Wharton Doesn’t Vote For Us

A day after Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania cancelled a keynote address by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi following an outrage by a group of professors and students, the Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar quipped: “It’s not foreigners who will be voting for Modi, it´s the Indian people.”

Rightly said, with the beeline that the foreign delegations and diplomats are making for Gujarat, Modi can sit smug. The world community is taking notice of Gujarat and its Chief Minister, it will not be long before the Americans too came around.

In Sync With Saffron

BJP vice president Najma Heptullah is known as an intelligent, knowledgeable and scholarly parliamentarian. She also has a reputation for being an astute politician who has seen the ups and downs of Indian politics.

At the recently held BJP Conclave in Delhi, Najma was the centre stage and stole the show. The usually demure lady was assertively conspicuous due to the saffron-coloured sari she wore throughout the event. Many of the partymen from other parts of the country mistook her for Uma Bharati, some even wondered if she was some newcomer sadhvi off the block.

Last year,she had gone on record and said that even though her forefathers used to work with Congress party, she had joined the BJP as she liked the way the party works for the public. Heptullah has also been vocal to the Muslim community, asking them not to consider BJP an anti-Muslim party. The BJP has Muslim poster boys, now it has a poster lady too.

Image Conscious Smriti

Actress-politician Smriti Irani was caught in a controversy sometime back when a politician mocked at her as a former dancer who had entered politics only some years ago. This seems to have impacted the way she does television now.

The Bharatiya Janata Party MP, now prefers to be cautious about her professional decisions. She has turned down a role in Ekta Kapoor’s promotional series Ek Thi Naayika, as she is reluctant to portray a courtesan. When Ekta, who gave Smriti a huge platform with hit show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi over a decade ago, asked the actress to play a nautch girl in an episode of Ek Thi Naayika, Smriti declined and asked for a change. It was last heard that she will appear in a different role in two episodes.

BJP MP Damns Unused Funds

Balbir Punj, the Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha, is known for his whistle stop trips to the state. Even since he has been sent to the Upper House from Odisha, the MP has ignored the state to the extent that he does not have time to monitor and sanction development works under the MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS).

Recently two party general secretaries for the state, Nayan Mohanty and Prithviraj Harichandan called upon him in Delhi and reminded him about the unspent amount which runs into nearly 8 crore. The nonchalant MP reportedly refused to meet them and instead asked them to meet his secretary.

Punj is presently the lone BJP MP from Odisha and has made rare appearances in the state. Even when he does come . he remains confined to his 5 star hotel room and hardly meets any party rank and file. The sorry state of affairs in the state’s BJP unit can be rightly attributed to this attitude of the leaders imposed on them from Delhi