Too close, yet too far
A minister in the state cabinet has recently been allotted a government bungalow in Bhopal. Yet it may take a long time for him to get its possession. The problem with the minister is that he works throughout the day, but at night, he has to search for a place to sleep. He sometimes kips down in his in-laws’ house, sometimes in the rest house, and occasionally in a hotel. Because the minister has to search for a place to hit the hay, he looks worried as soon as dusk begins to descend. Another problem with the minister is that a large number of people from his constituency come to Bhopal, but he can neither meet them nor can he arrange for their stay, because he himself is roofless. The minister may have heaved a sigh of relief after the allotment of the bungalow, but the residence is still in the possession of a former minister, so he will get a place to stay in the state capital only after it is vacated.
Trio shocked
All the politicians, heading the corporations and boards, are in shock after their appointments were cancelled. But, for three of them associated directly with the RSS, it has turned out to be a kick in the teeth. A member of the RSS has complained to the higher-ups in the organisation about his abrupt removal. When the higher authorities previously removed these three members of the RSS from important positions in the organisation, they assured the trio of giving some important assignments. Afterwards they were appointed heads of corporations. Nevertheless, the trio has not been given any work after the cancellation of their appointments. Nor has any senior member of the organisation spoken to them after their ungracious removal from the positions they were holding. There are reports that one of the three members called a meeting with the board of directors of the corporation the next day before he had been removed. Because they have been deprived of the staff and the official vehicles after their removal, they are feeling sad. But immediately after their removal, three other members of the organisation have swung into action to grab the vacant positions.
Lucky ones
People in the political circle are talking about the luck of a few who have been given tickets for the Rajya Sabha election. The BJP may have given tickets to some candidates for the RS polls, but did not consider them worthy of tickets for the assembly election. When a female leader of the party in Narmadapuram who has been given a ticket for the Upper House met some senior leaders of the party seeking a ticket for the assembly election, she was told that politicians are in the habit of demanding tickets before any election. Similarly, the party has always ignored another leader at the time of distribution of tickets before any election. He was so fed up that he even decided to contest the election against the party; however, a few senior leaders quelled his anger. The situation in the Congress is not better than what people see in the ruling party. A politician who has lost assembly and Lok Sabha elections is being sent to the Rajya Sabha.
Fed-up workers
Congress and BJP workers are cheesed off with their own party bosses in an important district. Many former legislators of the BJP have opened a front against the party’s district unit president. These leaders recently made a trip to Bhopal, and complained to the party bosses against the district unit head. But the bosses barely paid any attention to the complaints. Immediately after these leaders returned to the district, the person, against whom complaints were made, organised a big event in the state capital throwing a spanner in their plans to remove him. Nonetheless, the party workers are facing problems because of the dispute. Similarly, the Congress leaders are fed up with an important leader about whom canards are spread daily. Such rumours have rattled the party workers in the district. The situation has come to such a pass that the workers of both the parties are baffled by their own leaders.
Smart act
To cope with any situation is an art that a politician knows better than anybody. Even those who are in their salad days in politics know this art well. Else they will have hardly any chance to survive in the devious terrain of politics. A young BJP legislator smartly handled a situation that took his seniors as well as his opponents in the party by surprise. When he was contesting the assembly election from a constituency in Jabalpur, a few members of his party and an influential politician were opposed to giving him a ticket. They even tried to damage his prospects in the election, yet he won. But when the party bosses wanted the names of those who had opposed him, the young legislator politely told them – everyone had worked hard to ensure his victory. His smart reply not only pleased his seniors but also his detractors. He says he gave a wide berth to mentioning the names of his opponents in writing, because such things often go viral. And it not only damages the organisation but also embitters relations among party colleagues. He smartly put the controversy to rest. A true politician: isn’t it?
Timing important
The Congress is never tired of saying that the coverage it gets in the media is insufficient. Yet a young leader of the party and a former legislator from the Malwa region has a different story to tell. He says when he was a member of the Youth Congress, he protested against the rising prices of essential commodities, including fuel, and the media houses never disappointed him in giving wide coverage. He seems to have appreciated what his senior colleagues in the party have failed to do. To get wide coverage in the media, a politician has to be cautious about the timing of staging a protest. For him, Sunday is the right time to stage a protest, because this is the day when the media houses do not have enough content or issues to dish out to their readers. So, a protest on this day is bound to hog the limelight. The tip he has given must come in handy to the Congress leaders who always blame the media houses for blacking their events out.
