Cabinet ministers are fast realising that they cannot take Cabinet meetings lightly. Recently, one Cabinet minister from the Hindi heartland was pulled up for arriving late. Her sheepish excuses did not work for she was asked to put down in writing the reasons for being late. Quick to learn her lesson, she has never been late again, though not without grumbling about the classroom like atmosphere. But, clearly, the message is clear. Indiscipline is not tolerated at this PMO.
Belated Wisdom
With political pundits claiming that the Bihar elections have suddenly taken a turn in favour of the Mahagathbandhan there seems to be some consternation in the Congress camp. Some 10 Janpath loyalists are of the view that with a Bihar win, Nitish Kumar may emerge as the credible face of the opposition against Narendra Modi, instead of Sonia or Rahul Gandhi. And allies like Sharad Pawar, Naveen Patnaik, Jayalalaithaa, etc., would have no problems uniting with him to form yet another United Front. So the question doing the rounds — in hushed tones of course — at the AICC is, does the Congress really want the Mahagathbandhan to succeed?
The Right Address
Nitish Kumar, who had moved out of the official Chief Minister’s bungalow during Jitan Ram Manjhi’s tenure as Chief Minister, is still to move back to the official bungalow even after he resumed Chief Ministership from Manjhi a few months ago. His supporters say that he does not want to jinx the poll verdict and will only move in if he wins the state elections. Well, there is some pragmatism behind this decision as well. For if Nitish loses, at least he has secured a bungalow of his choice — the one he is currently residing in, and which is on the same lane as Lalu Yadav.