Once in Ranchi, Ekka was treated like a hero, though it took him some time to come to terms with it. He was greeted at the airport by a top-of-the-line SUV — and promptly sat in the luggage section, till he was ushered to the front seat.

Soon, though, he was hitting his stride. Having struck a deal with Sahu, he was firmly in the NDA camp and the government was firmly (for the moment) in place. Next stop for Ekka was New Delhi, where he made an impassioned plea on national TV to be allowed to vote in the assembly according to his conscience, hinting that the UPA was throwing inducements his way. It was then deemed to be a shining moment in Indian politics, morality being put above mammon.

After being ministers for 15 months, however, three of the G-5 feel the UPA should form the government. The BJP, they believe, gave them a raw deal; they wanted more. Sudesh Mehta, who emerged as the leader of the G-5, got the maximum out of the BJP — home, prison and building departments — while Ekka was given rural development and transport, both minus key sections. Ekka fell back on the time-honoured tactic of transfer and postings. Soon, however, Chief Minister Munda got wise to this and began vetoing Ekka’s proposals. The rift widened between the independents and the BJP and, around a month ago, Ekka and two others paid a “secret” visit to Congress leader Oscar Fernandes and Ahmad Patel in Delhi. What followed is for all to see.

... contd.