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Last week, as Congress leaders protested against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s so-called “anti-Ambedkar” remark in Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi joined his party MPs in a blue T-shirt, giving up his trademark white polo T-shirt. His sister Priyanka also twinned with him wearing a blue sari. Clearly the Gandhi siblings opted to go for a very visual protest against Shah’s remarks. The choice of the colour of clothes of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) — usually spotted donning plain white T-shirts raised eyebrows. The colour blue has been associated with Dalit politics since 1942, when Dr BR Ambedkar established the Scheduled Castes Federation to campaign for the rights of the Dalit community. The body adopted a blue flag featuring Ashok Chakra. The flag was later retained by the Republican Party of India (RPI), founded by Ambedkar in 1956. Over time, blue became very closely associated with Dalit identity and activism. Even political parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party and the ASP, which champions Dalit welfare, embraced blue colour in their branding. As the Gandhi siblings lead the protest, it was the choice of colour of their clothes that caught everyone’s attention!
The Winter Session which saw a two-day discussion on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution and introduction of One Nation One Election (ONOE) Bill has come to a close. It brought out sharp divisions over discussions and bills at least in two political parties — the Congress and DMK. In the Congress, if a first term MP Priyanka Vadra was seen opening the discussion on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, for some reason senior leader and eminent lawyer P Chidambaram did not get an opportunity to have his say about the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha. In the DMK, there was a clear division of views between the DMK parliamentary party leader TR Baalu and deputy leader Kanimozhi. While Baalu endorsed the government’s offer to refer the Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Kanimozhi seemed completely surprised by his stand and insisted that her party was opposed to the Bill and demanded its withdrawal.”DMK has consistently opposed the entire Bill. We do not accept that there can be ONOE because it is against the Constitution. It is against federal rights and it is against the will of the people. People choose state governments for 5 years, I don’t think you can take that right away from the people and give it to the EC to decide how many years governments can last or not. So, this is completely against the state, against federalism” said Kanimozhi. While her stand reflects TN assembly resolution passed in February against ONOE Bill this year, the media is awash with reports about how her late father Kalaignar M Karunanidhi had highlighted the benefits of simultaneous polls in his autobiography Nenjuku Neethi. Incidentally, Karunanidhi had advanced state polls to 1971 to coincide with LS polls.
The Thursday (Dec 19) visit of BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) MLAs to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur has become a hot political topic though there are other reasons, too, for intense politicking. Firstly, the MLAs belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar did not join the event. Secondly, those disgruntled due to their non-inclusion in the council of ministers have started expressing their anger openly. Like earlier two occasions, Ajit Pawar and most of his followers distanced themselves from the visit organized by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The presence of former CM Eknath Shinde and his MLAs proved to be another highlight. However, the discontent brewing within Mahayuti on other counts is now becoming more vocal. Political heavyweight Chhagan Bhujbal was the first to articulate it. His open criticism of Ajit Pawar surprised many since he had stayed by the side of Pawar all through. Now, there are reports that some of Bhujbal’s supporters want him to join the BJP to end his political wilderness. So far, Bhujbal has maintained that he is with the NCP (Ajit). The other notable leader to become the subject of political speculation is the legislative council’s deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe. Her detractors, mainly the recent Sena (UBT) entrant Sushama Andhare, have started hinting at Gorhe’s plans to go with the BJP. Gorhe, too, has not reacted to the talk. Ajit’s sudden disappearance for two days from the winter session only added grist to the grapevine. His explanation that he was down with a throat infection is hardly swallowed. More murmurs are expected to be heard once Fadnavis announces the allocation of the portfolios.
