TO PRAY OR TO POACH?
Political circles were abuzz when Assam chief minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma recently went temple-hopping in Rajasthan, where the Congress power struggle between CM Ashok Gehlot and challenger Sachin Pilot remains unresolved. Besides visiting the Shree Salasar Balaji Temple and Khatu Shyam Mandir, Sarma also paid obeisance to Governor Kalraj Mishra and Speaker C.P. Joshi. Though dubbed courtesy visits, Sarma’s reputation for political manoeuvring— witnessed in the Shiv Sena split in Maharashtra and Congress defections in Goa—is making everyone nervous.