All
Politics
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Celebrities
Olympian Wrestler Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress and is all set to contest Haryana assembly elections from Julana seat. Famous for missing the silver medal by 100 gm in the Paris Olympics as she had breached the category in which she entered the contest, Vinesh had received a hero’s welcome as soon as she returned to India. She was given a grand welcome at Delhi airport by the Haryana Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son, Deepinder. Her name was finalised as soon as she formally became a member. While wrestler Bajrang Punia has been appointed as working president of All India Kisan Congress. Entry of the wrestling icons, who are both Jats, means consolidation of Jat votes behind the Congress. Former CM Hooda is determined to make a comeback with Jat vote power after 10-year BJP rule in Haryana. Phogat termed her political innings as a new chapter and said that she will continue to work for the rights of other athletes. Referring to the ongoing sexual harassment case against former WFI chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Singh, she made it clear that only the Congress had understood “our tears”. “I will work for other athletes so that they don’t have to go through what we went through,” Phogat said. “I could have quit wrestling at Jantar Mantar because the BJP’s IT cell was publicising that we were spent forces. They said I did not want to play in the nationals but I did; they said I did not want to do trials, I did that… They said I could not go to the Olympics but I did… Unfortunately, it was not God’s will,” she said.
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s latest allegation against NCP MP Supriya Sule has enraged her supporters. Supriya herself has vehemently refuted the charges and challenged him to produce the evidence to substantiate it. A staunch follower of BJP heavyweights Nitin Gadkari and Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP leader has stunned the state polity with his so-called disclosure. According to Bawankule, she had said, “If Fadnavis comes back to power, we will be nowhere and this will be the last election for Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray.” Different versions of Supriya’s directions to her party’s spokespersons regarding the coming elections are floating around. The general tenor of the reports is that she has indicated to them to go soft on chief minister Eknath Shinde and avoid any statement on Maratha leader Manoj Jarange but zero in on Fadnavis. Referring to these news stories, Bawankule has attacked Supriya while making his allegation. Taking him to task over his remarks, Supriya has challenged Bawankule to produce proof that she had asked her party spokespersons to hit only Fadnavis. “Show me a video making such a statement,” she has said. Fadnavis and Supriya are the two names which are repeatedly making rounds of the political grapevine as the next CM choice. Hence Bawankule’s advocacy of Fadnavis is hardly surprising. Other major parties in the state have so far kept away from this slanging match.
In the backdrop of the Modi government releasing a Rs 100 coin to mark birth centenary of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi on August 18 and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailing him as “titan” of Indian politics, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has always been anxious to assure his allies in the secular INDIA Bloc that he is not inching close to the BJP. Away in the U.S. since the end of last month along with his wife Durga to pitch for foreign investment in his state, Stalin has been making it a point to enjoy ordinary things like working out at a gym in San Francisco or a bike ride near Lake Michigan in Chicago. His post on X, “Evening’s calm sets the stage for new dreams”, somehow caught the attention of Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi who replied to Stalin’s post with a playful comment, “Brother, when are we cycling together in Chennai?”. Responding to Gandhi, Stalin proposed a leisurely ride to explore the heart of Chennai. “Dear brother @Rahul Gandhi, whenever you’re free, let’s ride and explore the heart of Chennai together! A box of sweets is still pending from my side. After our cycling, let’s enjoy a delicious South Indian lunch with sweets at my home.” Incidentally, Rahul will also be briefly in the U.S. — September 8-10 — to interact with the Indian diaspora as well as key business and academic figures. This will be his first visit to the U.S. since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, after the Congress made significant gains. His visit precedes PM Modi’s planned appearance at the UN General Assembly later in the month. Gandhi will visit Dallas and Washington DC during his time in the U.S.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar’s choice for the next Maharashtra CM will not be Uddhav Thackeray. This sensational claim made by DCM Devendra Fadnavis has further dented the campaign started by the Shiv Sena leader’s followers to project him as the future chief minister. Pawar and state Congress president Nana Patole have publicly negated Uddhav’s demand to declare the name of the next Maha Vikas Aghadi CM in advance. Both have reiterated that a decision in this regard will be taken at an appropriate time. The Sena (UBT) has maintained a stoic silence ever since on this issue, unlike its practice to react to any development, big or small, instantly. Using the opportunity of his interview taken by a private news channel, Fadnavis ridiculed the efforts being made to project Uddhav as the unanimous MVA leader in Maharashtra. Fadnavis did not mention any other name in this connection but left his remark hanging, so that enough suspense pervades the opposition camp. Pawar himself has added to the guessing game. Though he had claimed that his party would not be in the race for the post, he has now added another rider by stating that the party with the largest number of MLAs will stand the chance. Fadnavis rubbed Uddhav the wrong way by remarking that the three-day recent visit of the Sena leader to Delhi had failed to obtain Sonia Gandhi’s backing to his name for chief ministership. Uddhav’s backlash is awaited.
