Capital Buzz: Is the BJP waiting for this man's exit before the Monsoon session?

The BJP may be keen to have its own Vice President by August 10 to chair the Rajya Sabha session According to those in the know, the juiciest political gossip can be overheard immediately after the Union cabinet meeting.  The buzz in the Capital is all about Karnataka's ministers suddenly buying private bungalows in New Delhi.   

Vice Presidential Games: 

Vice President Hamid Ansari will be demitting his office on August 10, 2017, bringing an end to at least one area of friction for the Modi Sarkar. As a few Union ministers, who were privy to them, noted - Ansari has made many decisions which were against the BJP Govt and PM Modi. 

For example, though Ansari (a UPA nominee) brought the CRPF inside the Rajya Sabha to get the Womens' Reservation Bill passed, for the GST and other BJP bills, Ansari quoted the rules of the Rajya Sabha, stating that there shouldn't be a din while they were being introduced. 

Ansari took several such 'differing' positions, which obviously irked the ruling dispensation. Perhaps that is why the BJP government has not yet officially set a date for the commencement of the Monsoon session of Parliament. According to the political grapevine, the BJP may be keen to have its own Vice President by August 10 to chair the Rajya Sabha session and is perhaps delaying the Monsoon session until after Hamid's term end.

Not that Hamid will not get a standard send off. The Modi government has allotted the spacious Bungalow 31 on APJ Abdul Kalam Road (earlier known as Aurangazeb Road) for him to occupy after demitting his office. 

It is a 'Type-8' government Bungalow in Lutyens Delhi. This is standard protocol. The President, Vice President and Prime Ministers, are allocated spacious bungalows, in recognition of their services to the nation, by the Union Cabinet. 

Much merriment in Cabinet meetings:

According to those in the know, the juiciest political gossip can be overheard immediately after the Union cabinet meeting. It seems PM Modi tends to stay for five to ten minutes after the Cabinet deliberations, to catch up on the latest grapevine scoops from the assembled ministers. The PM, it is reported, is most keen to know insider gossip about the Congress and opposition parties. 

The PM has also been known to enquire about the day's political headlines and the debates that TV channels held the previous day. 

Recently, soon after the cabinet meeting ended, boisterous laughter was heard as the conference room doors were opened. Senior ministers, with cabinet agenda papers in their hands, could not control their laughter.

The merriment seemed to be over the Apex Court sending a High Court judge to jail. A few of the ministers, who claimed to know the 'real' story, began to regale the rest with their tales, including a rumour that the judge had even approached the President for a pardon. Yesteryear legal luminaries in Modi cabinet, made lighter comments, stating that while the Apex Court's decision was far-reaching, it was a fight amongst the judges. 

Rajya Sabha nominations split Gujarat Congress, Amit Shah approves:

The new nominations for seats in the Rajya Sabha are bringing out the knives among the political classes. CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and Congress leader Ahmed Patel are two who face the biggest hurdles. 

As sources said, the West Bengal state unit of the CPI(M) wants Sitaram Yechury to have a third term in the Rajya Sabha. However, the Central Committee does not approve. 

CPI(M) principles of not giving anyone a third term are being quoted by those in opposition to Yechury. There is also the Congress angle. Central Committee stalwarts do not seem to want the 'stigma' of the CPI(M) having to obtain Congress votes to bag the seat for Yechury. Left to himself, Yechury is probably personally keen to be in the Rajya Sabha - as he is seen as the anti-BJP focal point in the House.

It must be noted, that the same Central Committee, in its wisdom, had once turned down the United Front's decision to make Jyoti Basu the Prime Minister of India. 

Similarly, the Gujarat Congress Committee proposed Ahmed Patel for a third term to the Rajya Sabha. But eight Congress MLAs have protested Ahmed Patel's candidature. The BJP, which has been approached by the Congress dissidents, is obviously encouraging rebels like Shankersinh Vaghela to meet BJP leaders, including Amit Shah. 

It seems the Gujarat Congress party is heading for a split. Many Congress MLAs seem eager to show their real intentions against Ahmed Patel. Their simple logic seems to be - "The term of the Gujarat Assembly is coming to an end. Why can't we rock the boat?" 

Needless to say, Amit Shah is provoking them. The overall intentions are clear. The 'Defeat Ahmed Patel' slogans are getting louder.

Happy homes for Karnataka netas: 

The buzz in the Capital is all about Karnataka's ministers suddenly buying private bungalows in New Delhi. At least four of them have, in the past three months, bought spacious bungalows or four bedroom houses in posh South Delhi localities. So why the rush? The insider buzz is that even more ministers from the Sidharamaiah-led Karnataka Congress government are keen to invest in immovable properties in New Delhi. 

While one Minister has given out his residence on rent, the other three seem to be yet to decide. 

According to a few of their fellow MPs, who have been spreading this rumour to the media, these places will be their 'transit' houses - till the Karnataka Assembly elections next year. It appears like they have to come to stay in New Delhi to lobby for Congress tickets.  

Their families may not be keen on staying in Delhi - scared off by the 2 Degree winters and 46 Degree scorching summers. 

(R Rajagopalan is a senior journalist based in Delhi. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect that of Asianet Newsable.)