Parliamentarian Anurag Thakur was recently elected the head of the BCCI.
New Delhi:
There would be some pleasure at the end of the journey - the swearing in of the BJP's first government in Assam - but on the plane there, it was nearly all business.
The Air India flight that took off from Delhi at 10:30 am on Tuesday was packed with BJP leaders. 102 of them to be precise.
Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu was accompanied by a small travel bag. His cabinet colleagues included Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and General VK Singh.
Anurag Thakur, parliamentarian and newly-elected head of the uber-powerful BCCI or main cricket body in India, was the big draw - after all, passes for the IPL domestic tournament matches are hard to come by.
Mr Thakur's popularity appeared at par with Babul Supriyo, former playback singer. Lesser passengers stood up to get a good look.
The cabinet ministers got business-class seats; junior ministers were placed in premium economy seat rows.
As the plane was taking off, several ministers could be heard completing loud instructions into their cellphones to beat the roaring engines.
Once air-borne (and after the seatbelt signs were switched off, of course), ministers and others strolled the aisle to mingle.
Mr Supriyo was seen pleading with Ram Lal, deputed from the RSS to the BJP. Later, a senior BJP source said Mr Supriyo was contesting instructions to attend Mamata Banerjee's swearing-in on May 27 in Bengal. Mr Supriyo reportedly stressed that Ms Banerjee's party and he are not warm and fuzzy with each other.
The usual formalities were relaxed. When Ananth Kumar, a Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru, was asked who the BJP will choose as its Karnataka nominee to the Rajya Sabha, Mr Kumar turned to Commerce Minister Sitharaman and said, "They want to know whether you are coming to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka or Venkaiah ji."
As the journey progressed, Mr Supriyo refused a chorus of requests for a live performance and sank deep into his seat for a nap.
Upon landing, all roads - and sirens - led to the oath-taking of Sarbananda Sonowal as Chief Minister.
And then it was time to fly back. As boarding began at Guwahati, the Railways Minister said he had been live-tweeting every element of the swearing in.
In-flight entertainment was provided by Kailash Vijayvargi, an accomplished mimic offered impressions of politicians from his home state, Madhya Pradesh, along with anecdotes that must remain off the record.
The Air India flight that took off from Delhi at 10:30 am on Tuesday was packed with BJP leaders. 102 of them to be precise.
Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu was accompanied by a small travel bag. His cabinet colleagues included Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and General VK Singh.
Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman boarding the plane
Mr Thakur's popularity appeared at par with Babul Supriyo, former playback singer. Lesser passengers stood up to get a good look.
Babul Supriyo was requested for a live performance on the plane
As the plane was taking off, several ministers could be heard completing loud instructions into their cellphones to beat the roaring engines.
Once air-borne (and after the seatbelt signs were switched off, of course), ministers and others strolled the aisle to mingle.
Mr Supriyo was seen pleading with Ram Lal, deputed from the RSS to the BJP. Later, a senior BJP source said Mr Supriyo was contesting instructions to attend Mamata Banerjee's swearing-in on May 27 in Bengal. Mr Supriyo reportedly stressed that Ms Banerjee's party and he are not warm and fuzzy with each other.
The usual formalities were relaxed. When Ananth Kumar, a Lok Sabha MP from Bengaluru, was asked who the BJP will choose as its Karnataka nominee to the Rajya Sabha, Mr Kumar turned to Commerce Minister Sitharaman and said, "They want to know whether you are coming to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka or Venkaiah ji."
Lok Sabha MP Ananth Kumar speaks on the phone in the plane
Upon landing, all roads - and sirens - led to the oath-taking of Sarbananda Sonowal as Chief Minister.
And then it was time to fly back. As boarding began at Guwahati, the Railways Minister said he had been live-tweeting every element of the swearing in.
In-flight entertainment was provided by Kailash Vijayvargi, an accomplished mimic offered impressions of politicians from his home state, Madhya Pradesh, along with anecdotes that must remain off the record.
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