Nikhil & Hital Meswani: The 38-year-old Ambani cousin and executive director at RIL is said to be very close to Mukesh Ambani. "He always walks a few steps behind Mukesh," says an RIL manager.

Only last month, he had been accused by Anil of 'misleading' the media and investors on family matters by speaking out of turn on the settlement issue. Anil had told the media that 'Nikhil is not involved in discussions in the family to resolve the dispute, he has no locus standi.'

Nikhil and brother Hital, though reclusive till recently, have been touted as the 'second most important pair of brothers in India Inc', after Mukesh and Anil. They have long been regarded as part of Mukesh's core team. They are the sons of Rasikbhai Meswani, Dhirubhai's late first cousin. Nikhil has been seen as the person being groomed to step into Anil Ambani's shoes. With his public statements, he is seen to be the new 'public face' of RIL.

This was more than evident at a function to announce RIL's third quarter results in December. The Meswanis, along with RIL treasurer and finance veteran Alok Agarwal, briefed analysts. That role was earlier performed by Anil.

Nikhil's larger responsibilities include overseeing RIL's petrochemicals business. He was earlier involved in the IPCL privatisation process in 2002. Nikhil is also believed to have handled government related matters including negotiations over how much PSUs would buy from the 30 million tonne Reliance refinery on Jamnagar.

Amitabh Jhunjhunwala: From a tax advisor to confidante has been one long leap for the tall and lanky Jhunjhunwala. A financial whizkid and a close confidante of Anil Ambani, he hit the headlines when the Mukesh camp insinuated that he had leaked out the murky financial goings on in Reliance Industries and Reliance Telecom. He was a treasurer at RIL. Hailed as a complete insider, Jhunjhunwala is believed to have been forced to quit his post as RIL treasurer. Before that, he along with his top colleagues resigned from the Reliance Energy board. It was felt that he had done it at the behest of Anil Ambani.

Jhunjhunwala's tryst with the Ambanis began a quarter of a century ago, as soon as he set up his own chartered accountancy practice. One of his clients was Reliance Industries.

With a phenomenal feel for numbers and hailed as an ace on all taxation matters, the Ambanis finally bagged him in 1995 for Reliance Capital. He was the architect of the Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Industries merger and the group's takeover of power major BSES since rechristened Reliance Energy. These efforts did not go down the drain and he was amply compensated.

In 2001, he became a member of the Reliance Energy board. The following year, he was made a treasurer of RIL. When war broke out at the Ambani headquarters, he aligned himself with Anil.

Manoj Modi: A chemical engineer like Mukesh Ambani, they first met at Mumbai's University Department of Chemical Technology. They hit it off from Day One. Since then, Modi became Mukesh's confidante, sounding board and one of his closest friends. Along with Anand Jain, Modi is part of the top echelons of the Reliance group.

The architect of Reliance Infocomm, Modi is often referred to as the de facto head of the company. When the Ambani group decided to foray into the information and communication space, Dhirubhai and Mukesh identified Modi to conceptualise the blueprint.

He spent months trying to understand the telecom sector, and soon figured out that to make Dhirubhai's dream -- of providing a communication tool at a price less than the price of a postcard -- come true, the project had to be gargantuan. Second, it had to encompass the gamut of telecom offerings which included data, broadband and voice telephony.

For a technocrat, he had a great penchant for numbers and had an uncanny ability to conceptualise and implement a project. In fact, when he wanted to take a sabbatical to do his masters in finance abroad, Dhirubhai is believed to have reprimanded him, saying "it is a waste of time". Content in living life in the shadows, Modi has attributed his accomplishments to the father-son duo.

A yoga convert, he is said to be quite superstitious. No new project begins before Modi referring to his almanac. He is also one of the highest individual tax payers in the country.

Other than these players, the mastermind behind the Reliance empire valuation report -- which determined the final settlement -- was Nimesh Kampani, chairman of investment banking firm J M Morgan Stanley. He is understood to have evaluated the group companies and the family heirlooms.

Left top, Manoj Modi; Left down, Hital Meswani; centre, Amitabh Jhunjhuwala; and right, Nikhil Meswani. rediff.com file photogarphs

The Reliance ownership battle: Complete Coverage