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In an interesting political twist, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal picked Atishi Marlena, a junior minister and someone considered close to Deputy CM Manish Sisodia as the new chief minister of Delhi, as he decided to step down and hand in his resignation to Lt Governor VK Saxena. Known as the main brain behind Delhi Government school reforms, Atishi played down her elevation as a stopgap arrangement. Making it clear that Delhi and its 2 crore people can only have one CM — that is Arvind Kejriwal. Atishi asked party cadres not to celebrate her elevation. There could be celebration only after Kejriwal gets re-elected in the March 2025 assembly elections. Initial announcement about Atishi was made by a party heavyweight and potential contender Gopal Rai. AAP also made it clear that there will be no deputy CM this time. By choosing to play the woman card and not opting for his wife Sunita as CM, Kejriwal may have tried to buy time with voters but will it blunt the edge on incumbency and non-delivery? Only time will tell. Yet with her rise as CM, Atishi will be the third woman CM of the UT after Sushma Swaraj and Sheila Dikshit. Born in June 1981 Atishi hails from an academic family in Delhi, with her parents, Vijay Singh and Tripta Wahi, both professors at Delhi University. She will be the youngest CM of Delhi at 43.When Kejriwal became CM in December 2013 he was 45. With an undergraduate degree in History from the prestigious St Stephen’s College in 2001, she completed her Master’s from Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar.
AAP’s former CM Arvind Kejriwal has a new political guru in Congress MP and advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, instrumental in his enlargement on bail. Initial plans to reward Singhvi with Rajya Sabha seat failed, even blowing up in Kejriwal’s face over l’affaire Swati Maliwal, with Congress accommodating their estranged leader from Telangana instead. Senior BJP leader Mahendra Jain says, the non-resignation drama first, by Arvind Kejriwal, continuing during incarceration over five months and then, precipitating as two-day resignation drama played over worries about Delhi LG, VK Saxena’s imminent intention to seek his resignation following Supreme Court’s diktat against Kejriwal attending CMO, other official duties. While incarcerated, Kejriwal pretended to carry on as CM from jail although no government papers were signed by him over issues of confidentiality and directives of SC. Even his note to the LG seeking approval for AAP’s CM incumbent Atishi (Marlena Singh) hoisting the tricolour on August 15 was rejected by Saxena instead authorizing AAP minister Kailash Gehlot.” The LG took issue over Kejriwal’s access to official CMO letterhead over the communique with SC also curbing jail visitors thereafter. Plans to reach consensus over two days for better half Sunita Kejriwal as incumbent CM were shelved as LG would cite her unelected status with less than five months to state assembly elections in Delhi. With Atishi helming AAP, BJP lost no time raking up her parents’ leftist leaning as ideologues demanding release of parliament attack terrorist Afzal Guru. The saffron party insists moniker ‘Marlena’ was a combination appended to Atishi Singh’s name by parents assimilating leftist philosophers: Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.
Political parties have their own whims and fancy notions about good luck charms of their parliamentary party offices. That’s why when it comes to the new Parliament complex, it seems — both the Congress and the BJP– are reportedly being reluctant to move their parliamentary party offices from the old Parliament House. Both the offices are on the ground floor and have plenty of history to it. Of course ministers and the LoP do have their offices in the new complex. The only party which has moved into the new building is the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) which stormed to power in Andhra Pradesh winning 164 of 175 assembly seats in an electoral alliance with Janasena Party and the BJP and has 16 seats in Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha Secretariat allocated a new office, F09, to the TDP on the first floor of the new Parliament, a prime location that also houses the offices of the Prime Minister and Union Ministers. This change marks a transition from the party’s previous office, Room No 5, which was situated in the old Parliament building. Recalling how the YSRCP led by Jagan Mohan Reddy had occupied TDP’s office after party was routed in 2019 elections, a TDP source pointed out that in the 2019 LS polls, the YSRCP had swept the elections, winning 22 of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state and TDP was reduced to just 3 seats. Official sources said regional parties like DMK are also reluctant to move into the new Parliament complex.