The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has started preparing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, expected to take place early next year. This will be the fight for political survival for Thackeray because the Sena has been in power in India’s richest civic body since 1985. Taking stock of the situation, other political parties, too, have begun their planning. The picture this time will be fundamentally different since the BJP has emerged as the largest party in the state after the assembly election. Its estrangement with the Sena (UBT), which split in 2022 owing to Eknath Shinde’s decision to walk out of it, will be a major factor in the coming election in which the Congress will be an insignificant player, given its lacklustre performance in Mumbai and the state as a whole. Equally exasperating is the condition of the state Congress committee as its president Nana Patole is perceived as an ineffective leader by the rank and file. The BMC’s last election saw the Sena winning 84 seats in the 227-member house while the BJP had captured 82. Owing to the alliance ethics, the BJP had made no effort to bag the mayoralty of the financial capital of India. However, the BJP is not prepared to take any chance this time and a decision about its Mumbai president is likely to be taken soon. Sitting chief Ashish Shelar is among the hopefuls though his inclusion in the council of ministers could be a decisive factor in the final choice.
This was to happen one day or the other with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) putting its foot down saying it will not send its national teams to India for any signature event of the ICC, like the World Cups in the two formats in men, women and the juniors. This was the PCB’s riposte to the long-standing BCCI position — citing security concerns — that it will not send its team across the border for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and that it will play only at a neutral venue. For three World Test Championship (WTC) the two nations have taken themselves off the Future Tours Programme (FTP). The cricketers of the two countries may enjoy good relationships when they lock horns in neutral country venues and have fans across the border, but the Indian government has been steadfast in denying permission to the BCCI. The latest communication from the ICC has confirmed that in the 2024-2027 cycle all ICC events given to India and Pakistan, the matches featuring the two countries will be held at a neutral country chosen by the host country; in the Champions Trophy case the PCB is the host. What all this means is the elimination of high security arrangements that India had to do when Pakistan played last year’s World Cup matches in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. It took hard bargaining by the PCB with the ICC — with Jay Shah in Chair since December 1, 2024 — for it to agree to a hybrid model in order to ensure that it remains the host in a neutral country venue as well and where India will play and this country is said to be the United Arab Emirates.
The massive success of Pushpa 2, has reignited the debate over screen allocation in West Bengal’s single-screen theatres. While the blockbuster continues to dominate the box office, its stronghold has created challenges for four Bengali films— Khadaan, Shontaan, Chaalchitro, and 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane—which targeted Christmas Day for their releases. The overlap has sparked a heated controversy over securing adequate slots in single-screen theatres, which remain a key audience base for Bengali cinema. Single-screen theatres across Bengal are grappling with the balancing act of accommodating these films while catering to the massive demand for Pushpa 2. Tollywood’s Christmas lineup has been significantly impacted, with producer-actor Dev expressing frustration on social media. He alleged that Khadan’s shows and advance bookings were disrupted due to the overwhelming presence of Pushpa 2. Arijit Dutta, owner of Priya Theatre, reported dividing slots among the films: Khadaan (two shows), Chaalchitro (one), 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane (one), and Pushpa 2 (one). However, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty’s Shontaan was left out entirely, sparking outrage from its director Raj Chakraborty, who criticized the lack of consistent support for Bengali cinema. A distributor, speaking anonymously, blamed the simultaneous release of multiple Bengali films during the festive season, suggesting a lack of coordination among producers. He pointed to Bollywood’s strategy of staggering releases as a model Tollywood could emulate. Star Theatre owner Joydeep Mukherjee called for better planning within the Bengali film industry to avoid internal competition. Interestingly, allegations have resurfaced about Shontaan‘s producer, pressuring hall owners to prioritize its films. This history has led some distributors to side with independent producers in the current clash.
