Periscope: Spotlight on Gujarat, Lalu's heir, and more

Spotlight on Gujarat 

Nominations for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections (December 9), along with scrutiny, will be complete by Wednesday. This will give a clear idea of who is facing whom. It is to be seen whether the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will put up candidates, as these are bound to hurt the Congress's chances and help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  The BJP is planning to carpet-bomb the state with heavy hitters, including from the neighbouring states; chief ministers of Maharashtra and Rajasthan will address public meetings.

Lalu's heir 

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will formalise the election of Lalu Prasad on Tuesday as its president for the 10th time. Around 650 delegates from 21 states will attend the party's national council meeting in Patna and vote on a man who has, among others, his wife Rabri, also a former chief minister, as a proposer. The subtext will be naming of his heir. Prasad has already said son Tejaswi is best suited to succeed him, and by implication become the RJD's chief ministerial candidate, should the party be in a position to form a government. This has been challenged by party senior Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who has said, "The issue of a CM candidate is premature. It is the people who will give their verdict on the next CM. Good leadership should be allowed to emerge by the time the state goes to the polls." BS reporters

Meet the masters 

The Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS) will kicks off in Delhi this week. A prestigious global event where international leaders, policymakers, industry experts, think tanks, cyber wizards, etc., gather to deliberate on issues and challenges for optimally using cyberspace, it was launched to establish internationally agreed 'rules of the road' for behaviour in cyberspace. And, to create a more focused and inclusive dialogue between all those with a stake in the internet (governments, civil society and industry) on how to implement these.

The first GCCS was held in London in 2011 and later held in Budapest, Seoul and The Hague.
 

The event in Delhi is expected to attract at least 2,000 delegates from about 100 countries. Ministers from 40-50 nations will be present.

Special children 

On Monday Parliament will host 30 children from across the country for an event commemorating Universal Children's Day, a first of its kind, with children being selected to speak there for eight minutes. It is being organised by the United Nations Children's Fund.