Nothing has come more as a shock for the Congress than its meltdown in the Bihar assembly elections. The party which had 19 MLAs in the outgoing assembly didn’t expect a wash-out particularly after Rahul Gandhi had carried out a much-hyped ‘Voters Adhikar rally’ in September, with a common slogan: “Vote chor, gaddi chhod”. Of course, party sources concede that Rahul’s yatra had not resonated on the ground. In fact, many Congress leaders believe Rahul had focussed on non-issues “like vote chori” just to divert from people’s real problems. What has come as a shock for Bihar Congress leaders is that new entrants like Asauddin Owaisi’s AIMIM seemed to have fared well in Seemanchal leading in as many five seats, quite close to Congress’s own tally of six seats. Analysing the Bihar victory, PM Modi described the overwhelming mandate for the NDA– 204 seats out 243 as a vote for vikas, for development. Modi who invoked prayers to Chhati Mayya and took on Rahul for mocking Chhath Puja. It is learnt that Rahul is in Muscat.  Sources feel Congress party’s bad performance was because it could not get good seats to contest — of the 61 seats it got to contest, 32 were such seats that the Opposition had not won for the last three decades. Bihar Congress leaders also said party managers like Krishna Allavaru were completely not briefed about the quality of seats. Some also felt inordinate delay in seat-sharing and declaring Tejashwi Yadav as the chief ministerial candidate may have cost the secular alliance votes. As for the rout of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress sources say people find Tejashwi Yadav too arrogant. After the Bihar rout, Congress may not find many takers in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

With the Bihar election results clearly going in favour of the NDA and meltdown of the RJD, PM Modi said, “Bihar mein RJD ko saanp soongha hua hain” and then went on to add “I said during the Bihar elections, the conflict between the two parties will soon come to the fore” Today’s victory is the beginning of a new journey. I assure you that in the coming five years, Bihar will progress at a faster pace. The world will see Bihar’s new potential. A number of Muslim women had also voted for the NDA. Modi said “With the new government, the NDA is now moving forward towards a golden journey of 25 years in Bihar. Bihar has ensured that Jungle Raj will never return to this great land of Bihar. Today’s victory belongs to the youth of Bihar whose future was ruined by the terror of Congress and the Red Flag people. Today, that Red Corridor, those days of terror, are history. Bihar is moving forward on the path of development, and this journey is not going to stop now.” He congratulated the Election Commission, security forces and the conscious voters of Bihar. The Bihar elections have proven another thing. Now, the country’s voters, especially young voters, take voter list purification very seriously. And he said he plans to take Bihar’s message of Mahila & Youth empowerment to West Bengal. It’s interesting to see how the SIR plays out in this state.

Nothing has more shaken the incumbent Modi government than the blasts near Red Fort. The blasts shook the national capital after a gap of 14 years. PM Narendra Modi, who is away on a two-day visit to Bhutan conveyed his resolve to punish those involved in the blasts. Warning that the horrific blast in Delhi on November 10 evening has deeply pained everyone. India stands with those who have suffered, PM Modi said “I assure everyone that the agencies will get to the bottom of the entire conspiracy. All those involved will be brought to justice.” He spoke both in Hindi and English from Bhutan reminding many political watchers of his utterances before Operation Sindoor. In fact, it is believed that the nation could well be on the verge of launching Operation Sindoor 2 as agencies uncover the real perpetrators. It is felt Pakistan may feel encouraged to experiment with some misadventure as it enjoys unstinted backing of the U.S. President Donald Trump. Modi has held extensive consultations with Home Minister Amit Shah. Shah has already held four meetings with security agencies. The government will not proceed with any Op Sindoor till security agencies neutralise all jihadi networks in the country. Interestingly, the Al-Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana where the suicide bomber and his colleagues worked was set up in 2015. There are also reports that Umar made trips to Tamil Nadu.

The BJP central leadership is watching with interest the tantrums that its former Tamil Nadu state president K Annamalai is throwing. Even as he dismissed reports that he may launch a new party, it seems Annamalai may not last in the BJP for long. He expressed his discontent by saying none can put a gun to one’s head and force a person to remain in a party. Annamalai has been sulking ever since Nainar Nagendran replaced him as TN BJP president in April this year. Sources in BJP headquarters say Annamalai has been working overtime to undermine Nainar and weaken the AIADMK-BJP alliance. Though he officially maintains that “the NDA should win” the 2026 Assembly elections, it is being said he is not comfortable with the idea of AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) clinching a win. He is also known to have played a role in bringing together former AIADMK leaders like VK Sasikala, KA Sengottaiyan and O Panneerselvam. More than these disparate groups of former AIADMK leaders, Annamalai’s real interest is in floating a new party and striking an alliance with actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). With Vijay recently declaring that the 2026 Assembly elections would be a contest only between the TVK and the DMK, virtually writing off the AIADMK-BJP alliance, Annamalai may feel more encouraged to float his own outfit. But then the future of leaders who have quit the BJP to launch their own outfit has not been very bright. From late Kalyan Singh (UP) to BS Yediyurappa (Karnataka) to Shankersinh Vaghela (Gujarat). They have all floundered. Meanwhile, the ruling DMK is also welcoming into its fold former AIADMK leaders such as PH Manoj Pandian, son of former Speaker PH Pandian. Pandian charged AIADMK of “functioning as an extension of the BJP.”

Reports of a close contest between the NDA and Mahagathbandhan in Bihar polls have led to leaders resorting to a unique style to grab eyeballs and attention. With the last day of campaign closing in on Nov 4 for the first phase poll on Nov 6, both sides seemed to be putting their best foot forward and sharpening political attacks. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath compared the bonding of Rahul Gandhi-Tejaswi Yadav-Akhilesh Yadav to Gandhi’s three monkeys as Pappu,Tappu and Appu. Interestingly, on a day PM Modi was holding a road show in Patna (Nov 2), Rahul, away from the state capital, in Begusarai, while interacting with fishermen, jumped into the pond for fishing. He was accompanied by VIP leader Mukesh Sahani, who is also from the Nishad/fishermen community and Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar. Incidentally Rahul’s fishing optics seemed odd as it came in the backdrop of him charging the PM of “doing yoga asanas” for a few votes. And had warned voters that post elections all the “song and dance will be done by Adani and Ambani”. Modi, at a rally in Katihar on Nov 3, reiterated that the NDA government after being voted to power would hand out fishermen an allowance of Rs 9000. Incidentally, Lalu’s eldest son Tej Pratap Yadav, who heads Janshakti Janata Dal took a dig at Rahul’s fishing trip saying “Jalebi chhanna, machli pakadna, unko toh rasoiya hona chaiye tha(He makes sweets, catches fish, he should have been a cook) Why did he become a politician?”

Former Indian cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin joined the Telangana government on October 31, barely 10 days ahead of Jubilee Hills assembly by-election to be held on November 11. Azhar’s elevation as minister is being widely seen as an attempt to secure the support of Muslim community — about 1.3 lakh voters for the Congress in the high-stakes contest. Congress high command also wanted Azharuddin’s induction ahead of Bihar assembly elections. It is likely that as minister, Azhar will get a couple of days to campaign in Bihar. “Azhar’s entry will help us consolidate Muslim votes. Not just in Telangana but also in Bihar. Hyderabad MP and AIMIM leader Asauddin Owaisi, who is opposing us in Bihar has endorsed his elevation,” points out senior Congress leader Madhu Goud Yaskhi. Owaisi’s support for Azhar and the Congress is important at this stage as Telangana CM Revanth Reddy is keen to wrest the Jubilee Hills seat. Incidentally, Azhar had lost from Jubilee Hills in 2023 to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). The by-election has been caused following the death of three term BRS MLA Maganti Gopinath. Even though BRS is not in a great shape at present, it has fielded Gopinath’s widow, Sunitha as its candidate hoping to cash in on a sympathy wave. As a Minister Azhar, he will enter the Telangana legislature as a MLC and that will be possible only after the Supreme Court paves the way. In August, the apex court had suspended the functioning of two MLCs, holding that their swearing-in under the governor’s quota was not valid and was based on a misinterpretation of its interim order. Meanwhile, did Azhar’s entry upset traditional Muslim leaders of the Congress? Not many leaders left anyway. Barring exception of Md Shabeer Ali, say sources.

The Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is one clear candidate in the reckoning who wishes to be elevated as the next BJP President. He is so coveting the top job that it is being said that both he and family are invoking blessings of the gods to secure it. On an official visit last week to Vellore, Tamil Nadu Chouhan was seen along with his wife Sadhna Singh offering special prayers at Sri Lakshmi Narayani Golden Temple in Vellore. The buzz in party circles is that the idea of offering prayers could probably be Sadhna Singh’s idea as she has been keen that Chouhan get more heft in his career by making a switch to an important party post. His family clearly sees that he would perhaps be wielding far more clout as BJP chief than as a member of the Modi Cabinet 3.0. As a four-term Madhya Pradesh CM and a prominent OBC face he would certainly fit the bill. Chouhan had also met with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. Officially Chouhan has maintained that he “never ever thought of nor has anyone told me.  I can’t even think of it. I am the Agriculture and Rural Development Minister. I am doing this work like worship. Serving farmers is worship of God for me and I want to keep doing this worship.” He moved to the Centre as a Union Minister only after securing Madhya Pradesh for a record fifth time in 2023 assembly polls. In Vellore, he participated in Maha Chandi Havan for world peace.

Both Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar (DKS) are locked in an intense battle to wrest control of the State. Siddaramaiah fancies he will continue as the CM because of the loyalty and support of the majority of 138 elected Congress MLAs in 224 member House. DKS feels he should be the CM since as PCC chief he had ensured that the Congress swept to power in the 2023 assembly elections. Besides, DKS is confident that High Command will back him. It may be recalled when he was jailed in a ED case and Sonia Gandhi had visited him in Tihar.  If DKS plays the High Command card, Siddaramaiah is no push over either. As a CM, he is dangling the Cabinet reshuffle card to keep MLAs by his side. He also used his MLC son Dr Yathindra to prop up PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi — a tribal leader — as an ideological heir to his father. Jarkiholi was apparently used as a perfect foil to block AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge who is now very keen to become the CM. It is being said DKS has assured Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge, who is state IT minister to back him and has assured him that he could become Deputy CM in his team. It is being said Karnataka drama would play out only after November 14– that is after Bihar poll results. Meanwhile, the political struggle of oneupmanship between DKS and Siddaramaiah has brought Karnataka administration to a standstill. Siddaramaiah who favours Mysuru over Bengaluru, doesn’t care much for the software capital of India.

Barely a week is left for campaigning for the first phase of election in Bihar to end on November 4 and the first phase of voting is slated for November 6. However, former Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has not visited Bihar even once in the last two months. Rahul was last seen in Bihar on September 1 while concluding his ‘Voters’ Adhikar Yatra’.  With his Vote Chori campaign not making much impact with voters in the state, it appears Rahul has steered away from the state. Rahul’s absence from the political scene has also become a talking point for the ruling alliance. Mocking him for his claims to explode a hydrogen bomb (by giving further proof of vote theft), JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar wondered why Rahul was avoiding Bihar. “That too at a time when all the top leaders, be it PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, several Union Ministers and even RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav have been tirelessly campaigning for their respective nominees.” For once Rahul Gandhi’s critics may have a valid point. That is because in the election season even Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who is not keeping good health, has been addressing one rally after another to shore up the winning chances of the NDA nominees. “We too are perplexed over the long absence of Rahul”, said a NDA leader. Notably, the Congress is contesting on 61 seats while the RJD 143. Sources in the Congress say Rahul is reportedly miffed with the way seat-sharing was done in Bihar. It is being said Rahul Gandhi would be addressing a joint rally with Tejashwi Yadav on October 29 in Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur.

The Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is working out of the War Room. That’s because PM Modi has asked him to ensure super arrangements for the annual Chhath festival in Eastern India, which coincides with Skanda Sasti in Tamil Nadu falling on October 27-28. All trains to Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh are full because families are returning to their villages to celebrate this festival. Outside some stations in many states, nearly 2 km long queues of travellers have been seen. Indian Railways has made arrangements to run 13,000 special trains, but these are unable to cope with the rush. As Bihar goes to elections soon after the festival, Modi told the Railway Minister to ensure everything runs smoothly. So, Vaishnaw is sitting in the three war rooms at Rail Bhavan to monitor crowd management and train locations. These three war rooms monitor the movement of crowds at 35 top stations round the clock using CCTV cameras. Minute-to-minute data are being prepared, and a heat map is being developed. Every hour, footfall in at least 35 stations is recorded. Special trains are immediately sent to stations where huge crowds are noticed. In one case, when the minister noticed a huge rush at Ambala station in Haryana for a train going from Amritsar to Purnea, another train was dispatched from Jalandhar to accommodate extra passengers. Crowds were also noticed in Surat and Udhna stations in Gujarat. More than five million people travelled during Diwali and Chhath this year compared to last year. The only difference this time is that Indian Railways is trying its best to take care of travellers.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s internal problems came to the fore during Diwali. As Yogi gathered in Ayodhya on October 19 to celebrate Deepotsav, the focus was not on festivities but the absence of his Deputy CMs Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya. It sparked talk of a rift in the UP BJP and differences between the bureaucracy and BJP legislators. While people close to Maurya said his busy schedule in Bihar, which goes to polls next month, for his last-minute cancellation — the Deputy CM is the party’s co-in-charge in the Assembly polls — party leaders blamed an administrative mix-up. “It is the first Deepotsav in nine years that Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak has missed. While no one is saying anything officially, the miscommunication has to be looked into. There was no mention of the Deputy CMs in the advertisement for the celebrations. Not just that, it was not clear which event they would attend and where they would sit, as per the protocol. The same was true of the Governor (Anandiben Patel), whose name was missing from the local invite. The BJP’s loss in UP in the Lok Sabha elections last year sparked speculation about differences within the party’s state unit. Several leaders in the state unit also took note of Maurya’s appointment as the party’s Bihar poll co-incharge in September, months after Union Home Minister Amit Shah referred to him as “mere mitr (my friend)”. It is being said Maurya’s involvement in Bihar polls would give a boost to him ahead of UP assembly polls. It must be mentioned that Yogi is the most sought campaigner in Bihar polls. Meanwhile, Ayodhya once again lit up the world stage with a record-breaking celebration of Deepotsav 2025, illuminating the sacred city with over 26 lakh oil lamps.

Tamil Nadu can only be shocked! Kerala’s ruling LDF is witnessing one of its fiercest internal flare-ups in recent times, with the CPI openly rebelling against its senior partner, the CPI(M), over the “discreet” signing of the MoU for implementing the Union government’s Prime Minister’s Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme. The CPI, caught completely off guard by the revelation that the agreement with the Union Ministry of Education’s Department of School Education and Literacy was inked on October 23, accused the CPI(M) of breaching front discipline and keeping allies in the dark. In a dramatic policy reversal, on October 19, the CPI(M) — one of the fiercest critics of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 — took that surprising U-turn. After years of vehement opposition to the Union government’s PM-SHRI scheme, which mandates the implementation of NEP, the Left-ruled Kerala decided to join the initiative. It’s learnt that on October 23, Kerala Education Secretary Dr K Vasuki flew to New Delhi to ink the MoU on behalf of the state. She was accompanied by Dr AR Supriya, Director of Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK), whose funds had earlier been frozen by the Centre due to Kerala’s refusal to join PM-SHRI. The decision could unlock nearly Rs 1,500 crore in central funds previously withheld by the Union government. The “secret manner” in which the MoU got signed has snowballed into a full-blown political controversy. The CPI has accused the CPI(M) of violating coalition etiquette and undermining collective decision-making. The Union Ministry of Education welcomed the Kerala government’s decision to sign the MoU, terming it a major milestone in transforming the state’s school education landscape. However, as the CPI and CPI(M) stick to their position, Kerala’s ruling front faces a crisis. Will the storm over PM SHRI shake the very foundations of the Left’s coalition experiment? 

Nothing has hurt DMK ego or the Dravidian model more than the announcement of the Google’s decision to create the AI hub in Andhra .AIADMK leader and former minister Thangamani criticised the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government for failing to attract Google’s investment to the state, “Despite Google CEO Sundar Pichai being a Tamil, Google has gone to Andhra Pradesh and not Tamil Nadu,” he said on the floor of the Tamil Nadu assembly. Responding to the jibe, Tamil Nadu Minister TRB Raaja said the state was set to receive Foxconn’s investment worth Rs 15,000 crore which will create several jobs. He also highlighted that 14,000 engineering jobs were generated under the DMK government and urged parties to stop ridiculing ongoing efforts. Most people however feel foreign investments are moving away from TN as the DMK first family – particularly – chief minister MK Stalin’s son-in law’s is known to seek a partnership with firms wanting to invest in the state. This has hindered investment from coming into the state. Sources point to impediments faced even by committed entrepreneurs like Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu. It is in this light PM Modi during his visit to Andhra this week congratulated the people of the state for Google’s massive AI Hub investment, hailing CM Chandrababu Naidu’s visionary leadership. Modi noted the hub will position Visakhapatnam as a global AI and connectivity centre, serving not just India but the world. Google is set to invest $15 billion to build a massive data centre cluster in Visakhapatnam—a project that could mark its largest direct investment in India’s digital economy, according to a ET report. The 1 GW-capacity data centre hub will comprise three campuses and the facilities are expected to become operational by July 2028.

