Newsmaker: Meet Pralhad Joshi, a minister who needs to step up his game

Joshi's name was mentioned in despatches as a possible B S Yediyurappa successor when the BJP replaced the stalwart

Poor Pralhad Joshi. The just gone-by Monsoon session had been a complete wash-out and while no one is blaming him, as parliamentary affairs minister, for it, the fact is the sheen of the job he holds has worn off a bit.

Parliamentary affairs ministers, arguably, have among the worst jobs in the world -- they have to be pleasant to political rivals they can’t stand, have to beg, plead, and cajole their own party colleagues for presence in the House, must have the rulebook memorised to the last comma and full stop, and the political and government authority to offer IOUs