Bhojpuri surprise

NaMo namah

THE BJP may not have yet announced Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its leader for the Lok Sabha election,but his portraits are much in demand at the three shops selling party flags,magazines and photographs at the BJP office. Earlier,visiting partymen bought portraits of national BJP president Rajnath Singh and state president Laxmikant Bajpai. Now,as preparations for Lok Sabha elections have begun and the charge of the state unit has been given to Modi’s aide Amit Shah,partymen have started buying portraits of Gujarat CM to display at their homes and offices.

Privileged MP

THE absence of Steel Minister and Gonda MP Beni Prasad Verma from party meetings has started upsetting other Congress MPs. Earlier this month,Verma was absent from the meeting of union ministers from UP,called by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. He explained his absence,saying he had already planned an official tour abroad. Last week again,when AICC general secretary Madhusudan Mistry called a meeting of Congress MPs from the state,Verma was the only MP absent,apart from Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Some MPs have now started questioning the ‘special privileges’ given to the Verma.

Poor ‘UPDATE’

FOLOWING its own revival in last November,the IAS Association had also revived its newsletter ‘UPDATE’. The new edition,which came out in January,had more than 50 pages. The association decided to bring it out every quarter with the same number of pages. For the next edition of April,it invited write-ups from members,but the response was reportedly not very enthusiastic. It was no better for the July edition. Nor is the association getting enough advertisements. It had hoped to raise Rs 10 lakh from advertisements this year to finance its routine activities,but that may not happen.

Stage-worthy

IN Samajwadi Party functions,there is a mad rush to grab a seat on the stage. At a function to launch some welfare schemes at the CM’s official residence,SP MLA Shadab Fatima occupied a chair on the podium. When cabinet minister Shiv Kumar Beria arrived,the CM signaled him to sit on the corner seat but it was already occupied by Fatima. Beria requested her to move,but she ignored him. Left with no choice,Beria sat among the journalists while Fatima remained seated on the stage.

Out of place

MINISTER of State for Agriculture Manoj Pandey found himself in the wrong place during a function at the Samajwadi Party office. A meeting of the party’s backward cell was in progress when it was conveyed that party president Mulayam Singh Yadav was coming to address the office bearers. Pandey entered the hall along with Mulayam and seated himself in the front row. Mulayam noticed Pandey and immediately signaled him that it was a meeting of the backward cell and he had no business inside. Smiling sheepishly,Pandey walked out and waited for Mulayam as the meeting continued for nearly two hours.