Off the hook?
A troubled legislator has recently patched things up with the head of state, who did not visit the MLA’s constituency after the government formation, and the lawmaker continuously found himself in trouble. The probe agencies were tightening their noose around the legislator, and the state government departments were stirring up troubles for him. Now, he seems to have come out of the difficulties. The trip by the head of state to the legislator’s constituency has brought the much-needed relief to the lawmaker. After the event, the government may let the legislator live peacefully. During the head of state’s trip to the constituency, the lawmaker was buttering him up a lot. Although the event took place in his constituency, the lawmaker put up hoardings in the state capital to draw the attention of the party bosses. He also forked out a huge amount of money on the event and collected a massive crowd to welcome the head of state. Now, the legislator hopes his relationship with the government will improve.
Ridiculous flattery
The wife of a central minister recently visited her husband’s Lok Sabha constituency. Her visit to the constituency was not a big event, but the central minister’s supporters behaved towards her with a ridiculous degree of sycophancy, and that caught the attention of everyone. They released a programme for welcoming her. A list consisting of the names of those who would welcome her and of the places where they would do so was prepared. Fifty spots were selected to welcome the minister’s wife. A present legislator and a former MLA were there to roll out the red carpet for her. The ridiculous degree of sycophancy shown by the central minister’s supporters towards his wife angered some veterans of the BJP, but they remained mum, keeping an eye on the goings-on. A few months ago, in the same constituency, the people saw a 70-year-old BJP legislator touch the feet of the minister’s young son. All such incidents enraged the senior leaders of the BJP and the functionaries of the RSS, but they cannot harm the minister.
Keeping an eye
The ruling party leaders have kept an eye on a recent meeting of the RSS. They were watching how many RSS Pracharaks are allowed to join the BJP. The position of the organisational general secretary in the state BJP is lying vacant. The BJP leaders are keen to know who will get the position. There are discussions over the names of some Pracharaks for it. The BJP leaders are trying to woo these Pracharaks. So, the BJP leaders kept an eye on the meeting. The decisions taken by the Sangh reach the party men after some time. In such a situation, the BJP leaders are trying to know the name of the person who may become the organisational general secretary of the party’s state unit. The names of the two functionaries connected with the RSS are in discussion for the position. But there are murmurs that the name of a third candidate may emerge for the position.
What’s the significance?
Many senior BJP leaders from the state often meet the party bosses in Delhi. But only a few leaders meet the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister. Many ministers from the state do not even dare to seek time from these two leaders for a meeting. A junior minister from the state recently had an opportunity to meet the union home minister. He sought time to present a copy of a book written by him to the union home minister. He got the time. On the pretext of giving him the book, he informed the powerful central minister about the work he was doing for the state and for his constituency. The junior minister stirred up several controversies last year. Because of these controversies, people said whenever the cabinet reshuffled, he might lose his chair. However difficult the situation may have been for him, after his meeting with the union home minister, he seemed to be in high spirits. He is lucky, because soon after becoming an MLA, he got the position of a minister of state in the cabinet. Now, there are speculations about what Lady Luck might offer him after his meeting with the powerful central minister.
Pic talk
A photograph, clicked at a meeting organised by the Congress in New Delhi, has stirred up discussions. In the photograph, four leaders from Madhya Pradesh are seen with the in-charge of the party’s state unit. These leaders often meet each other in the state. In such a situation, party men say such meetings often take place in the state, but what might have prompted the leadership to organise a special meeting in New Delhi? The absence of two former chief ministers and former presidents of the MPCC from the meeting has also stirred up talks among the party leaders. After the meeting, the party men began to say that after the Congress’s defeat in the assembly election, the top bosses were making efforts for coordination among the state leaders. However sincere the efforts may have been, they do not seem to be sufficient to bring the local leaders together, so how will they fight the BJP? Party leaders are obliquely saying that but for fixing another date for the next coordination meeting, such gatherings cannot achieve anything.
A Plus category!
The BCCI has done away with the A Plus category for top-tier annual contract grades for Indian cricket players in the 2025-26 season. But the state government still follows the A Plus category rule in terms of letters written to the government. In cricket, the A Plus grade is the reward to a player for excellence in all formats of the game. In the state government offices, a letter with the A Plus mark increases its importance. A BJP legislator from the Chambal region has understood the significance of the A Plus category mark. The lawmaker, who sent 40 letters to the government, was fed up with not getting any reply. The jaded lawmaker then met the IAS officer in the CM’s Secretariat, who is supposed to dispose of such cases. The legislator told the IAS officers that until his letters carried the A Plus mark, the head of state would not see them. Because his letters did not reach the big boss, he resolved not to scribble a single word. The IAS officer immediately put the A Plus mark on his letters. Now, the lawmaker is waiting to see whether A Plus category-marked letters pull in a positive outcome.
