Lucknownama

A tale of two Joshis
“Her sentiments were all right,her choice of words was wrong”,is the official Congress line on Rita Bahuguna Joshi,spelled out by none other than Rahul Gandhi. But a section of Congressmen believe that Joshi’s days as PCC president are numbered. They say that B L Joshi’s appointment as the new governor only confirms it. What is the connection? The two Joshis cannot occupy two important posts under a Congress dispensation,they argue. But there is nothing common between the office of the Governor and the office of the party president: the first is a constitutional office,the second is the office of a political party. It is said that communist regimes have a very thin dividing line between the government and the party. Does this apply to the Congress as well?

Waiting for directions
Congress leaders were stunned when Mayawati likened them to rats. But the fact remains that on the night of the arson at Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s house,it became difficult to collect party leaders and workers on the spot,which is in the heart of the city. Even leaders living nearby did not turn up. They had all kind of excuses,some even saying that they were waiting for their drivers. “Even if all 63 claimants for the ticket for Lucknow West had come,we would have got a decent number,” said a leader. Remarked another,“We are Congressmen,how could anyone move without directions from the party high command?”

BJP’s worry
The Bharatiya Janata Party is at its wits end trying find suitable candidates for the four Assembly constituencies where the Election Commission had announced by-elections. But there is no dearth of claimants for the post of state president. The current membership drive will conclude by August-end,if not extended by the central leadership. This will be followed by the election of the state president. Former minister Surya Pratap Shahi,MLC Swatantra Dev Singh,and Vinod Pandey,a protégée of the national president Rajnath Singh,are some of the claimants. But if the party cannot find suitable candidates for four seats,what will happen when the by-elections for the remaining 10 Assembly and one Lok Sabha seat are announced? Of the 14 Assembly constituencies where the by-elections are due,only three were held by the BJP,including Lucknow West,vacated by Lalji Tandon,after his election to the Lok Sabha. The way things are,retaining these three seats may be a tall order for the BJP. In the Ferozabad Lok Sabha constituency,Raghuvar Dayal Verma,whom the BJP had fielded in the recent Lok Sabha election,has deserted the party and joined the BSP. He was the only hope of the BJP in this constituency.

Shoddy plaques
Almost three weeks after Mayawati unveiled the marble statues at Ambedkar Memorial,the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) on Sunday started putting up commemorative granite plaques. Interestingly,each plaque carries two dates,one of June and the other of July. At some places,one date is overwritten on another. Why the confusion? Mayawati had originally planned to unveil the statues on July 3,but the event was advanced to June 25 after the Supreme Court decided to hold a hearing on a PIL against the waste of public money by the state government. By then,the plaques had been made. Now,the same plaques have been put up after changing the date,but the job has been shoddy.

Baseball connection
Why should anyone in Lucknow be interested in a baseball match in faraway USA? Last week,when the Bradenton Pirates outclassed the Lakeland Tigers 10-5 in a Gulf Coast League at Lakeland in Florida,there was jubilation in the Sports College. For those who don’t know,Bradenton Pirates is the team of Sports College alumnus Rinku Singh,who was picked up in the Million-Dollar Arm contest held last year. Another student,Dinesh Patel,was the runner-up. Both were javelin throwers and had never dreamt of playing baseball. What helped them win was the fact that the set of muscles that javelin throwers and baseball players need to use the most are the same. Their coach J S Bhatia said,“I do not regret losing two of my talented trainees. Both were financially weak. Now their future is secure. As athletes in UP,they would have ended up as police constables at the most.”

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