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The Pahalgam terror-attack that resulted in deaths of innocent Indians and a foreign tourist holidaying in the Kashmir Valley may cause a deeper deterioration in India-Pakistan cricket ties. Hitherto the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), adhering to a long-standing government guideline, does not engage Pakistan in bilateral series across formats. An Indian cricket team — men, women and under-19 — has not played on Pakistan soil for more than one and a half decades (since 2008), but Pakistan played the ICC World Cup 2023 matches in India — at Hyderabad, Kolkata and Chennai. The BCCI though maintained its position of not sending the men in blue team to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy in February-March this year. India played all its matches in Dubai. The Indian government has always maintained that Pakistan is a State-sponsor of terror strikes in the Northern Indian State of Jammu & Kashmir and hence there is no place for bilateral cricketing relationship with Pakistan. The BCCI was quick to condemn the terror attack in Pahalgam and used the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad to pay homage to the victims. A hybrid model was worked out for the ICC Champions Trophy and the same is the formula worked out for future ICC events ending in 2027. Pakistan has qualified for the ICC Women’s World Cup to be hosted by India this September-October and it will not travel to India. Will the BCCI take the extreme step of not playing against Pakistan or request the ICC and ACC that India should not be placed in the same group as Pakistan. Only time will tell.
Less than a week after the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack, the Congress has shed all pretence of extending its cooperation to the government. It is back to fretting and molly-coddling its Muslim vote bank. That is why Karnataka excise minister RB Thimmapur rushed to doubt if the “perpetrators of the attack in Pahalgam would have asked the name and the religion of victims” and insisted “it is unfair to target a particular religion over the attack”. This even as the wife of a victim from Shivamogga had helplessly watched her husband being shot dead, after the terrorists asked the name and religion before shooting the male tourists. Building a defence for the assailants, the minister argued it wasn’t the gunmen who asked for the name and religion of the tourists. Religious colour was being given to cover up intelligence failure. “Kargil, Pulwama and now Pahalgam are the result of central intelligence failure. The BJP has been playing politics over deaths,” the minister argued. Why was the Congress minister making a case for Pakistani terror operatives? It wasn’t just the minister, even chief minister Siddaramaiah had caught the attention of the Pak media playing up his comment saying that there is “no need for war” over the Pahalgam terror attack. He was dubbed “Pakistani Ratna” by the state BJP. With RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat making it clear that “it is duty of the king to protect the people” and urging the government to teach errant neighbour a lesson, PM Modi assured in his Mann Ki Baat that bereaved families will get justice; he felt the terror strike was to destroy the Kashmir narrative with peace and normalcy returning.
Leading silver screen personality Atul Kulkarni has reached Kashmir to spread the message that the state belongs to India and every Indian will visit it. Kulkarni has been known for his fearless stand on many sensitive issues and has never minced words while expressing his sentiments. A fierce advocate of the freedom of expression, Kulkarni has been in great demand for a variety of roles on the stage and in films. His statement has been welcomed since several prominent thespians have chosen to remain mute after the dreaded Pahalgam terror attack. Kulkarni has made it clear that he has no shooting schedule in Kashmir neither has his visit been sponsored by any travel company or hotel. Kulkarni said the intent of the attack is to finish the tourism potential of Kashmir. Referring to his discussions with local people in the state over the past few days, he said the most vital factor is people’s unity, even more important than money. This process had started and over the last two years, a record number of tourists had visited the state. Local people are happy when tourists come. “We have to transmit this message all over,” he said. Another popular actor, Riteish Deshmukh said this attack was not just terror but was a targeted massacre. The masterminds and organisations behind this ghastly attack must be crushed, he said in a message while expressing his anguish.
