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The ICC Champions Trophy set to get off the ground for the Indian team in Dubai from next February 20 is important for many reasons. Whatever may be the outcome, the eight-nation tournament will dictate the course of action from senior cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja. Soon after India won the ICC Twenty20 World Cup last June in Bridgetown, Sharma, Kohli and Jadeja took a call to quit the shortest format of the game (not from the IPL). Now the discerning and key personnel in the BCCI including the national selection committee would look forward to white ball career decisions to be taken by the senior professionals. Sharma, Kohli and Jadeja had a good outing in the home series against England, making a 3-0 sweep of the ODI series, the first time in 13 years after India won a home series 5-0 against the same opponent in 2011. The selection committee too would look to build a new team for the next ICC World Cup 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. After a disappointing 1-3 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sharma’s team will get an opportunity to win another ICC title. As a first task, it has to get across the group matches hurdles against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand. Two wins will ensure India’s passage into the semi-finals in order to face a team from the other group that has Australia, South Africa, England and Afghanistan. India will be without Jasprit Bumrah and hence will lean heavily on the spinner allrounders to deliver the goods and the title of course. But the million-dollar question is: “What will Sharma, Kohli and Jadeja do after the tournament.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reportedly accepted an invitation of the Tamil Nadu BJP to inaugurate the newly constructed party office in southern most part of the state — Ramanathapuram on February 26. From there he will be travelling to Coimbatore. Around the same time PM Narendra Modi will also be in the state to relaunch the new railway bridge connecting mainland India to Pamban Island at the south western tip of Tamil Nadu; it is expected to open for train traffic on February 28. Built over nearly six years at a cost of Rs 531 crore, the 2.1-km structure has been hailed as an engineering marvel. It is India’s first vertical lift bridge, featuring a navigational span that can be raised up to 17 metres to allow floating pontoons. The decision to construct a new bridge was taken in 2019 after the old cantilever bridge — opened on February 24, 1914 — became structurally weak due to corrosion. Train movements on it stopped in December 2022. The old bridge was a historic engineering marvel until India’s longest sea bridge — Bandra-Worli Sea Link opened in Mumbai in 2010. Besides, it also had several limitations. Its Scherzer rolling lift span had to be operated manually by 16 people, and the process took 45 minutes. The old bridge had only a single, unelectrified track. In contrast the new bridge has been designed for a speed of 80 kmph due to the presence of a 2.65-degree curve. The old bridge had a speed limit of 10 km. As many as 130 trains can operate on the bridge per week. Currently, trains terminate at Mandapam, 17 km northwest of the temple town of Rameswaram.
At a time when pollsters are giving thumbs up to entry of actor Vijay and his party TVK in Tamil Nadu politics and see him as a potential challenger to the ruling DMK in 2026 assembly elections, the DMK has decided to acquire some star power and nominate veteran actor Kamal Haasan to the Rajya Sabha from its quota. He will most likely be a DMK MP, and not be known by the party he founded, Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM). Following up on its announcement, Tamil Nadu Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin met Haasan at his Alwarpet office in person to congratulate him. It is significant that at a time, actor Vijay’s entry into active politics is making waves, Haasan should opt out of state politics and move to the Rajya Sabha. TN political circles feel the veteran actor’s exit could well spell the end of the road for his MNM, a party he had founded in 2018 and did not meet with much success in 2019 Lok Sabha polls or the 2021 assembly elections. The DMK had assured Haasan, a Rajya Sabha berth as part of their electoral pact in 2024. As a result, Haasan’s MNM extended its support to the INDIA-bloc in TN. On March 9, 2024, Haasan had visited the DMK headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, where he signed an agreement with DMK president and TN chief minister MK Stalin. It isn’t just Kamal who has become part of the DMK juggernaut, even an ally like the Congress has not shown much willingness to resist DMK’s push for consolidation as it surrendered its claim to the seat in the latest round of by-election to Erode assembly seat The by-election was necessitated by the death of Congress MLA EVKS Elangovan in December.