Six decades have gone by since it was incorporated in 1959 as a company with charitable objects under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (now Section 8, Companies Act, 2013). Ostensibly, it was set up with the object to promote the spread of knowledge across assorted areas – such as politics, culture, art, history, sports and the like – and disseminate news to the general public both about Indian and foreign affairs. United News Of India (UNI) is a multilingual news agency. Once upon a time, it was one of the largest news agencies in India with several hundred subscribers across the length and breadth of the country. Today, it is a shadow of its past. Struggling to survive, UNI has now come under the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) resolution process. A process to invite resolution was initiated in August last year. However, based on a decision taken by the Committee of Creditors, a “Round 2” of the entire Resolution Process for inviting EOI (Expression of Interest) for submission of Plans has been now initiated. With just about 175 employees and revenue of less than Rs 7 crore, this once iconic news agency is on the verge of extinction. With the whole media industry going through tough times, UNI is hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel. Will the resolution process throw up a Good Samaritan? Fingers are crossed, indeed.
Amid a series of electoral failures, including a hat-trick of zero wins in major elections, the CPI(M) in Bengal is facing growing internal pressure to reconsider its approach and hire an external political strategist. Alimuddin Street, party’s headquarters, has received feedback that the organization’s current state is “disgraceful” and it must consider “alternatives.” Most political parties – BJP, Cong, TMC, AAP and DMK — have from time to time roped in political strategists/consultants. For instance, the Trinamool Congress’s 2021 victory was largely credited to IPAC, led by Prashant Kishor. Likewise Congress party has benefited from strategic insights provided by Sunil Kanugolu. CPI(M) State Secretary Mohammad Salim stated that though the party cannot afford to hire a professional agency, professionalism must be increased. The party had hoped that its alliance with Congress for the Lok Sabha polls would increase its vote share. Leaders had predicted a three-way contest between Trinamool, BJP, and the Left-Congress combine. However, the reality was a two-way fight between Trinamool and BJP, leaving CPI(M) without a seat, and Congress lost key constituencies like Baharampur, where five-time MP Adhir Chowdhury was defeated by TMC’s Yusuf Pathan. Party insiders have highlighted organizational failures, including an inability to deploy agents in polling stations. Again, in the RG Kar incident relating to rape-murder of doctor, where the CPI(M) youth wing DYFI, led protests in Kolkata, the party failed to mobilize at the district levels. Also, it has alienated women voters in the state by terming the Lakshmi Bhandar scheme as “alms”.
