By Express News Service
BHOPAL: What’s in a name, somebody said. Think again. Langur is a monkey? Sure, but it is also a village. So is Ajgar, a python. Bhainsa is ful of lively bi-peds and last heard, Hathni has no elephants.
These are among 55,000 villages in Madhya Pradesh that will go to panchayat elections in three phases from June 25 to elect new sarpanches and members of panchayats. The massive exercise is surely not without its confounding moments.
Election agents must have doubled up laughing when exchanging notes about their itineraries. One is in Sala. One is in Saali. A third is making arrangements in Devar while the fourth is still in a daze after reaching Mausipur. The one with a beaming smile creasing the face is obviously in Baalampur!
But imagine the shock of the team that was sent to Choli village in Khargone district or Langoti village in Khandwa district!
This is not all. As you go up the urban ladder, MP will test your knowledge about towns and even cities. Khandala is not just in Maharashtra. It is also a village in MP. There is no Taj Mahal in Agra, the one in Indore district, that is. There’s Mussoorie in Bhind, Nagpur in Indore and Haridwar in Chhatarpur. Udaipur in the same district has no lakes to show off. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would be confused if told Gorakhpur is also in Chhatarpur!
The voters of Vrindavan and Hastinapur are not domiciled in Uttar Pradesh or Haryana, but in Guna district. The residents of Patna are not from Bihar either. They belong to Anuppur district. One district that will confuse cartographers in Ashok Nagar: Two villages are named Indore and Chapra. For good measure, they named a third village Bhopal.
Culinary delights It is not clear if officers with culinary thoughts ended up in Kadhai, Katori, Chhuri, Karela, Haldi, Chini, Singhara, Soda, Lahsuna and Bhajiya. A polling officer will not be committing a wrong if he/she ends up in Galti
