Changes on cards after Sankranti

Land revenue minister Ramai Ram is waiting for January 15, the day after Makar Sankranti, to shift to his new official residence after his existing bungalow hit some legal hurdles. he day after Makar Sankranti is considered an auspicious occasion for starting a new venture or work. Ram, keen to contest the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat on a JD(U) ticket, naturally opted for the day to shift to new address. While Ram is waiting for January 15 to enter the new house, many politicians are apparently waiting for the day to join new parties. No wonder chief minister Nitish Kumar said nobody knew who would shift where. “Politicians do not want to make their moves in an inauspicious time because they are a highly superstitious group,” said a seasoned politician. Of course, the political turncoats are busy in preparing the background for switching to new parties after January 15.

Paswan goes out of range

LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan appears to have gone underground. He is even out of reach of his party leaders, some of whom claimed that he was not in Delhi. An office-bearer declared that Paswan had moved to Mumbai and was lying low. “He has left Delhi because he does not want to meet the RJD leaders, keen to pacify him. Abdul Bari Siddiqui of the RJD met him in Delhi but the two hardly discussed politics. The conversation was limited to enquiring about the health of each other,” said an LJP office-bearer. Paswan has been sulking ever since the RJD leader, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, talked about reducing the seat share of the LJP. The RJD leaders repeatedly declared after Singh’s remarks that the party’s alliance with the LJP existed strongly. But there has been no counter statement from the LJP leaders. “Paswan is playing hard to get more seats,” said an RJD leader, confident that the LJP would stay with the RJD.

AAP ways far away

The decisions of AAP ministers in Delhi to shun beacon lights and securitymen appear have no effect on the state JD(U) ministers. They still move around in their beacon-fitted cars followed by another vehicle full of securitymen. It does not bother chief minister Nitish Kumar. “I do not want to get into it. There are certain waves in the media which subside later,” he said. Politicians in the state believe that the austerity drive of AAP has been drawn out of proportion. “Even in Bihar, legislators walk around without security and move in rickshaws. They are never highlighted,” a JD(U) minister said.

Blame it on illogical demand

Two persons approached chief minister Nitish Kumar at his janata durbar, claiming that they had been evicted from their home. But Nitish later learnt that the duo were actually living in a graveyard to be surrounded by a boundary wall by the district authority and they were asked to leave. They left cursing the janata durbar. There have been complaints against the chief minister about its inability to find solutions to the problems of the petitioners at his janata durbar. “One of the main reasons is petitioners’ unreasonable demands,” said an official.