Sunday’s swearing in of 33 (16:9:8 ratio for BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP respectively) mostly young cabinet ministers in CM Devendra Fadnavis’ 3.0 government was not followed up by expected portfolio allocations even late Thursday (Dec 19). The unrelenting clamour for one specific portfolio by a senior BJP minister-in-waiting (in apparent conflict of interest), aspiration to improve upon earlier performance in power sector by another are in the open awaiting the Maha Chanakya to coolly decide upon. Scribes housed at the state government ‘Suyog’ facility within the Family court premises near Vidhan Bhavan enjoy the Nagpur chill over familial evenings at ‘Sneh Bojans’ hosted by these as-yet ‘Anamika’ ministers. DCM Eknath Shinde’s camp brews hostility from left out veteran MLAs and cherry-picking ministers-in-waiting who threaten boiling point anytime soon. This is unlike the chill that has set upon the near deserted NCP office at Vidhan Bhavan sans activity, notwithstanding the bustling beehive of activity right outside and within the state legislature that is hosting its winter session. It is probably the first time in Maharashtra’s political history for such an ongoing legislature session without specifically assigned ministers manning questions on the floor of the state assembly and council while responding to public interest issues of state. For now, all portfolios rest with CM Fadnavis. NCP veteran Chhagan Bhujbal, Sena’s Tanaji Sawant complain vociferously from out in the cold even as some BJP MLAs rue their bad luck despite winning big in Mumbai city where the richest civic body will face the hustings very soon.
The events outside Parliament House that led to injuries to two BJP MPs was best summed up by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in her X post. She explained how “During the INDI Alliance’s protest inside Parliament premises today, Rahul Gandhi had forcefully pushed an MP, causing a domino effect that injured 2 BJP MPs –Pratap Sarangi (Balasore, Odisha) and Mukesh Rajput (Farrukhabad, UP)” Both the MPs are now hospitalised as they have sustained head injuries. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan was surprised that the Congress had so far not even bothered to say sorry. “I was wondering what was the purpose of Kharge-Rahul Gandhi’s presser, if they can’t say sorry. Our Nagaland MP, a tribal woman leader Phangnon Konyak had voiced discomfort that was caused to her by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.” She has written a letter to the RS Chairman. Adding further he said, “We feel Rahul simply does not deserve to be the LoP. When the Opposition is holding a protest, we usually take another gate. What was the need for Rahul Gandhi to wade into the area where BJP MPs were standing? He should simply quit as LoP.” BJP MPs including Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi at the Parliament Street Police station in connection with the scuffle between Opposition and NDA MPs. It is learnt that security forces repeatedly requested the Congress MP to use an alternative path, specifically arranged for a peaceful entry into Parliament. However, Rahul Gandhi declined the request. BJP’s Thakur said “The kind of attitude Rahul Gandhi has, he thinks he is above the law.” Responding to the allegations, Rahul said BJP MPs were trying to stop him and were threatening him “
Home Minister Amit Shah whose intervention in discussions on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution sparked off a row and seemed to have majorly united the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge charged him of insulting Dr BR Ambedkar.. He accused his rivals of being “anti-Ambedkar” and “anti-Constitution”, and “spreading lies”. In his concluding remarks in the Rajya Sabha, Shah sarcastically said, “It has become the fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…’ If they (the opposition) took God’s name so many times, they will get a place in heaven.” At a Press Conference, he charged the Congress of distorting his comments in the Rajya Sabha saying the Congress had put out an edited version of his speech. “I come from a party which follows the ideals of Ambedkar,” asserted Shah.” Rebuffing calls for his resignation by Kharge, Shah made it clear that he had no intention of stepping down. “Kharge is asking for my resignation. If that will make him feel happy, then I’ll give it. But the Congress has to sit in the opposition for at least 15 more years. “In an unusual move — perhaps underlining the impact of the Opposition’s attack on this issue — PM Modi and senior ministers rallied behind Shah. “If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” said PM Modi. Amidst this, PM Modi and Shah met Rahul Gandhi and Kharge to appoint the next NHRC chief. TMC leader Derek O’Brien has moved a privilege notice against Shah in the Rajya Sabha for his remarks on Dr Ambedkar.
