Who’s Coming to Tharoor’s Party? Shringla Headed for a Bigger Role?-By-Anita Katyal

Both Venugopal and Surjewala are known Rahul Gandhi loyalists and their presence or absence at Tharoor’s (in picture) party will be a message in itself. — Internet

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The invitees usually include a mix of leaders from the Congress as well as other Opposition parties like Mohua Moitra and Supriya Sule. Since Shashi Tharoor is currently in the “disgruntled” category, speculation about the guest list is building up.

There appears to be no end to the Shashi Tharoor saga as the Thiruvananthapuram MP has a knack of being in the news. This time it is not his controversial statements which are the subject of animated discussion but his July 24 annual mango party, the first social get-together post Operation Sindoor. The invitees usually include a mix of leaders from the Congress as well as other Opposition parties like Mohua Moitra and Supriya Sule.

Since Tharoor is currently in the “disgruntled” category, speculation about the guest list is building up. Congress insiders are keeping a close watch to see if any BJP leader will be invited, given Tharoor’s growing proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is also to be seen whether party office bearers like K.C. Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala will be invited and if they are, will they put in an appearance as they do every year? Both Venugopal and Surjewala are known Rahul Gandhi loyalists and their presence or absence at Tharoor’s party will be a message in itself. Meanwhile, several Congress leaders who are unhappy with the party’s top leadership have been sending feelers to Tharoor that they would like to be invited to the party. They essentially want to make a point to the Congress high command about their unhappiness with the functioning of the party without saying anything which could get them into trouble.

Over the past few months, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the transfer of a large number of bureaucrats. The decision to replace Shishir Singh with Bhadohi deputy magistrate Vishal Singh as the new director, information and culture, had shocked everyone as the former was known to be close to the chief minister and held the position for five years. Political observers in UP point out that there has been a perceptible change in the news coverage of the Yogi government after Vishal Singh was designated information director. The local legacy media is no longer shying away from carrying occasional critical news reports about the UP government. Though there are no personal attacks against Yogi Adityanath, the stories generally focus on government policies, unheard of till a few months ago. It is not clear if this is the leadership’s considered decision or a reflection on the new officer.

Though Congress members have accepted that Rahul Gandhi is the face of the party, there is growing resentment over his choice of office bearers in the organisation. Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, a Rahul Gandhi favourite, has been a target since his appointment and there is constant speculation about his removal. But Venugopal remains well entrenched. Similarly, leaders are unhappy that Rahul Gandhi had ignored experienced leaders and instead picked Anil Jaihind as chairman of the party’s OBC department and Rajendra Pal Gautam for the Scheduled Caste department as neither has had any strong connection with the Congress. Senior OBC leaders like Veerappa Moily and others are particularly upset as they have been championing the cause of backward classes in party fora for years now. Again, over 30 senior leaders of Jammu and Kashmir Congress have dashed off a letter to Rahul Gandhi expressing their unhappiness with Tariq Hameed Karra’s appointment as the state party chief. The signatories to the letter maintain that since he took over, they have not been consulted in organisational matters despite the fact they have years of experience in the field. Karra is also a Rahul Gandhi protégé.

There had been a strong buzz in the run-up to last year’s Lok Sabha elections that former foreign secretary Harsh Shringla would be fielded for the Darjeeling seat. On his part, Shringla had been positioning himself for such an eventuality as he participated in several programmes during his regular trips to Darjeeling. Shringla failed to make a cut for the Lok Sabha but he has now been rewarded with a presidential nomination to the Rajya Sabha. The Capital’s bureaucratic circles were quick to point out that the BJP wants to groom Shringla for a bigger political role and that his entry to the Upper House is only the first step in that direction. There is one view that Mr Shringla’s presence in the Upper House will serve as a constant reminder that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has other options other than external affairs minister S. Jaishankar. Others believe the BJP will project Mr Shringla as its future leader first in Sikkim to keep its focus on the Northeast.

The Capital’s wedding season spares no one. Well before the beginning of the auspicious period in November, people rush to grab hotel rooms, guest houses and banquet halls for the “big, fat Indian wedding”. Diplomats from the United States, Japan and Australia, who are preparing for the Quad Leaders’ Summit being hosted by India in Delhi later this year, have had their first brush with this phenomenon. The embassies of the three countries are finding it hard to book rooms for the large number of officials who will be accompanying their leaders for the summit. Reason: Delhi’s wedding season.