The AIADMK-BJP alliance is not the only cause of anxiety for DMK chief and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin. Senior ministers in his cabinet are as much of a headache for the chief honcho. While trusted lieutenant and money handler V Senthil Balaji put in his resignation on April 27 after strictures from the top court, so too the education minister K Ponmudy quit on the same day as he was also under fire for needlessly disparaging comments that drew the ire of a High Court judge who called for a suo motu FIR against him. Did he really need to joke about Brahmin sects and sexual positions and denigrating the whole of womanhood? Brahmin baiting may be fair game for the DMK that evolved out of the Justice Party, but vilifying women outraged a senior woman party leader in Kanimozhi who spoke out. The most senior minister among Stalin’s cabinet colleagues, Duraimurugan, who was just emerging from the woods after a tasteless description of physically challenged people — whom he called ‘nondis’ using an old Tamil term for lame people — when an old case came out of the woodwork to haunt him. A DA case has re-emerged to trouble the minister as the Madras High Court cancelled his acquittal by a lower court. Even the highly regarded IT minister Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) was pulled up by the Speaker for saying in the Assembly that his ministry had no funds to create new IT parks. He was told there must be a better way to approach the government for funds.
This week has been particularly bleak for the Indian box office with a series of film releases failing to resonate with audiences and resulting in dismal collections. Ground Zero, featuring Emraan Hashmi and Sai Tamhankar opened with a mere Rs 1.15 crore, and despite a slight uptick to Rs 1.90 crore on its second day, the total collection of Rs 3.05 crore over the weekend is far from impressive. Lack of effective marketing played a significant role as it struggled to gain visibility and attract viewers. With no substantial draw for Emraan Hashmi, the film was destined for disaster. So too was Ananth Mahadevan’s Phule. The film was mired in controversy, particularly due to opposition from certain groups in Pune and an outburst from Anurag Kashyap regarding Brahmin representation. Despite the buzz surrounding these issues, the film starring Prateek Gandhi and Patralekha, opened to a disappointing Rs 21 lakh on its first day. Although the reviews praised the direction and storytelling, the film managed to collect a meagre Rs 47 lakh over the weekend. This is one of the most underwhelming openings in recent memory, especially considering the positive reviews. The re-release of the classic Andaz Apna Apna was anticipated to follow in the footsteps of successful re-releases like Sanam Teri Kasam. However, it too fell flat, opening with just Rs 25 lakh on its first day…culminating in a total of Rs 55 lakh over the weekend. This performance is disappointing for a film with such a legacy, indicating that nostalgia alone is not enough to draw audiences back to theatres. Overall, the fate of these three Hindi films can be described as disastrous. Factors contributing to their lacklustre performance include weak scripts, average brand recall, insufficient visibility, and inadequate marketing strategies.
Film launches and releases are taking on novel and highly customised market promos. Naturally, with crores riding on success, all stakeholders pitch in their best. Suriya’s Retro, directed by Kartik Subburaj, slated for release on May 1 ensured all the bells and whistles…and more. Veteran South actor and Suriya’s dad, Sivakumar went on stage as a proud father and fan boy of his son. His over the top accolades for his son’s rise could be because Suriya is still recovering from the disaster of Kanguva and the team wanted to make the event eventful. Sivakumar said, Suriya was the first one to have six pack abs. Expectedly this got a spate of trolls as chiselled abs are nothing new in show business. But the way Sivakumar traced the rise and success journey of his son, it touched hearts. When both his sons – Suriya, Karthi – were teens the father had consulted an astro, who predicted a great presence for Suriya in the world of cinema. Sivakumar was nonplussed as Suriya hardly spoke four words in a day, he is so introverted and quiet. I think this soothsayer is “loose”. But things started gaining momentum when ace directors Vasanth and Mani Ratnam called Suriya for screen tests even as father pleaded with them not to raise high hopes. Mani Ratnam’s film Nerukku Ner was a hit. A still from that movie made Ratnam say “those eyes will give sleepless nights to female fans”. Yes, like all stars Suriya too had his ups and downs. But his place as a reliable hero and bankable star is assured. Retro may vault him back.
On June 14, Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi will be completing a one-year term in the office. Has the CM who has the backing of the PM delivered? There are mixed reports from the ground. Some are saying that Odia people are fed up with lip service of the Majhi government – the same line “work in progress and grandiose investment plans”. The general feeling is that Majhi has simply tweaked close to two dozen schemes of the BJD government led by Naveen Patnaik. It is a cut and paste job without any value addition –BJD’s colour green has been changed to BJP’s saffron in government buildings and buses. But a clued-in analyst has a different take. He points out that Majhi is considered “accessible CM” in a stark contrast to BJD’s chief minister Naveen Patnaik with whom ordinary people had no access. Besides, it would be inappropriate to compare the two CMs performances — one with 8 months governance record and the other with 290-month dream run. Adding further he says, BJD failed to fulfil their promise of giving bonus of Rs 100 per quintal to poverty-stricken farmers om Western Odisha’s Sohela in Bargarh district. Here, the Majhi government took a decision in just 24 minutes in its cabinet meeting to provide Rs 800 per quintal input assistance to farmers, apart from providing annual financial assistance of Rs 10,000 to around one crore women in the state. But the general lament is that Odia people voted for BJP, so that it effectively weeds out “mafia raj” and “percentage raj” but nothing substantial has happened in this direction. Meanwhile, the BJD has not lost the opportunity to brand Majhi as a “copycat” government.