Even before the Mahagathbandhan — coalition of RJD, the Congress and CPI(M-L) parties — could clinch a deal on the number of seats it would contest in Bihar, allegations were flying thick and fast about sums of money that were being charged for declaring candidates in the Congress. Even as the party released its first list of 48 candidates, there were chaotic scenes at Patna airport on October 15 evening after Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram, Bihar Congress in-charge Krishna Allavaru, and senior leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan returned from Delhi following seat-sharing discussions. Shakeel Ahmed Khan was surrounded by the protesting crowd before he managed to escape in his car. Some protesters claimed that Congress leaders had sold tickets for Rs 5 crore. Were such sums of money really paid to get a single assembly seat? Party sources concede that seats like Buxar where Congress chief Kharge wanted to change the sitting MLA Sanjay Kumar Tiwari at the CEC meeting because enough crowds had not turned up for his meeting had to be reversed. So was the decision to replace incumbent Kishenganj MLA — but then he didn’t ultimately figure in the first list of 48 MLAs. At the same time, party sources say Bihar Congress workers were feeling terribly frustrated that the party tickets were being given for a price. It was being said that Rahul Gandhi’s activism in the state and the Voter Rights Yatra had raised expectations of Congress leaders and workers in Bihar. State Congress in-charge Allavaru’s efforts to identify three to four potential candidates for candidacy on nearly all seats in the state had raised lots of hopes. Ticket contenders had spent lakhs of rupees from their own resources, but now they have been left in the lurch, and more importantly Allavaru had also failed to answer their phones.

After much speculation, the Central Govt cleared Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s foreign travel on October 14. However, the MEA removed Saudi Arabia from Vijayan’s itinerary. Initially Vijayan had appeared sceptical about whether he would get the Centre’s nod for the official trip. For obvious reasons, the opposition Congress has assailed Vijayan’s Gulf tour as “a political stunt “aimed at influencing the assembly elections” due in May next year. Congress leader Cherian Philip alleged that Vijayan was touring the Gulf to raise election funds at the behest of the ruling CPM. Philip said the government had dipped into the “cash-strapped State treasury” to fund the CM’s overseas trip to mobilise funds at the behest of ruling CPI(M).It is interesting to note that Vijayan will be visiting Gulf countries which are home to the Lulu Group, which has been close to the Marxists and has preferred to invest in Kerala as well as the rest of India.

Finally, some news to cheer. Google announced it would invest a whopping $15 billion (approx. Rs 1.34 lakh crore) in India over the next five years (2026-2030), the biggest to date in the country. The announcement was made at the Bharat AI Shakti event hosted by Google in New Delhi on October 14. This was revealed in the presence of Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw (IT), Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance), Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu and Google Cloud Chief Thomas Kurian. The tech giant revealed that it will open India’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub in Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), touted to be the company’s biggest such centre outside the U.S. Ahead of the announcement, Sundar Pichai had held talks with PM Modi about the opening of an AI Hub in India. The Google AI Hub in Visakhapatnam represents a landmark investment in India’s digital future. “This partnership reflects our shared commitment to the Indian and U.S. governments to harness AI responsibly and drive transformative impact for society,” said Kurian. In addition to the new international subsea gateway, Google AI will connect with multiple international subsea cables in Visakhapatnam on India’s eastern coast. This will connect to Google’s more than two million miles of existing terrestrial and subsea cables. This will establish Visakhapatnam as an AI and connectivity hub that not only serves India but the rest of the world. Once operational, it will join Google’s network of existing AI data centres that spans 12 countries. In a post on X, PM Modi cheered the launch of AI Hub as something that aligns with “our vision to build a Viksit Bharat and hoped it would secure India’s place as a global technology leader!”

After successfully pushing through GST-2 reforms, PM Modi had been looking for innovative ideas for governance. It was this search for ideas to further fuel his Viksit Bharat that led to him to interact with about 85 secretary-level officers of the government on October 6. About two dozen secretary-level officers heading various ministries and departments actively participated in the discussions. It is learnt officers were thrilled with the personal interaction they had with the PM. Three days after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan was already acting on their suggestions. On October 9, he wrote to the secretaries and asked them to roll out their ideas. Among the key points of action was promoting “indigenous development” of digital and social media platforms. The directive on digital platforms is significant as the number of internet subscribers in India as on March 2025 stood at 969.1 million, with most using foreign platforms like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and X. Significantly, PM Modi pushed for use of local platforms coinciding with the launch of Arattai, the messaging app developed by Tamil Nadu-based Zoho Corporation. Earlier, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw posted on X that he was switching to Zoho’s homegrown office suite software. Likewise, Home Minister Amit Shah too switched his official email service to Zoho Mail. In his letter, the Cabinet Secretary had also dissuaded ministries/departments from avoidable litigation and filing unnecessary court cases and wasting resources. Officials were also told to reorient PhD programmes to promote innovation and development of new ideas, and technologies, through topics that fit the emerging needs of the country – and conceptualise awards at the international level to recognise excellence in various fields. Overall, the ministries have been asked to promote “Atmanirbharta” and reduce imports.

Women journalists were conspicuous by their absence at a press conference by Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi on October 10. The participation was limited to less than 20 reporters. The exclusion of women journalists sparked political outrage nationwide. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demanded that PM Modi clarify his position on the incident, calling it “an insult to India’s women journalists.” In a post on X she asked “If your recognition of women’s rights isn’t just convenient posturing from one election to the other, then how has this insult to some of India’s most competent women been allowed in our country, a country whose women are its backbone and its pride.” In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that it had no involvement in Muttaqi’s press interaction. The press conference was organised at the Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi following bilateral talks between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Muttaqi. TMC MP Mahua Moitra in a post on X attacked the government saying, “How dare our government allow Taliban foreign minister Amir Muttaqi to exclude women journalists & hold a ‘male-only’ news conference on Indian soil with full protocol? How dare @DrSJaishankar agree to this? & why did our emasculated spineless male journos remain in room?” Former Union Home Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram also expressed shock and disappointment, saying “male journalists should have walked out in solidarity with their female colleagues.” During his bilateral meeting with Muttaqi, Jaishankar had announced that India would upgrade its Technical Mission in Kabul to the status of the Embassy of India. The Taliban minister will continue to be in India until October 16.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav is apparently keen to move beyond the RJD’s traditional support base — the Yadavs and Muslims. It is being said that he is planning to contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly Election from two constituencies. Tejashwi currently represents the Raghopur seat. He is also toying with the idea of contesting from the Phulparas Assembly constituency in Madhubani district. The seat is currently held by Sheela Kumari of the JD(U). Phulparas is seen as a JD(U) stronghold. Significance of the Phulparas assembly seat is that it was once represented by notable OBC icon and former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur — both incumbent CM Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav were seen as his followers. The Modi government had posthumously awarded Thakur Bharat Ratna in January 2024. His son, Ram Nath Thakur, is a MoS in the Modi government. Phulparas holds historical significance because Karpoori Thakur contested from the seat after becoming Chief Minister in 1977. Tejashwi believes that if he also contests from Phulparas, it could significantly influence the support of extremely backward castes in the Kosi and Seemanchal regions. In January this year, the RJD held a grand event in Phulparas to mark the birth anniversary of Karpoori Thakur, which Tejashwi attended. During the event, local leaders and supporters urged him to contest from the constituency. Meanwhile, CM Nitish Kumar’s son, Nishant Kumar, could enter the electoral fray in Bihar. The supporters of the CM have reportedly urged him to field Nishant in the upcoming elections, and speculation is rife that Nitish Kumar may heed their demand. According to party insiders, JDU leaders and workers are keen for Nishant to contest from the Harnaut Assembly seat in Nalanda. The final decision, however, rests with Nitish Kumar.