A new star has joined the Indian insurance galaxy! Galaxy Health Insurance Co Ltd is the new addition. The birth of Galaxy signals the re-entry of yet one more family of the erstwhile TVS group into the insurance space. Significantly enough, this happens a few years after the formal legal separation of four families of the erstwhile TVS group. Galaxy Health Insurance is promoted by Venu Srinivasan and his family. V Jagannathan, former CMD of United India Insurance Company and the founder of Star Health & Allied Insurance, is the co-promoter. Industry stalwart G Srinivasan, former head of United India Insurance, is the MD & CEO. The Galaxy board comprises Dr Sai Satish, a renowned cardiologist, and Sudarshan Venu, MD of TVS Motor Company. Galaxy Insurance is all set to commence its operations shortly. Insurance business is nothing new to the Chennai-based TVS Group. It was the owner of Madras Motor and General Insurance before the industry’s nationalization. After nationalization, Madras Motor merged into United India Insurance. Subsequently, in the post-liberalization era, Sundaram Finance, initially promoted by Madras Motor, launched Royal Sundaram Insurance, a general insurance company. Ironically enough, two former heads of United India Insurance will be guiding Galaxy Health Insurance to make a mark in the space. The size of the Indian health insurance sector was estimated at Rs 1.17 lakh crore in FY 2024, and is currently growing at a CAGR of 20%. Post the legal separation, assorted organisations who once formed part of the erstwhile TVS group are now freely exploring the freedom of opportunity, it appears.
Top BJP minister Nitin Gadkari’s sensational disclosure that he had been offered support for Prime Ministership by a prominent opposition leader before the Lok Sabha election is considered significant owing to its crucial timing. Gadkari generally avoids commenting on political developments and does not entertain any media questions in this regard. Hence, his candid revelation has surprised the BJP brass, which has refrained from reacting to it. The opposition, by and large, also has kept away from the potential bombshell. Gadkari has refused to name the opposition leader who made this offer to him. But the political grapevine is on overdrive to identify the opposition emissary. Various algorithms are applied to find out who it could be. Is he from Maharashtra? From Nagpur or Vidarbha? A former BJP member? Close to Rahul Gandhi or Mallikarjun Kharge? Or someone having tacit approach to the RSS decision makers? Of course, all these are supposition without any factual backing. Still, the suspense is mounting in view of the coming assembly elections. It is deepened since Gadkari has declared on multiple occasions that he is not interested in the topmost job and is happy with his ministry. In the past, his name was being discussed to become the Maharashtra CM but he had firmly rejected the idea. His only connection now with the state elections is that he is one of the star BJP campaigners.
The ongoing RG Kar Medical College protests have cast a shadow over the Bengali film industry, with many in the fraternity struggling to return to work amid constant backlash and online trolling. While several actors, directors, and singers actively participated in the protests, some have gone back to work sparking mixed reactions from the public. The situation intensified after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s call to “return to festivities”. This statement was widely criticized. Amidst this political tension, prominent figures in the Bengali entertainment industry have found themselves facing undue criticism from netizens. Celebrities like singer Iman Chakraborty, actors Swastika Mukherjee, and Sohini Sarkar, all of whom supported the protests, became targets of online trolling. Swastika faced particular backlash after promoting her upcoming film Tekka, despite her regular attendance at protest rallies. Dev, who stars in Tekka and is also a Trinamool Congress MP, defended his stance, supporting the movement while stressing that livelihoods, especially during Durga Puja, should not be affected. He pointed out that marginalized groups, such as dhakis, decorators, and vendors, depend on the festive season. Singer Shilajit, another victim of online criticism, echoed similar sentiments. He defended the importance of continuing work, noting that events contribute significantly to artists’ earnings. Director Raj Chakraborty expressed concern over how easily celebrities become targets for trolls, leading many to avoid social media. Amid this growing tension, promotions for upcoming Puja releases, such as Bohurupi and Shastri, have been toned down to avoid further controversy. The Bengali film industry continues to navigate these challenging times with caution.
