Shadow of 'don'

The LJP's recent meeting in Rajgir raised eyebrows in political circles. "Ranjit Singh, popularly known as Ranjit Don, involved in the infamous CAT scam of 2003, seemed to have organised the show. The posters and welcome arches prominently displayed photographs of Ranjit Don," said an old-timer.

While the LJP has not hesitated in giving tickets to Ranjit in Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in the past, the question surfacing is how chief minister Nitish Kumar would react if a function is held in which Ram Vilas Paswan is also present. "Given the high moral stance the chief minister takes in such issues, he will not allow Ranjit Don anywhere near the stage, no matter how much Paswan ji tries," said a JDU leader. LJP leaders defend Ranjit Don stating that he is yet to be convicted in a case.

The red carpet

Before the Grand Alliance government collapsed, Union ministers rarely ventured into 1 Aney Marg (above). But after the formation of the new government, all of them have made a beeline for the chief minister's official bungalow. Ram Kripal Yadav, Ram Vilas Paswan, Upendra Kushwaha and others have made it a point to visit the chief minister. In fact, when Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited Patna, the chief minister's house was his first stop, even before the BJP meet. JDU leaders appear happy over the development. "The Opposition may be raking up a perception that there is sharp difference between the BJP and our party, but the flow of Union ministers to 1 Aney Marg proves that Nitish Kumar made a right decision in opting out," said a senior JDU leader.

The Baba factor

The RJD and its former MP Shivanand Tiwari seem to have a "love-hate" relationship inside the party. "Lalu loves him while other party leaders hate him," said a senior RJD leader, pointing out at the relative "silence" of vocal leaders such as Raghuvansh Prasad Singh and Manoj Kumar Jha. The two, RJD leaders stress, have preferred not to be "too vocal" ever since Baba (as Shivanand is called in political circles) was made national vice-president. Old-timers recall that even when Shivanand was minister in the Rabri Devi cabinet, other RJD leaders targeted him. "But one can hardly blame Baba for the fact that he overtakes other party leaders by his sheer lung power," said an RJD leader.

Wrong number

The fallout of the Ram Rahim issue was that Bihar police were on their toes amid rumours that Honeypreet had slipped into Nepal. "Several electronic mediahouses were declaring that she was in Nepal, forcing us to go on a wild goose chase," said a senior police officer in a private conversation. "At one stage, there was high drama. Our police force went after a couple staying in a hotel located near the Bihar border because there were strong rumours that the lady was Honeypreet. The man was found to be the owner of a private school in Patna and the lady a teacher. It left us and the Nepal police red-faced."