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Turf Battle
Delhi: Ever since BSP MP Akbar Ahmad Dumpy, stormed Azamgarh, the
pocket borough of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, the two have been on a collision course.
What has been rankling Mulayam is the defeat of his close aide, the controversial Uma Kant
Yadav, at the hands of Dumpy in the last elections. Recently, the two came face to face in
the corridors of Parliament the day the House was dissolved. On seeing Akbar, one of the
MPs accompanying Mulayam joked that irrespective of who returned to the 13th Lok Sabha, he
would want the people of Azamgarh to ensure that Dumpy won so that the House did not lose
its lustre. Dumpy, quick to sense the sarcasm, gave it back, "I win neither from
Hindustan nor Pakistan but from Mulayam country called Mulayamstan. I will do it again
because your leader considers it his jagir (fiefdom)." For once, all that the SP
chief could do was grin and bear it. Poll
Insecurity
Delhi: In status-conscious Delhi,
you're only as important as your threat perception. So when Chief Election Commissioner
M.S. Gill's security was downgraded from Z to Y category recently, he is understood to
have gone into a sulk. Gill was one of the 180-odd VIPs whose security paraphernalia was
trimmed following a Home Ministry review. Among the others was fellow election
commissioner and one-time rival G.V.G. Krishnamurthy. Following Gill's protest, the Home
Ministry restored his guards. Then came the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. Taking no
chances, the government restored Krishnamurthy's security too. In election season, it is
best to be on the right side of Nirvachan Sadan.
House in Order
Patna: For Patna's Raj Bhavan staff
-- used to former occupants A.R. Kidwai's lavish lifestyle and S.S. Bhandari's simplicity
-- present Governor B.M. Lal has come as a hard taskmaster. Lal, a former chief justice of
the Patna High Court, is enforcing discipline among a staff that is used to the paan and
khaini chewing culture. Unlike his predecessors, Lal does not use the state chopper and
aircraft for his official tours. Also missing from the Raj Bhavan menu are Mughlai dishes
and boiled vegetables. The harried staffers are now trying to find a chink in Lal's
armour. As one visibly upset member put it, "Kidwai had a weakness for birds and
parties and Bhandari was fond of music and dance. This governor must also have some
weakness." From the looks of it, they are unlikely to make out a case against the
former judge.
Media Manager
Lucknow: Faced with a string of
adverse reports in the media -- be it the dissidents' issue or his proximity to a
controversial woman corporator -- beleaguered Chief Minister Kalyan Singh has realised the
importance of keeping the press happy. So, facilities like free rail and bus passes,
normally available to reporters, have been extended even to journalists working on
newspaper desks. Next, Kalyan announced that pension to journalists would be doubled. But
the latest sop for the media is a Rs 25 lakh grant for renovating a media centre, to be
equipped with computers, Internet services and a new library. Kalyan, who is expected to
inaugurate the centre, would surely be hoping that his media-friendly exercises will give
him some good coverage at last.
Medical Solution
Delhi: Is it just old age or is BJP
President Kushabhau Thakre politely letting other senior leaders in the party have their
way? Thakre, whose leadership qualities -- or the lack of them -- have hardly enamoured
anyone in the party, is now feverishly talking about how he has to keep taking medicines
all the time. It started at the party jamboree in Goa where Thakre couldn't help but sleep
through the strategy sessions. That was also the time when AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha
started her bring-Vajpayee-down mission. The medicines, it seems, will provide a cure --
for the party at least. For, the others will step in and take charge, to lend a helping
hand, of course. Thakre doesn't seem to mind. Nor does the party, which is, well, quite
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