The Congress party is taking steps to bring back its house in order in Maharashtra, the second largest state, electorally. However, the initial signals in response to Rahul Gandhi’s decision to appoint Vidarbha’s Maratha leader Harshwardhan Sapkal as MPCC president are not very heart warming. The party was in search of a leader to occupy the post after incumbent Nana Patole had resigned in the wake of the assembly election debacle. Sapkal’s appointment has been frowned upon by senior party leader Vijay Wadettiwar, who was hopeful of occupying the post. A staunch OBC proponent, Wadettiwar was earlier in hot water for publicly praising chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The Congress party’s zero performance in the Delhi assembly election for a successive third time has spread a pall of gloom for its workers. Top leaders like Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat have gone into political retirement and have refused to head the state unit. Younger leaders like Vishwajit Kadam and Satej Patil, too, have declined the offer. On top of that, a nondescript worker like Harshwardhan Sapkal has been appointed to steer it. Sapkal’s only known qualification to be elevated to the post is his close contacts with Meenakshi Natarajan, an inner circle member around Rahul. His first test will be the coming local body elections. His loyalty is not questionable but his ability. Many feel that Rahul should have consulted at least some state leaders before taking this step.
According to the West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress super boss Mamata Banerjee, the absence of alliance between AAP and Congress is the main reason for the defeat of AAP by the BJP in the Delhi assembly elections. But nephew Abhishek Banerjee, party’s general secretary differs. He believes that even if such an alliance had been formed, it would not have made a significant impact. According to him, at best, the alliance could have influenced the results in four or five seats, but it would not have altered the overall outcome. After 27 years, the BJP has stormed to power in Delhi, winning 48 out of 70 seats. AAP secured 22 seats, while Congress for the third time failed to win any seat. Didi voiced that if Congress had been more flexible in seat-sharing with AAP, the results could have been different. She also cited Haryana as an example, arguing that just as AAP’s actions hurt Congress in Haryana, Congress did the same to AAP in Delhi. However, Abhishek maintained that public sentiment was the most crucial factor; Delhi voters wanted change, and AAP failed to effectively counter the BJP’s narrative. Referring to West Bengal’s example, Abhishek stated that when the BJP had claimed that the central government was sending funds, but the TMC was not distributing them to the people, TMC launched a counter-campaign, challenging the Centre to release a white paper on the funds. Although Didi blamed both Congress and AAP for the lack of an alliance, she made it clear that TMC would contest alone in Bengal and return to power with a two-thirds majority.
In Maharashtra, the three-party Opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will have to draw its roadmap afresh since tension is growing within the anti-BJP combine, whose only game plan is to oppose the ruling Mahayuti saffron alliance. But the picture for MVA is not too bright since the NCP led by Sharad Pawar does not have much space in the state politics although it performed well in the last Lok Sabha election. The state NCP president Jayant Patil has been holding the reins for the past decade but has been retained despite vociferous demands from the rank and file for his replacement. Pawar’s recent feelers to the NDA have not gone down well for MVA. On the other hand, the Sena led by Uddhav has been losing its leading lights with frightening regularity. Still, Uddhav is not seen ready to change his style of functioning. Continuous reports about his Lok Sabha MPs deserting the party have created grave apprehensions within the organization. The third MVA partner, the Congress has appointed a new state president by choosing the relatively unknown Harshwardhan Sapkal, a Maratha leader from Vidarbha. But there is no enthusiasm seen in the organization. In short, the Opposition in Maharashtra is in a disarray and will have to mend its house soon to mount an effective challenge to the ruling dispensation. Not surprisingly, Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray’s decision to meet Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal but not Sharad Pawar has generated fresh speculation about the future of MVA.
