New Delhi, Apr.20 (ANI): How many Prime Ministers can a country have at the same time? This week we saw several chief ministers who seemed to be planning to become Prime Minister. Vaulting ambition you think? May be. Or may be not. Or a slow news cycle week?
It just could be the restlessness of being chief minister for too long. Mamata Banerjee is in the middle of an election that she is very keen on winning, all to prove that a second term is a cakewalk for her. Mamata is TINA. (There Is No Alternative). What Jyoti Babu and what Left legacy? A thing of the past. But her loyal troopers have a goal higher than a second term. Nothing less that 7, Race Course Road for Mamatadi. Dilli door nahi. "Just two hours by flight," an aide of the former railway minister reminds us.
Travel a bit west, and, there is another chief minister, Nitish Kumar, who is comfortably basking in the glory of his third term. How long can one go on being chief minister? There has to be a grander plan. And then, when you have the venerable Laloo Yadav giving you his blessings, what else would you need? Ah yes! One wizard he would need is Prashant Kishor. Because you can hire Kishor, but you should never let go of him. Right dear BJP?
Travel a bit further, and, there is Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. His Ashwamedha horse is all set to trample into Punjab, but not before he thundered in the capital this week that he is here to stay for ten to fifteen years. Now, did he mean as chief minister or as Prime Minister is anybody's guess.
Meanwhile, what of the sitting Prime Minister? He doesn't like sitting. Pardon the pun. He has been traveling up and down the country, from Kerala to Jammu and Kashmir, nary a worry on his brow about Prime Ministerial contenders. His supporters say there is a grand plan of three or at least two terms that has been worked out. Cannot. Wait. For. 2019.
