Come into my state, madam!

Bihar chief minister’s husband Laloo Prasad Yadav wants Sonia Gandhi to contest from Bihar. Mrs Gandhi earlier wanted to contest from Bologna but it could not be found on the map.

Orissa Congress leader J.B. Patnaik said ‘madam’ must have meant Bolangir. He said the people of Orissa would love it if she contested from that poor place in the poor state.

This apparently triggered the proposal from the Bihar leader who said, “If she wants to contest from a poor seat in the east, she must contest from Bihar, which is no less poor than Orissa and is in the east. Patna is shorter and sweeter than Patnaik.”

Yadav has offered her more than just a seat. “If she wants our election symbol, we would be happier. Not many people can identify the hand symbol in this state but everybody in Bihar knows what a lantern is. That’s the only source of light, if you leave the sun out. I have not given electricity to the people of the state not for nothing.”

Chief Minister Rabri Devi said she would not comment on the issue before she talks to her husband about her possible comment.

Meanwhile, people of Amethi, the seat Mrs Gandhi represents now, have begun celebrations in anticipation that Priyanka Gandhi may contest from the seat. “Even if Priyanka’s brother stands from here, he will win. We have always voted for the family.”

The erstwhile royal of Amethi, Raja Sanjay Singh, has also assured Mrs Gandhi that he would let Priyanka or Rahul win from the seat. He said even his wife Ameeta, the erstwhile wife of late badminton player Syed Modi, would campaign for the BJP. Ameeta has quit the Bharatiya Janata Party. Modi was murdered outside K.P. Singh Stadium in Lucknow long time ago, when Ameeta was a munhboli behen of Sanjay Singh.

Meanwhile, Election Commission officials have found Bologna on the map, the world map, inside Italy.