MAHASAMUND (MP): Talk of shock therapy. Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijay Singh landed at the district court complex here on Tuesday for a rally. Getting off the chopper, the smiling CM walked towards some people that seemed to be waiting for him. They were, to garland him with fused bulbs. Before the startled CM could react or take off the garland, they followed with ``Digvijay Singh murdabad!''. The poor policemen with him barely managed to push the crowd off.

It later turned out that Digvijay's helicopter had strayed off course and hence had to land at the court complex. The welcome party did not comprise Congressmen but BJP workers demonstrating against the recent hike in power tariff by the Madhya Pradesh government. ``We had brought a large number of fused bulbs to dramatise the government's failure on the power front,'' a BJP activist said. ``When we came to know about the CM's unscheduled stop at Mahasamund, we thought we should welcome him with a garland of fused bulbs.'' Suchspark, unfortunately, is restricted for the pre-election period, not after.

AURANGABAD: Lesson 1 of politics: Politicians are long on promises, short on memory. Voters know this and a municipal contractor in Aurangabad, Shivnath Kadbhane, just realised it. Angling for an NCP Assembly ticket, he had offered his office premises to the party and his personal chamber to its chief, Sharad Pawar, for a press conference recently. But when the party's list was announced, Kadbhane featured nowhere. The angry contractor asked NCP local leaders to vacate his office. Apparently, it took a long talk before Kadbhane calmed down, even announcing that he was a true soldier of Pawar. Lesson 2 of politics: Politicians can sweet talk anyone.

NASHIK: They also know how to squeeze out of a tight spot. Like L.K. Advani, whose rally here attracted barely a thousand people. Disappointed but never disheartened, Advani suggested there should be live TV debates between parties. He said people now had to wait in the sun for hours tohear leaders of a party. On TV, they could hear them all in the comfort of their rooms. And you can always shut them off. With Advani, you could have done that within minutes, for the BJP leader who began saying his party had never made war an election issue talked of little else.

-- Yogesh Vajpeyi