Return of Amar, the Thakur
The presence of Amar Singh in a Samajwadi function last week has ruffled more feathers than expected. While the angst of senior Samajwadi Party leaders and MPs like Mohd Azam Khan, Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav and Jaya Bachchan is understandable since they parted ways on an acrimonious note with Mr Singh in 2010, the welling of anger in the second rung leadership in the party is beyond comprehension. These second rung leaders, also known as “Akhilesh’s boys”, are apparently perturbed as they fear that the return of Mr Singh to the party fold will render them jobless.
Mr Singh is known for his connections across the political spectrum and his capabilities to turn tables around. “Our jobs are over and Mr Singh will soon take over the party,” grumbled one such leader. Meanwhile, according to the grapevine, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mr Singh are believed to have discussed all modalities and the two even flew back to Delhi in adjoining seats on the same flight after the function. “While Mr Singh will certainly not meddle in party matters, but he will remain a close confidant of the senior Yadav leaders. However, those who had betrayed him in 2010 better watch out,” said an aide of the Thakur leader.
And that is cause enough for worry in SP circles.
In left’s footsteps
In 1977, after leading the Left Front to victory, Communist Party of India (Marxist) stalwart Jyoti Basu had announced that the Left Front would not rule from Writers’ Buildings (the state secretariat), but at the grass root level. Taking inspiration from the Communists, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been tirelessly visiting district after district, proudly proclaiming that she has been taking Writers’ Buildings (and now Nabanna) to the villages.
After completing the latest round of district visits, Ms Banerjee is scheduled to visit Singapore where she will showcase West Bengal as an attractive investment destination. Here again, she is possibly unwittingly following in her predecessor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s footsteps. He, too, had visited Singapore nearly nine years ago to seek investment.
