As the temperature soared in northern India in the second half of June, Indian politicians and wheeler-dealers gathered in London to soak in the mild sun, but not without the hush-hush meetings among some top politicos.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi not only celebrated his birthday on June 19 in London with Captain Satish Sharma's family and Italian relatives from his maternal side, but also followed it up with a meeting with Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh.
According to a Nai Dunia report quoting political grapevines, Rahul invited Ajit Singh to join Congress and the Union Cabinet to give the party's fortunes a boost in Uttar Pradesh.
The report says, Rahul also requested Ajit Singh to send his son MP Jayant Chaudhary to join the Youth Congress and revamp the party's youth organization. Ajit Singh's reactions were not known.
Another hush-hush meeting was between Mulayam Singh's son Akhilesh Yadav with expelled party leader Amar Singh. Akhilesh had gone to London his father's express instructions to meet the estranged ‘chacha'. Nothing much is known about the outcome of this meeting. The meeting took place at a restaurant.
Another get-together was organized by a London-based NRI attended by Rahul Gandhi and BJP Leader L K Advani's daughter Pratibha, apart from other Indian politicos. This was a formal gathering and not much political significance is being attributed.
