In a goof-up, the name of chief guest, Punjab Co-operation Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh, is missing from the invitation cards for the district-level Republic Day function being held in Mohali. Though the names of Deputy Commissioner Rahul Bhandari and District Transport Officer Balbeer Singh are mentioned in bold letters, the name of the person who is to unfurl the Tricolour is missing because “the confirmation of his presence came late,” the DC says. Capt Kanwaljit, on his part, expressed ignorance. The DC, however, hastened to add that a separate set of invites was published after the declaration of the minister’s visit.

And the ticket goes to?

Congressmen (and women) in Haryana continue to be hopeful of getting a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections, in spite of the high command having hinted at giving the sitting MPs another go. While some have been trying to pull the right strings in Delhi, some, including Haryana Finance Minister Birender Singh, have made their wishes vocal. Birender time and again has declared his intention to contest from Sonepat.

Difficult remarriage

The Sonepat seat is currently with the BJP, which is having troubles of its own. The party is still to arrive at a seat-sharing formula with alliance partner INLD. With the BJP wanting six of the 10 seats in the state and the INLD vouching for five each, the saffron party has asked its leaders to send names from all the 10. Looks like the remarriage is turning out to be a difficult one.

Wanted: brave souls

The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is facing a scary problem these days. The civic body is finding it hard to find people willing to work in the city’s cremation grounds. The problem has reached the grassroots, with even gardeners hard to come by. Given the spooky tales attached to cremation grounds, the problem is quite (super)natural, no? But with plans in place for renovation of the cremation grounds, the search is on for some brave souls.

Modesty at its worst

SAD president, and now Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Badal, routinely rubbished the media reports on his then-expected coronation. And now that he has taken charge, meaning that the reports were not mere speculation (as he put it), he is crediting the media for the ever-expected elevation. During his maiden press briefing after taking charge, Sukhbir said had the media not written so much about him in the last two years, he probably won’t have been where he is. ‘How modest’, was a reporter’s remark, dripping with sarcasm.

The others’ tally

There is no race or scramble for the BSP tickets though. The centralised (hence, democratic?!) selection procedure of the party has ensured that it has already announced candidates for the nine seats it would contest. As for the Haryana Janhit Congress, the way its leaders are deserting the party, it might just be reduced to a case of the last man standing.

‘Tagore Marriage Palace’