Vasundhara Raje could not have staged a better entry into Rajasthan politics. Soon after formally taking over as president of the BJP state unit on November 14, she held a rally in Jaipur attended by no less than 50,000 people. There, Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma declared Raje as the BJP's chief ministerial candidate in the presence of Union Telecom Minister Pramod Mahajan and Minister of State for Rural Development Subhash Meharia.

CM CANDIDATE: Raje prepares to take on Gehlot

Raje, who bided her time to take over the reins of the party in the state, has settled down quickly. Her presence at the BJP's Jaipur office has made a difference: the staff is on its toes and getting used to a chief who is young, colourful and fluent in English. Also back in action are the young blood who were around when Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was the chief minister. Besides, elders like former minister and RSS strongman Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi are all cooperation. But Raje's best help is technology. She is setting up a media centre at the Jaipur head office with online links to all 32 district party offices.

The immediate challenge before her are by-elections to three assembly seats to be held on December 12. The results will be an important indicator of Congress Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's popularity. It will also set the stage for the assembly elections due next November. With a year left to prepare the party for a comeback the coming weeks will prove crucial for Raje.

As of now, Gehlot has a clear edge and Raje faces an uphill task. She has to first deal with the resistance of party heavyweights like Ram Das Aggarwal, Ghanshyam Tewari and Devi Singh Bhatti who are not happy with her elevation. Hari Shankar Bhabra, former deputy chief minister, has even denounced her projection as chief minister. Political rivalry in BJP begins at home.

-Rohit Parihar

Padma Shree Laloo

CINE DREAMS: Laloo with Manjrekar

He has been pretty much a star on the small screen for many years. Now it's time for RJD chief Laloo Prasad Yadav to make a splash on the big screen. Bollywood director Mahesh Manjrekar (of Vastav and Hattiyar fame) met Laloo in Patna last week and expressed his desire to make an "entirely non-political film" on his life titled Padma Shree Laloo. Laloo promptly agreed.

Though there are three Laloos in the Rs 5.60 crore-film, it is not about him receiving the national award. Padma Shree is the name of the heroine (Diya Mirza). It will be shot in Bihar and Mauritius (where many people speak Bhojpuri). Following Padma Shree, Manjrekar will direct another film that will track Laloo's rise from a village boy to a political superstar. Says Manjrekar: "Laloo's fan following goes beyond politics. I hope the film will be a super hit." If Laloo writes the dialogue, it may well be.

-Farzand Ahmed

Pawar Cut

For the first time in 17 years, National Congress Party leader Sharad Pawar failed to attend his mentor Y.B. Chavan's death anniversary function at Karad on November 25, though he turned up in Parliament a day later. This confirmed rumours that the Maratha strongman has been seriously ill for a fornight now. Pawar was briefly hospitalised in Mumbai's Jaslok Hospital but his friends and family have maintained that it was only for a routine check-up.

NAMED: Naina Lal Kidwai, investment banking guru of HSBC in India, by news magazine Time, one of the world's top 15 Business Influentials for 2002.

LAUNCHED: Justice Party, by Udit Raj, Dalit leader and former IRS officer.

LIFTED: Ban on NSCN (I-M)by the Centre. This will allow Naga militant leaders T. Muivah and Isak Swu to return to India.

MARRIED: Tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi to model Shweta Jaishankar, in Mumbai.

APPOINTED: P. Bandopadhyay, first-ever woman air vice marshal in the Indian Air Force.

APPOINTED: Raju Ramachandran, Supreme Court lawyer, additional solicitor-general. He succeeds Kirit Rawal.