Beyond the headlines in Pune

Foes in arms
Election season is back. For many aspiring candidates, collecting the candidature forms is an opportunity to show off of their support base. A ruling party candidate from Pimpri-Chinchwad arrived to collect his form, along with his retinue of supporters and an activist from the opposition party. Within no time there were rumours that the opposition party activist was leaving his party. However, he later clarified that he had only come to support his friend. But the trend to support candidates from rival parties is a growing trend with today’s politicians. As they say, there are no
permanent foes in politics.

Poll woes
As soon as the model code of conduct was promulgated last Tuesday, politicians rushed through a lot of activities. Many finished their inaugurations way before 3 pm, so as to avoid breaching the poll code. But a programme, where the deputy chief minister was the guest, was scheduled at 6 pm in the evening. While everyone was waiting for the deputy CM, all eyes turned to the city mayor, who arrived at the venue riding pillion on a two-wheeler. The next day, an autorickshaw was seen parked on the mayor’s parking space at the Pune Municipal Corporation building, while the mayor was seen roaming around the premises.

No code for a cuppa
As the model code of conduct came into force after the state election commission declared municipal elections last Tuesday, staff at the Pune Municipal Corporation were relaxed, knowing they will have less work till the poll code is in force. Some of the authorities in the PMC were seen telling people that they could not take decisions due to the code of conduct. However, one of the sincere employees was completing his work on Tuesday afternoon when another employee asked him to come for a cup of tea. The busy employee said that he could not go. “But there is no code of conduct for a cup of tea,” said his friend. Laughing, they both headed towards the tea stall.

All in a day’s work
The hospitalisation of famous anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare at the city-based Sancheti Hospital compelled our colleague to literally camp there with many other reporters. While Hazare was being discharged, there was a veritable stampede amongst photo-journalists to get the right angle to capture the moment. However, a female security guard kept obstructing the frame, which led many of the photographers to scream, “Maushi, bajula wha (Aunty, move aside)”. The woman in question was not old enough to be addressed as ‘Aunty’. She not only took offence, but also stuck to her post adamantly.

‘Food for thought’
Journalists often miss their breakfast when rushing to morning assignments, fearing they would miss the news if they are late. A journo came to cover an important court case in the morning without having food. However, it was quite late when the accused was produced in the court. So, while the proceedings were on, he opened his tiffin and had few a quick bites on the sly (eating is not allowed in the court). After three bites he closed the tiffin and said to his colleague seated next to him, “Enough. I cannot take any more risk now”. Though the judge did not catch him while eating, he was caught when he was done.

(Contributed by Archana Dahiwal, Kiran Dahitule, Anurag Bende, Partha Sarathi Biswas and Chaitraly Deshmukh. Compiled by Bhagyashree Kulthe)