Why has BSP leader Mayawati realised that her main enemy is the Samajwadi Party and its leader Akhilesh Yadav, and not the BJP? Is it because the SP wooed her Dalit voters? At a rally in Lucknow on October 9, she lavished praise on the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in UP for maintaining the Kanshi Ram memorial. The BSP supremo had returned to deliver a fiery address at the Shradhanjali Sabha for her mentor Kanshi Ram. “I am grateful to the current state government because they did not hold back the collection of funds from the sale of tickets to the memorials built during my regime, for their upkeep,” she said. Mayawati said she had written to CM Yogi Adityanath in this regard, who, she added and he had kept his promise. “Isliye humari party unki abhari hai (So, the BSP is grateful to CM Adityanath).” In contrast, she said, “The SP regime had held back the funds meant for these memorials, which had led to their deterioration.” At the same time, Mayawati blamed the BJP-led Centre for “falsely framing” her and her family members in some corruption cases through the CBI and Income-tax. She said that the Congress regime had done the same thing during the UPA regime. Mayawati also urged BSP supporters to back her nephew Akash Anand in the same way they supported her. The BSP’s electoral fortunes have been steadily declining since the 2022 UP Assembly elections when its vote share fell to 12.88% and it won only one seat. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BSP’s vote share dropped further to 9.39% and zero seats. These BSP vote share figures indicate that the party’s support base is now confined to its core group of Jatav community.

The Election Commission of India announced that Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases November 6 and 11. The counting will be on November 14.”Bihar poll is the mother of all elections, which is why a total of 8.5 lakh officers are deployed for Bihar elections,” said CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Closely questioned about the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls carried out in Bihar, the CEC assured, “People can still get their names added to voter lists till 10 days before the filing of nomination papers by candidates”. The electoral battle in the state will witness a direct contest between the ruling NDA led by chief minister Nitish Kumar and the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ led by the RJD. The NDA currently holds 131 seats — BJP 80, JD(U) 45, HAM(S) 4, and two independents. The Opposition has 111 seats — RJD 77, Congress 19, CPI(ML) 11, CPI(M) 2, and CPI 2. Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj will also make its debut, contesting all 243 seats in the state. The CEC also said the number of voters at each polling station has been capped at 1,200 and that the serial number font and candidate photos — which used to be in black and white — will now be in colour. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav tried to strike an emotional chord with voters via X. He wrote “Bihar will vote for a change in the coming assembly polls. After 20 years, a grand festival will arrive that will dispel all sorrows and troubles. On that day, every Bihari will join Tejashwi in celebrating victory, because on that day, every Bihari will become Bihar’s CM – that is, CHANGE MAKER”.

In an interesting twist, the BJP’s Madhya Pradesh government has appointed DMK lawyer P Wilson in a OBC quota case before the Supreme Court. Wilson is presently Rajya Sabha MP of the DMK. An additional solicitor general of the UPA government, he apparently got another term in the RS from the DMK after his successful legal battle questioning powers of the Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi. BJP circles were quite puzzled that the MP government should opt for a DMK counsel. The buzz is Wilson was not the direct pick of the MP government. Apparently, chief minister Mohan Yadav had requested the OBC Mahasabha to suggest a name for legal representation. The Mahasabha had recommended Wilson. The OBC Mahasabha filed an affidavit in the SC last week ahead of the regular hearing on the implementation of 27% OBC reservation and unfreezing of 13% reserved posts in MP. The SC is scheduled start regular hearing on OBC quota next week.CM Mohan Yadav had earlier convened an all-party meeting on August 28, where there was unanimous political support for the 27% OBC quota. The quota for OBCs in MP was raised from 14% to 27% through an ordinance by the previous Congress government under Kamal Nath, which ruled from December 2018 to March 2020. OBCs make up 51.8% of the state’s population. Choice of advocate P Wilson is interesting, considering he comes from TN where reservation for OBCs is 69% and was placed under 9th Schedule — that is cannot be challenged — due to efforts of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa. Wilson as a lawyer for the MP government has set off a political buzz that perhaps a loose alliance of sorts is being worked out between the DMK-TVK and the BJP.

Nothing has rattled the Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin more than the NDA team’s visit to assess the Karur incident involving TVK leader and actor Vijay. He charged the BJP of attempting to exploit the Karur stampede, which had claimed 41 lives, for political mileage rather than concern for the state. The NDA team led by Tamil speaking popular actor Hema Malini not only interacted with local people but the visitors have also shot off a letter to CM Stalin seeking department-wise accountability and responsibility for the incident. The letter is signed by one of the eight MPs on the team— former Union Minister Anurag Singh. Annoyed by the quick footed action from the NDA over the stampede, Stalin has claimed that the Centre had never responded when the state was struck by three major disasters that had left thousands suffering. He also charged that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had neither visited immediately nor released funds, but had now chosen instead to go to Karur. Interestingly, the FM had interacted with survivors directly seeking to know first-hand, if the Central assistance of Rs 2 lakhs announced by PM Modi had been credited to their accounts. Stalin sought to know why the BJP had not sent fact-finding committees to probe similar incidents in BJP ruled states like the Manipur internecine clashes or the Kumbh Mela stampede. He felt the NDA team was only being rushed to TN because of the upcoming assembly elections. Interestingly, controversial DMK minister Senthil Balaji held a presser at Karur, post the visit of the NDA team, to counter allegations that his henchmen had triggered the stampede.

With at least 41 people getting killed in a stampede at a political rally in Karur organised by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) of actor Vijay, a lot has changed in Tamil Nadu politics. The tragedy has completely rewritten the way Vijay can do politics in the state. It seems he cannot afford to go solo and needs to hitch his bandwagon to an alliance. May be the AIADMK-BJP alliance. Or some third alliance. Or else he may find crushed by the DMK. At least, three days after the stampede Vijay conceded that the stampede was a conspiracy that should have never happened. It is being said the stampede has so shattered the confidence of his followers and his workers that in a video message to CM MK Stalin, Vijay sought to know if the ruling party was seeking revenge. Clearly the DMK was unsettled by the kind of response he was getting from people. With a huge fan following, Vijay was not willing to have an alliance with the AIADMK. During his initial talks with AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) he had demanded that he be projected as CM. After the Karur incident, Vijay knows he needs friends desperately. To be fair, EPS promptly came out in his support. Former TN BJP chief K Annamalai pointed out that the presence of 400 cops at Vijay’s rally was inadequate. With Vijay seeking a CBI probe into the incident via petition in Madras High Court, it is important that he builds bridges with the Centre. It is learnt that Home Minister Amit Shah also reached out to Vijay. Meanwhile, TN Congress leaders are puzzled that Rahul Gandhi should even call up Vijay. That too when nine Cong MPs had met CM Stalin to discuss their constituency work only last week. Was the Congress deliberately misleading people about TN alliances?

India’s stunning win against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final and refusal of Congress leaders particularly Rahul Gandhi to acknowledge it has become an intense subject of political scrutiny. The BJP was quick to point out that it was perhaps similar to how the main Opposition party couldn’t congratulate the Indian Army for its stupendous strike during Operation Sindoor. Party’s I-T chief Amit Malviya in a post even suggested that the Congress was perhaps “waiting for permission from Pak minister Mohsin Naqvi and their other handlers in the neighbouring country” before joining the nation in celebrating the Indian cricket team’s success. Launching a scathing attack on the Congress, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Dr Sudhanshu Trivedi said “both Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra should keep sports separate from politics”, as they did not give any reaction to India’s victory over Pakistan. He said that the Congress and the opposition alliance are always ready to side with Pakistan at every level be it sports or diplomacy and this is their true identity. He pointed out it was India’s 9th victory in the Asia Cup. In this tournament, India defeated Pakistan three times consecutively. The Indian team made a clean sweep by winning all the matches in this Asia Cup. For this, the Indian cricket team, its captain Surya Kumar Yadav, and all the fellow players certainly deserve congratulations. PM Modi tweeted “Operation Sindoor on the games field. Outcome is the same — India wins!. Congrats to our cricketers.”

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was spearheading the demand for statehood for Ladakh and had been on an indefinite fast for 15 days, has been arrested. Wangchuk’s journey from thanking PM Modi for granting Ladakh’s UT status in August 2019 to inciting violence that left four people dead as recently as September 25 symbolises the dangers of political opportunism and external manipulation. Thousands of people had come out and indulged in arson and stoning. Local BJP office was set on fire. Wangchuk called off his indefinite fast soon after the violence spread. It is worth mentioning that the Centre had scheduled October 6 for talks between the agitators and the high-powered committee. Previously, informal talks were scheduled to begin on September 26. Despite these firm assurances, the agitators resorted to arson and violence. It’s not easy to understand the logic behind it. BJP leaders allege that Congress instigated the violence because the party wanted to create a “Nepal-type” situation in India. Why does Wangchuk now raise hackles in India’s power circles? One it is his close and continuing association with foreign funded LEAD India and International Association for Ladakh Studies. His climate project ICE STUPAS faced criticism from the locals for being unsustainable. His recent calls to halt the Army’s infrastructure projects in Ladakh citing climate concerns have sparked serious unease. Besides his American wife Rebecca Norman and her connection with Ford Foundation and Soros’s Open Societies have been a matter of concern. In 2023, Wangchuk began his outdoor hunger strikes, demanding “constitutional safeguards” like inclusion in the Sixth Schedule. It is unbelievable that the engineer-innovator Wangchuk who had developed solar power tents for Indian Army and inspired actor Aamir Khan’s character Phunsukh Wangdu in the popular film Three Idiots, is being portrayed as a NGO person using foreign funds– to undermine the country.