India incorporated, particularly the Pharma and IT sectors (H1 B visas), can heave a collective sigh of relief and thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for averting a (trading) tariff war with the USA. Highly placed sources say Trump’s high praise for his Indian counterpart was the outcome of consistent backroom parleys over several months by NSA Ajit Doval, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar for phenomenal and strategic business growth between the two nations the trajectory of which would be impacted adversely if tariffs were imposed upon India. “Reciprocal tariffs are unlikely for Indian exports from pharma sector ($7.55 bn in 2023), pearls/precious stones/metals/coins ($10.17 bn in 2023) and electrical and electronic equipment ($9.89 bn) like exporters of goods and (IT) services to America. India secured an exemption due to the exemplary foresight of PM Modi and his business acumen that seeks to propel India to reach the $5 trillion target even as early as 2028,” the source reveals. Unfair news media constantly compares the Indian economy with the USA and China although both are $20 trillion plus economies, the source adds. Indian exports witnessed steady incremental growth since 2015 ($40.3 bn), 2016 ($42 bn), 2017 ($46 bn), 2018 ($51.7 bn), 2019 ($54.3 bn), 2021 ($71.5 bn), 2022 ($80.2 bn), 2023 ($75.8 bn) with the exemption of the Covid-19 pandemic fallout impacting exports in 2020 of $49.3 bn. recording namaste. More importantly, India seeks to reduce its annual business imports from China sounds like sweet music for the U.S. president Trump.
As members we may not see them taking an active part inside the House. However, we now find both LoPs of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have used the Parliament-in session as an excuse to skip an inaugural investor summit in Bengaluru. Such a decision is odd, participation of both the leaders must have been confirmed in advance. As for the Budget debate, neither the leaders nor even those who participated in Budget discussions like either P Chidambaram or Dayanidhi Maran ever bothered to listen to FM’s reply. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh posted on X that Kharge and Rahul Gandhi were unable to attend the ‘Invest Karnataka’ summit as they were tied in the Parliament’s Budget Session. He said both the leaders were extremely tied up on “account of the continuing debate on the Budget. Hence they have regretted their inability to attend the inauguration of the Karnataka Investor Summit.” They have sent their best wishes for the Summit and are confident that it will be a very productive and successful one in keeping with Karnataka’s unique competitive and comparative advantages.” It is not clear why Delhi leaders should hesitate to visit the state now with the MUDA scam against chief minister Siddaramaiah having receded into the background. After a semblance of political stability was restored in the state, Karnataka Deputy chief minister D K Shivkumar seemed resigned to his fate and perhaps became the only Congress leader in high office who travelled to Prayagraj over last weekend with his family for a holy dip in Sangam. Guess, as far as the Congress high command was concerned, he realised he had nothing to lose but only his shackles!
Election strategist Prashant Kishor on Jan 10 had a three-hour meeting with actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay in Chennai and promised his “support and guidance” for the party’s victory in the 2026 assembly election. Kishor, who has floated a political party, Jan Suraaj, in Bihar, will take on the role of ‘special adviser’ to TVK. DMK had hired Kishor ahead of the 2021 assembly election, which it won and came to office after 10 years. “Kishor will be a ‘special adviser’ to TVK, though no formal technical agreements will be made,” said a source privy to the developments. Vijay is looking forward to periodic meetings with Kishor in the coming months as his party is keen on positioning itself against DMK and BJP, and setting the stage for an intense contest in 2026. Kishor continues to have his primary focus on politics in Bihar. Kishor would act as a special adviser to TVK similar to his role for TDP, which swept the 2024 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections. Incidentally, the meeting between Kishor and Vijay was facilitated by Aadhav Arjuna, who himself heads a political strategy firm, within a fortnight of the latter joining the TVK. As founder of Voice of Commons and a political strategist, Arjuna had worked closely with Kishor when he was roped in by DMK for the 2021 assembly election. The meeting between the two and the outcome signify the importance Vijay attaches to the 2026 assembly polls, his first elections after a grand entry into politics in October 2024. Vijay has identified the BJP as his ideological enemy and DMK as his political enemy. Arjuna was suspended from Dalit outfit VCK following his outbursts against DMK.