The game of one-upmanship between Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde and Maharashtra’s chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, that followed in the relief operations for the tourists affected by the Pahalgam terrorist attack, exposed the friction within Mahayuti government. Shinde duplicated the efforts of the Fadnavis government with his parallel visits and relief flights for the stranded tourists there. While Shinde was meeting tourists at Pahalgam, donating to the local Muslim victim and even holding parleys with Jammu and Kashmir’s deputy chief minister, Fadnavis was restricted to paying condolence visits to Pahalgam victim families at Pune. This wasn’t Shinde’s first attempt at duplication of governance; earlier too he had set up parallel medical relief funds in tandem with Fadnavis’ official ones. Shinde may have been cornered within Mahayuti with many of his decisions as CM either being withdrawn, stayed, kept in abeyance or simply rejected but he is not lying quiet and instead seizing the moment like he did at Pahalgam. He is also trying to assert himself as a Hindutva mascot and trying to usurp the advantage enjoyed by the Thackeray cousins even if they were to come together. Shinde’s attempt to carve out his own distinct identity in Fadnavis’ term, is clearly not going down with the man and the party at the helm. The BJP is clearly upset with Shinde’s attempt to hog the credit and not let the landslide majority government have its way. Shinde may be indispensable to the BJP in the run-up to the BMC polls to woo the Marathi manoos vote bank but remains to be seen how this open friction between Shinde and Fadnavis may play out for the Mahayuti in the forthcoming local elections.
The recent Supreme Court order invalidating the West Bengal government’s 2016 appointment of more than 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff triggered off sitting demonstrations and agitation in the state. During the course of agitation what came to the fore was, the Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee was not countering the attack from the front. He consciously stepped away from the frontline, raising serious questions about the cracks within the party’s top leadership. It is also obvious that Abhishek’s public appearances have been reduced to congratulatory social media posts for local football clubs and the occasional endorsement of police efforts in his constituency. His last major political intervention was a virtual meeting on March 15. Since then, his near-total disengagement from party affairs has triggered anxiety within TMC’s rank and file, many of whom now openly question the party’s leadership strategy. The official narrative claims Mamata Banerjee has asked Abhishek to focus on national politics. But Abhishek’s loyal followers say that he was deliberately being sidelined from talking on the school recruitment scandal. Instead the State President Subrata Bakshi was given the job of doing all the heavy weight lifting on this front. Sure enough, his exclusion has left his loyalists demoralised. Further, Abhishek’s social media activities, particularly his praise for Diamond Harbour police during communal tensions and earlier disapproval of police actions post the RG Kar Hospital incident, are being interpreted as subtle criticism of the state government’s performance. These posts have drawn further scrutiny and are being read by Opposition parties as indirect jabs at the administration led by Didi.
Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR), Tamil Nadu IT minister was seen as a wunderkind when came back from the U.S. to revive his political and family connections in Madurai. He joined the DMK and was quickly rewarded by chief minister MK Stalin with a cabinet post. But it didn’t take long for the awestruck scales to drop…his unique talent and standalone abilities created a rift with those who swore by “Dravidian” versus his hybrid talents, swung from Gesellschaft to Gemeinschaft. Not just unique, he was unequivocal too in expressing his views fearlessly, shocking entrenched party loyalists. His recent speech in the TN Assembly was the flashpoint for Stalin’s anger. The fuse was lit when someone from his party asked about his earlier projects and new ones. He apparently grumbled about the lack of adequate funding for the IT Ministry…“even as Rs 20, 000 crore allocation is sanctioned, the IT ministry got only 200 crore, now cut to Rs150 crore. Even then we used the funds prudently but faced several deficits in projects. Like other states, all IT parks don’t come under this ministry, excepting the small ELCOT …whereas TIDEL and other mega parks are under the Industries Ministry.” Was PTR holding a grudge against Rajaa? The fallout of this frankness was immediate. When PTR invited Stalin to release a book on his grandfather…after some hesitation Stalin agreed but only to pull the carpet from under PTR at the event. In his speech Stalin said: “PTR has excellent communication and strong debating talent. But these abilities often turn into weaknesses by excessive open talk” leaving PTR squirming. Talk is rife that PTR may be sent to Delhi via the Rajya Sabha. When you are inconvenient, you become convenient…to be deputed.