With Bihar assembly elections around the corner, both the BJP and the Congress were seen wooing women voters. While PM Modi reached out to women in Bihar via video conference from Delhi, formally launching the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana that promised to reach out to 75 lakh women across the state. Under the scheme, women would receive Rs 10,000 each through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into their bank accounts. Modi described the initiative as a transformative step for entrepreneurship among rural women. In his address, PM Modi said the scheme was possible because of the Jan Dhan financial inclusion programme launched 11 years ago. He called the scheme part of the government’s effort to make women “Lakhpati Didis” — women earning at least Rs 1 lakh a year — under the central government’s campaign to create 3 crore such women nationwide. The launch of the Rs 10,000 scheme by PM Modi clearly upset the Congress and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. For a party that has come to power in two southern states — Telangana and Karnataka — on the basis of guarantees it was odd that Priyanka even questioned the basis of DBT pay-outs in Bihar and its timing. Speaking to groups of women, she said the promise of Rs 10,000 so close to elections was a transparent attempt to secure votes. Why didn’t BJP give you Rs 10,000 for the last 20 years. Priyanka announced a Congress poll promise of granting land ownership to women. She said every landless family in Bihar would receive 3 to 5 decimals of land, and that ownership titles would be in the names of women.

Ahead of assembly elections in Bihar, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the BJP has deployed several Union ministers to take charge of these states’ elections. For Bihar, the BJP has appointed Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as its election in-charge. Alongside him, Union Minister CR Paatil and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya have also been named as co-in charges. Significantly, Pradhan and Maurya are prominent OBC leaders. With the Congress trying to play catch up with the NDA in OBC politics by releasing a resolution for Most Backward Classes or Atipichda Nyay Sankalp at its recent Patna CWC meeting, it is interesting that the BJP managers are prominent OBC leaders. The Bihar Legislative Assembly election for all 243 seats is scheduled for October–November 2025. The previous polls were held in October–November 2020, after which the NDA formed the government with Nitish Kumar as chief minister. In August 2022, JD(U) broke ties with the NDA and joined the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, only to return to the BJP-led NDA in January 2024, once again installing Nitish Kumar as CM. For West Bengal, the BJP has appointed Union Minister Bhupender Yadav as its election in-charge. Former Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb has been named as co-incharge. It is important to note that the BJP has appointed senior leader Baijayant Panda as election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, while Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol has been named as co-incharge. Party sources feel the choice of Panda for TN assumes significance as he was credited for turning around BJP’s fortune’s in Delhi and wresting the state from AAP this year. It is quite possible that the party leadership has similar expectations from him in the southern state too.

A fresh feud is taking shape in the family of RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, following a cryptic post by his daughter Rohini Acharya, who had donated her kidney to her father in 2022. While Tej Pratap has been sulking ever since father expelled him from the party earlier this year, Rohini who has been nursing political ambitions, raised eyebrows with a series of cryptic tweets in the past few days. Rohini, 47, wrote X: “I have been performing my duties as a daughter and a sister and will continue to do so. Neither am I hankering after a post nor do I have any political ambitions.” A medical graduate who chose to be a homemaker and settled with her husband in Singapore, Rohini first came to the limelight in 2022 when she donated a kidney to her father, who was in need of a transplant. Last year, she made an unsuccessful electoral debut from Saran constituency, which was represented by her father long ago. Speculations were rife that she wanted to try her luck again, in the upcoming assembly polls but got a cold shoulder from brother Tejashwi.  Her brother’s refusal to accommodate her in state polls, made her attack his close aide – tech savvy Sanjay Yadav– a Haryana born leader Rajya Sabha since April 2024. He was introduced to Tejashwi by Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav. It is not clear if it was Sanjay Yadav’s idea to restrict “kith & kin” in ticket distribution. Whatever it is, the family feud is worrying the Congress — a key ally which is holding the CWC meeting in Patna on September 24. Meanwhile, to openly project Tejashwi as CM, Congress will look for some decent seat share.

Former Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai is once again in focus. The buzz in Chennai BJP is that he is probably working for the DMK. Or else it is inexplicable that after being cajoled into coordinating with his party colleagues by senior BJP leader BL Santosh — he had even dropped by Annamalai’s residence only last week — and had promised to work for the AIADMK-BJP alliance. Party sources say he was found liaising over the weekend with a breakaway AIADMK faction – TTV Dhinkaran’s AMMK — which he had insisted must be re-inducted into the NDA. This development so upset the state unit that TN BJP chief Nainar Nagenthran rushed to Delhi to meet BJP national president JP Nadda. It was felt Annamalai could be reaching out to Dhinakaran as part of Home Minister Amit Shah’s general advice to ensure BJP presence in southern districts of TN. But does that mean Shah would signal Annamalai to wreck the very foundation of BJP’s ties with the AIADMK and the understanding reached with party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS)?  Possibly not. Party insiders feel Annamalai was most likely acting on his own as he   expressed regret over Dhinakaran’s exclusion from the alliance. Sources say Annamalai is determined to weaken AIADMK chief EPS and split the BJP-AIADMK alliance. All this is being done with an eye to benefit the incumbent DMK, which is bound to benefit from a split in non-DMK votes. It is also possible he may be driving AIADMK, in desperation, towards the actor Vijay-led TVK. He wants to take revenge on EPS and prevent him from becoming CM in 2026.Within BJP, he is targeting his successor Nainar Nagenthran.

It is not just the BJP and its cadres that celebrated PM Modi’s 75th birthday. Even NDA’s ally and TDP Minister Nara Lokesh, currently on an official visit to the UK made it a point to pray for PM Modi’s health and longevity at ISKCON Temple in London, asserting confidence in Modi’s Leadership to build Viksit Bharat. Sharing his birthday wish for PM Modi, Andhra Pradesh IT, HRD, and RTGS Minister Nara Lokesh offered prayers at ISKCON London. He tweeted, “Started the day with prayers at @iskconlondon on the 75th birthday of our Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi ji. I sought blessings for his long life and his visionary leadership of our great country. I am confident we will achieve Viksit bharat under his guidance.” Interestingly, a day earlier the Andhra Pradesh government had hosted a high-profile Investor Roadshow in London at the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, as part of its global outreach to attract investments ahead of the CII Partnership Summit 2025, scheduled to be held in Visakhapatnam on November 14–15. The event brought together more than 150 senior executives and global leaders representing sectors such as advanced manufacturing, finance, energy, and technology. In his remarks during the conversation with global leaders, Lokesh positioned Andhra Pradesh as India’s fastest-growing state. “Our message in London is clear: the sunrise state of Andhra Pradesh is the best place to do business in India. In just 15 months, we have facilitated investments worth over Rs 10 lakh crore and are now engaging global partners to be part of our journey towards becoming a $ 2.4 trillion economy by 2047″

There was much media hype about the revelation that Rahul Gandhi was to make in his press conference. He had hinted it would be a “hydrogen bomb” on ‘vote chori’. However, by afternoon Rahul was found diluting his own utterances via a post on X.  The Congress leader who was raging about deletion of votes in Aland assembly seat in Karnataka in 2023 polls at a press conference at the AICC headquarters and had given the Election Commission a week’s time to reply to Karnataka CID’s letters and notices, was found looking for cover. He rushed to correct his mistakes after realising that the Aland seat was won by the Congress. This was pointed out by the BJP. Rahul Gandhi had “held an entire press conference” claiming that 6,018 votes were fraudulently deleted in Aland assembly seat and that the EC was blocking the CID investigation. “Until we pointed out that BR Patil, the incumbent MLA, is a Congress candidate. He even paraded people who claimed that their names were misused to delete votes, without the knowledge of the very individuals whose names were allegedly deleted. Now he makes a U-turn, saying their candidate could have lost if the votes were deleted! What a waste of public time,” said BJP’s Amit Malviya on X. The EC was quick to rebut all the charges. In a strongly worded response, the EC made it clear that no deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as “misconceived” by Rahul Gandhi. A FIR was filed by the EC itself to ensure the matter was investigated. One interesting giveaway from Rahul Gandhi’s attack on the CEC, was his claim that he had some Trojan horses within the EC who were leaking him info about EC’s working. No prizes for guessing…possibly officials brought in during the Congress time.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s response to the Supreme Court’s clean chit to Vantara has apparently not gone down well with the Ambanis. The Congress leader who takes a lot of pride in his earlier avatar as an environment minister in the UPA government tweeted on X questioning the speed at which an expert panel headed by Justice J Chelameswar probed alleged goings on in Vantara and submitted its report to the apex court, clearing the animal care centre of any wrongdoing. Party sources said sensitivities about Vantara were conveyed to Jairam by party bosses. The party leadership were equally shocked about the tone and tenor of Jairam’s post.  In his post, Jairam even took pot shots at the judiciary for acting expressly. “When it chooses to, the Indian judicial system, which is defined by long delays, moves with the greatest of speed.” On August 25, 2025, the SC ordered an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the affairs of Vantara, the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre established by the Reliance Foundation in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The SIT, comprising four distinguished members, was directed to submit its report by September 12, 2025. The SIT submitted its report in a “sealed cover” meeting the deadline.  The SC accepted its recommendations and closed the case which had been triggered by a PIL filed on August 7, 2025. If only all cases were dealt with and settled so expeditiously and categorically — of course without this mysterious “sealed cover” business! Incidentally, while Jairam has taken a contrarian view on Vantara order, animal activists like Maneka Gandhi came out extending her strong support to Vantara. She said “We have visited Vantara…It is here that animals get life.”  Vantara is a project closely monitored and managed by Anant Ambani, the younger son of Mukesh Ambani.

