Normally a change of guard in the state government is followed by the removal of the assembly speaker. But Mulayam Singh Yadav is happy to allow the BJP MLA Kesrinath Tripathi to continue as speaker of the UP assembly. After all Tripathi has been most helpful. Tripathi took next to no time to decree that the BSP defections amounted to a split in the party even though there was a controversy as to whether all 37 MLAs left the party at one go. The BSP leader in the UP assembly Swami Prasad Maurya was given scant opportunity to explain his point of view. Even after the formal split in the BSP, Mayawati’s MLAs continue to switch sides in twos and threes with the full backing of Tripathi. Thanks to the Speaker’s pro-SP stance, Mayawati at latest count, had lost 44 MLAs.Protected SpeciesPoliticians in power like to advertise their special status. One of the first acts of the new UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav was to order state government protection for his son Akhilesh, his brothers Ram Gopal and Shiv Pal and his good friend Amar Singh. Since Mulayam already has NSG Black Cat security cover, there was no need to include his own name in the list of state protectees.Mosquito menaceWhile he was away in Cancun, Commerce Minister Arun Jaitley received praise from a most unlikely source. The CPI(M) politburo congratulated the Indian government for its stand at the WTO meet, adding the rider that perhaps the government’s correct attitude was influenced by the coming elections.On the other hand, a normally friendly television channel seemed determined to take some potshots at the minister, even if there was little truth in its accusations. First it telecast a report claiming that Jaitley’s house was a mosquito menace. Since there are no pools of stagnant water in his garden, the minister’s puzzled household contacted the Delhi Municipal Corporation which hastily clarified that it had not mentioned the minister’s bungalow among its list of properties breeding mosquitoes. Two days later, the television channel sent a fax accusing the minister of defaulting on payment of his telephone bills. With Jaitley away, his staff scurried around to check up with the MTNL, which assured that all payments were upto date. A reporter from the channel was even made to research Jaitley’s Parliamentary speeches to discover if there were any remarks concerning disinvestment of BPCL and HPCL without Parliament’s sanction.Out of syncHardliners in both Congress and the BJP have felt at times that the relationship between Prime Minister Vajpayee and the Leader of the Opposition Sonia Gandhi is a trifle too cosy. Vajpayee has been accused of being protective towards Gandhi in CBI investigations. Gandhi on her part has been charged with not being belligerent enough against the NDA government. But relations seem to have fast deteriorated after the recent no-confidence motion when the PM expressed extreme hurt at Gandhi’s lengthy chargesheet against him.At The Indian Express’s Tiranga concert, Vajpayee, as chief guest, commented rather testily that he possibly would not have come to the function had he known Gandhi was to be present. He added that the leader of the Opposition should take a lesson from harmony of the different musical instruments at the concert and learn to be in tune with the government. (Hamaare sur mein sur milne chahiye). Gandhi did not respond on that occasion, but a month later at an election rally in Jodhpur she thundered Kabhi nahi milega sur mein sur.Break in chainKanshi Ram’s stroke has left a major void in the BSP. True, Mayawati is unquestionably numero uno in the party even if Kanshi Ram is BSP president and Mayawati vice-president. But even if Mayawati calls the shots, Ram is an invaluable buffer and father figure to whom BSP workers turn to when they are rudely rebuffed by Behenji. The two work in tandem despite occasional outward displays of differences, as over the refusal to support the Vajpayee Government in 1999. Kashi Ram not only founded the party but has done all the spadework in setting up the state organisations throughout the country. Apart from the big two the only other permanent presence in the BSP organisation is Rajan, the treasurer, who works as a loyal accountant.Over the years no attempt was made to build up any other leader in the party. And with Ram now in hospital the lack of a further chain of command will be a major handicap.Pool drying upThe ABVP not long ago was a happy hunting ground for the BJP. Central ministers like Arun Jaitley, Venkaiah Naidu and Vijay Goel were all presidents of the their respective university students’ bodies. But these days, the ABVP, with a membership of over a million, gets few opportunities to send up its boys. Apart from universities in Delhi, Rajasthan, Himachal and Goa, most other universities where the ABVP once held sway no longer hold direct students elections. In Bihar’s universities student body elections have been discontinued for nearly 15 years ago. In UP universities too student polls have been deferred. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have opted for indirect elections. Even the Andhra Pradesh university students’ union elections has been shelved.
