Sonia's decision was a major morale-booster for the Chief Minister whose head was said to be on the block after the party's near-rout in Madhya Pradesh in the recent general elections. Many of his detractors, including senior leaders, had been baying for his blood.

The second lease in power has apparently left Digvijay in a very benevolent mood. Virtually no section and no grievance -- genunine or perceived -- has been overlooked. If tribals have been granted exemption from payment of stamp duty for transfer of land to successors the same day, the state's government doctors can now carry on private practice. Theban on this had been a sore point with the doctors.

Two recent announcements confirmed Digvijay's generous streak. In one stroke, the Madhya Pradesh Government decided to legalise shanties on encroached land all over the state as well as the illegal colonies built in flagrant violation of rules and regulations.

Not only that, the Cabinet had announced on June 10 that all the families living in slums as on May 31 this year would be eligible for ownership rights or pattas to the land, given on a 30-year lease. The task of identifying the ``eligible'' slum-dwellers was left to mohalla committees which, in most cases, are dominated by Congressmen.

So far, the Government has identified a total of 3,30,516 families living in slums. Of these, 1,24,450 have been found ineligible for pattas.

As for the rural poor, the Government had announced on the eve of the recent Lok Sabha elections a ``Golden Jubilee Housing Scheme'' (the reference being to the 50th year of Independence). Under the programme, residentialplots are to be provided free of cost to homeless villagers living below the poverty line.

The decision to regularise illegal colonies in the state believed to number around 1,500 was taken on September 15. The houses in such colonies are to be regularised without realisation of any compounding fee.

Several other largesses have come in between, mostly from the Chief Minister himself and covering various sections of the society. On July 8, the Government announced that farmers would no more be required to have permits or pay taxes for vehicles and equipment like tractors, trolleys, harvesters etc.

Around a fortnight earlier, the Government had waived off interest and penal interest on loans taken by farmers in the Tawa and Chambal command areas. Digvijay has also withdrawn the ban imposed on allotment of agricultural land encroached upon by members of Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) to them. Madhya Pradesh has even seen a jump in districts under Digvijay. After announcing 10 new ones onMay 25, the Chief Minister carved out six more on July 6. The second decision was prompted to some extent by the disgruntlement of those left out in the first round. And there is still hope for such souls: seven more districts are said to be in the process of being created.

In order to placate the large number of project-affected people in the state, the Government has revised the norms of compensation to them. The monthly payment to even pujaris in the approximately 12,000 government-managed temples in the state has been increased. The annual grants to temples and mosques in the Bhopal division have also seen a hike, the decision coming on August 26.

Government employees will now retire at the age of 60, up from the earlier superannuation limit of 58. On July 29, the same benefit was extended to nearly 15,000 employees of the district cooperative central banks. The retirement age of teachers from the primary school to college level has been raised even further, to 62.

On September 9, Digvijayannounced a 20- to 25-fold hike in the ex-gratia amount of former servicemen and their families. The latter also got other concessions, while the honararium for home guards has already been increased.The other popular measures include: interest-free loans to auxiliary female health workers for purchase of mopeds (the scheme was announced on September 15); doubling of the monthly honararium of panchayat workers from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 (on September 15); free, 500-sq ft rooms to 518 families who fled Bangladesh during the troubled '70s and settled down at Mana near Raipur (September 12); and constitution of a Madrasa Education Board with the promise of better facilities for minority institutions (August 7).

On September 18, Digvijay made a pitch for another community: the Jains. At a Jain gathering, he announced that his government had recommended to the Centre that the community be given the status of a minority.

Even journalists have not been ignored. On September 9, the Government announced institutionof a Rs 25,000 award, named after Mahadevi Verma, for the best writing on a subject concerning women.