The BJP leadership is all geared up to putting its Tamil Nadu house in order. With AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) meeting Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Tuesday (Sep 16) evening to firm up alliance in the state, ground was laid in TN to ensure smooth working within various groups and leaders. For a start, a coordination meeting of various state-level leaders within the state BJP was held in Chennai. The meeting was held in the presence of senior BJP functionary BL Santosh. The effect of the meeting was such that former TN BJP chief K Annamalai who was so far playing truant appeared mellowed down. For the first time, Annamalai conceded that EPS was drawing crowds in the state. Party sources said he had praised EPS in the party’s internal meeting too. This means Annamalai has come a long way; from initially opposing BJP’s alliance with the AIADMK to now agreeing to campaign with EPS. This would not only consolidate Gounder community votes in favour of the alliance but also consolidate victory. With Santosh in the chair along with TN BJP chief Nainar Nagendran it was decided that Nainar, Annamalai and EPS would now jointly campaign from Oct 1. It is not clear if Annanmalai had toned down his anti- AIADMK position because of a personal compulsion He is now compelled to answer queries over purchase of around six acres agricultural land in Coimbatore worth several crores of rupees. Annamalai said he had purchased it using a loan, his personal savings and that of his wife Akila. He had paid Rs 40 lakh in stamp duty and registration charges. Of course, no one in the BJP believes it.

Even as the Opposition Congress cribbed about PM Narendra Modi’s first visit to Manipur on September 13 as being “too little too late”– as it came nearly 2 years after the outbreak of ethnic violence — Modi used his presence in Imphal to send across a message of friendship to Nepal. He first congratulated Sushila Karki on becoming the country’s first woman Prime Minister. He lauded Karki’s elevation as “a very good example of women’s empowerment.” Speaking at a public meeting in Imphal, his first visit since violence broke out in 2023, PM Modi called Nepal a “close friend” of India and said the two nations are connected by “shared history and faith”. Among the small states in the North East, Manipur is the only Hindu majority state. More than reaching out to Nepal’s PM Sushila Karki, what is of significance is the manner in which Modi lauded Gen Z protesters — referring to images of Nepal youth cleaning and painting roads. Modi said “For the last few days, young men and women of Nepal can be seen working hard to clean and paint the roads of Nepal after violent protests. I have seen their pictures on social media as well. Their positive thinking and positive actions are not only inspiring but are also a clear indication of the new rise of Nepal.” It is believed Modi’s words were also meant for youth of Manipur who have been caught up in ethnic protest. In his opening remarks, PM Modi lauded how many Manipur children were involved in Op Sindoor – he particularly recalled the martyrdom of Deepak Chingakham.

Why did Rahul Gandhi as Leader of the Opposition (LoP) of Lok Sabha skip the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan on September 12? No, it has nothing to do with the miserable manner in which INDIA Bloc candidate B Surendra Reddy lost to CPR. It is being said Rahul’s office initially made inquiries to know where the Gandhi scion would be seated; whether he would be seated on the same row as PM Modi. When it was made clear that as LoP he enjoys Cabinet rank and would be seated with CMs on the third row, Rahul seems to have decided to skip the function. In fact, after PM Modi and former Vice-Presidents, the second row was taken up by governors, followed by the CMs. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi was caught in yet another controversy with the CPRF writing a letter to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, stating that Rahul was not taking his security cover “seriously” as he was mostly travelling abroad “without informing anyone”. The CRPF referred to Rahul’s foreign tours to countries: Italy (Dec 30-Jan 9), Vietnam (Mar 12-17), Dubai (Apr 17-23), Qatar (Jun 11-18), London (Jun 25-Jul 6) and Malaysia (Sep 4-8). The Rae Bareli MP is violating the protocols mentioned in the Yellow Book of the CRPF. As a former Congress president, he currently enjoys Z+ category security with Advanced Security Liaison (ASL). Z+ ASL is among the highest level of protection provided to individuals facing significant threat perception, and comprises roughly 55 security personnel, including National Security Guard commandos. In 2019, the Union government withdrew the Special Protection Group protection given to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, almost after three decades. The security cover was replaced by the CRPF.

By this time next week, the biopic on Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath — Ajey: The Untold Story Of A Yogi — is slated for global release on September 19. The film made in multiple languages traces the remarkable journey of Ajay Singh Bisht, from a Himalayan village to becoming Yogi Adityanath, a monk, spiritual leader and his emergence as CM of Uttar Pradesh. Based on Shantanu Gupta’s bestselling book, The Monk Who Became Chief Minister (published in 2017) the film blends politics and spirituality in a compelling biopic. Gupta says an effort was made to produce it like M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016).”We got Dhoni script writer — Dilip Jha — to work on the film. Along with Priyank Dubey and me on the script, ” he says.  The idea of making the film came to the author during Covid years. Gupta says it was his chance meeting with the California-based NRI Ajay Menji in course of promoting his book that led to the making of the biopic. When asked if Yogi had a sneak preview of the film, Gupta shared that of the two books that he had written on the UP CM, Yogi always preferred the second one — The Monk Who Transformed Uttar Pradesh (2021) — as it showcased his work. “He has not seen the film yet,” says Gupta. With only Bihar polls round the corner and UP polls, a good two years away.”Ajey” may have nothing to do with votes. The film under Samrat Cinematics banner with a modest budget of Rs 35 crore is directed by Lucknow born Rajinder Gautam. It has a stellar cast with Anantvijay Joshi, Paresh Rawal, Nirahua, Ajay Mengi, Rajesh Khattar, Pawan Malhotra, Garima Vikrant Singh and others.

In the run up to Tamil Nadu assembly elections early next year, Governor RN Ravi has announced to celebrate “Navratri Kolu” at the Raj Bhavan beginning from Sep 22-Oct 1. Kolu is a traditional way of celebrating Navratri in TN and across Tamil homes. It is interesting that Ravi, a Kerala cadre IPS officer who belongs to Bihar and has spent several years in the Intelligence Bureau before taking up gubernatorial assignments first in the North East (Nagaland) and now in TN, is popularising a Tamil tradition in the Raj Bhavan. He has thrown open doors of the Raj Bhavan to members of the public — inviting students, individuals and general public — to join the daily puja between 4-5 pm,and subsequently for an hour-long  cultural programme. Interested members have been asked to register with an X handle specially created for the specific purpose by the Raj Bhavan. With ruling DMK leaders like deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin openly issuing statements against sanatana dharma, it will be nice to see the kind of interest the invite generates among ordinary Chennai residents.

The ruling BJP-led NDA’s candidate CP Radhakrishnan’s (CPR) election win as the Vice-President of India with 452 votes did not come as a surprise. What did was the margin — 14 additional votes that went in his favour! There is much speculation from where the extra votes came in. It is believed that MPs from secular bloc — including those belonging to DMK — at least four of them had reportedly voted for him. CPR is known to have good ties with the DMK and had won Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat twice with DMK’s support. Besides the DMK, other parties’ MPs from the SP and AAP too voted for CPR. The NDA already had 427 votes. With the declared support of 11 YSRCP MPs, that number went up to 438. Besides these extra votes, there were 15 invalid votes — 10 from the NDA side and five from the Opposition. The Opposition candidate — B Surendra Reddy polled 300 votes, 15 short of the 315 votes polled in his favour. Meanwhile, the Congress officially mocked the BRS and BJD for boycotting the Veep election with a post on the X, “If you call them the B team of BJP, they take offense. What more proof is needed than this? What compulsion does BRS have that it won’t even vote for a Telugu candidate? And Naveen Babu, even after such a humiliating defeat, you haven’t stopped giving them support”. It is being said Telangana CM Revanth Reddy apparently played a role in ensuring that the BRS with four Rajya Sabha MPs boycott V-P poll. The BRS has been under pressure ever since the Revanth Reddy government ordered probe into irregularities in Kalleshwaram project, argued a state MP. However, privately Congress leaders will have to thank Revanth Reddy for keeping the BRS away from the NDA.  The Opposition candidate pick for V-P was Revanth Reddy’s choice.

