Congress fixated on train travel

In the Congress, it is an unwritten code to follow in the footsteps of your leader. Before the 2009 elections, when Congress president Sonia Gandhi travelled economy class, all members of Parliament and ministers shunned their executive comforts. But the austerity drive was over once the elections got over. Now, it is not Sonia but her son Rahul who is working on the minds of the Youth Congress.

After the Congress general secretary took a local train in Mumbai, campaign managers are out to promote the theme. The buzz is that every individual should now hitch a train ride if he/she wants to re-connect with Mumbai's middle class. Congress politicians used to the good life are a worried lot now. Several suggestions are being discussed at the Mumbai Regional Congress
Committee, including travelling against the rush. "Even Rahul took a train that was relatively empty," argued one.

Don’t mix politics and friendship
The BJP may have dismissed the Shiv Sena's anti-migrant politics in Mumbai. But when it came to bashing Hindi film superstar Shah Rukh Khan, the two parties displayed their spirit of partnership. BJP politician Madhav Bhandari went to the extent of saying, “When it comes to Khan, we are with the Sena because we want to expose his double standards.” The BJP wondered, “If Shah Rukh were so concerned about bringing Pakistani players to India, he should have inducted them in his team. Nobody stopped him from picking the players.”

The Sena's game plan of using the IPL controversy to hit out at Khan by threatening to block his forthcoming release My Name Is Khan was also endorsed by the BJP. But fashion designer-turned-BJP-politician Shaina NC broke ranks with the party to support Khan and also sought appointments with police commissioner D Sivanandhan and director-general of police AN Roy to argue for him. “Shah Rukh is an old friend,” she said. “I am helping him to ensure his film is not held hostage to politics.” A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Politics of consensus
At a recently held public meeting, MNS chief Raj Thackeray advocated the politics of consensus on issues close to his heart. “It is an ardent appeal to the Shiv Sena, Congress, BJP, and NCP that we set aside our political differences to guard the interests of Maharashtra,” he said. Senior politicians, who have worked with Bal Thackeray, wondered if Raj was voicing concerns that have been worrying them since long. But the big question is, who will take the initiative? To begin with, if the MNS led by Raj and the Shiv Sena lead by his cousin Uddhav can come together to make the sons-of-the-Soil a common plank, it would go a long way in transforming Maharashtra politics. After all, both parties are targeting the same audience. But are they listening?