Vishwajeet Kadam, who jolted the MVA alliance in the recent Parliamentary polls, is set to ruffle feathers again in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections. Kadam, who backed Congress rebel Vishal Patil to victory over the MVA’s official Sena nominee, now seems to have the backing of the Congress high command this time too. The message was sent loud and clear when Rahul Gandhi flew down on September 5 to unveil his father –Patangrao Kadam’s statue in the presence of the entire top brass of Congress and even NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar. The prominent positioning of rebel Vishal Patil MP on the dais at the event, between the state Congress and NCP chief — Nana Patole and Jayant Patil — signalled Vishwajeet’s insistence to have things work his way. The high-profile event estimated to cost over Rs 50 crore, with over 1.5 lakh people housed in a Rs 8 crore canopy spread over 20 acres, was also meant to pitch Vishwajeet for the top slot in state politics. The absence of Uddhav Thackeray from the event clearly signalled that the friction between the Congress and Sena, is here to stay. Currently, of the eight legislative assemblies in Sangli, only two are held with Congress. Another two seats are held with the BJP, which is keen to wrest control of the prosperous sugar belt. The Congress, which has sensed victory in Maharashtra, after emerging with the highest tally among MVA partners in the recent LS polls, is in no mood to relent to their coalition partners’ demands. The NCP has been tamed while the recalcitrant Uddhav is being ignored. The Congress which wants to play the big brother could give Vishwajeet a free hand to chart party’s revival in the state.
Raja Randhir Singh may have triggered a fresh debate on whether administrators’ maximum tenure of 12 years is good for developing sport in India. India’s National Sports Development Code (NSDC) 2011 specifies terms, tenures, age, and cooling-off rules for sports federations. A five-time Olympian, several-time Asian Games participant in the Trap and Skeet shooting event, a gold and bronze medal winner has been an administrator for around four decades at the national and international sports bodies and is all set to become the 44th President of the Olympic Council of Asia wef September 8. In recent interactions, the 77-year-old former member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that Yoga will become a medal sport from the 2030 Asian Games, but more significantly, he touched upon an essential aspect of the governance structure and strict rules. He believes more than 12 years is needed for administrators at the sports bodies. While the NSC stipulates a 12-year time restriction for national sports federations, the Justice Lodha Committee report that the Supreme Court has endorsed stipulates a maximum period of nine years together at the State and BCCI and with a cooling off period after six years that was initially three years. Being an experienced hand, Raja Randhir may have a point that will only get full support from the BCCI, but the Apex Council of the country believes that sports federations cannot be a fiefdom for an individual or group of people. The BCCI has been lucky to get relief from the Supreme Court on the cooling-off period restriction, but they may hope for further ease in restrictions. Given a chance, both the BCCI and the sports federations would like the cooling-off period and tenure restrictions, junked!
Now that N Srinivasan-headed India Cements has changed hands, the focus is clearly on what will happen to Chennai Super Kings Ltd. Once a division of India Cements, CSK was spun off into an independent entity following the conflict of interest issue. Post-India Cements sale, the focus obviously has turned to CSK. Where is it heading? Well, Srinivasan and his family have now consolidated their holding in CSK. They have increased their stake in CSK to nearly 42% from just above 28% in March 2023. The promoters now hold 158,016,303 shares. They had 86,726,373 shares in March 2023. The equity share has a face value of Rs 0.10 (ten paise). CSK Ltd. is the owner of the Chennai franchise of the IPL (Indian Premier League) T-20 cricket team. With the player auction for the upcoming IPL season coming up soon, the consolidation of holdings by the Srinivasan family in CSK reflects the commitment and passion of the promoter group to the cause of cricket. Not surprisingly, the board of CSK has decided to elevate K Viswanathan, popularly known as Kasi, a close loyalist of Srinivasan, as the managing director for a three-year term. Well, the context may have changed following the sale of India Cements. Srinivasan and Co, nevertheless, is focussed like a blinkered-horse on furthering the cause of cricket.