Even as PM Modi promised to repay the trust Delhi voters placed in his party by vowing to turn Delhi into a “developed capital of a developed country” and said he will fulfil BJP’s poll promises, clean the Yamuna and ensure accountability for corruption under the AAP regime by promising to present all pending 14 CAG reports in the assembly, many within the party wondered if it was enough to oust AAP out of the Delhi state assembly. Or more needs to be done. As Modi said “This is not an ordinary victory. The people of Delhi have driven out AAP-da. The mandate of Delhi is clear.” BJP insiders pointed out that when the new Delhi government will begin its work on making the city garbage free, it is quite possible that AAP could still put a roadblock on its work via the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). That is because AAP controls the MCD with its 134 councillors; the BJP has 104 councillors. Elections to the civic body were held in December 2022. A section in the BJP feels Modi government should go in for fresh MCD polls in the light of assembly poll win, if it must clean up Delhi. Party sources, however, feel there is no need for any drastic step as many AAP MLAs and councillors may want to cross over to the BJP seeing the public mood. Sources also acknowledged that the BJP hugely benefited getting the lion’s share — an estimated 67% of women’s vote. It was clearly the Haryana effect of Rs 2100 payout under Lado Lakshmi Yojana that had swung the Delhi women to the BJP. They were no longer enamoured by AAP’s free bus rides.
Is it chemistry or mental harassment or the classic story of doosra aadmi or pati, patni aur woh? The morality in most of us is intact because of sheer lack of opportunities but in the case of celebrities — film stars and cricketers — they have opportunities galore. Money, fame and with that comes women and men. So, Aamir Khan-Kiran Rao deciding to go in for a divorce should not raise eyebrows. They have more than survived a seven-year itch. Well, one can say… 16-year itch. Insiders say it has been simmering for over two years now. So much so that Kiran moved to Goa. So, what was the final nail in the coffin? Again, close circles point out it is another woman. In the past many marriages were almost on the rocks because of linkup — Shah Rukh Khan-Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh-Rekha. In the case of yesteryear’s superstar Rajesh Khanna, it was one too many affairs. Again, in the case of a well-known star, his wife’s affair rocked his marriage of two kids. Women alone cannot be blamed. A respected star confessed: “It is difficult not to have an affair with our co-stars as we work in close proximity.” Some stars did not call off their marriages because of sheer societal pressure and kept it under wraps. Others did not: Hrithik Rohan, Karishma Kapoor, Arjun Rampal.
The late J Jayalalithaa was a firm believer in vaastu all her life. While she was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, even the choice of sari to wear for the day was determined by the stars. As an intense believer, she encouraged many a soothsayer to study her Kundali (horoscope) and give her advice. And, ironically, after her death too the question of vaastu is hanging around the political party AIADMK which she headed after her mentor MGR’s death. The election defeat and the prevailing confusion and infighting in her party ranks is now being ascribed to bad vaastu. Voices are now being raised about bad vaastu creating all the problems, chaos and infighting in AIADMK. If you believe the pundits, the theory is that Amma’s memorial on the Marina Beach is totally against vaastu. At least one vaastu believer avers that Jaya was no Phoenix rising from the ashes and such a depiction in her memorial by the architect is all wrong. There were other designs submitted that would have served Jaya’s memory best, like a blooming flower that would last forever. The erroneous curvilinear design is to blame for all the woes, says the ardent Jaya admirer but it is unlikely that the party will tinker with the memorial now.
Woken up at dawn on September 5 by the unusual clatter around his block at the Olympic Village in Munich in 1972, India’s expert runner in the half-mile, metric mile and over 5000 metres was terrified and scared by the goings-on at the block across, where the Israeli contingent was put up. It was on September 6 though that the famous Eddie Sequeira from Sanata Cruz, Mumbai came to know that the Palestinian ‘Black September’ group had invaded the Olympic Village, killed two Israeli delegates, and held nine more as hostages, all of them later killed around midnight at a nearby airport. The carnage sent shock waves across the world. “I was terrified and scared by what I saw on September 5. They were in red track suit, black bags, mask and hood. Myself and Sriram Singh were occupying a room in a ground floor block. And the Israel team was across our Block, about 100 metres away. At 4.21 am or thereabout, there was a lot of noise, and I saw people running away. I awoke Sriram immediately. It was not very dark, but a light morning. We made sure our door latch was on. Later in the morning we were told that the events for the day have been cancelled. The fright was there in my mind, but I managed to clock my personal best in the 5000 m run.”
