NOT AMUSED

Unlike in the past, the Congress is likely to finalise its candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections early this time, possibly in the first week of September itself. The Congress central election committee is likely to meet on September 4 to decide its candidates. The reason one gets to hear is that Congress president Sonia Gandhi is set to go abroad in the first week of September, possibly for her regular medical check-up. Sonia had gone abroad for a medical check-up during the same time last year as well.

REPEAT SHOW

Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh, a labour union affiliated to the RSS, has been trailing Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje these days. When Raje and her government machinery camped in Udaipur earlier this week, the BMS organised a massive protest against the recent labour laws passed by the BJP government in the state. It is planning to do a similar thing at Ajmer, where Raje will have a similar camp. BMS leaders say the success of Udaipur protest — the Chief Minister heard them out in a 45-minute meeting — has encouraged them to repeat their show. “We are not satisfied with the explanations given by the Chief Minister,” said one leader.

PARTY TIME

With Assembly polls in Haryana just months away, a slew of new political parties have started springing up in the state, that too, with interesting names. So, the state that patented the “aaya ram, gaya ram” phenomenon now has political parties with names like Corruption Abolition Party and Rashtriya Bujurg Shakti Party. Both these parties have been recently registered with the Election Commission of India and incidentally have their addresses in the Beri Tehsil in Haryana’s Jhajjar district.