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Friday, July 18, 2008
UPA close to comfort zone?
The political potboiler bubbling over in the Capital has acquired all the uncertainty of the final overs of a tense Twenty20 match with a hint of match-fixing to boot: UPA is scrambling for runs, the NDALeft-Mayawati combine is looking for a few sharp runouts while bookies are furiously working the phones.
With just four days to go for the crucial vote in the Lok Sabha that will decide the fate of the Manmohan Singh government, the pressure cooker atmosphere is almost unbearable. It's war out there as parties seek to secure their flocks while raiding rival pens to make off with prize catches that they hope will make all the difference in next week's showdown.
It is difficult keeping track of MPs, some who are giving the term "multi-tasking" a new meaning. Take the case of Congress's Karnal MP Arvind Sharma, who late on Thursday night assured his party he would very much vote for the government. But on Friday morning, he was on the verge of joining BSP, launching a broadside against Congress for "targeting" UP chief minister Mayawati.
No party can afford to let its guard down. NDA learned this the hard way when UPA __ NCP, to be precise __ sneaked up on JD(U) MP from Lakshadweep, P Koya, and sought to snare him. JD(U) was working hard to retrieve him when BJP urgently sent its senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu to Karnataka, where its MP from Dharwad (south), Manjunath Channappa, had fallen to the guiles of Congress. Naidu is hoping to stop him, besides seeking to build on the contacts his colleagues have claimed to have established with two Congress MPs.
BJP sources claimed that a couple of its MPs from the North-east had been approached with "offers" if they batted for the government. Some MPs have even received text messages, perhaps inking a new chapter in telemarketing. Some of the players are new, even first termers, who feel jittery about their re-election and, therefore, vulnerable to seductive pitches. But there are a few veterans who know all about playing on doctored pitches, like JMM chief Shibu Soren who has the dubious privilege of having been associated in the infamous 1993 buyout which saved the P V Narasimha Rao government. SWINGING FOR THE DEAL
Cong looks to bag Mohammed Koya, JD(U) MP from Lakshadweep, BJP MP Manjunath from K’taka
Cong MP from Karnal Arvind Sharma set to join BSP, MP from Sirsa Atmaram Gill may follow suit.
DMK rebel Dayanidhi Maran falls in line, but four SP MPs refuse to back UPA JMM chief Shibu Soren still keeps BJP, Cong guessing, but tilting to NDA. RLD leader Ajit Singh undecided
BJP’s “kabootarbaaz” MP Babulal Katara promises to support party, but former action star Dharmendra missing in action
BJP alleges two of its north-east MPs tapped over mobiles to defect. Some offers made through SMS
With just four days to go for the crucial vote in the Lok Sabha that will decide the fate of the Manmohan Singh government, the pressure cooker atmosphere is almost unbearable. It's war out there as parties seek to secure their flocks while raiding rival pens to make off with prize catches that they hope will make all the difference in next week's showdown.
It is difficult keeping track of MPs, some who are giving the term "multi-tasking" a new meaning. Take the case of Congress's Karnal MP Arvind Sharma, who late on Thursday night assured his party he would very much vote for the government. But on Friday morning, he was on the verge of joining BSP, launching a broadside against Congress for "targeting" UP chief minister Mayawati.
No party can afford to let its guard down. NDA learned this the hard way when UPA __ NCP, to be precise __ sneaked up on JD(U) MP from Lakshadweep, P Koya, and sought to snare him. JD(U) was working hard to retrieve him when BJP urgently sent its senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu to Karnataka, where its MP from Dharwad (south), Manjunath Channappa, had fallen to the guiles of Congress. Naidu is hoping to stop him, besides seeking to build on the contacts his colleagues have claimed to have established with two Congress MPs.
BJP sources claimed that a couple of its MPs from the North-east had been approached with "offers" if they batted for the government. Some MPs have even received text messages, perhaps inking a new chapter in telemarketing. Some of the players are new, even first termers, who feel jittery about their re-election and, therefore, vulnerable to seductive pitches. But there are a few veterans who know all about playing on doctored pitches, like JMM chief Shibu Soren who has the dubious privilege of having been associated in the infamous 1993 buyout which saved the P V Narasimha Rao government. SWINGING FOR THE DEAL
Cong looks to bag Mohammed Koya, JD(U) MP from Lakshadweep, BJP MP Manjunath from K’taka
Cong MP from Karnal Arvind Sharma set to join BSP, MP from Sirsa Atmaram Gill may follow suit.
DMK rebel Dayanidhi Maran falls in line, but four SP MPs refuse to back UPA JMM chief Shibu Soren still keeps BJP, Cong guessing, but tilting to NDA. RLD leader Ajit Singh undecided
BJP’s “kabootarbaaz” MP Babulal Katara promises to support party, but former action star Dharmendra missing in action
BJP alleges two of its north-east MPs tapped over mobiles to defect. Some offers made through SMS
# posted by gopi @ 6:48 PM 
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