An elephant having a single tusk is in great demand at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park. A large number of morning-walkers go to the elephant enclosure to sight the single-tusk elephant because there is a popular superstition that its early sighting brings the blessing of Lord Ganesh. Even senior officers of the state bow before the elephant. But what is amusing is the large number of the RJD and the Congress leaders bowing before it,” a senior JD(U) leader said. He remarked that the Congress and the RJD leaders needed Lord Ganesh more than the NDA leaders. Bihari leaders are usually superstitious. Several of them seek the help of astrologers and tantriks for electoral victories. As none of them worked for the Congress and the RJD leaders, Lord Ganesh appears to be their last hope, the senior leader said. Chief minister Nitish Kumar’s “tryst” with flowers is continuing. As he landed at Patna airport, several leaders of the JD(U) were present to welcome him with bouquets. Some of them had pressed the flowers in their arms while greeting him. “Don’t press the flowers, they will wither away,” Nitish told one of the leaders holding a bouquet of roses. When Nitish came to power in 2005, he had advised his admirers and supporters to give him towels so that he could use them, not flowers. The supporters did not pay heed to his suggestion and continued to present him flowers, including mega garlands. “Nitish is now doing the second best thing. Trying to prevent plucked flowers from losing its petals,” a JD(U) leader said. The Congress’s infighting became public once again at its recent dharna at Kargil Chowk in protest against the olice firing in Forbesganj. A Congress leader sitting at the centre was asked to make way for senior leaders. When he refused, he was physically lifted and emoved amid protests. Senior party leaders were both amused and philosophical. “Eviction of leaders from seats as been a tradition. During the regime of a Congress chief minister, a senior party leader got used to being thrown out of the stage because he dared to criticise the man at helm. A late former Union minister in the 1970s emptied the Sadqauat Ashram, the party’s state headquarters, using force,” a senior party leader said, stressing that physically forcing a single leader to move was hardly any news in the party. The Opposition leaders criticised chief minister Nitish Kumar’s visit to China terming it a pleasure trip. On the day he returned to Patna, Leader of the Opposition Abdul Bari Siddiqui left for Indonesia. He would be heading the Indian badminton team for the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier, which will begin on June 21 and end on June 26. Siddiqui is the national vice-president of Badminton Association of India. It is time for the NDA to pay back the RJD in its own coin. “Although we know Siddiqui is a keen sportsperson, nobody expects him to win medals for India. He has gone on a pleasure trip,” a JD(U) MLC said.
Sunday, 21 December 2025