Caste dynamics has political formations of India in a tizzy for the imminent Haryana state assembly elections with the BJP set to also launch a new poll strategy to dampen the Congress dream of a clean sweep in the Nuh belt of the state along with others where the minority vote plays a dominant role. The AAP and Congress vowed to fight solo after the zero-voter verdict their alliance evoked in Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha constituencies, then kissed and yet, to make up. While AAP wants 10 seats, Congress is willing to part with only seven. The SP too wants seats to field candidates in Muslim proliferated constituencies. Congress believes minority votes will accrue to itself, particularly in three assembly constituencies in Nuh region dominated Muslim voters. Only former Congress CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda appears worried over his political future. The BJP too, worried over anti-incumbency, wants to buck the political tide and announced 16 OBC candidates, 13 from Jat community with 17 reserved SC seats. Though the OBC community is the majority voter segment in Haryana, Jat community always holds sway over political affairs be it the Lal clan troika (Bansi Lal, Devi Lal) or the Chautala clan among dominant segments of farmer leaders. The BJP elevated another community leader Kiran Choudhary to the Rajya Sabha and will also accommodate her daughter for state assemblies. Similarly, late Jat leader Ajit Singh’s son Jayant Choudhary was inducted into the NDA alliance for the Haryana assembly. The BJP has topped up its poll plans by clearing a slew of farmer packages in the state before the elections were notified in the state to include most of the crops sown in Haryana under the ambit of its MSP protection.
A rumour, or is it a news tip, refuses to go away. This has to do with Prime Minister Narendra Modi being close to fixing Rameswaram as the constituency from which he will stand for the Lok Sabha in the 2024 election. The BJP is paying a lot of attention to the district in south Tamil Nadu of which Rameswaram, a famous abode of Lord Shiva, is host to a temple that draws devotees in their millions. Rameswaram is also where PM Modi is to host a big meeting on August 18 with Tamil Nadu fishermen to apprise them of steps being taken by the government of India to ensure their safety and better treatment at the hands of the Sri Lankan Navy if ever they stray past Indian territorial waters in search of better catch in more southern waters. The district is also from where the TN BJP chief K Annamalai will begin his padayatra after taking the blessings of BJP biggie Amit Shah on July 28. The party is laying much store by the padayatra its chief is planning during which he will also be releasing more of the DMK Files of the kind that shook up the ruling party in TN when it exposed audio clipping featuring the then Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR). Maybe, there is some heft to the news of Modi toying with the idea of moving south from Varanasi to another holy city.
With Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee carefully evading any mention of Congress during her party’s Shahid Diwas Rally last week, speculations are rife whether Congress high command will be replacing the present Pradesh Congress Chief and Baharampur MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Chowdhury has been extremely vocal about Didi and alleged atrocities by her party. He not only spearheaded the alliance with the CPI(M) during the last State Assembly Election 2021, but also maintained it even during this recently concluded Panchayat Election. Incidentally, Adhir had also written to Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge requesting them to look into senior Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi’s representation of TMC in Supreme Court matters. It has been learnt that Congress leadership is not keen to upset Mamata, which might jeopardise its chances of bargaining for two existing Lok Sabha seats of Baharampur and Maldaha Dakshin. A section of the state committee said that outgoing Rajya Sabha Congress MP Pradip Bhattacharjee’s name is doing the rounds; he had the support of TMC during his nomination in 2017. Interestingly, Adhir joined the protest programme at Parliament — on Manipur Issue along with TMC and other parties. Adhir enjoys the confidence of Gandhis, hence it will be interesting to see whether they will replace him.
