Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
Raag ‘Durbari’
A few politicians are attending the ‘durbars’ at the residence of a powerful politician in the opposition camp, thinking the Congress will form the next government, though the counting of votes for the assembly election has yet to begin. This is happening at the residence of a former minister. A few officers have begun to visit his residence in a colony in Bhopal. So powerful is the former minister, that he is considered close to the MPCC president. Such IAS and IPS officers think if the Congress forms the government, the former minister will be very powerful. So they are doing so to cultivate a greener pasture for themselves. Many politicians live in the colony, where the former minister stays. So, most of these officers visit his residence late in the evening to avoid any embarrassment. The way the politician behaves with the officers as though he has already taken the oath as a minister in the new government.
Next step
A woman minister who has decided to keep away from contesting the recently concluded assembly election does not plan to quit politics. When she resolved to get out of the election ring, there were discussions that she would walk out of politics, but she is working for her next goal. The minister wants to get a berth in the Rajya Sabha, so she is using her contacts in the ruling party in Delhi. Because the top leaders are well-acquainted with her, she wants to reach the Rajya Sabha through them. On the contrary, the state leadership is not ready to give her any importance; because besides keeping away from contesting the election she did not even seek votes for the party candidate from the constituency where she won the 2018 assembly polls. This is the reason why the party leadership has decided to keep her away from politics.
Game of chess
An assembly constituency in the state has become so important that the leaders of all political parties are waiting for the outcome of the election, especially of this seat. The results will be declared on December 3. Politics is as strange as the game of chess in which each piece on the board behaves weirdly. So is the condition in this seat where the BJP leaders want their candidate to lose and the Congressmen wish the same fate for theirs. An important leader of the BJP organisation is facing a former minister of the party in this constituency. Congress leaders spared no effort to defeat the former minister and did all the damage they could do. Nevertheless, the BJP candidate is not in a better position than his Congress counterpart. Except for a few BJP politicians, most of the party men pulled out all the stops to ensure the defeat of their candidate. BJP and Congress leaders wish their present candidates to lose the election that the fresh candidates may get tickets from this seat the next time when the elections are held. Now the leaders of both the parties have to wait for the outcome – to see whose strategy has worked better than the other.
Green with jealousy
In a democracy – especially in India – winning an election is an art. Besides working for the people’s welfare, candidates must possess a few more good qualities that please their voters than an ordinary person does have. So is the case of a BJP candidate who has been contesting the elections from a constituency in Sagar district and winning from there. It has been happening for several decades. The senior leader is confident of his victory this time too, but he has reservations about the conduct of a few party men in the constituency during the recently held election, the outcome of which will be announced on December 3. He feels that a few colleagues, being jealous of the heights he has achieved in the party, made all efforts to damage his political career. Known for his sharp wit, the politician says he was surrounded by snakes in the grass – ready to bite him. Such people even provided the rival Congress candidate, a greenhorn in politics, with money to deprive him of a win.
Master’s Plan!
The fate of the Bhopal Master Plan and that of the poll contestants depend on the election outcome. It is Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government that prepared the Master Plan, a herculean task. By the time it was about to see the light of the day, the date for the assembly election had been declared, so it was swept under the carpet for now. The BJP leaders in the city and officers of the Urban Administration Department are worried about it. If the BJP returns to power, the Master Plan will be implemented – maybe with a few changes. But if the Congress forms the next government, it will redraw the plan. The other day, an officer fleered at the project saying it often pops up its head to cheer up the political masters. “It’s turned into a Masters’ Plan,” the witty officer said.
Without ticket
A well-heeled politician was all set to contest the recently held election from one of the constituencies in Central Madhya Pradesh after the party hinted at giving him a ticket. Accordingly he began to gather dough, the fuel, which actually runs the poll vehicle, but he was hardly hooked to the fact that a ticket he was yearning for to fight the election will elude him. When this happened, the politician got across with the party and filed nominations from another political outfit. He, however, withdrew the nominations after the party leaders persuaded him to do so. Because the cabbage the politician collected was lying unused at his residence, he was worried. Then an idea struck his son who took Rs 3 crore out of innumerable currency notes and bought a hi-end SUV Defender which created a lot of buzz in the party and attracted criticism from the opposition camp. But the politicians barely bother about slating.
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