Sonia Gandhi goes shopping a day before election results

Despite hectic politicking right up to the day before poll results, principal players in the political drama found ways to cope with last-minute jitters before the big revelation of results.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who saw several electoral reverses before tasting success in 2004, took time off to go shopping at the Santushti Complex. Her routine before and during result day is, according to those close to her, simple: a quite night at home, with only political secretary Ahmed Patel allowed access, and early morning watching television and catching up with results.

Her son and All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi returned on Friday after a vacation in Lakshadweep with sister Priyanka Gandhi and her family. He too is expected to watch the results at home, after which he may move to 10 Janpath, his mother's residence.

Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate LK Advani spent time during the day with wife Kamala, son Jayant and daughter Pratibha. Psephologist GVL Narasimha Rao was going through last-minute number-crunching with him at his home on Prithviraj Road.

Sources say Advani will only stir out to attend a thanksgiving dinner at 26 Tughlak Lane, where a BJP 'war room' has been set up, to thank the team for a well-run campaign. "He will be at home, and will watch results at home," said an aide.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat will watch the results at home and then at the party office, where he will go to work at 11. His Third Front ally, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati will stay put in Lucknow, and aides added that if the numbers are in her favour she will take a special flight to Delhi. Her aide Satish Mishra will hold fort in Delhi till then.

Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh spent the evening meeting people with poll projections and his party's own exit polls spread out in front of him. "He will watch results at home on his 52 inch LCD TV," said an aide with a laugh.

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Yuvi buys Rs 5 crore House Near Sachin

Team India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has bought a plush 3-BHK flat in the posh suburb of Bandra. Thus, he joins fellow team-mate and master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, along with Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Salman Khan, who are also Bandra residents (Sachin will soon be moving to his own bungalow at the end of Turner Road and near Carter Road).

Located at Turner Road, Yuvraj's new residence Toscano is a 15-storeyed building built by B Raheja & Company.
Interestingly, this building does not have floor number 13, traditionally considered unlucky, and the elevator goes directly from the 12th to the 14th floor. Yuvraj stays on the 15th floor. His neighbours wouldn't be able to boast about Yuvraj's celebrity status as all the floors have only one flat each.

Accepting our congratulatory message, Yuvraj confirmed that he owns a flat in Toscano and the fact was reiterated by the building's watchman and a foreign occupant in the building who didn't wish to be named. The buzz is that Yuvraj was scouting around Bandra for a five-bedroom pad, but couldn't get one within his budget.

Yuvraj may not move in soon as he will be leaving for South Africa soon to play in IPL. Also no interior or civil work has begun in the flat yet, according to the society security personnel. Going by the current market rate, this 2,000 sq ft flat should have cost Yuvraj Singh something close to Rs five crore.

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Pakistan's ex-Prez on Koel's Couch

She has interviewed everyone from Salman to Shah Rukh on her show. But Koel Purie says she was the most thrilled and excited when she the chance to grill Pakistan's ex-president Pervez Musharraf. But come D-Day and she was so nervous that she spilled a steaming cup of tea all over his crisp suit.

Talking about her chat with the general, Koel says, "I had decided, just like any other celebrity I invite on the couch, I would strive to get to know the person behind the drama.

I thought with a general of his calibre, who is used to wielding so much power and highly trained to deflect uncomfortable questions without a change in expression, it was going to be a near impossible task.

But I've learnt not to underestimate the powers of my couch. He came, he sat and I conquered. When I asked him to recount a particular romance from his younger days that would have altered the course of his life (and perhaps, history), he blushed and refused.

But moments later, with a shy smile, succumbed. Later, he bashfully admitted that he not only thought Aishwarya was a good actress but that he was flummoxed that such a pretty girl like Priyanka Chopra could have ever played a villain.

He shared his fondness for a good cup of hot chocolate at night in a nice hotel, regardless of the fact that it brings the city to a standstill."

Here are excerpts from Koel's chat with Musharraf.

K: Gen Musharaf, you are a romantic guy at heart. Apart from serenading your beautiful wife in your young days as young officer, there was a particular incident involving a beautiful Bangladeshi girl that would have altered the course of your life as an army officer and perhaps the course of history. But of course, the 1971 war with India broke out and every thing changed. Would you like to tell us little about that incident.

M: I don't think I would like to get involved in that. One does come across girls, obviously I am not leading a secluded life and that is where it stands.

K: For the sake of the girl…it almost like Indian movies you almost got court martialled for the sake of a girl. You got...

M: No, it was not because of the girl, I wanted to go to Karachi to meet my parents on leave, it wasn't because of the girl...

K: Then why were you going to be court-martialled?
M: Because I went a day earlier. For certain reasons, I got annoyed and may be I did a wrong thing, yes.

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