Raipur, Dec. 16: Former minister Vidya Charan Shukla and his bete noire Ajit Jogi forgot differences for a moment, to sit together yesterday at the inaugural function of the Raipur passport office.

Earlier, Chhattisgarh was depended on the Bhopal office for all its passport formalities. After repeated reminders, the state finally received it own office, which was inaugurated by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday.

However, at yesterday’s meet, Shukla and Jogi managed to steal the show as they shared next to each other. The Congress stalwarts spoke frequently, leaving newspersons guessing. Though always considered as opposite poles in the Congress politics, the difference between Jogi and Shukla deepened after the former took over as chief minister when Chhattisgarh came into being in 2000. Shukla was a strong contender for the post. Due to differences, Shukla quit Congress to join Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Shukla later joined the BJP to contest the Lok Sabha polls. Jogi, however, contested against Shukla from Mahasamund, even though he was a member of the Assembly. Shukla faced humiliating defeat that further intensified the rift.

The former Union minister, however, could not adjust with the BJP for long and quit soon after the Lok Sabha elections in 2004. Since then, Shukla has been trying to rejoin his parent outfit. The biggest hurdle came from Jogi, who opposed his re-entry. It was Jogi’s obstruction that made Shukla breathe heavy for three years before he was re-inducted recently.

Thus the duo’s “closeness” came as a surprise. Just a few hours before the inauguration, the two sat in two corners of a dais in Durg where the Congress had organised a show against the BJP-led government. However, the camaraderie did not last long. After the function both vied to take Pranab Mukherjee to their respective houses.