A mere 14 people (that too his relatives) participated in the last rites of legendary film producer SA Rajkannu who was celebrated and feted sky high when 16 Vayadinule produced by him in 1977 under the banner Sri Amman Films was a super hit. Kamal Haasan as the protagonist, chapani (the village idiot) is now Ulaga Nayakan. The late Sridevi as Mayilu (just 14 then) sizzled and skyrocketed to stardom post that film. And who can forget Rajnikanth’s Parattai, the negative role ruffian who confronts Kamal in this Tamil hit directed by Bharathiraja! The late MR Radha’s daughter, Radhika is even today known as Rail Radhika, a throwback to her debut film Kizhakke Pogum Rail. The multi-faceted artist Bhagyaraj was Rajkannu’s hero in Kanniparuvathile. But all these super marquee names of Kollywood forgot this man who gave them their debuts. Rajkannu spent the fag end of his life in a rented house, and died an unsung producer. His close family were hoping that these celebrities would at least turn up to pay their salaams on his final journey. However, stars were content to tweet their sorrow. Clearly, filmdom and politics celebrate only success and status. Reminds one of Rajesh Khanna immortal dialogue, “Yeh duniya badi kuthi cheez hai. “
A plethora of forecasts about installing NCP’s rebel leader Ajit Pawar as Maharashtra chief minister has stirred the state politics, more so because former CM Prithviraj Chavan has even announced the tentative date of the changeover. Ever since Ajit Pawar left the party founded by his uncle Sharad Pawar and joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government, his supporters have launched a campaign to project him as the next CM. Whereas the Shiv Sena (Uddhav) has been harping from day one that making Ajit a DCM is the gameplan of the BJP which will soon replace present incumbent Eknath Shinde, the statement by Prithviraj has surprised many. Prithviraj once belonged to the Group 23. Though not a mass leader, his equation with Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge has been quite good. Prithviraj said he had received the indication about the replacement of Shinde from Delhi but declined to divulge more details. He said the change can occur around August 10. The speculation about Shinde’s future has renewed after he called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week along with his family. This was described as a farewell call by some Opposition leaders. Shinde himself has maintained silence about the developments but Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis has declared in no uncertain terms that Shinde will continue to remain the CM. “This is made clear to Ajit,” he said.
After Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji, the Enforcement Directorate trained its guns on DMK education minister K Ponmudi. Raids on his residence and business locations have yielded a number of clues to financial irregularities including recovery of over Rs 80 lakh haul of British currency. This raid too was related to a 2012 case of illegal sand mining from quarries in TN amounting to Rs 28 crores loss to the State. His son Gautham Sigamani is alleged to have invested such earnings in UAE’s Universal Business Ventures. Earnings of Rs 7 crore were not declared. Besides, significant earnings of Rs 100 crore from share transactions in Indonesia in 2022 have been unearthed by ED leaving Ponmudi red faced. Reportedly, he cried on MK Stalin’s shoulder saying, “At 72 how can I withstand such raids? My sons are managing all affairs “. Tamil media sources claim that a Jakarta-based Tamilian business tycoon is the go to man for Ponmudi’s sons, and now the ED is busy digging up this shadow compatriot’s TN based businesses to trace the origins of the money trail . Obviously, the advantages of having investigating agencies like the ED are heightened in an election year. A so-called list of 9 “culpable probables”and mug shots are doing the rounds of the media!
Harmanpreet Kaur’s rash behaviour upon her dismissal and at the prize distribution function after the third one-day international against Bangladesh in Mirpur has been widely condemned by the cricketing fraternity. The severity of her deportment warrants a precedent — setting response from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). A slap on the wrist from the BCCI would be tantamount to allowing the India captain to go scot-free. She has been named the captain for the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, and the BCCI should look to withdraw her name from the squad. The BCCI has done its best to promote women’s cricket, and recently, the ICC took a laudable decision to bring parity in prize money for the events staged by it. Harmanpreet, according to a broad section of the commentators, needs to face disciplinary action. There is Smriti Mandhana to step in as captain. Apart from a few former Indian umpires (Harmanpreet had targeted the Bangladesh umpires), former India all-rounder and 1983 World Cup star Madan Lal has called her behaviour pathetic and one that has tarnished the image of Indian cricket. The ICC has not yet announced its decision on the unsavoury episode by India’s captain; it is speculated, though, that she may be banned for the following two internationals. The BCCI must be seen to be protecting the spirit of the game at all costs.
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.