The 2G spectrum scam and the ongoing political blame game have caught the fancy of bookies. Bets are being placed on whether Home Minister P Chidambaram will resign after the recent letter from the finance ministry. Similarly, the future course of action by prime minister Manmohan Singh is also finding a lot of takers in the betting circles.
According to sources in the satta bazaar, as the illegal betting market is called, bets of Rs 300-500 crore have been accepted, so far, from Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Indore, Bhopal, Delhi and Kolkata, among other cities. Dubai is the international centre for accepting bets.
Bookies said bets were being accepted because of rumours the Congress government may be forced to take a stand as a number of states such as Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat were going to polls next year. The deadline for these bets is September 10.
Bookies are placing a bet of 60 paise (on every rupee) on the home minister's quitting and Rs 1.30 for him to stay. Interestingly, there is consensus among bookies that A K Antony has a good chance to becoming the prime minister. And, they are putting Rs 1.75 on a rupee for him.
On the other hand, bookies are betting Rs 2.7 a rupee on finance minister Pranab Mukharjee’s ascent. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi seems to be a distant third in this race, with the odds pegged at Rs 5.25 a rupee.
The blame game within the UPA over the 2G spectrum allocation took a significant turn last week, when a letter written by finance ministry official to the PM’s office was submitted in court. The letter claimed that then finance minister, P Chidambaram, had stuck to his stand.
The opposition parties and UPA alliance partners asked for Chidambaram’s resignation, who, however, assured he would speak only after Singh returned from the US on Tuesday. Later, senior BJP leaders like Yashwant Sinha and others also asked for a resignation from the PM himself. Earlier, such bets were accepted in July 2008 when Left parties withdrew support to the UPA on the issue of the nuclear deal.