Manoj Sinha, in his role as the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), is a man on a mission, reaching out to the region’s key stakeholders, including the Abdullahs and Mufti, and ensuring peace and security needed to hold assembly elections, just like the District Development Council (DDC) elections that won him laurels from all quarters. He is arguably Prime Minister Narendra Modi Government’s most agreeable messenger who is doing everything to help remove Dilli Ki Doori (the distance from Delhi) as well as Dil Ki Doori (distance from the heart) through a raft of development work and thoughtful conversations. His confidence building exercise has indeed yielded positive results. Opposition leaders under the aegis of Gupkar alliance participated at the meeting chaired by PM Modi – the first meet after the scrapping of Article 370. Sinha’s presiding over the meeting moved many when they learnt that his son was getting married during the same time. As a people friendly gesture, Sinha discontinued the darbar tradition, letting Jammu and Srinagar secretariats operate from either Jammu or Kashmir throughout the year. This move has also given savings of Rs 200 crore. His focus on reviving the J&K economy, helping the administration embrace critical Digital expertise, and empowering local bodies, will ensure that the newly elected government will have everything on a platter.
Cricketers are now no less prima donnas than Hollywood stars, Olympic legends and Wimbledon warriors. Fame comes, often with a price. Dinesh Karthik on his first test commentary outing for Sky Sports at the 3 ODI between Sri Lanka and England was on a high…he even had his own desi cheerleaders, led by brother and company rooting for him. Karthik in an effervescent spell of commentary said, “Often batsmen don’t like their own bats, they like others (bats)…a neighbour’s wife always feels better.” In a conference hall, this scandalous sexist comment would have met with…pin drop silence. On a cricket ground, especially a test match, such an infamous remark took time to sink in. Women’s Groups condemned Karthik’s motor mouth remark. He apologised later, admitting that he got a lot of stick from his mom and wife. Remember Dean Jones? His contract with 10 Sport was terminated instantly after he made that other dishonourable comment about South African player Hashim Amla and his full bearded appearance. “The terrorist got another wicket”. In these days of super cricket technology, when TV cameras capture every nuance of the game, we really don’t need commentators to interpret the excitement of the game. But they certainly add value by analysing various nuances. And then comes along a Dinesh Karthik, foot in the mouth addict. Representing India also means being a gentleman.
The king of romance is back in what he does better. The Mumbai-based Hygienic Research Institute has signed up the 55-year old superstar Shah Rukh Khan as their brand ambassador for Streax Hair Colour. The first brand which Shah Rukh Khan endorsed was Liberty Shoes way back in 1988. During the last 33 years, SRK has endorsed close to 44 brands and hair colour is the latest addition to his remarkable portfolio. With fewer movies in action, SRK, it is learnt, is looking at every opportunity to climb up the Brand endorsement rank. According to Duff & Phelps Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2020, Shah Rukh Khan has moved up one notch to No. 4 commanding a brand value of $51.1 million. At No. 1 is Virat Kohli with brand value of $237.7 million followed by Akshay Kumar ($118.9 million) and Ranveer Singh ($102.9 million). Shah Rukh is trying to move up the pecking order. He has signed a number of brand endorsements contracts and shooting of most of the ad films was done at his residence, Mannat during the second lockdown. The superstar, whose personal net worth, according to Forbes Rich List 2021, is around $690 million also runs a successful production house Red Chillies and is the co-owner of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders.
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
Four years have zipped by and we are crossing another milestone on 31st January 2025 – it’s our 4th Anniversary. It feels good.
Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
Yes, we have created a brand (in a limited sense), created demand (readers) and created supply (senior journalists). But we are facing teething problems like all start-ups. What makes us happy and confident is the recognition of our efforts. For instance, we have an arrangement with the OPEN Magazine, part of the $4.5 billion Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka-RPG Group. This arrangement sees around 10 Short Post stories posted on OPEN Magazine website every week. This arrangement is testimony that our content has been well received! Also, I may add that the Maharashtra government has recognised Short Post and has allowed our senior editor to cover the Assembly sessions. Ditto: Odisha.
Our goal is to ensure that Short Post becomes a habit. I would like people to keep checking their smartphones to know the latest Authentic Gossip. As regards AI and the fear of it disrupting all businesses including media. On that, personally, I have no such fear as I am confident AI cannot smell news particularly Authentic Gossip. That’s the place we are well entrenched.