Lucknownama

Comeback babu
When Shailesh Krishna was posted in the CMO last week,he made a record of sorts — this is his third stint in the CMO in the Mayawati government. Usually,anyone once found unfit to continue in the CMO never comes back. Shailesh Krishna has done it twice before. He was first removed in September 2008,but was brought back in less than three months. The second time he went out on February 15,but stayed out for just about a month. What makes this 1980 batch IAS officer click? Those who know Shailesh Krishna say that he has some qualities which are rare in the higher echelons of the bureaucracy. “He is accessible,a patient listener and he tries to find a solution instead of passing the buck. With colleagues in service,he is always courteous,” summed up an officer. This has earned him much goodwill which,in turn,is not liked by many. According to sources,Shailesh owes his return to several BSP legislators who requested Mayawati to bring him back. Their logic was simple: She often remains busy and cannot be expected to deal with day-to-day problems. Shailesh,who is always accessible and ready to help,is their best bet.

Nothing permanent
What exactly had V S Pandey done to invite Mayawati’s wrath? The garland which kicked off a controversy was displayed from the dais. When was the last time anyone in this country had seen so many Rs 1,000 notes? It was bound to hit front pages and prime time TV. It was also bound to attract flak from Mayawati’s political opponents. So,how could Pandey,or for that matter any PR man,contain the damage? Maybe,there was something else that cooked Pandey’s goose. He was stripped off the post of Additional Cabinet Secretary,shunted out of the Chief Minister’s office,and became a pariah. Pandey was posted as principal secretary of Medical and Health,and Vocational Education. But Mines Minister Babu Singh Kushwaha,who is also the Minister of Family Welfare,would not have him. Health Minister Anant Mishra also reportedly did not relish the idea of working with Pandey. Within hours,Pandey was divested of Medical and Health,and left only with Vocational Education — the department which was his additional charge since last month. Mayawati had then taken personal charge of Vocational Education and it was said that Vocational Education had risen in the government’s priorities. Now,after shunting out Pandey,Mayawati has also rid herself of Vocational Education and given it to Laxmi Narayan,the minister with whom she is unhappy for some reason and whom she has divested of agriculture. How quickly government priorities change!

Missing from action
The currency garland overshadowed another striking feature of the BSP rally. Before Mayawati’s arrival,BSP general secretary S C Mishra visited the press enclosure,shook hands with almost every reporter and exchanged pleasantries. This had never happened before. Why this gesture? Before long,Mayawati cleared the air:  Mishra will now be head of the party’s legal cell and he will not participate in any political programme at the cost of important legal matters,she announced. Obviously,Mishra knew what was coming and was sort of making a farewell call to the media. On March 18,the day Mayawati was presented the second garland,Mishra was missing. This was the first time he wasn’t around on an important occasion. As the architect of the BSP’s Brahmin-Dalit social engineering,Mishra had brought many into the BSP fold. Most of them are now worried about their future.

Maya’s enemy?
In her speech,Mayawati had trained guns at the Congress,describing it as the biggest danger to the BSP. She mentioned the BJP and the SP only in passing. Both SP and BJP have their own explanation of why Mayawati almost ignored them. “It was a deliberate attempt on the part of the BSP to run down the main Opposition party to create an impression that electorally we are irrelevant in UP politics,” said Ambika Prasad,SP chief whip in the UP Assembly. BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Mayawati attacked the Congress because both parties,and also the SP,are locked in a race of corruption while the BJP is fighting them all. Clearly,neither BJP nor SP is ready to face the fact that Mayawati does not regard them as a threat. Both parties are on a downhill slide,having performed miserably in all elections in recent years,and it is the Congress which is emerging as the main challenger of the BSP. Mayawati knows it and minced no words while addressing her party cadres. The BJP and the SP may behave like an ostrich as long as they like.

Fight Cong style 
A tall neem tree in the UP Congress headquarters has become the victim in the ongoing tussle between two rival factions. A ginger group critical of party president Rita Bahuguna Joshi used to sit under the shady tree,gossip,and plan their moves. The official group did not relish this activity. A few days ago,the tree was cut down. Denied of shelter,the anti-Didi camp now has no place to sit. The sun is too hot outside. Inside there is no vacant space. The group has now dispersed,they can be seen sitting or standing in twos and threes at different places.