The mantle of head coach of the Indian cricket team has passed on smoothly from Rahul Dravid to Gautam Gambhir. The once famous ‘Wall’ of Indian cricket has returned to IPL’s Jaipur franchise, Rajasthan Royals, but the immediate focus will be on the doughty left hander from Delhi who showed guts and gumption for India across the three formats, scored 10324 runs in 242 matches embellished with two World Cup titles — the Twenty20 In 2007 and the 50 over format in 2011. Gambhir’s international career spanned from 2003 to 2016 after which he spent time as a BJP member of the Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024 before he joined Shah Rukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders. His success there has catapulted him to the national team that won the Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies in July. Gambhir’s first major work will be to facilitate India qualify for the final of the World Test Championship. India under Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri and Rohit Sharma and Dravid finished second best against New Zealand and Australia in the two previous cycles of the WTC, the finals being played in Rose Bowl and The Oval. India has to win at least five of the remaining 10 Test matches to be in the running for a third consecutive WTC final appearance, and this time the final will be played at the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground in London from June 11 next. Gambhir will have five home Tests — two against Bangladesh, starting this Thursday and three against New Zealand — before the historic five-Test series in Australia from November 22. Guiding India to the WTC summit before the ICC Champions Trophy in February- March 2025 in Pakistan will give a perspective about Gambhir’s coaching and mentoring philosophy.
A free burqa distribution programme organised by a Eknath Shinde camp legislator highlighted the uneasiness between the ruling alliance partners particularly over the Muslim vote bank. While the BJP did express its displeasure about such acts as “appeasement politics”, they clearly had to leave it at that. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena neither publicly disowned nor criticised the drive, thus recognising the need to woo core voters. The MLA concerned, Yamini Jadhav recently lost from the prominent Mumbai South Parliamentary constituency by over 50,000 votes mainly due to the fact that the Muslim voters there chose to throw their weight behind Uddhav’s nominee, Arvind Sawant. The fact that 50% of voters in her Mazgaon constituency are Muslims, could not have been lost on her as she faces her electorate yet again to reclaim her MLA seat. All this, while the prominent alliance partner, the BJP continues to adopt an aggressive pro-Hindu pitch with Nitesh Rane’s diatribe against Muslims being the order of the day. The BJP has also been critical of Uddhav’s recent success in garnering the support of the Muslim vote bank terming it as a result of not being sincere to core Hindu ideology. The third partner, Ajit Pawar, has already clarified that he would continue to be secular, in spite of his alliance with the BJP. Pawar has gone ahead and almost-declared the candidatures in key Muslim-dominated seats like Bandra East (Zeeshan Siddiqi) and Anushakti Nagar (Nawab Malik’s daughter Sana Malik) ignoring the BJP.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin said he would be seeking an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and personally request him to release funds meant for the second phase of the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) project as well as the funds due to the State under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) relating to school education. Both funds have been blocked by the Centre. His finance minister Thangam Thennarasu has already issued a statement hitting out at the Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for saying that the ongoing CMRL second phase for Chennai was a State sector project. He had pointed out that the project envisaged in 2017 was a central sector project in which the Union government’s share had worked out to Rs 7,425 crore. He also refuted a statement by Ms Sitharaman that the state had spent only Rs 5,880 crore on the 119-km phase II whereas the state had already expended more than Rs 18,000 crore so far. The step motherly treatment being meted out to Tamil Nadu, considered the last bastion against the ruling BJP is borne out by the fact that funds allocated for Metro Rail schemes in cities like Bengaluru (Rs 30,399 crore), Kochi (Rs 1,957 crore), Nagpur (Rs 6,708 crore), Pune (Rs 910 crore) and Thane (Rs 12,200 crore), are all from the Centre’s kitty while not even what was promised for Chennai Metro expansion has been delivered.
