As veteran leader Sharad Pawar’s meeting with his one-time loyalist Praful Patel at his hospital room became viral within seconds, the old topic of possible merger of the two factions of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has taken a new turn. While several NCP dissidents are distressed at the prospect of the reunion, there is a bevy of allegations and retorts. The main focus of the ire appears senior leader and NCP (Ajit) MP Sunil Tatkare. Some Ajit Pawar loyalists have come down heavily against Tatkare, charging that at every drop of a hat, he changes his earlier statements. More serious is the charge that Tatkare wanted to become the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra after Ajit’s untimely death earlier this year. Tatkare’s supporters have dismissed at such effort on his part. In fact, the flurry of allegations began after Tatkare disclosed that the merger of the two NCP factions was to take place in February this year, as directed by Ajit Pawar. However, the air crash that claimed Ajit’s life along with some others totally destroyed the time table. The rumours began flowing afresh after Sharad Pawar told Praful Patel that their next meeting will be after 10 November. As Pawar hinted, or as it is propagated, there could be discussions on the merger. The scenario is totally bewildering for workers of both NCP factions and the only choice for them is to wait and watch.

India’s former Chief Justice B R Gavai’s opinion on the political imbroglio at the ‘Gokul’ milk producers’ cooperative in Kolhapur became a talk of the town since the body has elected 13 directors opposed to the state’s ruling Mahayuti alliance, which managed to win 12 seats, thus creating a deadlock. The Mahayuti government then got an ordinance issued through the State Governor to provide for nomination of five directors on any institution having turnover exceeding Rs 500 crore a year. Thus, the ruling alliance’s majority now can be shown at the next meeting of the directors. Meanwhile, reports became viral that Gavai had expressed the view that the state government should not to resort to issuing the ordinance. Though Gavai has not commented on the news, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has explained that Gokul is limited to just a small area of the state and hence has not a very large field of influence. About Gavai’s reported advice, Fadnavis said perhaps Gavai was not apprised of the entire set of situations. Elaborating on his remark, the CM said if the stalemate at Gokul continued, ultimately it would be ruled by the district deputy registrar of the cooperation department, thus indirectly putting it under the government. Instead, because of the ordinance, the Gokul board will be able to function according to its own wisdom.  Fadnavis reiterated that his government had no intention of interfering into the affairs of the largest cooperative milk federation in Maharashtra.

Nothing has pleased the average Congress worker in Punjab than the manner in which Rahul Gandhi launched an all-out attack on AAP chief minister Bhagwant Mann. From picking on widespread use of psychotropic drug “chitta” in the state to fondly remembering how rapper Siddhu Moosewala was claimed by violence in the state in 2022, Rahul charged the AAP government of misgovernance. He personally charged Mann of indiscretions — recalling how as Lok Sabha MP, Bhagwant Mann used to reek of alcohol in Parliament. “Many years back, I had said that drugs are spreading in Punjab. The BJP and the Akali Dal at that time said Rahul Gandhi does not know anything about Punjab, downplaying the drug menace. Today, ‘chitta‘ (adulterated heroin) is a major issue in the state,” he said. Recalling that the AAP government was formed after people placed their trust in the party that it will end the drug menace in Punjab. “In Lok Sabha, he (Mann) used to crack jokes sitting with us. At 11 am, he smelled of alcohol. I am not saying Bhagwant Mann should not consume alcohol; it is his personal matter. But if you want to fight drugs, the chief minister can’t get intoxicated every evening,” he said. Congress sources say Rahul Gandhi may not have been comfortable commenting on Mann’s personal habits but it helped convey a strong message ahead of the state elections. Meanwhile, defending Mann, AAP wondered why Rahul was not speaking against UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath or Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Dhami. The party felt Rahul was using Mann as a “soft target”.

It is being learnt that Congress leader Praveen Chakravarty, a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, is hoping to be Tamil Nadu Finance Minister. A Rajya Sabha MP from the state, Praveen has apparently moved quite close to TVK leaders and chief minister C Joseph Vijay; he has been sorting out tricky issues of dealing with the Centre for the new dispensation in Chennai. Anticipating his possible elevation, he even battled   critics predicting a dip in GST collections; he had taken on former BJP leader K Annamalai. It is being said Praveen would only be too happy to have a ministerial role as the CM Vijay is not happy with the present incumbent — Marie Wilson. Vijay is reportedly looking for a finance specialist to handle the department. Well then does Praveen qualify for the assignment? Perhaps in a limited way as he has worked as an investment banker and angel investor before joining the Congress. However, with just five Congress MLAs backing the TVK government will the Finance Portfolio not be too hefty a department to be shared with an ally?