Yuzvendra Chahal says he was dangled from a 15th-floor hotel balcony by a heavily drunk fellow player during the IPL in 2013. The incident took place during a get-together when the loquacious leg-spinner was a Mumbai Indian. The buzz in Indian cricket is, while many in the know are aware of who the character is, no one wants to say it in public lest the player involved take offence. The player is also a pretty big personality in Team India today and taking his name might be problematic as some voices have already been raised saying the said “bully” should be banned from cricket. It was a party prank but a very scary one for the “victim” who said, “I was holding on to him, with my arms around his neck. If I had lost my grip, we were on the 15th floor… had there been a small mistake there, I would have fallen down.” The player had fainted at the prospect of hitting the ground from that height. The spinner has named others who played milder pranks on him when he was a Mumbai Indian but the perpetrator of the cubase torrent major incident could not be named as he is at the top of the totem pole now. A driver toolkit 8.5.1 serial key guess as to the major player’s identity is allowed.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s ambitious Ekamra Shetra Project which aims to transform the old temple town of Bhubaneswar into a world class tourist and pilgrimage centre at a cost of Rs 700 crore has run into rough weather. BJP is opposing the project while Congress is supporting it. The issue centres around the beautification initiative to make Bhubaneswar a world class heritage temple city based on 12th century Lingaraj Temple. Patnaik is keen to include Bhubaneswar’s ancient structures in UNESCO World Heritage sites. But it has already run into controversy over allegations that ancient monuments were destroyed during an excavation drive by the state government. ASI says they were never consulted and watchdog INTACH has alleged that many priceless structures were destroyed as there was no deployment of ground-penetrating radar analysis before commencement of work. Based on this feedback, the Union Home Ministry has blocked Odisha’s Lingaraj Temple Legislative Ordinance terming it unlawful as it falls under Ancient Monuments & Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (AMASR), 1958. The home ministry has pointed out that Patnaik government has already violated the AMASR Act around Lingaraj temple by building modern structures. The real bone of contention seems to be the appointment of Dr Santrupt Mishra, Group Director from the Aditya Birla Group to head the project instead of getting experts from INTACH. This move, many bureaucrats in Odisha believe, was needless.
Looks like Salman Khan and his close friend Sajid Nadiadwala have decided to part ways on the professional front as they seem to have serious differences over their new venture Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali? According to a highly placed source, differences arose over Salman Khan’s payout. For the astute film producer Nadiadwala that number was not making business sense. Instead of creating bad blood, a wiser Nadiadwala has handed over the project lock, stock and barrel to Salman and walked out. An insider is at pains to point out that their old friendship continues; it is purely a business decision. Be that as it may, Salman has seen and been in such situations several times. He walked out of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Inshallah after the set was erected. Bhansali lost quite a fortune but he was smart enough to utilize the set for making Gangubai Kathiawadi. Earlier, Priyanka Chopra ditched Salman to get married, left high and dry, he quickly roped in Katrina Kaif for Bharat. Kabir Khan who got along famously with Salman is no more on his speed dial post the flop of Tubelight. Similarly, he replaced director Ali Abbas Zafar with Manish Sharma for Tiger 3 which features Katrina Kaif with whom he was once linked with. How will their chemistry be in the movie given the fact he was not invited to her wedding?
