Will she? Won't she?

You thought only Indians were obsessed with the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty? Think again!

People across the Radcliffe Line were equally curious to know whether Priyanka Vadra and Rahul Gandhi would be formally joining the family vocation when the siblings were in Karachi on March 13.

Every one of the Pakistani VVIPs who watched the first one-day game at Karachi from Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shahryar Khan's box politely asked Vadra whether she would contest the forthcoming general election.

The lady's diplomatic reply invariably was, "I have not said so." And most of her interlocutors left it at that.

But not Imran Khan. The tenacious former Pakistan cricket captain, who himself has made a not-so-successful foray into politics, would not leave her be. He quizzed her further and from what she said he and others in the PCB chief's box gathered that Vadra's entry into the poll arena is not ruled out.

Indeed, the impression was that she could well contest the election from one of the two seats in Uttar Pradesh from where the family has traditionally entered the Lok Sabha.

Of course, a few days later it was announced that Rahul Gandhi would be contesting the election from Amethi while his mother, the outgoing MP from Amethi, would be shifting to Rae Bareli.

So wherefrom, if at all, will Priyanka Vadra contest?

The plot thickens.

What are IOUs for?

Never mind the Election Commission. Come elections and it is time to raise funds, hand over fist.

Political parties collect, and disburse, tonnes of money in this period. No party, not even Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, can survive on contributions from members and sympathisers alone.

In fact, the BJP and the Congress will not even be able to meet their day-to-day establishment expenses if they were to depend only on the subscriptions of members. And with members like Pramod Mahajan, who claims to earn just Rs 5,000 a month, it is not hard to imagine that they have little or nothing to spare for the party.

Big businessmen step into the breach to buy the goodwill of ruling politicians while also insuring their future just in case the Opposition pulls off a surprise. Most of the donations continue to be made in cash -- blame it on habit -- even though the socialist-era ban on corporate donations to political parties is no longer in force.

The BJP, as the ruling party and a party that is ideologically closer to the moneybags, has no difficulty mopping up funds. It is the main opposition party that is facing a crunch.

When the general election was announced, the coffers of the All-India Congress Committee were empty. Though some of the Congress governments in the states contributed, they did so directly to some central leaders rather than to the party. Besides, the party had just lost control of three key states -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

As a member of the party think tank quipped, the party remains poor though its leaders are immensely rich.

But once the election was announced, the Grand Old Party bestirred itself. Post-haste, a meeting was set up with the man who effectively owns one of the country's largest industrial conglomerates.

At the meeting, party president Sonia Gandhi and a clutch of senior leaders, including a former finance minister during whose tenure the group was allowed special privileges, complained to the industrialist that though they had made a huge contribution to his empire's growth, he had virtually ditched them for the BJP and a regional outfit.

The bigwig was at pains to clarify his position, saying he harbours no political ambition. Besides, he insisted, his group remains grateful for Congress largesse in the past and was willing to do its bit to help the party. As for the BJP, the party that rules must be kept in good humour.

The industrial house pledged a first instalment for the Congress kitty which, one learns, was duly delivered a few days after the meeting. More is believed to be on the way.