The 1997 Pongal release hit film Minsara Kanavu (The electric dream) turned into a sarcastic slogan when Tamil Nadu had frequent power outages. The film, Tamil language romantic comedy starring Prabhu Deva and Kajol was a hit. Then followed a power cut regime, with lights off, turning the mood dark. The sloganeering Tamilian belted, “Minsarame Kanavu”(we only dream of electricity). Somehow the just defeated DMK government managed to keep the lights on, at least most of the time. The much-taunted Power Minister, V Senthil Balaji miraculously juggled the state’s gargantuan energy needs, buying from neighbouring grids and keeping the lights on. Woefully, the regime change has brought back frequent power cuts and an uncertain situation. At a recent AIADMK public meeting chaired by AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami or EPS at Maraimalinagar, he tore into the TVK’s frequent power failure in no uncertain terms. Just looking at the steep increase in rates can give you an electric shock. Minister Nirmal Kumar is busy giving interviews even as the public suffers a 110% increase for buying electricity is not justified. During the DMK rule, price per unit was Rs 20 now it’s around Rs 37.50 to Rs 41.50 per unit.  Inspite of higher rate, the tax payer still has to face power cuts. Has EPS seen a ray of light when he concluded “Times will change”. EPS turns cynical criticism to hope.

While Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi’s government has achieved landmark success in securing high-level investment proposals, it is now facing a major social security pension crisis. There are three months delay in social security payment in Odisha, impacting over 20 lakh vulnerable elderly beneficiaries. This issue is now cutting into BJP’s perception gap — the way it is handling its public facilities. What comes out clear is the government’s inept handling of public service facilities spread across policy inertia, coordination gaps, slow decision making and visible gap in mutual trust. However, Odisha government official position remains unchanged so far — it believes the issue will get resolved in phases due to software and portals integration glitches. Taking this opportunity, the Naveen Patnaik led opposition Biju Janata Dal has publicly threatened a state-wide stir if pension delivery mechanism is not swiftly regularised. Even, BJP’s MPs are pressurising the Odisha government to resolve this issue quickly. BJP’s Berhampur MP Pradeep Panigrahy has demanded pension disbursal in cash until the software-related issues are resolved and urged the government to direct district collectors to personally monitor the dissatisfaction situation. The Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik says the delay due to software-related issues reflects grave negligence on the part of government’s basic responsibility, as people’s rights cannot be left at the mercy of technological failures.  

Brahminical Veda mantras for a political high wattage wedding hit the high decibels. DMK ultras are now demanding veteran leader Durai Murugan resign from the party for his ideological compromise in conducting grand-daughter Senthamarai’ marriage. She is the daughter of Kadhir Anand, Durai Murugan’s son and high-profile MP from Vellore. After the passing of Anna, Kalaignar and Anbazhagan, Durai Murugan was seen as Stalin’s conscience-keeper and guiding force. Of late, the incidents of both not concurring on issues are evident. Yet Stalin publicly shows respect. On November 1, one of Chennai’s best known mandaps showcased a lavish wedding …even the feast was curated according to global and Indian menus …labelled according to regions. But what irked the predominant DMK crowd was the presence of a posse of Brahmin priests conducting the holy ceremony. The guests of honour, Stalin and wife Durga, whose pictures adorned even the invites. Hypocrisy runs high in such parties …as the Hindi heartland proverb goes “Haathi ke daant khane ke ek, dikhane ke aur”. The party monolith and its schmaltzy sycophants are now demanding Durai Murugans ouster for ideological compromise. When Durga Stalin as the CM’s wife and first lady visited several temples and accepted Poorna khumbam from temple priests, the same coterie kept silent. Durai Murugan has reaped every benefit of power …he is not going to wilt under pressure of sycophants. A lavish wedding by a well-known political family …conducted according to their wish.