Even as film fans across the country are wildly speculating about divorce in the Bachchan’s family comes the news from Kollywood that Jayam Ravi, one of the most dependable performers (the standout star of Ponniyin Selvan) dropped a bombshell on his 44th birthday (Sept 9) that he is seeking divorce from wife Aarti after 15 years of marriage. The couple have two children. A shell shocked Aarti, a successful entrepreneur in her own right, said “Ravi did not consult me, nor was I aware that he is about to drop this bombshell on me and the kids. This unilateral announcement never gave me a chance …much as I tried to talk to him.” Coincidentally, Ravi’s first hit, M.Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi was a film that touched the hearts of many. It is about a single mother who brings up her son with no help from a husband who walked out on the marriage. Ironically, Ravi asking for divorce will see Aarti face a similar predicament. Aarti is the daughter of successful TV serial producer Sujatha Vijayakumar. Has Ravi come to the end of his tether because of perceived interference of his in-law? Inspite of his busy schedule, Ravi has always given quality time for his family says sources. No one is aware of the real reason for Ravi’s ultimate break decision. But the way he has done it made Aarti lament, “My grace and individuality have been knocked out by the media speculations.” She still hopes for a rapprochement. Marriages are made in heaven, but hit the rocks in this fantasy world of tinsel make believe.
It was admirable the way an American told the international media what cricket is all about and the reason for the noble game to be included as a medal event at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. At the Main Press Centre at Palais De Congress in Paris on August 10, Casey Wasserman, Chairman and CEO of LA28 summed up the team game saying: “Cricket is what makes the sun rise and sun set daily.” India’s Squash players can hope to play at the LA28, but what enthused the spectacled American Wasserman — he must have got an idea of cricket seeing the recent ICC Men’s World T20 in New York and Florida — about cricket was the fact of more than one billion people following the game. One of the great cities in the USA, Los Angeles will offer three medals — gold, silver and bronze — to the winner of the Twenty20 competition, an event India would fancy winning the gold! On the penultimate day of the 33rd Summer Olympics in Paris, the organising committee of LA28 got an opportunity to make a presentation at the MPC where it said that over hundred people involved to plan and execute the games four years later are in Paris to watch how the French delivered its third modern Olympics and that the 34th games will be “Authentically Los Angeles”. With a humongous interest already existent in Los Angeles for cricket — with a large South Asian diaspora in the State of California — tickets will be sold out for matches featuring India and this fact is the reason that made Wasserman give a novel description to a sport that has not caught on with the American natives yet, but has the potential to become a hit, financially!
Winds of change are visible here. And, this change must bring a world of good to this organisation, which had almost slipped into oblivion. Kothari Industrial Corporation (KICL) is turning over a new leaf with a fresh management team. It has put the organization firmly back on track. A non-leather footwear park at the backward district of Tamil Nadu is already under way. With focus fixed on beefing up domestic production, this new team has gone at an hectic pace in putting together multiple alliances to make the upcoming park a role model for the country. Managing Director Jinnah Rafiq Ahmed is consumed by a passion to bring the past glory back to this once iconic organisation in the Dravidian land. Under his captaincy, KICL has already returned to the stock market following the re-listing of its shares. Right now, Jinnah Rafiq Ahmed is leading the KICL management with a deep sense of ownership! As he gets into a mission mode, KICL has just inked an alliance with OTB Industria e Comercio de Componentes e Technologia Ltda, (OTB) Franca of Brazil to set up a joint venture company to manufacture and market invisible pens and innovative solutions for shoe components. The joint venture will also explore the possibility of making UV (ultra violet) lights, which will help in identifying the marking. For the joint venture – Kothari OTB India Limited – the complete technology will come from the Brazilian partner. The Indian partner will hold majority shares in the joint venture. Jinnah Rafiq Ahmed is determined to use KICL as a fulcrum to provide jobs to women in backward areas of Tamil Nadu.
There has always been a love-hate relationship between the Bollywood stars and scribes. Not to forget the paparazzi. A seasoned journalist covering the industry for over three decades was shocked and surprised to see the way stars are snapping at journos and their menacing tone these days. This seems more pronounced in the past few months. At the press conference of John Abraham-Sharvari starrer Vedaa, John was visibly annoyed when a reporter asked him whether he was playing safe by doing the same kind of roles. In the case of Akshay Kumar, he is avoiding giving interviews …and he is very selective to which journalist he will speak to. Before journos ask for consecutive failure of his films, Akshay preempts them and says “only five films” have flopped. But, he forgets the crores of rupees producers have lost. One producer had to put his office on the block to pay his entire crew. And the new trend is all stars are asking reporters to give questions in advance. Inspite of that Sanjay Dutt at a press conference over UK denying him visa made a boo-boo in one of the answers to a question, why he was signing for villain’s role these days? And it seems Ajay Devgn avoids promoting films and his latest movie with Tabu Auron Mein Kahan Dum saw a meagre collection of Rs 10 crore in the first eight days. Most of the Bollywood stars need to understand that they need to connect with the media to connect with their ‘audiences’. It is clear banning or shunning the media does not work for stars or scribes. In the eighties Big B had banned media for nearly a decade but finally smoked a peace pipe.
