Flight of political migratory birds becomes rampant ahead of LS elections

When a general election approaches, the flight of political migratory birds become rampant. Indeed, many political observers say you can gauge which way the wind is blowing by tracking the flight path of serial defectors. No wonder, the return of Avtar Singh Bhadana, a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Meerapur in Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, to the Congress after quitting the grand old party days after the 2014 parliamentary polls has set tongues wagging. 

The self-proclaimed “Gujjar Imam”, Bhadana has been a Congress MP from Faridabad and Meerut. Drafted in politics by Haryana’s Bhajan Lal, he has had stints in Janata Dal, Indian National Lok Dal and Samajwadi Party at various points in his career.

Centre of attention

The Kamal Nath-led Congress government in Madhya Pradesh organised a cabinet meet in Jabalpur instead of state capital Bhopal on Saturday. It was the first ever meeting outside Bhopal since Madhya Pradesh was born in 1956. 

The demand to hold a cabinet meet in Jabalpur was first raised by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha. Jabalpur is a key city in the Mahakaushal region which encompasses more than 36 assembly seats. It is said residents of Jabalpur still feel betrayed because Bhopal was made the capital when Madhya Pradesh was born. Nath, who belongs to the Mahakaushal area (Chhindwara), wanted to give a clear message that the area was high priority, said observers.

Finally... the date

Two months after storming to power, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, a staunch believer in astrology, has zeroed in on the right muhurat (auspicious time) to expand his cabinet. A stern believer in astrology, he has decided that he will expand his team on February 19 at 11.30 am. He met state Governor ESL Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan over the weekend and briefed him about the plan. Sixteen vacancies are expected to be filled during the expansion. 

During his first innings as the chief minister, Rao was criticised for not inducting a women in the cabinet. This time around, at least one berth is expected to be given to a woman leader.