Untimely missive

Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in Bihar wore glum expressions on their faces recently. All of them had slogged for more than a week to make the two-day joint national executive meeting of the party’s seven morchas in Patna a success and were looking forward to heading home. It was 9 pm and the only thing left to do was to see off the Union home minister and senior party leader, Amit Shah. However, a missive informed them that Shah wanted to conduct a brief meeting with some of the top leaders before leaving, putting paid to such hopes. Since Shah’s flight was scheduled half an hour later, some young leaders thought that the meeting would have to be over by that time. But the senior shook their heads, saying “You all do not know him. He is always a late lateef when it comes to such meetings. We have suffered this in Delhi. If he calls a meeting at 9 pm it starts after midnight.” The juniors decided to wait and watch what happens. To their dismay, the meeting started two hours late and Shah left only around midnight. “It seems we have got another Shatrughan Sinha in Shah,” a party leader quipped, referring to the legendary late lateefi of the former BJP parliamentarian, who has since switched over to the Trinamul Congress.

Sweat it out

It seems that the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, Tejashwi Yadav, has taken the advice of the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to ‘lose weight’ quite seriously. Lately, the Opposition leader of Bihar begins his day by pushing and pulling an old 1,000-kilogramme jeep that belongs to his father and the former chief minister, Lalu Prasad. A driver sits in the vehicle to ensure that he does not go astray. After that, Tejashwi plays table tennis at his residence.

“The paths are unyielding, the destinations are unwavering, my determination is also strong,” Tejashwi said during his workout. He also pointed out that when it came to performing well, nothing was more effective than confidence, consistency and concentration and sport is the best teacher of these values. This perked up party leaders who see this as a sign of the Yadav scion preparing to take charge in the future.

Eager to please

It is an open secret that the Uttar Pradesh government is being run by two or three top bureaucrats. These officials know that the chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, is fond of giving speeches. So they never fail to organise programmes for the CM. “On an average our CM gives two speeches per day... This is how the bureaucrats close to the CM keep him busy — giving little time to assess the works of his government,” a senior government official said with an impish smile. “These officers are hard-working and can be seen wishing the CM good night and then welcoming him early in the morning with saffron towels and other items that he needs... Then, they can be seen standing at the entry of the venue to be noticed by the CM. As the CM returns late afternoon, these officers are there at his gate to welcome him back and brief him about the next day’s programmes,” the official continued, divulging the mantra to keep the CM happy.

Eye on the prize

The veteran Congress leader, PC Siddaramiah, means business. After a high-voltage birthday bash that was attended by about six lakh party workers and supporters, the leader of the Opposition in Karnataka went mutt-hopping to call on seers from different communities. Hopeful of returning to power in the state elections due early next year, the 75-year-old staunch socialist even visited a few temples and a dargah. The signals are crystal clear — age is just a number for the former CM who is pulling out all stops to bring Congress back to power. Knowing that no political party can win the state without the support of the dominant Lingayat community, the Congress has been wooing the seers in an effort to win a better slice of this segment that otherwise backs the BJP.

Gracious host

Only one Congress member of the legislative assembly in Odisha voted for Droupadi Murmu in the recent presidential elections, leaving the party to face widespread criticism in the state. Congress MLAs tried to make up for the loss of face by going to Delhi as part of an all-party delegation led by the assembly Speaker, Bikram Keshari Arukha, on August 3 to felicitate Murmu. They explained to her that they had not opposed her candidature but rather supported their own party’s national stand.

During the meeting, one of the Congress MLAs presented the president with a saree made in the Koraput district. On her part, Murmu gave no indication of being unhappy with the Congress. She personally looked after the concerns of the MLAs, addressing them by their nicknames. She also ensured that all the 24 legislators, including the ministers, had a comfortable visit to Raisina Hill and got to know about the art, architecture, and culture of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Footnote

PT Usha’s sprint towards the sangh parivar on winning a Rajya Sabha nomination has left her admirers in Kerala disappointed. Many expressed their disapproval on social media. Others appear to be closely watching her every move. Hailing from a state that has historically shunned the BJP, it is only a matter of time before her critics target her for alleged links to the saffron party — after all, she was rumoured to have agreed to contest the 2021 Kerala state assembly polls on a BJP ticket. This time, the shift cannot be brushed off as rumours.