Madhya Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seems to be in a mood to change his own image. Taking a cue from Yogi Adityanath, Chouhan decided to go after trouble-makers in the state with bull-dozers. He cleared strong action against those who created trouble during Ram Navami procession in Khargone. In a major development, the state government demolished houses of accused involved in the violence to recover the damage caused to properties. So far 45 properties including 16 houses and 29 commercial properties have been demolished — these were mainly illegal constructions. While the jury is still out on this sort of instant justice, the Government has taken a tough view as six policemen were injured in the violence — one of them an SP received a bullet injury. In this context, Chouhan ticked off Congress leader Digvijay Singh for tweeting pictures of an incident outside MP just to “foment” trouble in the state. Even as the state was contemplating action against the former CM, Digvijay deleted his controversial tweet but blamed the police for not being prepared.
Social media has become so powerful a communication tool these days and yet, not everybody understands the scale of its utility. None, however, can afford to ignore it. Not surprising, all and sundry have made it a point to be visible on the social media platform. Take the case of the Vedanta outfit. Mired in a local political slugfest and caught up in a legal bind, Thoothukudi-based Sterlite Copper, a unit of the Vedanta group, is stuck in a pincer-like situation, being hammered from all sides. How to fight this tricky situation? Well, a new Twitter handle was set up in January this year, created by Sterlite Support Federation, a non-government and non-profit organisation. The federation was formed ostensibly to bring all the pro-Sterlite people across the country to “fight for the cause, thereby giving jobs to thousands.” With over 400 followers, this appears to be a determined counter to the anti-Sterlite lobby that works relentlessly to derail any efforts to revive the Sterlite Copper plant in Tamil Nadu, ordered to close down by the previous AIADMK regime following police firing that resulted in 13 deaths. The firing was ordered to disperse the anti-Sterlite agitators in the vicinity of the plant a few years ago. Can the micro-blogging site help check-mate anti-Sterlite sentiment?
The recent fuss around the independent chair position in the International Cricket Council (ICC) fizzled out into non-event at the quarterly ICC Board meeting in Dubai. Rumours were rife that a couple of BCCI officials were in the race for the top ICC position. But the news came from the ICC HQ that the incumbent independent chairman Greg Barclay who took charge in November 2020 will continue to complete his first two year term; that’s till the Men’s World Twenty20 in Australia this October- November. With him set to carry on, a peculiar process overseen by the chair of the ICC’s independent audit committee to identify the new chair has been put off by seven months. Normally the ICC election takes place at its annual conference in July, but after Shashank Manohar chose not to go for the third two-year term and stepped down from office on July 1, 2020, the lack of a unanimous choice immediately thereafter resulted in Barclay being elected. And that’s presumably the reason the New Zealander has been asked to stay till this November. Or is it because clarity will emerge in September when the BCCI, post the election of its office bearers, will be able to pitchfork its candidate! There were good tidings at the Dubai meeting for Jay Shah, the BCCI Secretary was made the Full Member representative in the prestigious ICC Men’s Cricket Committee.
Following the electoral reverses in the recently held Assembly Elections in five States, the Congress has gone for an organizational overhaul in Goa, Punjab and Uttarakhand. In fact the kind of changes the party has made is making everyone wonder if the new appointments were to deliver results. In Goa, the Congress went for a 38-year-old fresh hand Amit Patkar who had only recently become active. He was picked as he gave a good fight to Goa Minister Nilesh Cabral in the Curchorem assembly seat. The only criteria of selecting him was that he came from a well-known Congress family. He was also viewed as resourceful. In Punjab the Congress opted for a three-term Gidderbaha MLA Amararinder Singh Raja Warring to replace Navjot Singh Sidhu. Ironically, Sidhu was replaced the same day as Imran Khan lost his vote of confidence in Pakistan. Party sources said Warring was picked as he had displayed a capacity to fight the Badals of Akali Dal. His real test of course would come up how he steers the party in Sangrur Lok Sabha by-poll — a seat vacated by AAP CM Bhagwant Mann. In Uttarakhand, the party has picked Yashpal Arya as CLP leader — someone who was in the BJP till the last minute and rejoined the party just before polls. Meanwhile, in Himachal, BJP seemed better prepared. While J P Nadda is camping in Shimla even for upcoming civic polls, Congress leaders skipped a meet called by Rajeev Shukla.
