FIELD MARSHAL Manekshaw’s rank has put the ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a quandary. If we believe what Priyaranjan Das Munshi’s ministry has to say in its condolence message, the former army chief was both a field marshal and an admiral. As it is Manekshaw’s funeral has triggered enough controversies. Earlier, the absence of the Defence minister and service chiefs from his funeral had triggered a row and now such disinformation by the ministry of information and broadcasting.

Despite the political heat generated by the nuclear pact controversy, one minister has managed to retain his cool. And that minister is none other than Lalu Prasad Yadav. It sees that Lalu Yadav has his mathematics in order. Unlike his cabinet colleagues he is always very confident dealing with the media about the survival of both the government and the nuclear pact. At a recent meeting of UPA and the Left Front, when Sitaram Yachuri was losing his cool over the Hyde Act and 123, Lalu brought some comic relief to the debate by asking whether the government is more important or the 123 calculation! Tensions cooled off immediately.

The anti-BJP forces have time and again cited the threat of ’communalism’ in justifying their political stand. And the master of this game is Amar Singh, who has once again realised that communalism is a bigger threat than George Bush. But old-timers recall that not too long ago Amar Singh had utilised the help of ’communal’ BJP to oust Mayawati from power and install Mulayam as the CM. At that time BJP was called the B team of Samajwadi Party in UP. But times have changed and so has Amar Singh.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) saw in SitaramYachuri an able successor to Harkishan Singh Surjit to negotiate deals with other parties. But the youthful leader has failed to live up to expectations after the success he achieved with the Maoist leaders in Nepal. Surjit’s expertise in dealing with Left Front’s partners is being missed by the party. The nuke deal has exposed the CPM’s political shortcomings and left the party with egg on its face.

The BJP’s political standing in UP is nothing much to talk about, but still there is no shortage of aspirants for its election ticket. The advantages of a party ticket are primarily financial. Collecting funds for the elections is not too difficult and the expenditure is not what it used to be. With the Election Commission having imposed curbs on expenditure, BJP candidates hope to save enough to make contesting on a party ticket a profitable venture.