Even as the political upmanship within the MVA alliance partners (UBT Shiv Sena, Sharad Pawar NCP and Anamika as yet Congress) heightens in the run up to the Maha state assemblies scheduled in October/November 2024, the ‘Marathi Manoos’ party founded by journalist turned politician Balasaheb Thackeray is confounded by the recently concluded Lok Sabha poll results. According to Senior BJP leader Mahendra Jain, the Shiv Sena that predominantly enjoyed a healthy 15 to 16% vote share in Mumbai and Thane comprising loyal Marathi speaking voters saw this dwindling down to a mere 6%. They enjoyed the advantage of their MVA alliance (read Dalit and Muslim votes in four parliamentary seats otherwise accruing to the Congress and NCP) but, their core voter base has gone down. As reported in shortpost.in, both Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar’s political formations have now officially staked claim to the CM’s post in Maharashtra even as the BJP has deployed the Raj Thackeray headed MNS to further cut down the UBT Sena voter base in the forthcoming state assemblies. To spite the UBT Sena, Sharad Pawar has also begun engaging more proactively with Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde while the Congress is as yet non-committal about its CM face that post elections the same would be addressed. A UBT Sena affiliated political analyst insists that the BJP dominated ‘Yuti’ alliance exposes their political desperation to try to alter the inevitable outcome of the forthcoming state assemblies by employing political diversions that will most likely come to naught once again.
Kollywood gave her a special place as an artist who bloomed late. When Jyotika starred in her first Tamil film Vaali in 1999, with a plump, almost girl next door look, she was nowhere as well-known as her more trending sister Nagma. But Jyotika did justice to every role and soon emerged as a bankable actor. More than her films, her romantic link with Kollywood heartthrob Suriya were tracked by film buffs. And it finally happened…the movie that starred them as the pivotal pair, Kakka Kaakha whizzed into film annals as one of the most watched and liked. With on screen chemistry crackling, Jyotika and Suriya married in 2006, and father-in-law, thespian Shivakumar and family’s initial fears later transformed into acceptance. Jyotika’s 50th Tamil film Udanpirappe was praised but her box office status seemed to have plateaued. And the need to seek new environs for Suriya and herself became a compulsive need. She moved to Mumbai, her original home, claiming better education for her kids, and more film prospects for the pair. Of course, the murmur of family discord could be heard too. Jyotika it seems wanted to revive her career and relaunch herself and Suriya in Bollywood. Shaitaan, the Hindi horror with Ajay Devgn and Madhavan did not do much for her. But suddenly, and most unwittingly Jyotika, caught the attention of netizens for her dress choice at the Filmfare awards. A group trolled her brutally for showing off her inner wear. Jyotika and her style statement got her the attention she craved. Will film offer flow?
Controversy seems to be the middle name of VK Pandian, ex-private secretary of former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. After a big setback to the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, Pandian had gone under the radar. But he is not lucky. BJP is hell bent on exposing his abuse, misuse and misappropriation of state machinery, public money and power. According to the BJP, Pandian has taken advantage of Patnaik’s failing health and is seeking a probe. It seems Pandian used the State helicopter services round-the-year — to visit 147 constituencies during elections. He is not entitled to such a facility going by the protocol. Former chief minister Patnaik defended his “helicopter ride” saying he had asked Pandian to visit the people at their doorsteps and understand their grievances. “There was no misuse of public money on Pandian’s helicopter ride as the state spent Rs 1-1.5 crore per month on chopper rides all through the year,” said Patnaik. But, this number contradicts with former BJD’s minister Tukuni Sahu’s figure of Rs 10-12 crore on an average spent in a year. Congress seems to have welcomed BJP’s move to investigate Pandian’s expensive tours. According to current Odisha’s Transport Minister Bibhuti Bhushan Jena as per the government rules, the Governor, Ministers, Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, MLA’s, Development Commissioner, Deputy Chairperson of State Planning Board and Chief Justice of Odisha High Court are authorised to use helicopters for official duty. This apart, CM can also give special approval to any other person on merit. Strangely, even after filing RTI, no data has been made available of the expenses incurred by Pandian on his chopper tours. There is speculation mining companies may have funded Pandian’s helicopter election tour.
