Side-effects of publicity hunting

Grand Alliance leaders were nowhere to be found during the first run of a passenger train over the much-awaited Digha-Sonepur rail bridge, but anybody who is someone in the state BJP was there. Leaders like Sushil Kumar Modi, Nand Kishore Yadav, Prem Kumar and several legislators hopped on the train, only to find themselves stranded. 

Villagers had blocked the track over renaming of the first station after the train crosses the river from Patliputra Junction.

It was a nightmare for one legislator who got down from the train to persuade the agitating villagers to let the train proceed. “Instead of obliging, the agitating villagers asked me to sit with them in support of their demand,” recalled the BJP legislator. He had to sit for two hours before the villagers let him go. The BJP leaders were forced to come back by road and got stuck in snarls on Gandhi Setu. 

Ignored Shatru  

Dissident BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha has not only been getting the cold shoulder from his party leaders, but from tinsel town as well. BJP leaders gleefully declare that Manisha Koirala and Shotgun arrived in Patna on the same flight to attend a function on cancer awareness. “Shatru tried to communicate with her on the flight but the actress ignored him. Shatru made it a point to mention this incident to the actress at the function, telling her that it was not a Romeo but he (Shatru), who had tried to speak to her,” said a BJP leader, insisting that if actors are also ignoring the yesteryear star, the party too could ignore a leader with waning influence. Ouch.

Dancing girls and MLAs 

Nobody in the JDU was amused when a video of party MLA from Siwan district Shyam Bahadur Singh dancing with girls on stage at an event went viral. “Shyam Bahadur is a simple soul,” said a frustrated JDU office-bearer. “This is not the first time he has been seen dancing with bar girls. But when we tried to explain him that it was an undignified act for an MLA, he refused to see reason. He insists that there is nothing wrong about dancing in public functions and his hosts expect him to dance.” But when Shyam, at the recent meeting of the 

Assembly on its 95th foundation day, asked constitutional expert Subhash C. Kashyap about provisions he (Shyam) could use to take action against media houses for “tarnishing” his image, it sent peals of laughter through MLAs. Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary ignored the question, and asked other MLAs to ask their questions. 

Truant ministers  

During the days of the BJP-JDU alliance, then health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey was known to skip the chief minister’s janata durbar despite Nitish Kumar's diktat to all ministers to be present. At Monday’s durbar, education minister Ashok Choudhary and health minister Tej Pratap were conspicuous by their absence. “We all knew that Tej Pratap would not come, given his nature to shy away from the public glare. However, Ashok Choudhary was expected to come, he must have been preoccupied,” said an official.