FALL FROM GRACE: Tandon

What goes up must come down. BJP heavyweight Lalji Tandon, who had been the most vocal advocate of the BJP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh and holds 18 portfolios in the Mayawati ministry, is sinking fast. First Mayawati cast out all bureaucrats close to Tandon from Lucknow. Then, she dethroned him by appointing Ram Prakash Tripathi the representative of Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee in his Lucknow constituency-obviously in consultation with the PMO. A telling indication of Tandon's fall from grace was his conspicuous absence in Uttar Pradesh Sandesh, the monthly magazine of the UP Information Department. The issue focused on cooperatives-Tripathi's department-but did not feature a single photograph or write up on him. Raksha Bandhan this year is unlikely to see any bonhomie between the self-proclaimed "bhaiya" and "behan" Mayawati.

For Those Who Ride the Tiger...

Pota arrests for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, like all wishes, come in threes. After MDMK leader Vaiko's arrest and the Jaya missive to the Centre to dismiss Union minister and MDMK leader M. Kannappan from the Cabinet, the Chennai Police booked Tamizhar Desiya Iyakkam leader P. Nedumaran under POTA on August 1. While addressing the World Tamil Federation in Chennai, Nedumaran had said in reference to LTTE chief V. Prabhakaran, "A courageous Tamil youth just 20 miles off Tamil Nadu has lent a face and identity to the Tamils." But what could Jayalalithaa do to people like Sri Lankan minister P. Chandrasekharan, who exhorted the meeting to produce thousands of Vaikos and Nedumarans? A letter to the Sri Lankan prime minister? Probable.

HER MADAM'S VOICE: Congressmen operate on a simple rule: whatever Ambika Soni hears is heard by Sonia. So when the party president's political secretary went to Bhopal to assess the Digvijay Singh Government's implementation of the Congress manifesto, her party colleagues lost no time in voicing their prime concerns: removal of Bhopal Mayor Vibha Patel and overaged Youth Congress President Govind Rajput. Patel is Digvijay's man and Rajput the late Madhavrao Scindia's. Soni indicated that Patel will retain office while Rajput will be removed in a week's time. Digvijay's stock, it seems, is still high at 10 Janpath.

DONE DEAL: A photograph is worth a thousand words, or crores of rupees in this case. The $1.6 billion Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer deal may be awaiting clearance, but the Indian Air Force has already made up its mind. The Hawk features among the photographs of IAF aircraft inventory on display at the Chief of Air Staff's office.