Shopaholic minister!
A minister in the state cabinet is a shopaholic. He thinks more of new products in the market than his ministry. Whenever he is in Bhopal, he goes on a shopping spree. His fondness for shopping is such that if he is not satisfied with the clothes and shoes he buys in Bhopal, he goes to Delhi for them. Besides shopping, he is fond of afternoon siesta. However important a meeting the minister may be required to attend, he takes forty wings for an hour after lunch. Once it is over, he does other work. But the minister is committed to maintaining relationships with others. He can do anything at the bidding of a central minister and a former minister who lost an election. Because the minister hardly thinks about his department, his son controls it and gets everything done through the lower-rank officers.
Congress’s daydreaming
The state will go to polls after two and a half years. There is barely any guarantee that the Congress will form the next government. In such a situation, the leaders seem to be presumptuous about their victory. This is the reason that the supporters of three leaders of the Congress are raising slogans, demanding the top bosses make their respective leaders the next chief minister. The supporters of the MPCC president and those of the Leader of the Opposition are competing with one another to make their respective leader the next chief minister. Similarly, the supporters of the former leader of the opposition from the party in the House raised slogans for making him the chief minister. It happened during his trip to a place. The politician, however, made no efforts to stop his supporters from raising such slogans. In the same way, the supporters of a former chief minister are sure that if the Congress wins the next election, their leader will be the chief minister. The Congress leaders’ daydreaming has upset a few members of the organisation because they know forming a government in the state is an uphill battle for the party.
Raja ka khel!
Few can understand the way a former chief minister, with whom barely anyone can match in terms of political astuteness in the state, is shrewdly setting his pawns on the political chessboard. The former chief minister, also called Raja Saab, already said he would not contest the Rajya Sabha election. After his announcement, a tussle has begun among the party leaders over going to the RS. The situation was such that it forced the MPCC president to say the former chief minister might go to the RS again. With this statement, the MPCC chief withdrew himself from the contest for the RS election. The former CM sometimes tweets he will retire from politics and often says at press conferences he will remain active in public life. The former CM has recently had a glimpse of Ramlala’s idol at the Ayodhya temple. The BJP has been criticising the Gandhi family for keeping away from the temple for a long time. The former CM’s trip to the temple will give another opportunity to the BJP to take the family to task. Reacting to his trip to Ayodhya, the Congress leaders say Raja Saab weighs pros and cons of an issue before taking a decision.
Fed up with counselling
A senior member of the state BJP is fed up with giving advice to the ministers, legislators, and other leaders. A legislator has recently taken the government to task. Though he criticised the collector, the government was his target. The senior member of the party called the legislator to his office and advised him against making such a remark again. Earlier, this politician gave such advice to a legislator from the constituency of the head of state. He gave similar suggestions to many other MLAs and leaders. Now, the situation has come to such a pass that whenever he counsels an MLA, the person concerned repines at his being neglected in the party. What is more, most of the legislators, who are opposing now, were once close to the government and the party. There are murmurs that the legislators’ conduct and the leader’s advice to them have reached the RSS office. The legislator, who has been recently given advice, is close to the RSS. In such a situation, the leader, counselling everyone, may get some suggestions from the higher-ups. He may be advised to let the legislators get their work done through the government.
Clear message
The ruling party and the opposition are rolling up their sleeves for the Rajya Sabha elections in the state. There is, however, a little confusion in the opposition camp where a race for getting an RS ticket is going on among some senior leaders. Amid the strife among the congressmen, a soft soap between a top leader of the party and a former chief minister has sent a clear message to the warring factions in the organisation. The former chief minister pleaded with the top leader to give an RS ticket to his son whose political future he is worried about. The top leader said, "Don't worry about your son's political career so long as I'm alive." The party boss’s hedging indicated there would not be any shortcut to reaching Parliament for the next-generation leaders. The candid remark from the top leader drives home the point that each party man must exert himself to go to Parliament. Mere family background will not work. However clear the message may have been, translating it into reality would be difficult in the Congress.
Legislator’s benevolence
Politicians love to be feted in public and are gifted with fondness for garlands, though there are a few exceptions. Among the exceptions is a legislator from the ruling party, belonging to the Bundelkhand region. He has advised his supporters not to buy a garland to honour him at any public event, and instead of doing so, they should bring pens, pencils, exercise books, lunch boxes, books, and other items which children from poor families need to further their studies. Such items are small, but they are of great help for those who cannot afford them. Whenever the legislator receives those items, he distributes them among the children who feel happy. The cost of stationery items is worth lakhs of rupees, which otherwise the legislator’s supporters would have spent on garlands that wither after a few hours. So, they are of little use. Through this benevolent act, the lawmaker has drawn public attention and encouraged his supporters to stand by those who really need their help. His act has also stirred up the feelings of those politicians who are fond of public displays of their popularity, sporting garlands presented by their supporters.