Ravichandran Ashwin was adroit in bowling the carom or knuckle ball or the doosra, but on Wednesday afternoon, Brisbane time, the nonconformist off-spinner of 13 years in the big league of the game deployed the “bombshell” to bring an end to his illustrious career. At the conclusion of the rain-marred third Test at the Gabba, the finger spinner with a few sobriquets, “scientist” being the most used among the media, Ashwin sitting beside his beleaguered captain, Rohit Sharma, matter of fact said: Today (Wednesday, December 18) was his last day as an international cricketer across formats and that he will be seen in action in club cricket, meaning IPL etc. The seasoned campaigner, starting his Test career in November 2011, was capped 106 times, and he missed 25 Tests after his debut; he featured in 61 wins, 47@home and 14 overseas. He read the writing on the wall about him losing the primacy as the No 1 spinner of the team in flannels after Washington Sundar was chosen for the first Test in Perth. Then being dropped to bring in Ravindra Jadeja for the third Test in Brisbane convinced him that his time was up…to hang up his boots. The home series against New Zealand that India lost 3-0 was a bitter pill to swallow for him. His numbers — 765 wickets in the three formats, including 537 wickets in Tests alone speaks of his right to be called a legend. It was a bold, practical call to take a bow while not in the field and that was an unhappy part that Indian cricket could not give one of its icons a fitting farewell. Ashwin has perhaps shown the way for a few more to bid adieu, sooner than later! They are over the hill, indeed.
The controversial statement by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee against Hindu saints seems to have raised the political temperature in Kolkata. A section of saints have decided to walk bare feet in protest of the statement. The rally will take place on May 24, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow in Kolkata for the seventh phase of polling. According to Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) sources, sadhus, saints will undertake ‘Sant Swabhiman Yatra from Girish Avenue in North Kolkata to Swami Vivekananda’s ancestral home. Incidentally, the rally takes place in Kolkata North seat, which is being contested by BJP’s Tapas Roy against his arch rival and TMC veteran Sudip Bandopadhyay. During a recent campaign in Hooghly, Didi questioned Bharat Sevasram Sangha’s monk of Murshidabad Chapter – Kartik Maharaj (or Swami Pradiptananda) for his political comments of not allowing TMC agents during elections. She even stated that a section of saints from ISKCON, Bharat Sevashram Sangha are working on behalf of BJP. While, VHP head here in Kolkata Sachindranath Singh claimed that the Yatra is apolitical programme, the ruling Trinamool said that VHP which is part of RSS and BJP hence it is a way to use saints for political campaigning. Meanwhile, Didi found surprising support from her bitter critic — Pradesh Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who also said that Kartik Maharaj does not have the qualities of a saint and is known to people as a political figure.
The high-voltage Lok Sabha Election 2024 is witnessing several eye-catching claims, dialogues and then taking a complete u-turn from those. None other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has been making statement after statement saying that he has never used “muslim polarisation” as his crux of any poll speech. Now joining him is Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee back tracking from her statement of “outside support” to the I.N.D.I.A government if voted to power within 24 hours. Didi has made it clear that her statement has been misinterpreted since she’s the one who created the Bloc, hence there is no room for outside or inside support since she’s part of it. However, her statement explains that Mamata wants the attention of the Bloc, maybe an invitation to lead it, after giving it the cold shoulder for months. Congress choosing Left over her in Bengal left Didi miffed which led her to distancing from the Bloc. Further, she was also angry that Rahul Gandhi’s Nyay Yatra passed through Bengal without informing her. However, Didi’s comments can be influenced by the state’s 2026 assembly election, with Congress and CPI-M becoming formidable opponents. She must prepare to tackle the anti-incumbency campaign and stop BJP’s 77 MLAs, and potential Left revival, which could increase their vote shares. Having said so, not to be forgotten that Mamata like many veteran politicians has an eye on the PM’s chair.
