Lucknownama: No Entry

Chacha fiery,bhatija frosty

The chacha-bhatija relationship has soured in the Vidhan Parishad. Leader of Opposition Naseemuddin Siddiqui always addressed Leader of the House Ahmed Hasan as chachajan. And although Ahmed Hasan never actually called Siddiqui bhatija,the members often referred to them as chacha-bhatija. On June 7,however certain remarks by chachajan made Siddiqui very angry. BSP members even stalled the proceedings and demanded an apology,but chachajan would not relent. Since then,the relations between chacha and bhatija have turned frosty.

Too hot to handle

Why did the BSP maintain suspense over the Kannauj by-election? Whatever the official explanation,the actual reason was that no senior leader wanted to contest. Sources said initially MLC Vinay Shakya was sounded,but he was unwilling. The BSP leaders then held a meeting of their Kanpur zone,in which Kannauj falls,in order to select a candidate. There,the local leaders,instead of offering a candidate from the area,demanded that either party coordinator K K Gautam or general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui should contest. Having got the message,the BSP decided not to contest.

Double whammy

The appointment of Pradeep Mathur as leader of the Congress Legislature Party,without any announcement about the future of Pramod Tiwari and state president Rita Bahuguna Joshi,who is also on her way out,seems to have hurt both. Both leaders are now telling their supporters that a decision about their future is stuck because the high command is busy with the presidential election. But,as they say,nothing is done until it is actually done. And in politics,equations and scenarios can change in a day.

Fizzles out

A fter its poor show in the Assembly election,the BJP announced that the statewide municipal elections are its rehearsal for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. But the 11 party leaders it chose to appoint as coordinators,conveners and election in-charge for Lucknow have failed to enthuse partymen. Most of them are those leaders who had either performed badly in the Assembly elections or have been inactive for a long time. Suresh Tiwari,Suresh Srivastava,Vidhya Sagar Gupta and Ashutosh Tandon ‘Gopal’ had lost from those seats,which were considered BJP strongholds. But Tandon has been appointed election in-charge while others have been made coordinators. SC Rai,a former mayor who has been out of active politics for long,is also a co-ordinator. So is businessman Sudhir Halwasiya,who had joined BJP after leaving the BSP in middle of the Assembly elections. Sanyukta Bhatiya,who had filed nomination as a rebel candidate for the mayor’s seat when party denied her the ticket,is also a coordinator.

Animal Planet

S ome time ago,Naseemuddin Siddiqui started getting unwelcome and dangerous visitors at his private house in Cantt. From the cover of the greenery around,snakes would often sneak in and could be seen slithering around the house. After trying several methods,Siddiqui hit upon a novel one — he got two mongooses from his home district Banda. The creatures took care of the snakes and Siddiqui is now a much relieved man.

Wrong number

The Chief Electoral Office has been lately getting lots of unwanted calls. People have been calling with complaints of violation of the model code of conduct in municipal elections,regarding reservation of wards,or problems in the voters list. Obviously,they do not know that municipal elections are actually the responsibility of the State Election Commission. Apparently,the SEC has not done enough to make the distinction clear to people,or to popularise its contact numbers. Now,the CEO’s staff is doing this job. They patiently tell the callers to contact the SEC and even give the relevant telephone number.