Such is Mallya’s popularity that when Congressman R.K. Anand hosted a dinner for the newly-elected Congress MPs, he said the party was also for Mallya! Good friends such as Parmeshwar Godrej specially flew into town. More’s coming. Invitations are out for former minister Saleem Sherwani’s bash for Mallya. Perhaps the only thing that rivals Mallya’s popularity in Delhi’s political circuit is his Gulf Stream jet, nicknamed Parliament Express judging by the number of MPs who hitch a ride on it.
Mid session when Suresh Kalmadi hosted his birthday bash in Pune, MPs Patel, Subbirami Reddy and Rajeev Shukla flew in with Mallya. In Bangalore, Mallya’s other 10-seater plane is called the Assembly Express as it often has the state chief minister and local MLAs as passengers.
