Congress starts putting up posters congratulating 'winners' of MP polls

They have plastered state capital Bhopal with posters that say,(heartiest congratulations to the would-be ministers and MLAs of the Madhya Pradesh government)

Whether the Congress will assume the reins of the Madhya Pradesh government after 15 years will be known on December 11, but party workers have already started preparing for a comeback. They have plastered state capital Bhopal with posters that say, “Madhya Pradesh shasan ke bhawi mantri ganon evam vidhayak ganon ka hardik swagat, abhinandan” (heartiest congratulations to the would-be ministers and MLAs of the Madhya Pradesh government). The posters, depicting pictures of United Progressive Alliance chairperson and former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, President Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary Kamal Nath and Madhya Pradesh MP Jyotiraditya Scindia, have gone viral on social media. The party has, however, denied “official involvement” in putting up the posters.  

Organising new MLA homes

Members of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly secretariat staff are busy organising the residences of the new members expected to arrive in Bhopal after the poll results are declared. However, there seems to be a shortage of MLA houses in the state. The secretariat has issued notices to 43 current MLAs, who did not contest the elections this time, and has asked them to vacate their houses immediately. The state government will also book hotel rooms and guest houses as temporary accommodation for some of the new MLAs. According to Principal Secretary (Assembly Secretariat) AP Singh, candidates who lose in the elections will also be asked to vacate their houses without delay. 

New labour front

The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the trade union arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has had to toe the line of the Parivar in not opposing the Narendra Modi government's labour policies. However, other trade unions have protested frequently against the Modi government's alleged "anti-labour" policies. Now, the BMS appears to be losing its base. On Saturday, representatives of other central trade unions, including the Congress-affiliated INTUC (Indian National Trade Union Congress), met at the BMS office and decided to form an alliance. The new front, the Confederation of Central Trade Unions, or CONCENT, will function from the BMS headquarters. The new outfit will have a national conclave on December 31, and prepare a charter of demands that would be submitted to the Modi government's group of ministers on labour issues.