Punjab
Win Some, Lose Some
There’s a race among ministers and MLAs to take credit for the big win of Punjab Congress Chief Sunil Jakhar from Gurdaspur in the recent Lok Sabha bypoll. Legislators want to take credit as they want to become ministers as eight Cabinet berths are vacant, but Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Rural Development Minister Tripat Rajinder Bajwa and Education Minister Aruna Chaudhary are trying to take credit for Jakhar’s win as the public relation officers attached with them are issuing press releases crediting them for the win.
Uttar Pradesh
Thaw in Shivpal-Akhilesh Ties
Having learnt its lessons by biting the dust in the UP Assembly elections, the first family of the Samajwadi Party seems to have intensified unification efforts as the civic poll fever has gripped the state. While Akhilesh’s attitude is getting softer, party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav too is trying to bring the warring factions led by brother Shivpal and son Akhilesh on the same page.
While the family unified on Diwali in Safai, Shivpal’s admission that he’ll be campaigning for party candidates in civic polls has come as a breather for his party men. This also reflects a thaw in his Shivpal-Alkhilesh ties, though the former was not consulted for ticket distribution.