As South Bengal gears up for remaining phases of ongoing Lok Sabha elections, a new controversy has emerged with accusations that the BJP is fielding dummy candidates to upset the electoral calculations of Trinamool Congress. Reportedly, the BJP which has no muslim candidates in Bengal’s 42 constituencies, has indirectly fielded Mumtaz Ali, as a ‘dummy’ candidate in the high profile south Kolkata constituency which has dominant muslim votes. BJP’s own candidate is Debasree Chaudhuri. This is a prestige seat for the Trinamool as it is the home turf of the party supremo Mamata Banerjee. She used to contest from here; now it is being contested by her loyalist Mala Roy. Similarly, at the Jadavpur seat, three dummy candidates — Arun Sarkar, Shankar Mandal and Avanikumar Mandal have been fielded by BJP making room for its nominated candidate Anirban Gangopadhyay and dent vote share of TMC’s Saayoni Ghosh. In the same manner, the BJP candidate for Barasat Lok Sabha constituency, Swapan Majumdar, has fielded an experienced BJP worker, Sumay Hira as a dummy candidate against TMC’s veteran and Didi loyalist, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. However, at Trinamool ‘strongholds’ like Basirhat, Mathurapur, Uluberia, Jayanagar seats names of independent candidates are not being announced by the BJP. BJP leader Abhijit Das (Bobby) who’s contesting against Trinamool scion Abhishek Banerjee at Diamond Harbor seat is not revealing the names of dummy candidates for the fear of he/she may be attacked.
As the voting process now enters into South Bengal beginning from the fourth phase, now it is a straight fight between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Heavyweight candidates from BJP like Dilip Ghosh, SS Ahluwalia, Rajmata Amrita Roy are fighting TMC candidates Kirti Azad, Shatrughan Sinha and Mahua Moitra respectively. It may be noted that Ghosh was shifted from his Midnapore constituency to Bardhaman-Durgapur. The outgoing BJP MP Ahluwalia who is now contesting from Asansol against Shatrughan Sinha, managed to win by slender 3000 votes in 2019. It is likely to be a tough battle for Ghosh since post 2019 Lok Sabha loss TMC has won all assembly seats barring one in 2021. At Asansol seat, TMC MP’s candidate Shatrughan Sinha may have an edge even though it is the home ground of Ahluwalia. Incidentally, on polling day Rajmata’s body language was not that encouraging and she said that “politics is not her cup of tea”. Mahua Moitra is confident of winning by a lakh margin. It is a tough battle for former cricketer Yusuf Pathan fighting on a TMC ticket from Baharampur against Pradesh Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Meanwhile, all eyes are on Barrackpore, Hooghly, and Serampore Bongaon. Incumbent BJP MP former actor Locket Chatterjee from Hooghly faces her industry colleague Rachana Banerjee. TMC is keen to wrest back the seat. Similarly, both BJP and TMC are going all out to win the Matua community dominated seats of Bongaon and Barrackpore. Bongaon may be tough for TMC with incumbent BJP MP Shantanu Thakur, a representative of Matua Thakurbari, likely to win the Barrackpore seat. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has been tirelessly campaigning for Bongaon candidate Biswajit Das and Barrackpore’s Partha Bhowmick.
Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat under North 24 Parganas has garnered much attention with both Trinamool Congress and BJP pressing their top leaders Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to campaign for their parties’ candidates. While BJP is fighting it out to retain the seat, TMC is desperate to gain it back since a major Assembly chunk under this LS seat belongs to TMC. The battle will be fought between TMC’s minister and Didi’s trusted lieutenant Partha Bhowmick and TMC turncoat Arjun Singh who jumped ship ahead of 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections after being denied ticket by Didi. PM Modi will be holding his rally for Singh in Jagatdal at 11 am on Sunday ( May 12) Didi will hold hers at 2 pm at Shantinagar ground of Palta under Noapara Assembly, home turf of TMC. However, Mamata will be holding another rally on Monday (May 13) at Amdanga, another stronghold of TMC under Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency. Incidentally, Amdanga Assembly seat belongs to TMC and has a majority of minority votes. Interestingly, this LS seat comprises seven Assembly seats of which six were won by TMC in 2021 Assembly polls. According to political analysts, Barrackpore which is a Hindi-speaking belt has an added advantage for Arjun Singh. On the other hand Bhowmick will have to rely majorly on the minority belts of Amdanga and part of Naihati, which he represents as an MLA. It may be noted that PM Modi campaigned for Singh during 2019 elections and latter enjoys a great rapport with Union home minister Amit Shah.
