Garden of power

Chief minister Nitish Kumar out on a stroll in the 1 Aney Marg gardens after his janata durbar found cracks in the litchis before they had ripened. "The caretakers are not looking after the gardens properly," mumbled Nitish, known for his love for gardens.

Sources said Nitish comes to the chief minister's residence for official work but prefers to spend the night at 7 Circular Road. "Perhaps he considers 7 Circular Road more lucky than 1 Aney Marg," said an official, insisting that Nitish will have to stay at 1 Aney Marg to ensure his litchi trees are looked after properly.

Touring CM

The anti-prohibition movement launched by Nitish Kumar has taken him to Jharkhand, addressing the meeting of an organisation demanding prohibition in the neighbouring state. He has similar invites from 11 other states. BJP leaders have taken this opportunity to return Nitish's jabs at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his frequent foreign trips. "Nitish once said the Prime Minister was on a visit to India," said a BJP leader. "The frequency at which he will have to leave Patna to attend these meetings will now give us the opportunity to return the compliment."

Off and on

JDU leaders have hailed Nitish Kumar's "historic decision" to make Bihar dry, on record. Off the record, it's a different story. It is an open secret that several leaders have daily access to liquor. Since Aditya Sachdeva's murder, the leaders have been justifying their drinking with every strange logic in the book. "I think I need liquor because I have to defend the indefensible publicly," said one senior JDU leader.

Liquor devotion

The latest destination for liquor lovers appears to be the ancient city of Varanasi. "The rush for Varanasi appears to have increased after total prohibition," said a railways official. "Many people go and worship the Lord and spend the rest of the day in a bar, and catch the next train back in the evening." And it's not just Varanasi; many religious places just outside the state, including Deoghar in Jharkhand, are witnessing a rush. "There are also other destinations, most of them located just across the border, such as Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh and Ragauli near the Jharkhand-Bihar border," said a senior official. "Chief minister Nitish Kumar will have to go to a lot of places in his impose his prohibition drive."