From the India Gate: Minister's haunted bungalow, Delhi Files and more
There is a lot that happens behind the scenes in the corridors of power. Opinions, conspiracies, power games and internal wrangling galore in the political space. Asianet News Network's massive ground presence taps into the pulse of politics and bureaucracy across the country.
FollowDELHI FILESÂ
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s question was like a needle that pricked a hot air balloon. "You sat for three days and only a few changes," he asked when BJP honchos handed over a "revised" list of candidates to be fielded in Karnataka.
Even as this poured cold water on hectic parleying in the preceding days, the query once again underlined how the PM could read the pulse in each constituency. The list that Narendra Modi spiked had names who had a 50:50 chance at the hustings.  It was drawn from a pool of veterans like Jagadish Shettar and Eshwarappa after top leaders couldn’t figure out how to accommodate them.
After Modi detected the thread of compromises made while suggesting candidates, he held a meeting with Amit Shah and J P Nadda. All names in the 50:50 list were dropped and a new list was drawn.
These names were given to state leaders for implementation. But Delhi BJP leaders do believe that Shettar should have been prevented from leaving the party. They feel if a strongman like Amit Shah had spoken to him instead of Dharmendra Pradhan, this catastrophe could have been prevented.
Though it was Shettar's flop show as chief minister and MLA that prompted party seniors to drop his name, there was a school of thought that his seniority should have been respected. Delhi HQ, of course, expected Laxman Savadi (who turned down an offer to contest from Jeevargi (Kalaburagi district) to leave the party. But Shettar’s exit was a surprise.
The exercise did help the party to field new faces in many constituencies, including Puttur, Sulya, Udupi and Kapu.
Bitter sweet pancakes, storm in the teacup and more
HEADS I WIN, TAILS YOU LOSEÂ
This sums up the political play in the Varuna constituency in Karnataka where BJP has fielded V Sommanna against Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah. Sommanna was asked to contest by the top brass after B S Yediyurappa refused to field his son B Y Vijayendra here.
By picking Sommanna BJP has showcased a shrewd strategy. The calculation is simple. This move will restrict the movements of Siddaramaih, who belongs to Mysore district, to Varuna and prevent him from campaigning in any other part of Karnataka to canvass votes of backward communities. Being a Lingayat leader, Sommanna can grab community votes.
BJP think tanks also feel that Sommanna has a chance to win in this Congress stronghold given the infighting in that party.
Their intuition is that Congress leader DK Shivakumar will also try and scuttle Siddaramaiah’s chances keeping in mind the CM chair if the party emerges as the single largest party. Varuna will definitely witness some strong undercurrents this time.
Mutiny at 'Home', Vande dilemma and more
RED LEADER'S GREEN FLAGÂ
He is perhaps the only political leader in the country who openly declared a boycott against an airline company. CPM leader E P Jayarajan's stand against Indigo Airlines was a quid-pro-quo to a short ban slapped on him following a fracas onboard a flight from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram.
But EP later realised there was no other airline operating between Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur, his hometown. In between, he tried some track 2 channels to resolve the issue. But none of it helped in hammering out a solution.
The introduction of Vande Bharat happened at this juncture. The train would help him to reach Kannur in about six hours. Though the CPM is yet to express its welcome to Vande Bharat, EP took the initiative to honour the loco pilots even surprising BJP leaders who were muscling in for the publicity pie.
But sources close to EP said he is really happy to receive Vande Bharat and is awaiting more pairing trains. "He was forced to take overnight trains to reach Kannur. Or to take a transit break to avoid long drives. Vande Bharat helps him reach Kannur fast."
No wonder EP forgot the party’s red flag and waved a green flag to welcome Vande Bharat.
Sons of Toil, Poor Ad'Vice' and More
SHEPHERDS MISSING
Members of six communities, including Mali, Maurya and Kushwaha blocked the Jaipur-Agra National Highway in Bharatpur district demanding 12 per cent reservation stand orphaned. For, their leaders have disappeared overnight.
The vanishing act happened after the flock refused to listen to their leaders' appeal to remove road blockades. Verbal assurances given by the leaders after a meeting with the chief minister were not convincing enough.
A fly on the wall said the CM warned these leaders of stern measures if the roadblocks didn’t end. Caught between a threatening CM and unheeded cadres, leaders had no other option than scooting.
Satyagraha misfire, Lotus pickle and more
BHOOT BANGLA
They say one of the bungalows used by ministers in the UP government is jinxed. Its incumbent occupant has started to believe that his home is the reason for the falling political graph. He is being sidelined and many decisions are not being informed to him.
The poor building is now blamed for being the reason why his wife was denied a ticket to contest civic polls from Prayagraj. The minister believes she would’ve become a mayor if made to contest.
That many of its previous inhabitants were also hounded by bad luck the minister is in a dilemma to live here or to leave.
Priyanka from Wayanad? Night allowance for paid crowd?