Once known for its archaic outlook, CPI-M is going all out using an AI-generated video of ailing former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to usage of AI-generated news anchor and whistleblowing Bollywood dialogues to revive the Left Front’s fortunes in West Bengal in this Lok Sabha Election. But, can it counter Trinamool Congress and BJP’s political binary in the state? CPI-M recently created buzz with a teaser post “aei bhabe-o phire asha jay” (this way can also be returned) before releasing Bhattacharjee’s message urging voters to vote for the Left and secular forces. The video shows the former CM addressing a spectrum of concerns spanning from Sandeshkhali to unemployment and accusations of corruption in West Bengal, criticising the ruling TMC. The video also scrutinised the BJP-led Centre on demonetization, electoral bonds, and inflation by saying “Who is Narendra Modi? Who is Mamata Banerjee? Don’t give them a chance to ruin our country, our state.” Incidentally, questions have been raised about missing star campaigners. Countering it, Srijan Bhattacharya from Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency has garnered significant attention with his inverse statement of the famous SRK dialogue from Jawan — Bete ko haath lagane se pehle baap se baat kar to Baap ko haat lagane se pehle bete se baat karna parega. It may be noted that CPI-M since 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 State Assembly polls has failed to open any accounts. Though candidates such Bhattacharya, Saira Shah Halim from Kolkata South and Dipsita Dhar from Serampore are trying to revive the Left Front’s fortunes in Bengal. But, it certainly seems like an uphill task.
The Calcutta High Court judgement of nullifying the appointments of 25,000 teachers in the Teachers’ Recruitment Scam seems to have impacted the fortunes of the political parties particularly the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. It has dealt a severe blow to the credibility of TMC supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led government. Not only has it tarnished the image of the Trinamool government but raised questions about its commitment to transparency and meritocracy. The party is now grappling with the fallout from the scam. The cancellation of such a large number of teaching jobs has not only sparked outrage among the affected candidates but has also fueled discontent among voters in Bengal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his rallies in Bengal on May 3, reassured the youth of Bengal that those responsible for their distress would face severe consequences. He encouraged the BJP Bengal to set up both a legal cell and a social media platform to support the victims of the scam. Incidentally, several people blamed the CPI-M’s Rajya Sabha MP and senior leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya as well as BJP for the verdict as their main aim was to gain power and not think about common people. The verdict’s implications extend beyond the immediate loss of jobs for thousands of aspiring teachers; it has become a focal point in the broader political contest for power and legitimacy.
BJP, it seems, is leaving no stones unturned to ensure that the Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra who was expelled from the Parliament in a cash-for-query case loses her Krishnanagar Lok Sabha seat. According to BJP sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to hold a rally at Krishnanagar on May 3 in favour of BJP candidate Amrita Roy, daughter-in-law from Krishnanagar Royal Family. Mahua Moitra who came into public glare for her fiery speeches and strong political stance has been a strong critic of the BJP-led Central government. She has been going hammer and tongs over the Adani issue. When she was expelled from the Parliament, her future seemed a question mark but TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee went all out to back her by renominating her. Before Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to address a gathering in Krishnanagar on April 30 but the meeting got canceled at the last moment. Interestingly, this constituency has several religious places like Shantipur, Nabadwip and Mayapur and it is easy for BJP to mobilise Hindu voters for public gathering. Besides, BJP is banking on the Matua and Namasudra community votes. Local BJP leaders admitted that there is a panic in these areas over NRC and if the PM can clear the doubts on this front in his speech it will help. Modi’s decision to personally campaign for the BJP candidate in Krishnanagar underscores the party’s determination to clinch victory and also an opportunity to embarrass Mahua vis a vis Didi. If Mahua wins and returns to Parliament then it could be a face loss for BJP. But June 4 will decide which way the wind is blowing.
