Don’t go by CM’s body language

Chief minister Nitish Kumar has not been in the peak of health lately. However, he does make it a point to go to social events whenever he is requested by supporters. Partymen generally try to gauge Nitish’s affection for his subordinates from the amount of time he spends at their residence when invited for a function. Nitishji spent just 10 minutes here. Yesterday, he spent over one hour at the house of another leader,” said a JD (U) leader. There are also discussions about the mood of the chief minister and how many times he smiles at a function. However, senior party leaders point out that Nitish does not give away his political preference from the time he spends with a supporter. “It’s useless to try to read Nitish’s body language at social platforms. At the time of ticket distribution for the legislative bodies, we see him chatting and joking with leaders whom he does not intend to field. There are persons who have only received frozen stares from the chief minister but have ultimately got the ticket,” said a senior JD (U) leader.

Quiet exit

When the income tax (I-T) sleuths raided the house of JD (U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, few thought he would be out of the party so soon. Prasad tendered his resignation, declaring his innocence. State JD (U) president Basisth Narayan Singh announced that the party was making efforts to find out the nature of the raids. This left Rajiv Ranjan no alternative but to quit the party post. “Of course, as far as we know, the I-T raid at Rajiv’s house was a failure and nothing was recovered. But rather than giving the Opposition an opportunity to target us, we thought it would be better if he makes a quick exit for the time being,” said a senior leader.

Foreign dreams

Chief minister Nitish Kumar is finally going abroad even though it is in the neighbourhood. Bhutan will be his second trip abroad as chief minister after he went to Mauritius five years ago. The external affairs ministry had once spoilt his plan to go to Nepal. But there appears to be a turnaround since then. He is also likely to head a goodwill mission to China. Officials from the state are excited. “Perhaps now the foreign tours (of Nitish Kumar) would include the US, UK, Japan and other tourist destinations,” said an official, jokingly pointing out that at least a section of officials would get to enjoy free foreign trips. Old timers recall that during the RJD regime, a section of officials enjoyed free holidays to Singapore, Malaysia, US and the UK. “The tour was aimed at promoting investment. Though a number of MoUs were signed, they did not materialise into a single paise of investment,” he added.

Darbar officials’ work woes

Chief minister Nitish Kumar doesn’t shy away from experimenting at his janata darbar even if it means more work for his officials. Flooded with poorly drafted petitions every Monday, the chief minister is now pondering over deputing officials in the darbar to write down the grievances of the complainants. “It’s going to be a difficult task, especially with a large number of complainants coming from rural places who cannot even communicate their problems clearly,” fretted an official, stressing that the officials at the chief minister’s janata darbar are already overloaded with work.