The 26/11 attacks in Mumbai had poured cold water on celebrations to usher in 2009. This year, however, politicians seem ready to celebrate a year free of any major attacks.
Topping the list of those who will be ushering out the “noughties” is AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi who will be in picturesque Jaisalmer in the New Year. Gandhi is often out during the New Year, in part because supporters jam his home to wish him. In the past, his holiday destinations included the islands of Lakshadweep and the Andamans.
The rest of the Congress’s bigwigs also seem to have taken the lead. Information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni is spending the new year in Paris, while commerce minister Anand Sharma will be in Goa. Human resource development minister Kapil Sibal has been in Lebanon and will be there for the New Year. While Soni and Sibal are on their official trips, Sharma is on a vacation.
However, Congress president Sonia Gandhi will be in Delhi. After the health scare over the 2007-08 New Year when she got a severe lung infection and was hospitalised for the better part of January 2008, this will be a quiet celebration. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be doing what he does most years — spending a quiet evening at 7, Race Course Road.
BJP leader LK Advani does not mind celebrating out of town (he went to Rishikesh to bring in 2008) but he will be in Delhi tonight. On the first day of 2010, the BJP veteran will go to Gandhinagar, his Lok Sabha constituency, and return on January 3.
New BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who is living out of a suitcase in Delhi, will be in Mumbai and Nagpur for the new year. After spending the weekend in his home state, Gadkari will return to Delhi.
Significantly, home minister P Chidambaram will be very much at home in Delhi. With the sudden explosion in media coverage, new year celebrations for those politicians who choose to stay in Delhi are very low-key, part of the reason why many head out to party over new year’s eve.
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