Madhya Pradesh Political Punch: Extending Help, Tension Grows, Ego Clash, Nari Shakti

Extending help

A BJP legislator recently became an embarrassment to the government and the party. The leaders of the ruling party failed to douse the flames that his obscene remarks about an officer flared up. The legislator’s attitude and the officers’ stand over the issue worried the government. Ergo, the government, as well as the party, had to seek a piece of advice from a former chief minister to resolve the dispute.

The former chief minister had to speak to the head of the government, the chief of the party, and the legislator who, after talking to him, agreed to regret his statements. The problem with the government was that the legislator's community was organising a function in the state capital. So, if the issue had remained unresolved, it would have created a problem for the government, but the way the former chief minister handled the dispute enhanced his prestige. After the incident, the former chief minister and the head of state dwelt over various issues for a long time. The outcome of the former CM's efforts may be visible in the coming days.

Nari Shakti

Everyone across the country is talking about Nari Shakti (woman power), the real might of which was conspicuous in Jabalpur, where a woman employee made things worse for an IAS officer. Soon after his posting to the district, the officer began to act strictly and stopped the salaries of those who were not coming to the office on time. Among those whose salary the officer had stopped was a woman employee.

But the officer did not know that her stopping salary would weigh heavy on him. A relative of the employee has influence over a particular vote bank, and when her kin came to know of it, he complained to a minister about the case. The minister knows if the woman employee’s relative is annoyed, he may have problems in getting votes from the community. The minister dressed down the officer who then took the woman employee to task. The situation is such that the government may remove the officer. There are reports that the head of state also reprimanded the officer. After receiving a dressing-down from the head of state, the officer may have understood the significance of woman power.

Tension grows

Political appointments in corporations and boards have spiked tension among some ministers. The government has appointed such politicians to the corporations who may trouble the ministers managing them. A politician, whom the government appointed head of a bank which functions under a minister's department, is close to the head of state.

So, the minister’s influence over the bank is set to be reduced. In the same way, the government appointed two sharp-witted politicians to two corporations functioning under a minister who has bitter relations with one of the chairmen. One of the chairmen of a corporation also has disputes with the boss of the minister who manages it. He will not be on good terms with the minister. Similarly, an astute politician has become the chairman of another corporation. He, too, is unlikely to obey the minister. But the minister fears that lest the irregularities committed by him should unfold, he would be in trouble.

Sycophancy at its peak

The High Court's direction to a committee to solve a dispute related to a woman minister's caste has occasioned troubles for her these days. Although the committee functions under the state government, her tension has grown after the HC decision. An IAS officer is heading the committee that will resolve the issue. The minister is pleading with him to render the verdict for her.

The minister has also been making efforts to convince the government and the organisation to influence the committee’s decision. An IAS officer once took a decision against an MP of the BJP regarding his caste, and the politician could barely save his Lok Sabha membership. The minister also fears lest she should lose her membership in the assembly.

Victim card

A Congress leader seems to have become an expert in playing the victim after each assembly session. In the previous session of the House, a minister told him “Aukat mein raho” (be within your limits). The politician played the caste card to raise a controversy over the remark, but his efforts failed.

A similar incident took place in a recently held special session of the House, when he locked horns directly with the head of state. The leader conducted himself as if everyone were gagging on his voice, but in both cases, his raising voice led to a confrontation with the ruling party members. The politician’s tone always remains high, and he often loses his temper, so his shouting at the ruling party members in the House intensified the face-off. What is more important, the legislators of his own party kept away from supporting him.

Ego clash

The Congress has always been synonymous with internal squabbling since its nascence. The latest wrangling surfaced after the appointments of the heads of 230 Vidhan Sabha constituencies across the state as part of its Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan. But before long, the internal bickering forced the party to cancel 30% of appointments. One of the major responsibilities for the heads of Vidhan Sabha seats is to assess the winnability of candidates.

To get tickets from the party, it is necessary for the candidates to put up their applications before the constituency heads. They sift through the applications and send them to the PCC office and to the AICC for a decision. A leader from Damoh, holding an important position in the PCC, opposed the appointments.

The party appointed a man, who has learnt the fundamentals of politics under the senior leader, as head of the assembly constituencies in Damoh. So, if the person monitors his performance for a ticket for the next assembly election, it will be an embarrassment to him. To avoid the discomfiture, the senior leader got the Damoh Vidhan Sabha head’s appointment cancelled. Now, the former Vidhan Sabha has opened a front against his mentor.=

Published on: Sunday, May 03, 2026, 05:00 AM IST