Humble flats fine, ministers won’t move into ‘jinxed’ bungalows

Some houses in Gautam Palli, Kalidas Marg considered politically inauspicious

Usually ministers vie for spacious bungalows at state capital’s power centres — Kalidas Marg and Gautam Palli — but incumbents in the present Samajwadi Party government seem to be cut from a different cloth. Estate department officials are a surprised lot these days as one after the other ministers are vacating the bungalow or surrendering the allotment letter. The officer insisted it was the ‘jinx tag’ attached with the bungalows, which was forcing the ministers to surrender them.

LUCKNOW: Usually ministers vie for spacious bungalows at state capital’s power centres —Kalidas Marg and Gautam Palli — but incumbents in the present Samajwadi Party (SP) government seem to be cut from a different cloth.

Estate department officials, who generally have a tough time accommodating several VIPs coveting the few bungalows in the elite localities, are a surprised lot these days as one after the other ministers are vacating the bungalow or surrendering the allotment letter.

Labour and employment minister Shahid Manzoor was the first to vacate a bungalow located in Gautam Palli.

Few days back, political pension minister Rajendra Chaudhary told the estate department he was not keen on shifting to the 6, Kalidas Marg bungalow located next to the official residence of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.

While Manzoor has shifted to a small flat in Laplas Colony, Chaudhary said he was comfortable in his flat situated in Dilkusha colony. Interestingly, both the ministers came up with the same reason for giving up the bungalows — “We are socialists and do not gel with big houses”.

“While in opposition, I stayed in a small flat where people from my constituency used to come down to meet me,” Manzoor said.

Chaudhary, who is a bachelor, said “I have been staying in the small flat in Dilkusha Colony since long. I am comfortable here and do not need a big bungalow.”

The estate department officers, however, are not ready to buy the explanation given by the ministers.

“At first, they put lots of pressure on us to allot spacious bungalow and suddenly they are not ready to move in,” said an officer.

The officer insisted it was the ‘jinx tag’ attached with the bungalows, which was forcing the ministers to surrender them.

“During the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) rule, bungalow number 22 located in Gautam Palli was allotted to Awadh Pal Singh Yadav. Soon after, his political fortunes started declining,” he said.

Yadav was charged in a corruption case and removed from the ministry. Later, he lost the election and went into political oblivion. The Lokayukta has urged the state government to take action against Yadav in a disproportionate assets case.

When Manzoor presumably came to know of the fate of the previous occupant he decided to vacate the bungalow immediately and shifted to a small flat

he 6, Kalidas Marg bungalow too is considered politically inauspicious. During BSP rule, it was allotted to Babu Singh Kushwaha, a close aide of BSP supremo Mayawati.

Soon, Kushwaha fell out of favour with Mayawati and was expelled from the party when charged in the multi-crore National Rural Health Mission ( NRHM) scam. Presently, Kushwaha is languishing in the Ghaziabad district jail.

“Who will like to shift to an unlucky bungalow and lose political power?” said an SP leader.