Kerala Forest Minister AK Saseendran broke down while consoling people looking for their missing family member days after the devastating landslides in Wayanad district. The minister, who visited the landslide-hit areas, spoke to a father and son who were seen searching at the spot where their house once stood. Saseendran turned emotional while listening to the painful words and concerns of the hapless family and embraced the boy to console him. “I never thought in my life that I would have to see such a sight. What reply should I give them?” Saseendran asked. Meanwhile, there was high praise for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Wayanad where he spent two hours more than scheduled at the relief camp for survivors where he saw and heard firsthand the extent of the landslide tragedy that struck the area, killing at least 300 people (official tally 229) and another 200 (official tally 130) still missing. The entire state machinery having swung into action to tend to survivors, there has been no dearth of empathy for what happened to the people living in the eco-sensitive region. The PMs genuine message that he would spare no effort in helping Kerala and sending financial help towards rehabilitation after receiving a report from the state was welcomed by the CM.
Life is a long-haul race. Those who stay on course win the ultimate accolade. A quitter never wins. So said the legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar in his book Sunny Days. Ask Rajiv Reddy. He will gladly vouch for these. Just back from the Olympics extravaganza in Paris, the indefatigable Reddy has retained the Squash Champion title in Masters’ category at the 80th National Squash Championship in Mumbai. Age has never been a factor for him. But Rajiv Reddy is all passion-driven. He had taken to the sport when he was 36 years old, just after he had become a member of the MCC in 1987. Since then, it has been a one jolly good ride for him. In 2000, he went on to win his first national championship title in the over-45 year category. Since then, titles came to him in rapid succession. In 2019, he won the title in the over 65-year category, instituted only that year at the championship. Age is a mere number, said Hema Malini once. An ever-fit Rajiv Reddy, who sports a permanently friendly countenance, is an age-defying sport personality. If his enthusiasm is anything to go by, this ever-green sports person has an unalloyed propensity to ever stay wedded to the game of Squash. A player, referee, coach and what not, Rajiv Reddy is an all-encompassing sports personality. Staying in the game permanently is what makes him a role model for young ones in the sporting community.
Looks like none of the political coalitions in Maharashtra, be it the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) or Mahayuti, wants to face that prickly question. No one really wants more chaos than what is already playing out in Maharashtra politics and importantly no one wants to rock the boat of coalition politics. While Sanjay Raut fired the first salvo to raise the pitch for Uddhav Thackeray as CM candidate followed by Uddhav taking to New Delhi with wife and son in tow, to meet the Congress leadership on this. The Congress though chose to ignore his bid, choosing to state that the party with the highest tally would get to hoist its CM. The NCP too has refused to get into this issue, instead pointing at how the ruling Mahayuti has failed to name its nominee for the top seat in state. Though the BJP has decided to go to polls under the leadership of Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, its chief leader here, Devendra Fadnavis, expected to move to New Delhi to take over as the new party president. Fadnavis himself had mentioned that true to the new trend set by their party in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, pretty much anyone could become the CM here. The ambitious Ajit Pawar, did publicly voice how despite being senior to both Shinde and Fadnavis, he had missed out on the CM bus. While politically things continue to be vague about the face of the next CM, smaller leaders commanding much lesser legislator support numbers like Raj Thackeray (Maharashtra Navnirman Sena), Bachchu Kadu (Prahar Janshakti Party) and even Imtiaz Jaleel (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen) have got banners proclaiming them as future CM.
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.