Everyday that passes raises the anxiety levels among the current crop of ministers in the Pramod Sawant cabinet. A rejig of the team is certain to 'accommodate' the new entrants from the Congress.
At least two from the eight who jumped ship from the Congress to the ruling BJP in mid-September are assured of being inducted as ministers is the perception gaining ground in political circles. It's settled. The distribution of the loaves and fishes among the eight has been settled, at least among the group of eight.
What is not settled, however, is the question of which two among the incumbents will get dumped. And if this question is indeed settled between the team captain Pramod Sawant and the team management -- CT Ravi, J P Nadda, Amit Shah and the Prime Minister -- it has not been revealed to the victims. Which is what is behind the disquiet among all eleven with the exception of perhaps Vishwajit Rane, Subhash Shirodkar and Mauvin Godinho.
Anxiety levels are indeed rising and the ministers are forging unlikely friendships and boot-polishing new found mentors and godfathers in the saffron hierarchy.
Rohan goes ga-ga over Fadnavis (WITH PIC)
Talking of finding new mentors, godfathers and rivals in the saffron party, Tourism Minister Rohan Khaune seemed to be at it recently. On a visit to Mumbai, Khaunte self-admittedly lost no opportunity to meet Shri @Dev_Fadnavis Ji".
"An Opportunity to meet Shri @Dev_Fadnavis Ji always results in Looking at Things in a Different Perspective and His Motivating Guidance drives me to work harder for the common good" sits prettily on Khaunte's twitter timeline.
The seemingly flattering tweet from Khaunte was posted on Tuesday and the minister has tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national general secretary B L Santosh and BJP's Goa desk in-charge C T Ravi.
Elsewhere strange friendships and rivalries are taking shape. At loggerheads not too long ago, especially on the issue of the three linear projects, PWD Minister Nilesh Cabral is finding love from an unlikely quarter -- Fatorda MLA, Vijai Sardesai -- the latter publicly praising the Curchorem politician's 'dynamism'.
Also, if chirping birdies are to be believed, the in-no-man's-land chanakya, is said to be cosying up to TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane perhaps to ward off the threat from a new axis built by Digambar Kamat and Damu bab Naik on the political turf of Fatorda-Margao.
Filmi mood invades Old Goa too!
Preparations for the Novena and Feast of St Francis Xavier are usually carried out months in advance, with various authorities from the Collector’s office to the police, transport, PWD, electricity and other departments involved.
The objective of the advanced planning is to ensure there is no hardship to the large number of devotees and pilgrims who throng the solemn yearly event. But not all the authorities are in sync, it seems.
On day one of the Novena, for instance, the Entertainment Society of Goa which is in top gear co-hosting the ongoing IFFI, granted permission for a shooting of an ad film, that too on a one-way road near the St Augustine’s tower which is one of the crucial routes to the venue of the novena.
The result: traffic chaos. Worse, the team shooting the ad film cared two hoots to the conditions imposed to the line producer by the ESG -- that the locals should not be inconvenienced.
The shooting was happening right at the doorstep of the Santa Monica Convent and the question that begs an answer is: Why plan months in advance for when some authority like the ESG permits film shootings during the novena and Feast of St Francis Xavier?
(Compiled by Ashley do Rosario, with inputs from Manuel Vaz)
