Party too cold to its patriarch

B>Senior BJP leaders appeared shocked over the “cold reception” given to Kailashpati Mishra, regarded as “Bhishmapitamah” of the party’s Bihar unit, at its massive workers’ meet at Gandhi Maidan on Saturday. While other top leaders were given a sofa to sit on the stage, Mishra was allotted an iron chair on one corner of the stage. The traditional lamp was brought to the seat of the party’s national president Nitin Gadkari, while two persons had to assist the octogenarian to walk up to the lamp. he episode left senior BJP leaders seething in anger. “Kailashpati Mishra always evokes a feeling of awe among partymen, who know about his contribution to the party in the state. Now, that the party has won an unprecedented 91 seats in the state elections, political pygmies are out to insult him,” an angry BJP leader said. Though Gadkari touched Mishra’s feet, the leaders were not too impressed.

Carpet in, chairs out

o be on the safe side, the BJP did not make arrangements of chairs for the participants of Saturday’s rally. Instead, carpets were rolled out. Use of chairs as missiles in the party’s last meeting perhaps prompted the decision. “Not only some of our workers were injured, the media had a wonderful time showing the infighting within the party’,” said a senior BJP leader. If it is of any consolation, a show organised by a media house saw chairs burnt by spectators. “It is good that we did not take the risk of offering chairs,” another senior BJP leader said.

Sinking feeling

he IPS lobby is agog with speculation over of a major reshuffle as the senior superintendent of police in Patna, B.S. Meena, and other officers are scheduled for a promotion and several IPS officials on central deputation have joined. The reshuffling is likely after the Saraswati Puja. “With the immersed idols, a few IPS officers would find their career in deep water,” an IPS officer said. The wait is for February 10 when all idols would be immersed and the chief minister would like to get rid of a few IPS officers, who he believes, have failed in their duty.

Mass leader missing

he ‘Delhi Chalo’ call of BJP national president Nitin Gadkari has not evoked much enthusiasm among the BJP activists, particularly the hardcore RSS men. “The fact that the BJP and its allies managed to come to power in the later half of the 1990s is because it had a mass leader like Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Despite the UPA performing disastrously at the Centre, there is a very remote chance of the BJP rising to power at the Centre now. adkari knows it is impossible to capture power without a mass leader, which the party does not have today,” a enior BJP leader said.