Delhi’s most famous political addresses undoubtedly are 7 Race Course Road, the prime minister’s residence, and 10 Janpath, Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s home.
Soon, however, the uncertain political climes will ensure less known areas occupy centre stage.
AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa may well turn out to be a significant force in the post-poll scenario, but she has disdained staying in Lutyens’. She will be in Delhi on May 18 and put up at Hotel Maurya Sheraton, which has earlier played host to US presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush, not to mention Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin. “She likes the fact that the hotel is geared to take care of high-profile clients, and is comfortable there,” an aide said.
Another giant-killer is Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu. He is expected to reach Delhi on May 17. While he is known for hosting lavish meals at Delhi’s Andhra Bhavan, Naidu prefers to stay either at party MP Yerran Naidu’s Safdarjung Road residence or at the Taj Mahal hotel on Man Singh Road. The Taj’s Chinese restaurant House of Ming is a favourite with politicos and bureaucrats.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has a bungalow on Delhi’s Rakab Ganj Road, which has recently undergone a makeover and was the venue for a Third Front dinner on March 15.
“The bungalow is alongside the BSP office here and has been extensively made over,” a Maya aide said.
While the two major parties, the Congress and the BJP, have been claiming victory after the last round of polling, the parties have realised the road to forming the government may well go through the doors of these regional satraps.
