NEW DELHI: The Congress may be contesting Delhi elections on its own, snubbing its occasional INDIA bloc partner Aam Aadmi Party, but its top leadership appears to be giving the campaign circuit a miss. Rahul Gandhi has so far addressed only one rally and cited illness to cancel three others. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Vadra are yet to address any programme. Perhaps, they realise that apart from splitting the Opposition vote, it could spur Delhi voters to turn to the BJP.
In a rally held in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised TV channels for focusing excessively on global issues and ‘ignoring’ pressing domestic concerns. However, the Congress’ actions appeared at odds with his remarks. To ensure extensive coverage of the rally, the Congress flew in mediapersons from Delhi and arranged their stay at a luxury hotel in Indore, highlighting a contradiction between Rahul’s criticism of media priorities and the party’s efforts to attract media attention.
Punjab’s Malwa has informally acquired the status of the state’s political capital since CM Bhagwant Singh Mann was elected from the Dhuri constituency. State education officials admit that the maximum number of government teachers, especially in primary schools, lobby for postings in Malwa, resulting in a severe shortage of teachers in the Majha and Doaba regions.
The Nayab Singh Saini government seems to have gone a bit too far to implement its flagship ‘zero tolerance to corruption’ campaign when it named and shamed tainted patwaris. As the list of tainted patwaris and their ‘associates’ went viral, what raised many an eyebrow was the mention of their caste and mobile numbers. The BJP, which swears by ‘Haryana ek, Haryanvi ek’, was naturally in the firing line of the Opposition.
The bonhomie between Punjab’s politically heavyweight Jakhar and Badal families was clear at last week’s wedding reception for the great-grandson of Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar, Jai Veer Jakhar, with Rudrashree in Chandigarh. Even though the second-generation scions Sukhbir Badal and Sunil Jakhar are critical of each other in politics, MLA Sandeep Jakhar personally went to invite Sukhbir. Not a surprise to those who know that Balram Jakhar and Parkash Singh Badal would jointly visit Lyallpur farms in Sriganganagar to arrange citrus plants for their orchards. While politics keeps them apart, their personal ties keep them together.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena retires on March 31, but is the frontrunner for the post of Chairman, Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). Senior IAS officer Sanjay Gupta, who was superseded and is currently Chief Managing Director of the State Electricity Board, has written to the state government to consider the new Vigilance Manual before considering names for any appointments. Gupta, who will retire on May 31, 2026, not only wants his due by getting the post of chief secretary, but also wants to block Saxena’s prospects of being RERA Chairman or getting any other post retirement appointment since his name figures in a chargesheet during his central deputation during the UPA term.