Live on Facebook!
A central minister dressed down his state colleague during a trip to Bhopal. At the airport, the state minister, also a supporter of his central counterpart, broadcast live to Facebook followers on his mobile phone. After his welcome at the airport, the union minister got into his car, but the state minister stayed active on Facebook. When someone saw the state minister being active on Facebook, he informed the union minister about it. Afterwards, the central minister castigated him. The reprimand was so intense that it rattled the state minister. Because of the reprimand, he suffered from a stomach ache that forced him to get out of the car and go home. Now, another minister of the state, riding in the car, spills the tea to everyone, evoking laughter among the listeners.
Even kin kept away
People have cast their votes in the Datia assembly constituency where a by-election took place. Now, everyone waits for the outcome. People, living in the constituency and outside it, observe a former minister whom the party denied a ticket for the by-poll. At the beginning of the electioneering, the ruling party accorded importance to the former minister. But as the campaigning progressed, the party started sidelining him. The party kept the former minister s relatives and friends from campaigning. He is close to some ministers of the state cabinet, and one of them is important in the constituency because of his caste. BJP workers hold another minister in high esteem. Similarly, another leader also has influence in the area. But the party avoided deploying any of them for stumping in the constituency because it lacked confidence in the former minister s close aides. Now, the party drafts a list of workers who may trigger internal sabotage, but the organisation s decisions depend on the by-poll outcome.
Lady minister fails
Two ministers of the state tried for the transfer of secretary-rank officers from their departments. Their relations with the officers soured. So, the duo wanted to shift a few officers. Both presented their problems to the head of state. One of the ministers succeeded, but a woman minister waited for a positive outcome. A minister went after the secretary of his department and removed him. The woman minister expected the transfer of the secretary from her department, but her hopes remained unfulfilled. People in the corridors of power say it happened because of the difference in conduct between the two ministers. The minister from whose department the government transferred the secretary has sharp wit and dynamism. So, the government shifted the secretary to avoid any dispute. Because the woman minister lacks the dynamism of her colleague, she failed to convince the higher-ups.
Role of ruling party
The farmers agitation has worried the state government. The agitating farmers reached the state capital, crippling the administration. Peasants belonging to various organisations participated in the demonstration, and a few opposition and ruling party leaders supported it. Now, the government plans to detect the names of the leaders of the ruling party, who backed the agitation. It came to know that a Member of Parliament and a former minister played an important role in it. The former minister advised some people of his constituency to organise the agitation, and the MP ensured the presence of farmers in the protest in which a few people associated with an RSS outfit also participated. Now, the government plans to complain to the central leadership in Delhi about those leaders who sympathised with the protest.
Only issuing statements
A senior leader of the Congress has sparked discussions in the corridors of power. He kept away from electioneering for the party candidate in the Datia by-election. Only a few could appreciate why he had copped out of the stumping. He remained absent from the assembly session, too. The leader has also stopped participating in any events organised by the party in the state. The rift between him and the party has widened after the Rajya Sabha election. The politician prepared to fight the RS election. Though the party did not give him a ticket, the Election Commission cancelled the nomination of the party candidate. Now, the politician says had the party given him a ticket, he would have won the election unopposed. The politician keeps away from any event organised by the party, and his role remains limited to issuing statements on any important events in the state.
Out of network!
A firebrand woman leader and former MP from the state capital has gone into oblivion after the party denied her a ticket in the previous Lok Sabha elections. Media have stopped focusing on her, and she has distanced herself from party activities. She has also discontinued her visits to the party office; nor does anyone know where she has gone. Her behaviour has amazed even her supporters. Because her absence from public life lingers, her acquaintances have stopped inviting her to wedding ceremonies and religious functions. Fewer people appreciate the reasons for her decision to stay away from public life. A few years ago, she sparked a sensation by contesting the Lok Sabha election from the state capital and by defeating a former chief minister. People in the corridors of power say the media cannot write off the tenacious woman leader, as she may spring a surprise any day.