The Congress may be basking on the “success” of its Vote Adhikar Yatra in Bihar but one tweet by its Kerala unit on GST saw the party apologise. A political storm was kicked up by the controversial tweet drawing a parallel between Bihar and bidis in an attempt to mock the BJP over latest GST reforms lowering GST on bidi from 28% to 18%. The Congress’s Kerala unit wrote, “Bidis and Bihar start with B. Cannot be considered sin anymore”. The tweet was deleted soon after RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav phoned Rahul Gandhi to contain the damage following backlash in social media. The Congress issued an apology on X and said that the jibe was twisted. “We see that our jibe at Modi’s election gimmick with GST rates is being twisted. Our apologies if you felt hurt.” The now-deleted post, which appeared to deride the state, triggered sharp reactions from the BJP and its ally, the JD(U), who accused the Congress of insulting the people of Bihar, a state headed for polls before November. The government’s action on bidis was apparently inspired by the RSS-linked Swadeshi Jagran Manch which wrote to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying that the 28% GST had hit employment in the registered sector of bidi manufacturing. This had also caused hardships for workers in unregistered beedi production units. The GST on tendu leaves used to make bidis has been reduced from 18% to 5%.

It may seem odd that the 56th GST Council meeting headed by FM Nirmala Sitharaman and state FMs which met for nearly 12 hours could clear the two-slab GST 2.0 reforms on a single day, but will be rolled out only from September 22 (Navratri begins)? Is the Modi government waiting for an auspicious start? The government is not waiting out the austere period of pitru paksha. Official sources say that the government was not really following a Hindu calendar and explained that the roll-out would need preparation of about 150 circulars and this would require working on the details, It was for this reason alone FM Sitharaman had refused to give any media interviews. And ironically, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who had more to do with the failed Indo-US trade deal, was all over TV talking about it. Meanwhile, some details have emerged about how Sitharaman and her team fought and won the September 3 high-stakes late-night battle, with Opposition-ruled states digging in their heels. According to sources, opposition-ruled West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala, and Karnataka strongly opposed rate cuts, citing fear of revenue loss. The meeting, slated to end by 7 pm, dragged late into the night, stretching beyond 9.30 pm. While Punjab and West Bengal eventually softened their stance, Kerala and Karnataka held firm, insisting on concrete assurances from the Centre on compensation. Some even pressed that the decision be postponed till the next day. At this point, Sitharaman told the gathering she was ready to sit through the night if needed, but relief for the people could not wait another day. It was the idea of voting if consensus wasn’t possible that made Kerala and Karnataka eventually climb down.

The BJP central leadership is apparently running out of patience with former Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai. He was among a handful of leaders — nearly all past party chiefs of Tamil Nadu — who were asked to reach Delhi for a meeting this week with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda for a discussion on TN assembly elections next year. Barring Vice-President candidate CP Radhakrishnan, who was also TN BJP chief, all were expected to join the meeting. Nadda had apparently phoned Annamalai to ensure he attended the meeting. However, Annamalai, who has been sulking since the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, seemed to have other plans. Not only did he fail to show up, but also shared on X how he was preoccupied with some wedding receptions rather than attending party work. During a recent visit to TN, Shah had advised him to focus on party work. So had FM Nirmala Sitharaman, who had suggested that he give up factionalism and take everyone along. Annamalai had resented Nirmala’s suggestion so much that he had even launched a campaign against her for poking her nose in TN affairs. Delhi leaders were shocked as the FM had no stake in TN and had acted only on Shah’s behalf. BJP sources now feel Annamalai is so upset with the AIADMK-BJP pact, he will now do anything to emerge as a spoiler, halting the AIADMK-BJP in its tracks. Annamalai is aware that AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami’s tours are a big draw now and can’t tolerate a fellow Gounder (a OBC caste) doing so politically well. BJP feels he may try to bail out the DMK or Vijay’s TVK as a vote spoiler.

At the GST Council Meeting, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman bust the myth that the Centre would continue to prop up states for revenue loss while rolling out GST reforms. The minister who had at the start of her media briefing thanked every member state for making it possible to roll out the two slab  GST — 5 % and 18 % — made it clear that as far as “loss of revenue” was concerned it wouldn’t be just the states that would lose revenue, even  the Centre would see a drop in earnings. “The Centre may be a one-third partner. The states put together can be two-thirds partners. But we are all in it together. So, anything that is gained or lost is for everybody. It’s not as if states have lost. If all of us have lost, all of us have lost…In the GST Council, the Centre and the states are together in it. Nobody is a donor and nobody is a done…” The new GST slab would be effective from September 22, the first day of Navratri. Sin goods will continue at the existing rates of 28% GST and compensation cess, where applicable, till the loan and interest payment obligations under the compensation cess account are completely discharged. Once it is cleared it will be40% GST for sin goods. All states unanimously voted in favour of GST rationalisation, as the collective intent was to provide relief to common man. When mocked about the 40% tax on sin goods by the Congress, Sitharaman couldn’t help asking if the Congress was demanding 5% GST on tobacco and gutkha?  She pointed out how the Congress could not implement GST while in office as it was not trusted by anyone.

Tamil Nadu Congress MP Sudha Ramakrishnan is much relieved to have got back the chain that was snatched from her during morning walk in Chanakyapuri’s diplomatic enclave early August.  It took the Delhi Police two days to crack the case and nab the culprit. However, the process of recovering the stolen ornament via Patiala court was a bit long drawn. Reminiscing about the special place the chain had in her life she said she always wore it only because of the Tirupati Balaji pendant. She had bought it with her hard-earned money when she started out as a lawyer “I hold the pendant very close to my heart. I bought it from Vummidi Bangaru in Chennai.” It is the same place from where the Modi government had got Sengol for the Lok Sabha in 2023. “In fact, soon after I lost it, friends were telling me that I will never find it as the chain-snatchers normally melt the ornaments. I was so disheartened that I had promised myself never to bother praying to Balaji if I didn’t get my pendant back. Next day, I received a call from Delhi Police, asking me to reach the court.” In Patiala House she was apparently shown an array of different gold chains and pendants. “That’s when I realised, I was probably blessed as an MP.” As per Delhi Police data, 2,503 cases of snatching occurred in the Capital in the first six months of this year.

It is believed that Jagdeep Dhankhar is merely biding his time to lash out against Modi government next week for his sudden exit as Vice-President of India on July 21. He will apparently speak up on September 10, that is a day after the Vice-President’s election on September 9. Just to puncture the celebratory mood in the NDA camp over the possible victory margin in the vice-presidential election of CP Radhakrishnan.  A month after he stepped down as V-P, Dhankhar recently vacated his official residence and moved into a farmhouse owned by Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Abhay Chautala in Delhi’s Chattarpur Enclave, a stop-gap arrangement till he gets an alternative official accommodation. The choice of the farmhouse by Dhankhar is being projected as a political statement. The ties between Dhankhar and the Chautalas go back nearly 40 years, to 1989, when Abhay’s grandfather Devi Lal – Haryana’s foremost Jat leader and then chief minister – identified the young lawyer from Rajasthan as a potential “leader”. In turn, Dhankhar, also a Jat, always referred to Devi Lal as his “mentor”.  Dhankhar’s association with the Chautalas began when he caught Devi Lal’s eye for organising reportedly 500 vehicles from Rajasthan for a rally held on September 25, 1989, to mark Devi Lal’s birthday, at Boat Club near India Gate. In the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, Devi Lal offered Dhankhar the Janata Dal ticket from the Jhunjhunu Lok Sabha seat, and actively campaigned for him. Dhankhar, now it is learnt, is going to be chief guest at Devi Lal Farmers rally in Jhind on September 25. where he is likely to reveal his political mind. There are speculations Jayant Choudhary, a minister in Modi govt may join Dhankhar rally? Looks like Dhankhar wants to lead Jat movement in north India.

