You can build India's largest scooter company, then reinvent it as a motorbike manufacturer, become the irrepressible and outspoken voice of India Inc. (or the Bombay Club?), and yet not think you've done it all. Just ask Rahul Bajaj. When BT went to press, the 67-year-old industrialist from Pune, who has handed over the reins of his two-wheeler company to sons Rajiv and Sanjiv, had won the backing of Shiv Sena-BJP and Sharad Pawar's NCP for his bid as an independent candidate from Maharashtra for the Rajya Sabha. Bajaj wouldn't reveal what prompted him to vie for an MP's job except to say that "I have a lot of opinions (to express)". Bajaj is no stranger to politics. His grandfather Jamnalal Bajaj was a freedom fighter and an associate of Mahatma Gandhi. While that might make the Congress' disapproval of him seem bizarre, Bajaj is almost guaranteed to win the election.

Next Please

Here's another retail honcho who's succumbed to Mukesh Ambani's retail pitch. G. Sankar, 44, has quit the top job at retailer Lifestyle for an offer to head Reliance Retail's footwear venture. "I find Reliance's retail ambitions inspiring...and I am aware that I produce the best results in a start-up situation," says the man, who joins Ambani's star-studded retail team, which includes Raghu Pillai, Rajeev Karwal and Bijou Kurien, among others. Sankar will continue to be based in Bangalore, but his brief is to build a pan-India footwear chain. Okay, who's next?

Bailing Out

People were surprised when Ronojoy Dutta, former President of United Airlines, joined Subrata Roy's Air Sahara. And Dutta, 55, an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and Harvard Business School, surprised observers once more by staying on for more than a year. Now with Air Sahara gone to Jet Airways' Naresh Goyal, Dutta and his wife are headed back to the US, where he will once again consult for aviation companies. "Both my wife and I absolutely loved our 18-month stay in India and we are completely determined to come back to India once our daughter goes into college," he says. After all, India is where all the aviation action is.

Heavyweight Entry

Rivals sweating over Keki Dadiseth's appointment to the Britannia board can breathe easy. Dadiseth, 60, who retired from the board of FMCG giant Unilever last year preceded by a four-year stint as the Chairman of Hindustan Lever, will chair the cookie giant's remuneration committee. Strange as it might seem, the move makes a lot of sense. Not only is Dadiseth a chartered accountant, but Britannia's previous CEO was eased out over allegations of financial impropriety. So getting someone as respected as Dadiseth can only help. (Also, don't forget that until sometime ago, he was rumoured to be a potential successor to Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata before the latter gentleman postponed his retirement to 2012.) That said, don't be too sure that Britannia's CEO, Vinita Bali, won't be tempted to tap Dadiseth for tips on FMCG marketing.

Good Tidings

Hank Paulson's move from Goldman Sachs to the us Treasury may be a few weeks away, but here's some reason for India to cheer: Replacing Paulson will be the firm's President & COO, Lloyd C. Blankfein, 51, an India bull. "The country has crossed the tipping point (in terms of its attractiveness as an investment destination)," he told BT last year on a trip to India. It was, of course, Blankfein's firm that put out the world famous BRICs report on Brazil, Russia, India and China that forever changed the way the world looked at these emerging markets. And despite the recent mayhem on Dalal Street, a Goldman spokesperson says that Blankfein continues to be upbeat about India. That's a good thing. Goldman is in the middle of setting up its India operations in Mumbai and Bangalore, having recently split from partner Kotak Mahindra. So, for India's sake, let's hope that Paulson get his job and Blankfein his.

Small Pond, Big Fish

Is moving from a division to an agency a big thing? As it turns out, yes. So, while Ashutosh Srivastava, 44, may have been heading WPP's media buying division Group M in South Asia, he now becomes the Singapore-based boss of MindShare across Asia-Pacific. MindShare isn't just one of the four media buying agencies of WPP (the other three are Maxus, MEC and Mediacom), but the biggest of them. It buys media worth $54 billion (Rs 2,43,000 crore) worldwide for giant corporations such as Unilever, IBM, Ford, Nike and Pepsi, and in Asia alone manages a spend worth $3.1 billion (Rs 13,950 crore). Srivasatva, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, couldn't be reached, but his colleagues say it's a rewarding deal for him. "Ashutosh is all substance and no fluff, unlike many of the leading media personalities," says C.V.L. Srinivas, CEO, Maxus (Asia-Pacific). We already know what Srivastava's worldwide boss, Irwin Gotlieb, thinks of him: "He is one of the most talented professionals in the entire Group M family and we are looking at opportunity to use his talent for the benefit of the group," Gotleib had told BT last year. Luckily for Srivastava, the boss kept his word.

Under Fire Once More

Sometime ago when rumours surfaced about CEO Arun Sarin's imminent departure from British telecoms giant, Vodafone, its Chairman Lord MacLaurin publicly came out in support of him. Things have once again reached a head at Vodafone, and this time around Sarin, 51, would be lucky if he kept his job. Not only is MacLaurin stepping down in July, but some large institutional shareholders of Vodafone are pushing to sack Sarin and a few other directors over slow growth and losses (of $41 billion or Rs 1,84,500 crore for 2005-06). Fireworks are guaranteed at Vodafone's annual general meeting in July, but some shareholders are closing ranks to mount an offensive sooner. One plan is to get the incoming Chairman John Bond (ex-HSBC) to 'balance powers' at Vodafone. Unless Sarin comes up with a compelling case, he may have to go.

-Contributed by Kushan Mitra, Rahul Sachitanand, Ahona Ghosh, E. Kumar Sharma,
Archna Shukla and Krishna Gopalan