Madhya Pradesh Political Punch: Dressing Down, Happy Ministers, Defeated Leaders & More

Dressing down

A member of the Rajya Sabha recently got a dressing down from the CM’s Secretariat. The daughter of the RS member became active about the problems of Patwaris (revenue officials). There were reports that she had not only made public statements on their issues but also played an important role in organising their strike. Upon coming to know about what the RS member’s daughter was doing, the woman MP was warned about it and told that Bade Sahib is angry with the incident. As soon as she received a phone call from the CM’s Secretariat, she got so nervous that she pulled up her daughter who, too, kept away from the Patwaris’ agitation. The RS member has been scared since the incident took place. She fears lest the government and the party organisation should get angry with her. For the woman, becoming an RS member is no less than magical. She thinks the party leaders’ anger may damage her political career.

Happy ministers

A tribal minister being stripped of two departments may have kicked up a storm in the state ruling party, but it made his two ministerial colleagues, belonging to the tribal community, happy. One of the two cabinet members is a woman who comes from the district which is near the native place of her colleague who was stripped of two departments. One of the reasons for her happiness is that the minister interfered in the affairs of her district, and she used to lose edge in his presence. Moreover, after the minister’s wife became an MP, his influence in the area increased, but now that his wings have been clipped, the woman minister has become more powerful. Likewise, another minister, coming from the Nimar region, is very happy after his colleague’s wings have been clipped. Although he is very senior, he has not been given important departments, which disappointed him – though he did not say anything. Now, he feels that his department is more important than that of his colleague. But the department that he kept his eye on was given to a greenhorn.

Defeated leaders

The Congress leaders were chalking out a strategy for winning elections in the coming days. Most of the leaders, who were conferring over the formula for victory, were defeated in assembly and parliamentary elections. The irony was that those who were trounced in the election were speaking aloud about the winning formula. When one of the leaders said those who had defected to the BJP should never be admitted into the party, many fell silent.  Among these outspoken leaders, there are a few who are not happy with the present state leadership of the party. As the situation may change before the next assembly election, some of the leaders do not want to stop the re-entry of the party-hoppers. Nevertheless, the leader who was the party’s face just a few months ago, was absent from the meeting with his son.

Waiting for better days

A woman leader of the Congress, known for her joviality and forthrightness, is in a melancholic mood these days for being sidelined by the organisation.  When the Congress formed a government under Kamal Nath, she was part of every important meeting. She used to attack the then opposition, the BJP, with all the serration. Nevertheless, the Congress went out of power, and the leader, who used to promote her, has paled into insignificance in the party. So did decrease her weight. As she wants to regain her lost ground, she is planning to go to the national capital to revive her old contacts in the party. But every cloud has a silver lining, and she, too has: the woman leader is close to Rahul Gandhi.

Out of luck

Every legislator wants to become a minister. A law-maker of the ruling party has been taking a crack at getting a cabinet berth for a long time. But his efforts have always fallen through. When Shivraj Singh Chouhan was heading the state government, the legislator tried to get a ministerial berth, but failed. After Mohan Yadav took over as Chief Minister, he pulled out all the stops to become a minister, but his attempts came to naught. A Vaastu expert has reportedly told him that because of Vaastu Dosha in his government bungalow he is not getting ministry. The expert also advised him to build another gate through which he should enter his house, and if he does it, Lady Luck may smile on him. He followed the advice and constructed another gate by demolishing a portion of the bungalow. His well-wishers feel he may succeed in getting a cabinet berth.  Now, it is to be seen whether his pangs for a berth are over with the blessings of Lady Luck.

Daro maat…!

A minister, an old hand of the ruling party, is facing the opposition ire for his deeds. There were, however, two occasions when he brought the opposition almost to their knees. A top leader of the opposition was holding a press conference to blow the lid off the minister’s misdeeds. The leader shot out of the hall where he was holding the press conference to hide the identity of the person from whom he received the call. He soon entered the room and told the scribes that as the issue he was going to raise was resolved. He cancelled the press conference. Nevertheless, journalists, also called mythological sage Narad from whom it is difficult to hide anything, came to know who the caller was. There was another case: a leader of the opposition said he would expose the minister in four days. Several weeks have passed since he announced it, but he is yet to crack the minister’s deeds wide open. And this has happened when their leader is saying, “Daro maat…! (Fear not).