In the run up to the Lok Sabha Election, Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s absence from the major meeting of I.N.D.I.A. bloc is seen as her desperate attempt to continue consolidating her grip over the minority section that hold a chunk of her vote bank. The “Muslim math” continues to remain one of the significant vote shares eyed not only by ruling TMC but also Congress and CPI-M who are jointly opposing both TMC and BJP in Bengal. Sources within TMC admitted that with decline of political hold of Congress and CPI-M, Didi is now attempting to seize the bulk of minority vote share. Experts believe that one of the main reasons is that Mamata and her nephew Abhishek, are avoiding the large national gatherings of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is because of their focus on the Muslim vote bank. Out of 42 Lok Sabha seats, 14 to 15 seats have more than 30% Muslim population. Both CPI-M and TMC have a history of securing sizable Muslim votes. So too Congress which has always dominated Muslims belt like Murshidabad, Malda, and parts of Birbhum districts. Didi seems to be looking at the combination of an absolute consolidation of Muslim votes and an extra 10-12% of “anti-BJP” votes to win majority seats. Hence, for Didi, publicly shaking hands with the Congress may run the risk of confusing her supporters and hurting her party’s chances of winning.
It is a big question mark but that does not preclude West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee making it categorical that her party will be playing a significant role if I.N.D.I.A front is voted to power. In her recent poll campaigns, Didi dismissed the claims of NDA winning 400 plus Lok Sabha seats by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. She stated that the claims seemed to be a reflection of nervousness of both leaders. Expressing her assessment of the political landscape, Banerjee emphasized her belief in the resilience of Opposition parties against the ruling BJP. According to her calculations, Bengal goes to TMC, AAP will be the majority in Punjab, Samajwadi Party will garner maximum seats in Uttar Pradesh and DMK will clinch Tamil Nadu. Denying the claims of exiting the I.N.D.I.A front, Didi made it categorical that she’s the one who coined the alliance name. However, TMC supremo criticised the CPI-M and Congress alliance in the state in opposing TMC Is indirectly helping the BJP. Banerjee claimed that the alliance between the two opposition parties is splitting the anti-BJP vote, thereby benefiting the saffron camp. It is for this reason she did not attend several I.N.D.I.A. meetings but maintained relationships by sending her representatives. In her campaign speech, Didi has been driving home the point that if I.N.D.I.A front forms the government then they will do away/relook into NRC, Citizenship Amendment Act and Uniform Civil Code. The Alliance will repeal all discriminatory laws implemented by the BJP.
The battle for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is seeing intense and bitter battle between BJP and TMC in north Bengal’s six constituencies which go to poll on April 19 and April 26. The six constituencies are: Raiganj, Balurghat, Darjeeling, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won seven out of eight seats routing Trinamool Congress. However, TMC regained a significant portion of its lost political ground in the 2021 Assembly election and 2023 panchayat elections. BJP is fiercely contesting to retain its seats against TMC’s aggressive push via its social welfare schemes launched in the last two years. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee started campaigning for north Bengal on the same day on April 4. In terms of ethnic support it seems mixed. Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha is endorsing the TMC candidate, but the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha led by Bimal Gurung is siding with the BJP. Despite the support of Gurung, BJP faces problems from within; Kurseong’s BJP MLA, Bishnu Prasad Sharma is contesting as an independent after being denied a Lok Sabha ticket. Situation also remains critical in Alipurduar, after BJP dropped its outgoing MP John Barla, citing poor performance, who remained conspicuous by his absence during Modi’s recent rallies. Once a bastion of Left Front ally Forward Bloc, Cooch Behar equations remain different — with Lok Sabha seat going to BJP. Similarly, the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association representing the Rajbanshi Community is supporting TMC.
For a disciplined party this one certainly comes as a shock. A section of BJP cadres in West Bengal have launched “Save Bengal BJP” campaign by organising a rally to protest against turncoats being given Lok Sabha tickets. The criteria for getting a party ticket should be local representation and party loyalty. They feel outsiders are being accommodated while genuine party leaders are getting elbowed out. Interestingly the “BJP Bachao Manch” is canvassing to press the ‘NOTA’ button, expressing no confidence with BJP candidates. These vociferous cadres are also questioning the legitimacy and authority of its own leader — Suvendu Adhikari whose proposals have been considered by the Delhi High Command. Convenor of this committee Deepak Sarkar says, if chief ministers like Hemant Soren, Arvind Kejriwal are jailed then why Adhikari is being given a breather despite being named in several CBI and ED cases. They have also questioned why the high command has shifted Dilip Ghosh from Medinipur to Burdwan-Durgapur constituency, Debasree Chowdhari from Raiganj to South Kolkata. Besides, they have also objected to the candidatures of SS Ahluwalia from Asansol against Shatrughan Sinha and that of Suvendu Adhikari’s brother Soumendu nominated from Kanthi. The rebel cadres have made it categorically clear that they will not leave the party, instead, if necessary, they will field independent candidates in seats where original BJP leaders have been ignored. Hope Delhi high command is listening.
