Lucknownama

Joshi to contest Assembly polls?
After much hard work in the Lok Sabha elections,the State Congress president Rita Bahuguna Joshi is unwinding in London these days. In Lucknow,however,the talking point in party circles is that she is planning to contest the Assembly by-election from Lucknow West that was vacated by Lalji Tandon. A section of party members says that Joshi may have lost to Tandon,but she put up a good show in spite of the fact that she was the last to launch her campaign,thanks to the delay in announcing her candidature. With a timely start now,she can wrest Lucknow West from the BJP. “Congress ke pas sunhera chance hai BJP ki monopoly torne ka,” summed up one leader.
Those against the idea say Joshi contesting the Assembly by-election after losing in the Lok Sabha would look like a sign of desperation. “Ab state president Assembly larega to janta mein kya message jayega,” said another leader. The debate rages on,although no one knows if Joshi has really given any thought to the idea.

Why Meira Kumar should thank Maya
Why did Chief Minister Mayawati not give her reaction to Meira Kumar’s elevation to the post of the Lok Sabha Speaker? Way back in 1985,Meira Kumar had defeated Mayawati in a Lok Sabha by-election in Bijnore. Maya had then criticised Kumar,saying,“I have not forgotten my Dalit brothers and sisters unlike those who live as slaves in Brahmanical parties.” Since then,the BSP and Mayawati herself have changed a lot.
From Bahujan,Maya moved on to Sarvajan. So how could she now criticise Kumar? Also,Mayawati cannot be unaware of the fact that the Congress wanted Kumar as Speaker to send a message to the Dalits that the party cared for them. Many Uttar Pradesh politicians believe Kumar has reasons to thank Maya. Would Congress have chosen her had there been no Mayawati?

IPS officer ‘goes missing’
An IPS officer played hide and seek with Director General of Police Vikram Singh when he visited Azamgarh recently after the murder of a Dalit. A message about the DGP’s visit had been flashed to all officers well in advance. The IG,the SP and other officials accompanied the DGP right from the helipad to the victim’s house,the police station and an outpost,but not this officer. At one point,the DGP asked about him,and messages were flashed on the wireless,but still the officer did not turn up.
He first said that his vehicle had developed a snag. Next,he said that he reached the victim’s house,but the DGP had already left the place. He tried to catch up at the police outpost,but by then the DGP had left.
The DGP has ordered Azamgarh SP Ramit Sharma to seek an explanation from this officer for not carrying out the annual inspection of police stations. Interestingly,this officer has been posted in Azamgarh since Mayawati took over in 2007.