In Congress, no ticket for candidates who have lost twice from the seat

A third attempt not allowed

Much is said about chemistry and mathematics in Indian elections. Congress President Rahul Gandhi is applying some principles of statistics too. He has made a rule that any candidate who has lost twice from a constituency will not be re-nominated. The Karnataka assembly elections saw this being enunciated first when top party leader Veerappa Moily sought a nomination for a candidate who was his protégé and Gandhi asked Moily how he could guarantee the victory of a person who had lost the election twice from the same constituency? All senior leaders have been asked to submit a list of constituencies where they believe they can win the seat for their party. This is a gentle reality check of the standing of Congress leaders: This data will be compared to the actual outcome. Leaders have also been asked to submit the voting pattern in their booths before demanding ministerial berths. 

Not many to eat biryani

A function in Patna organised on the day of Eid by the Janata Dal (United)’s or JD(U)’s minorities cell saw not just empty seats but also a lot of leftover biryani. The party had organised cooking of nearly 600 kg of mutton biryani and served it to the invitees at a get-together. Around 1,500 people were to attend. However, there were a number of empty seats. A fracas started when former IAS officer and JD(U) leader, R C P Singh started speaking. People kicked up a ruckus and he got so angry that he said“that’s enough”, and left midway. Food was served soon after and a lot was of leftover. The organisers said that they had made extra food anticipating gate-crashers. Finally, the leftovers were distributed among the destitute and homeless.