At a time when the Modi government is thinking of handing a bonanza to the Indian consumers and kickstarting the economy, the Opposition is already thinking of ways and means to create hurdles. At a meeting convened at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi, 8 eight Opposition ruled states resolved to demand protection of their revenue interests when the GST rationalisation exercise comes up before the GST Council at its 56th meeting on September 3-4. The biggest cut in GST is expected now, and apprehensions about revenue losses to states have surfaced. These states estimate a revenue loss to be around Rs 50,000 crore during this financial year and nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore next financial year. While NDA-ruled states are backing the Centre’s strategy of cutting GST, the Opposition-ruled states do not want to grapple with potential revenue losses, especially at a time when Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala are heading for Assembly elections. Besides, the Congress has a political problem with GST cuts. That is because the GST cuts were part of PM Modi’s Independence Day speech when he promised GST cuts on items used by common people as a Diwali bonanza. The Opposition states are demanding a 5-year compensation for the rate cut, the sort of compensation that they received when GST was introduced in 2017.  Congress leader Jairam Ramesh demanded compensation to all states for a period of five years with 2024-25 as the base year, since their revenues are bound to be adversely impacted by the rate cuts. He also wanted additional levies on ‘sin’ and luxury goods over and above the proposed 40% should be fully transferred to states. Today the Centre gets close to 17-18% of its revenue from various cesses that are not shared with the states.

At an interactive session marking Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s centenary celebrations in Delhi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat made it clear that there weren’t any differences between the Sangh and BJP. Responding to a bunch of pre-submitted questions at Vigyan Bhawan, he made it clear that while there may be “struggle” between the two organisations, “there is no quarrel”. “There can be matbhed (difference of opinion) here, but no manbhed (heart-to-heart disagreement). We need to move forward in one direction, and not different ones,” he asserted. He added that the goals of the two organisations are the same. A big takeaway from Bhagwat’s interaction was that he clarified on his idea of retiring at 75 years of age, which was widely seen as a reference to PM Modi. Even as the event coordinator read out a question that said, in as many words, that his statement “was seen as a reference to PM Modi — he will turn 75 next month.  Bhagwat, who is a week older than Modi, clarified that “I never said I will or someone else should retire. At the Sangh function in Nagpur, I was merely quoting a witticism by Moropant ji (senior Sangh leader Moreshwar Nilkanth Pingle aka ‘Moropant’) about how when someone gives you a ceremonial shawl at 75, you should think of retirement.” So, this is not for the retirement of anybody or myself he said. Another highlight was Bhagwat making it clear that Sangh doesn’t get to choose who will be next BJP president…if the RSS indeed had a say it would probably not have taken so long. In the same breath Bhagwat added that political leaders must have space to act independently.

Karnataka government’s decision to invite Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate Mysuru Dussehra festivities was censured after a video went viral in which she was seen criticising the worship of the Kannada language in the form of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari. At the 2023 Jana Sahitya Sammelana, Banu Mushtaq had said the appropriation of Kannada as Goddess Bhuvaneshwari draped in yellow and red, the colours of turmeric and vermilion, was “exclusionary” to people like her (minorities).  BJP state president BY Vijayendra asked Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the Mysuru Dussehra only after accepting the Sanatana culture and rituals.  “The Sanatana Dharma includes idol worship and offering prayers to the deity. Do you agree with that?” He also took exception to Siddaramaiah’s decision to invite only Banu Mushtaq and ignore translator Deepa Basthi.  Hindutva proponents asked how Banu Mushtaq agreed to “bow down before Chamundeshwari’s grandeur when “she cannot tolerate Kannada Bhuvaneshwari”.  BJP MP Tejasvi Surya claimed that there was a bigger “game plan” behind having Banu Mushtaq. He felt these were not isolated moves… “The so-called Anti-Communal Task Force, the Hate Speech Bill, the Rohith Vemula Bill pushed at Rahul Gandhi’s insistence on  the dubious Dharmasthala SIT, and now the Congress government’s decision to invite Banu Mushtaq…are  part of a single, well-orchestrated game plan scripted by urban naxals and Marxists, executed with the full enthusiasm of Siddaramaiah government.” On her part, Banu Mushtaq made course corrections. She termed Dussehra a state festival and said referring to Mother Chamundeshwari with love and affection is a part of our culture. “That’s why it is dear to me as well. People call her Mother Chamundeshwari. I respect the people’s sentiment.”

Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin has decided to skip the ‘Global Ayyappa Sangamam’ being organised by the Travancore Devaswom Board at Pampa in Kerala as part of its 75th anniversary on September 20. Oddly, he has cited “prior commitments” in his letter to his Kerala counterpart Pinarayi Vijayan, and has deputed two state ministers to participate. The political buzz is that Stalin most likely   excused himself from the event because of the pressure exerted by the BJP. The invitation from Kerala CM had kicked up a political row with the BJP criticising the invitation extended to Stalin. TN BJP president Nainar Nagenthran, in his post on X, wrote that deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, minister TRB Rajaa, former Minister K Ponmudy and DMK treasurer TR Baalu had made “disgraceful remarks” against Hindus. Nagenthran had said if Stalin intends to attend the event, as a first step, he should make the above DMK leaders apologise for their remarks. Besides, Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar strongly objected to Stalin’s participation. He demanded that both chief ministers apologise to Hindus “Pinarayi, Stalin and his Deputy Chief Minister son Udhayanidhi Stalin have hurt the sentiments of the Hindus and are trying to sabotage Hindu beliefs. Pinarayi government jailed many Ayyappa devotees and unleashed brutal police attacks against devotees who tried to protect the belief on restriction on women’s entry to Sabarima Ayyappa temple,” Chandrasekhar said in a statement. It is most likely in this backdrop that Stalin has chosen to skip visiting Kerala.

Can Opposition leaders like Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee or Congress CM Siddaramaiah or AAP CM Bhagwant Mann shun a high-level panel being set up by the Centre to prepare for the centennial birth anniversary of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee? Just because they are politically opposed to PM Modi. Of course, not. The Ministry of Culture has notified three high-level committees for the commemoration of 150th birth anniversaries of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Birsa Munda, and the centennial birth anniversary of Vajpayee. PM Modi will chair each committee which as members have several CMs as well as union ministers. The committee for Sardar Patel will have 124 members is top heavy panel and includes former Presidents Pratibha Patil, Ramnath Kovind, Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Harivansh Singh, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and has 21 CMs, including Opposition CMs Siddaramaiah, Omar Abdullah, Sikhvinder Singh Sukkhu, MK Stalin and Revanth Reddy. The committee also has Patel’s family members Nandini and Diribhai Patel. The committee on Birsa Munda has 118 members, including President Patil and President Kovind, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, several cabinet ministers and 20 Governors and L-Gs. The committee also has over 20 CMs, including Opposition CMs Hemant Soren, Pinarayi Vijayan and Revanth Reddy, besides Naidu and Advani. The Committee on Vajpayee has 124 members, and in addition to the former Presidents and Cabinet ministers, Advani and Naidu, 19 Governors and L-Gs and 17 CMs including Mamata Banerjee and Bhagwant Mann, besides Soren and Siddaramaiah. This committee also has as members Ranjan Gogoi, spiritual guru Ravi Shankar, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Ram Madhav, Suresh Prabhu, Kapil Dev, Azim Premji as well as Advani’s daughter Pratibha Advani.

Wayanad Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra takes her role as a lawmaker very seriously. Not only does she articulate problems of her constituency inside the Lok Sabha, she is also known to take up issues of her constituency with Union Ministers. It is being said when she meets Central ministers, it is not for a private tete a tete. She is always taking along a delegation of Kerala MPs. State MPs, one hears, are extremely happy that the Gandhi girl has made it possible for Opposition MPs to have dialogue with the government on state issues. She recently had a meeting with Health Minister and BJP President JP Nadda on issues of Wayanad. She was accompanied by Kerala MPs, mostly from the Congress. Sharing details of her interaction on X, Priyanka requested Nadda to expedite some health projects in Wayanad and to apprise him of the severe difficulties being faced by the local population in the absence of the Medical College in Mananthavady. “We also discussed the need for better healthcare for Wayanad’s tribal population, their specific health issues, pending NHM funds and the need for a specialised trauma centre catering to cases of animal attacks in the area. Along with this all of us also renewed the long-standing request for an AIIMS for Kerala.” On her X timeline, one finds, she has showcased how Wayanad Coffee has received a Special Mention under Category A – Agriculture in the GoI’s ODOP program — the first such recognition for any product from Kerala. This honour celebrates the dedication of Wayanad’s farmers and the unique identity of their GI-tagged Robusta Coffee, a pillar of Wayanad’s economy.  Unlike her brother Rahul who is determined to push even a fake narrative of inflated vote count by the BJP to win 2024 polls, Priyanka seems focussed on governance issues.