Madhya Pradesh Political Punch: Two Leaders Praised, Minister All Smiles, Private Office & More

Minister all smiles

A union minister has finally attracted a large crowd at a meeting. Although after giving up his position as head of the state, the union minister kept away from holding such events, his department recently organised a three-day function. Two union ministers were invited to the event. The head of state participated in it; besides, over half a dozen ministers from state were present at the conference for three days. At the conference, the audience heaped praises on the union minister.

The union ministers as well as the state cabinet ministers praised the conference, which went viral on social media. After the conference, the state government said everyone should learn from the union minister to make an event successful. As the event was underway, the union minister was appointed observer in a state where a meeting was to be held to elect the chief minister. The event was successful, but going to the state as an observer delighted him more. Those who are close to him say the union minister looks happy after the success of the event and his appointment as an observer.

Two leaders praised

A former minister of the BJP has praised two senior leaders from the state at a recently held meeting. His way of lauding these two leaders made others angry. Soon after the meeting, a senior leader of the party pulled up the former minister for not extolling him. The former minister then tried to offer reasons for praising those two leaders.

The BJP, which sidelined the former minister for a long time after his defeat in an election, recently rehabilitated him. The party accommodated him in a committee against his wishes to become its state unit president. Because his attempt to get the coveted position has fallen through, he is grinding his way to acquire another post after joining the committee.

Private office

Each minister has an office in Mantralaya as well as at their residence. As the ministers also serve as chairmen of corporations and boards, they maintain separate offices at other locations. Despite having offices in Mantralaya and at his residence, a minister has set up a private office in a tower in the state capital.

When he visits the state capital, he spends most of his time in this office where he also conducts shady dealings. He keeps the sweetener in this office that he uses for personal work, but only those who are close to him know about this location. People in the corridors of power say that in the past, when he visited the state capital, he hired a private house where he satisfied his passion. The minister's attitude has caused fierce family disputes.

Searching for saviour

A ruling party legislator, who was also a minister, is in the habit of courting controversies, embarrassing the party and the government. Probe agencies have slapped money appropriation cases on him, which may end his political career. The legislator, who is in deep trouble, is trying to wriggle out of it. Initially, he wanted to please the head of state for relief, but it failed. So desperate was the legislator that he left nothing to chance and met a powerful central minister. Although the legislator sought time from the latter for a meeting a year ago, he recently got it. Thus, the meeting stirred up discussions in the corridors of power. Now, the people are waiting to see whether the legislator s meeting with the union minister provides any relief to him.

Plan goes kaput

The BJP's plan to publicise the Nari Vandan Shakti Adhiniyam (Women's Reservation Bill) came to naught, as the government could not get the bill through the Lok Sabha. But the ruling party had launched a publicity blitz even before a discussion over the bill began in the House. Consequently, the party asked its women leaders to hold a meeting to sketch out a strategy to make people aware of the bill. Those who participated in the meeting included two ministers, an MLA, and a few party workers. But the participants, though all women, were at odds with one another over some petty issues, like who would facilitate the guests and carry out other important assignments in the events to be held as part of the outreach. Because of the differences among the participants, the meeting turned into a bear garden.

Fear of cross-voting

The Congress looks confident of winning one of the three Rajya Sabha seats in the state, for which elections will soon take place. But the opposition fears the ruling party may win the seat by engineering cross-voting. The party has 63 legislators. So, it has enough numbers to win the seat, as voting by 58 legislators will ensure its victory. In Odisha, the Congress legislators cross-voted for the ruling party candidate. If the same thing happens in MP, the opposition will lose the single seat. Similarly, three Congress lawmakers stayed away from voting in Bihar. Thus, the opposition is worried, though its leaders are putting up a brave front. This is the reason that the party s state unit president recently met a former chief minister to seek his advice on how to keep the legislators together at the time of voting for the RS seats. But what transpired between the two leaders did not go public.

Published on: Saturday, April 18, 2026, 09:30 PM IST