Joshi’s Activeness
Once an organisational general secretary of the BJP, Sanjay Joshi’s activeness in politics is in discussion these days. If there is an arch-rival of a top-rank BJP leader, it is none but Joshi. He has recently visited Madhya Pradesh for two days. Joshi was in the state to condole with the family members of two leaders who passed away. His meeting with a few leaders of the party during the trip has become a matter of discussion. Joshi had a long interaction with a powerful politician who is close to the party’s central leadership and takes keen interest in state politics. Before his trip to MP, he was seen at a condolence meeting held to pay tributes to a politician who passed away in Delhi where some politicians from the state were around him. Joshi has always had a close association with MP. A dispute which damaged his political career was connected to Bhopal. Ergo, his meetings with the leaders of Madhya Pradesh are seriously taken in political circles.
Thorny way ahead
Minister Ramniwas Rawat, a former legislator of the Congress now in the BJP, is not going to have a cakewalk in the upcoming by-election. To ensure his victory, the BJP has given him a ministerial berth. The Chief Minister has twice visited Vijaypur – from where Rawat is contesting the by-poll – to ensure a win for his cabinet colleague. The government also announced several welfare schemes from the constituency, but the reports the ruling party is getting from there indicate that all is not well with Rawat. The by-poll in Vijaypur is going to be as tough as it was in Amarwara. Sitaram Adiwasi, who defeated Rawat in the 2018 assembly election, has been given a position in a corporation to quell his anger. Another BJP leader Babulal Mewra has also been mollified, but the party is not confident of winning the seat. This is what the party’s local leaders have surmised. The party has given several tips to Rawat about how to win the election. However sincere the senior party leaders may be to ensure his victory, Rawat, oblivious of dos and don’ts, is working on his own. It is not the Congress leaders who have thrown down the gauntlet before Rawat. But the leaders of his own party want him to lose the by-election.
Matter of reputation
A fiction may it sound, but the truth is that the reputation of former minister Narottam Mishra has been connected to the in-laws’ house of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Mishra has been given the responsibility for Maharashtra election. Gondia is a place which belongs to the area where Mishra is handling the party’s election management. Chouhan often visits Gondia where his in-laws’ house is located. Many people connected to his in-laws also live there. Mishra has become active in this place. Likewise, a minister from the state Kailash Vijayvargiya has been made election in-charge of Nagpur. Vijayvargiya has always been close to the Sangh. But now, his relationship with the RSS leaders has become stronger than it previously was. Other ministers from the state, like Prahlad Patel, Vishvas Sarang, and an MP Faggan Singh Kulaste are active in Maharashtra. There may not be any election in the state in the coming days, but the prestige of the leaders from MP has been tied to the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
Influence in Vindhya
Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla has again proved that as far as the development of the Vindhya region goes; he spares no effort. By getting licence from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for opening an airport in Rewa, Shukla’s fame has spread far and wide in the region. The reports about the efforts of Shukla for the development of the region have also reached Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the reason why when Shukla requested Modi to virtually inaugurate Rewa airport as part of the CM conclave, PM agreed. He also took feedback on the project from Shukla. The Deputy Chief Minister has been making efforts to set up an airport in the Vindhya region for longtime. He regularly visited the office of five civil aviation ministers in the past few years. He held meetings with several officers of the Central Government for the project. For Shukla, the situation came to such a pass that whenever any official of the Civil Aviation Ministry saw him, they understood that he had come for the project.
Dust raiser
Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh is not in the habit of keeping quiet for a longtime. His statement on BJP’s state unit president VD Sharma at the office of the Left Party was so contentious that both the leaders cornered media headlines. Just before this episode, Singh’s remark at a function of a Muslim organisation kicked so much din that even his own party, the Congress, could not digest it. According to some Congress leaders, as the former chief minister knows how to remain in news, it is not possible that he made the statement without measuring its consequences. Immediately after his statement, the BJP has become aggressive towards Singh; and, again, the Congress leaders have shrugged off Singh’s statements. In closed-door discussions, the Congress leaders have put up a question mark on Singh’s presence at the press conference where he made the remark against Sharma. The Congress did not authorise Singh to attend the press conference organised by INDIA Alliance. So, there, he was a self-styled representative of the group.
Aaj Ki Kifayat, Kaal Ki Bachat!
A senior minister in Mohan Yadav cabinet follows the old Hindi maxim – Aaj ki Kifayat, Kaal Ki Bachat (today’s frugality is tomorrow’s saving) – in letter and spirit. He does not switch on the fans, air conditioners, and lights unless required. His purpose is to reserve a few more units for the next generation. The minister does not use electricity for one hour daily in office as well as at home. The story does not end there. Whenever someone meets him, he says that person to use each unit of electricity economically and keep away from using power for one hour daily. Two vice chancellors have followed his advice. Both have stopped using electricity for one and a half hours daily in their offices. They also advise others to follow the minister. The Minister's deed has become a sort of campaign: No use of power for one hour to keep darkness at bay.
