MORE FIZZ:Mallya eyes Rajya Sabha

with a resurgent Congress in the states, party President Sonia Gandhi is becoming more assertive. Instead of going by local recommendations she handpicked candidates for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections. Sonia's surprise list: Janardhan Poojary (Karnataka), Abrar Ahmed (Rajasthan) and from Madhya Pradesh, Obaidullah Azmi, the retiring Janata Dal Rajya Sabha member from Jharkhand.

AICC General Secretary Kamal Nath got a berth for crony Dwigen Sharma from Assam. Not many others did. While she gave a fourth term to Suresh Pachouri against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh's wishes, three-term Lok Sabha member Prithviraj Chavan was thrust on Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and AICC General Secretary Motilal Vora on Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi. And having failed to meet Sonia even after a three-day wait, Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna is reportedly backing liquor baron Vijay Mallya.

Sitting MPs weren't lucky either. If K.C. Kondiah, who vacated the Bellary Lok Sabha seat for Sonia, was denied a second term, media baron K.K. Birla didn't get a fourth term. But utility men like K. Natwar Singh and Murli Deora were rewarded. As long as this brings them closer to power at the Centre, partymen won't mind.

-Lakshmi Iyer

Hitting the Skies

Flying westwards is not as cheap as it was just after September 11. Several airlines which reduced their outbound flights from India are now making the most of the demand in key routes by increasing fares and doing away with discounts and special schemes. For instance, the fare to New York from Mumbai on British Airways has gone up from Rs 43,000 to Rs 61,000. Also, a confirmed seat in an economy class costs more as cheaper seats are mostly waitlisted. Says Pawan S. Jain, MD, Airticketsindia.com: "Indians cannot continue with their habit of last-minute booking."

-Natasha Israni

Red Swami

ME TOO: Adhokshajanand

There are simply too many of them. As the Shankaracharya of Kanchi spoke to the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and the VHP, Adhokshajanand Tirtha, who insists he's the Shankaracharya of Puri, held parallel talks in Ayodhya with other Muslim organisations. The man made news two years ago when he staked his claim to the Puri peeth but was branded an impostor by the Orissa Police

. Ask him about his locus standi and Adhokshajanand asks, "What locus standi does the VHP have when the title suit in Ayodhya is between Sunni Waqf Board and the Nirmohi Akhada?" The invitation to his press conference in Delhi was faxed from the office of the Students' Federation of India, the CPI(M)'s junior wing. Hmm.

-Sharad Gupta

Have Money, Won't Spend

CURSED BIHAR: Roads like this cry for funds

Each of Bihar's 243 MLAs and 90 MLCs gets Rs 75 lakh every year as a special development fund. The MLA has to spend it in his constituency, the MLC anywhere in the state. Official statistics reveal that no more than 28 per cent of the funds allotted get spent. The MLAs, laments Janata Dal (U) leader Laxmi Sahu, are simply not interested in anything that doesn't bring them a cut. Of the 1,140 schemes begun in Patna district, 447 are incomplete. In Bihar, where a series of scandals-fodder, bitumen, sari, education, muster roll-has paralysed governance, the non-use of the legislators' fund is the ultimate swindle. Yet the legislators recently pressed the Rabri Devi regime to enhance the allowance to Rs 1 crore. The Government agreed, provided the money was spent and utilisation certificates submitted. Since then the legislators have been silent.

-Farzand Ahmed