Lucknow Nama: Media shy

The BJP has given the ticket to Badshah Singh,a former tainted minister of the Mayawati government who had joined the party with Babu Singh Kushwaha. But party leaders are shy of being seen with him. They are campaigning in all other constituencies of Bundelkhand,but not in Mahoba from where Badshah Singh is contesting. Last week,Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan had campaigned for Uma Bharti in Charkhari,but did not go to the adjacent Mahoba. So had party president Nitin Gadkari when he had visited Hamirpur,Mauranipur and Jhansi,all of which are in Bundelkhand. So have other star campaigners of the BJP. The only exception was party vice-presidents Vinay Katiyar and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi,who attended a public meeting that Singh had organised last month. However,the BJP’s media cell,which routinely issues press notes on all election-related party activities,chose to stay away the event.

Please all

Two months after his much publicized resignation as chief spokesperson of the UP Congress,Subodh Srivastava has quietly returned to the party’s media management team. Srivastava wanted to contest elections from Lucknow Central,but the party chose Fakhir Siddique,a known turncoat. An angry Srivastava resigned,alleging that the leadership was giving preference to “outsiders” over the loyalists. Sources said his return had nothing to do with his skills in media management. It is meant to please certain sections of the Kayastha workers who had stopped taking interest in party affairs after he had quit. Besides,the community has substantial presence in Lucknow cantonment from where the state Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi is contesting.

Playing foul

While the government grapples with the unsavoury situation created by the former Basti Commissioner Anurag Srivastava’s use of foul language against former Siddharthanagar SP Mohit Gupta at an official meeting,the episode has opened a can of worms. Sources said that Gupta and District Magistrate Chaitra V were hardly on talking terms,it was in the knowledge of senior officers,but they did nothing. Sources added that the tussle over the supremacy and ego clashes between IAS and IPS officers have been common in many districts. With the state having been caught in the election process,the issue may be left for the new government to tackle.

Shiny & bright

Thanks to elections,the power supply in rural areas has substantially improved. Obviously,the government does not want to displease the voters. The Election Commission,too,has done its bit. It has directed the UP Power Corporation Limited to ensure interrupted power supply in all constituencies for three days – the day before the poll,the day of the poll and the day after the poll – for smooth conduct of elections.