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Ajit Pawar1

Ajit Pawar Resurfaces, Creates More Questions Than Answers

Nationalist Congress party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar’s clarifications about his mysterious weeklong absence and his unannounced resurfacing have created more questions than the answers he has given. Ajit, leader of the opposition in the state assembly, hit out at the media in Pune ‘for writing reckless stories’ about his absence from the scene. Ajit explained that he was abroad from November 4 and returned on November 10. Angrily, he asked the media, “Why can’t you leave me alone? Don’t I have any private life? I have not gone abroad for the past six years. Why did none of you even try to call up my office and find out?” Ajit did not disclose which foreign country he had visited or why he had left the party’s Shirdi conclave last week suddenly or why the party spokesman was not ready to reveal any information about his absence. Moreover, his otherwise vocal cousin Supriya Sule or uncle Sharad Pawar, too, have refrained from saying a word, which is considered significant. Ajit’s silence was more acutely felt when Maharashtra agriculture minister Abdul Sattar’s statement in regard to Supriya had led to widespread demonstrations by NCP workers all over the state. Significantly, Ajit had welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on the reservations for economically weaker sections during this same period. Ajit had left the NCP’s Delhi conference midway as well.
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Will Pakistan-England final draw big crowd?

Hayden Says India -Pakistan Match Was A Spectacle

The ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup began on a promising note for India when it scored a thrilling win against Pakistan at the Melbourne Ground on the first Sunday of the tournament ( Oct 23). Pakistan’s batting mentor and former Australian opener, Mathew Hayden said that he has not seen a sporting spectacle like that at the MCG, a famous cricket venue. Around 92000 paying spectators saw the India-Pakistan match The unfortunate aspect though is that India was given a sound thrashing by the England openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales in the semi-finals whereupon Rohit Sharma’s team was ejected out of the final. India will not forget the drubbing. And as a consequence the vanquisher of the first Super 12 match will not be present in the cup final whereas the vanquished in the first match —   Pakistan will play the final against England. Beaten in the final of the Asia Cup in September by Sri Lanka, Pakistan is raring to go in order to win the title here. It was at the same venue in 1992 Pakistan led by Imran Khan won the World Cup defeating England in the final. Head coach Rahul Dravid could not hide his disappointment of losing to England in a manner to embarrass the team. The question is: what will the Indian supporters do with the tickets for the last match?
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Round One At Box Office Goes To Katrina’s ‘Phone Bhoot’, Other Releases Do So-So

It has never happened before in Bollywood. Three actresses-led films releasing simultaneously. Katrina Kaif’s Phone Bhoot was the highest scorer at the box office in last week’s release of women-centric films. Katrina’s film earned about Rs 10 crore; the other two films Janhavi Kapoor’s Mili and Huma Qureshi-Sonakshi Sinha’s Double XXL had dismal collections. According to a trade pundit, the audiences are becoming increasingly discerning and don’t enter the cinema hall unless it’s a family fare and has a fun quotient like Phone Bhoot. Mili was a remake and although Janhvi worked hard the audience didn’t want to see her in a freezer. Her last film Goodluck Jerry was appreciated but it was on OTT and people didn’t have to pay for it. Huma Qureshi and Sonakshi Sinha chose a subject close to their heart; but the subject is passe as today‘s girls are not embarrassed by their bodies and nobody wanted to spend money to watch them in cinemas. Most of the films that are now released in cinemas could’ve been released on OTT directly but the OTT platforms now want the producers to release their films in cinemas and only after that they are picking up those films at their cost. The last women-centric film that did well at the box office was Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai Kathiawadi and it was because of the songs and it was larger-than-life cinema.
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How A Phone Call Led To England Storming Into The T20 World Cup Final

A phone call made several months ago was instrumental in Team England cruising into the final of the T20 World Cup. The call was made by the protagonist himself as Alex Hales picked up his mobile and called Rob Key, MD of England cricket, to present his case the moment he heard of Jonny Bairstow’s freak golf accident. Kept out of the England team from before the 2019 World Cup because he had failed a drug test twice, Hales was in cricketing wilderness for three years before he saw a door opening for him. His old partner in opening the innings in white ball cricket Jason Roy was woefully out of form and England’s captain Eoin Morgan had called it quits. Hales backed himself to fill the void. To Key’s credit, he took Hales’ case to the selectors, and they too agreed to give him a chance at redemption. The team management kept their cool as Hales came back into a difficult tour of Pakistan. Having recaptured his form in stands with his skipper Buttler, including in the game against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup league and then against Sri Lanka in a must win game, Hales simply took the Indian bowling attack to the cleaners, treating it with contempt at one of his favourite Adelaide Oval where had once scored a century in the Big Bash.

TRENDS & VIEWS

Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack

It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.