The Gujarat-based Adani group, with interests in every field that involves energy, has announced a massive expansion in its construction financing. So too the group company Adani Gas Ltd (AGL) with its city gas distribution and piped natural gas to the domestic, commercial, industrial and vehicle users in 15-plus distinct geographical areas. AGL, which is going great guns, also supplies compressed natural gas to the transport sector. Though a very small part of the Rs 20,000-crore group, the Ahmedabad-headquartered AGL is important to the business, thanks to its involvement in the daily lives of both employees and outside customers. The company changed its name to Adani Total Gas Ltd at the end of 2020, 15 years after it was incorporated, when French energy major Total took a stake of 37.4% – equal to its own, making it a joint-venture company. The remaining 25.2% is with public shareholders. “Passion, perseverance and self-belief enable you to overcome obstacles and deliver solutions that benefit the business and our consumers,” says Sandip Adani, Head, Techno Commercial, Adani Total Gas. Big brother Adani Green Energy is the world’s largest solar power developer and is in the process of completing the construction of its projects to meet its stated renewable energy capacity target of 45 GW in the next eight years.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate on April 14 the “Pradhanmantri Sanghralaya (museum)”, which acknowledges the contributions of all previous Prime Ministers of the country while a redeveloped Block I will also exhibit a number of gifts received by first PM Jawaharlal Nehru, which have so far not yet been part of Nehru Memorial Museum. The inauguration of the museum will coincide with the birth anniversary of the architect of the Indian Constitution Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar. The government says the museum will sensitize the younger generation about the leadership, vision and achievements of all the 17 former Prime Ministers: Jawaharlal Nehru, Morarji Desai,Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, P V Narasimha Rao, HD Devegowda, I K Gujral and Dr Manmohan Singh. The “Pradhanmantri Sanghralaya” is an endeavour by PM Modi to acknowledge the contributions of all his predecessors irrespective of ideology or tenure in office. The design incorporates sustainable and energy conservation practices. No tree has been felled or transplanted. The total area of the building is 10,491 square meters .Families were contacted for information about the former Prime Ministers. Holograms, virtual reality, augmented reality, multi-touch, multi-media, interactive kiosks, computerized kinetic sculptures, experiential installations have been leveraged to make the exhibition content highly interactive. At a recent BJP Parliamentary party meeting, PM Modi asked his party MPs to visit the museum and spread the word among youths in the country.
Looks like the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) run schools are going for an image makeover. A team of officials and private citizens are designing a new set of uniforms with a brief to spruce up its tardy image of being a poor man’s school. This is not exactly an image makeover or brand building exercise; it is more of a perception change that would reflect the overall upgradation taking place at the educational, technological and infrastructural levels in our civic school education system, explains joint municipal commissioner Ajit Kumbhar. About 103 BMC buildings are being renovated to refurbish its dull and drab settings. Enrollments in BMC schools have registered a sharp rise since introduction of CBSE syllabus. Schools of Cambridge and the International Baccalaureate curriculum are also in the offing. Every academic year 27 items are given free to all students right from uniforms, school books, shoes to even school bags and water bottles. With an annual education budget of Rs 3,370 crores, digital classrooms, tablets for learning and plans to set up 25 astronomy labs are also in action. Sena scion Aaditya Thackeray personally leads his party’s education initiatives. His push for more English medium schools met with criticism from his own party’s core vote bank of Marathi middle class. Is this exercise being done with an eye on the BMC elections?
When Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann picked Mandi for their roadshow on April 6 — the party’s first event in Himachal in the run-up to assembly elections later this year, they chose it because it was Chief Minister Jairam Thakur’s home ground. However, a week later AAP has announced it is dissolving its state unit. Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendra Jain, who is in charge of the Himachal, announced the dissolution after AAP state president Anoop Kesri joined the BJP before party president J P Nadda’s road show in Shimla. Kesri joined BJP as he found local leaders were sidelined. “We were toiling for AAP for the last 8 years but it neglected state party workers. There was disregard towards the people of Himachal Pradesh. During a rally in Mandi, no space was given to any leader from the state other than Delhi and Punjab CMs.” Kesri’s entry into the BJP was facilitated by I & B minister Anurag Thakur; he took along with him several AAP leaders. Congress leaders also acknowledge that the way BJP chief Nadda is camping in Shimla it is going to be a direct contest between BJP and the Congress. And there is no scope for a third player.
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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.