Sunil Gavaskar was at the famous venue in South Mumbai on Monday (Nov 2) to see Mumbai gnash its teeth and display a bit of “khadoosgiri” against a resurgent Railways in an Elite group match of the Ranji Trophy. Some 56 years ago, the little master made his Ranji Trophy debut (in the 1969-70 Semi-final) against Mysore at the Brabourne and thereafter went on to play 10 more Ranji Trophy matches at the venue before playing many more at the Wankhede Stadium. It was his early first-class centuries in the Ranji Trophy that hastened his selection for the 1970-71 tour of the West Indies. He did not get to see the Mumbai openers Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Divyansh Saxena raise 109 off 191 balls, but saw a bit of unyielding show by skipper Siddhesh Lad and Sarfaraz Khan. Mumbai, which made a clean sweep of the first three league matches to stack up 21 points, felt the heat in the post-lunch session. Gavaskar, who played 77 matches for Bombay (60-odd in the Ranji Trophy), makes it a point to stay in touch with domestic cricket and fresh talent, especially the new kids on the block from Mumbai. He scored 5,898 for Mumbai with a gargantuan 340 against Bengal in a Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match at the Wankhede Stadium in 1982. Mumbai put up a stout show of defiance before losing its way to the Railways fast bowlers in the second and third session on the first day of the match. Gavaskar saw all the action from the Anandji Dossa Library and ought to have been pleased to see the Mumbai boys in one of the world’s oldest multi-day competitions.

After days of build-up to this day for the November 1 rally of Opposition Parties’ on Ramlila Ground in New Delhi, it was a huge disappointment. Imagine party cadres of over a dozen political parties had gathered but they all had to disperse without a firm agenda for future action. That too in a poll season. How would the Opposition parties be able to take on the BJP and ruling NDA without a coherent plan? It was all because Rahul Gandhi who for some reason had worked up  grievance against the Election Commission for the Congress’s inability to win elections and organised  movement  of political parties against the CEC and the Modi government, inexplicably abandoned his plans to challenge them politically and fell back on his familiar “love ki dukaan” option. Yes, he now seemed comfortable sending out goodwill to each one of his targets. What made Rahul Gandhi change his tack? Did he realise that he will never be able to oust CEC Gynesh Kumar?  Or realises he has no case against the CEC? In fact, it was left to Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to do some reality check and use the opportunity of the rally to amp up the message for UP Assembly elections to be held early next year. Akhilesh raised all the relevant election issues including chanda chori at Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir. He launched a sharp attack on the ruling BJP and the Election Commission for the way Pilibhit assembly voter’s list had been manipulated.

It is learnt that former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar (2009-2014) was very reluctant to preside over the so-called INDIA bloc session of the Mock Parliament held on October 31. Having once presided over the august office, she had problems about it even being called the “Mock Parliament”. It was apparently at her instance that Congress leaders agreed to recast it as a “People’s Impeachment” (Jan Mahabhiyog) at 10 Rajaji Marg, the New Delhi residence of Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge. Being daughter of Congress stalwart Jagjivan Ram, Meira Kumar may have been an ideal choice for the Opposition to preside over its meeting but did it help the Opposition win the narrative? Not quite. PM Modi simply proved to be leagues ahead. It was in the manner in which National Unity Day was celebrated at Ekta Nagar, Gujarat this year.  A major highlight was a theatrical presentation on Naxal Mukt Bharat by the National School of Drama, featuring around 2,000 artists drawn from 126 districts that had witnessed armed Naxalism. Through their performances, the artists portrayed the struggles experienced by communities when armed Naxalism threatened their lives and property. The parade featured an estimated 10,000 personnel drawn from the Police and Paramilitary Forces. A key highlight was participation of 144 women commandos of the District Reserve Guard, specially deployed on the Bastar front, who had proven their bravery in anti-Naxal operations. However, the icing on the cake was vintage PM Modi all over again as he took on the Opposition. On the back of a World Bank report lauding India for reducing poverty from 26% to 2% and lifting 50 crore Indians from poverty, Modi thumbed his nose at Gandhi siblings saying Garibi Hatao wasn’t just a slogan for him. Meanwhile the buzz is cousin Varun Gandhi– Sanjay Gandhi’s son– could possibly join the Congress at the Ram Leela rally.