Mumbai Confidential: Praise For Thorat

Congress legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat has managed to justify the trust placed in him by the Gandhi family with the organisation of the Maharashtra leg of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Thorat’s organisational skills impressed a lot of AICC leaders, thanks to the yatra and, more importantly, the mammoth public rally in Shegaon. The praises thrown at him and his method of working from behind the curtains may land him more responsibilities in future..

No Flamboyance

Organisers of the Bharat Jodo Yatra instructed the local party units to avoid flamboyant preparations for the yatris. The farewell dinner of Bharat Jodo Yatra was planned at Bhendval village in Buldhana district on Saturday night and the organisers, hoping to make it a memorable one, had planned an orchestra. Senior party leader K C Venugopal, however, asked not to make any such arrangements and cancelled the orchestra. The arrangement of speakers and other musical equipment had to be dismantled.

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Following Rahul

Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Nana Patole not only walked along with Rahul Gandhi during the yatra but also followed up on his looks. After a few Congress leaders asked the usually clean-shaven Patole about traces of a beard, he is learnt to have said that he was taking after the beard sported by Rahul and would get rid of it only after the Maharashtra leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra was over.

Balancing Act

Thane police has been walking on eggshells over the past few weeks with two cases against NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad and a faceoff between two factions of the Shiv Sena in Thane. Battling allegations — especially in the molestation case against Awhad — that the force was taking orders from Shinde, they have had to do a balancing act by also registering FIR against the women who made allegations against the leader. Given that police transfers are just around the corner, senior officers are walking the tightrope.