Loyalty is passe. A new trend is emerging that is seeing political parties betting on defectors and turncoats to win the elections. In West Bengal, both the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Opposition BJP have given tickets to turncoats instead of party loyalists. For instance, out of its 42 candidates, TMC has fielded four turncoats who have either joined the party recently or are elected MPs/MLAs from rival parties. Besides, tickets have been given to three more who are either TMC MPs or MLAs with a history of switching sides. Similarly, BJP out of the 40 seats announced, has given tickets to five turncoats from TMC. Out of which three are MLAs and they are: Biswajit Das, Mukut Mani Adhikari and Krishna Kalyani. Others like actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, Sujata Mondal, Biplab Mitra and Abu Taher Khan quit BJP or Congress to join TMC. Similarly, incumbent MP of Barrackpore Arjun Singh who was with TMC earlier had defected to BJP and won 2019 election. But soon went back to TMC as he was sidelined by the saffron camp. Interestingly, he has again gone to BJP as TMC denied him the ticket. Ditto: MLA Tapas Roy. He quit TMC after having a fallout with Didi’s close aide Sudip Banerjee. Roy now challenges Banerjee from Kolkata North LS seat. The decisions taken by the political parties to accommodate turncoats have not gone down well with party cadres and loyalists; it has incited unrest and animosity. Many loyalists say they will not campaign for such turncoats with the same fervour they did once upon a time. The parties in turn have justified their decisions by stating they gave weightage to a candidate’s “winnability”. Seems like a short sighted strategy.
In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) is mocking BJP for its failure to announce candidates for two prestigious constituencies Diamond Harbour and Asansol even after 26 days of announcement of candidates by the ruling TMC. Two time MP Abhishek Banerjee, second in command of TMC and nephew of party supremo Mamata Banerjee, has been challenging the BJP to field its Opposition party leader Suvendu Adhikari against him. Some of the names doing rounds were that of advocate Kaustav Bagchi, Priyanka Tibrewal and Abhijit Das. It seems BJP was waiting for Opposition parties to announce its candidature. Now, it is public that Congress and CPI-M ally ISF leader Nausad Siddique’s will contest from Diamond Harbour. BJP state leadership is also waiting for the first phase of election to get over as state BJP president Sukanta Mujumder is contesting from his Balurghat seat which is being challenged by TMC’s sitting MLA and minister Biplab Mitra. Also, BJP is not in a hurry to name its candidate for Diamond Harbour as it goes to poll in the last phase. Similarly, despite announcing names of 40 candidates in three separate lists, the BJP high command is yet to give name for Asansol seat, where TMC once again fielded veteran actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who had won the bypoll election in 2022. According to BJP sources, names that are doing rounds are that of Surendra Singh Ahluwalia, former minister and outgoing MP from Burdwan-Durgapur constituency and Jitendra Tiwari Ex-TMC, former mayor of Asansol and Ex-MLA.
The BJP high command announced the candidate’s list for the Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in three phases. The list came as a shock to BJP cadres and gave opportunity to Trinamool Congress, Congress and Left parties to tom-tom that Bengal BJP is battling intense infighting. Incidentally, former State BJP President Dilip Ghosh who is the outgoing MP from Medinipur has been shifted to contest from Burdwan-Durgapur constituency replacing incumbent MP Surendra Singh Ahluwalia, who has been denied ticket till now. Instead BJP’s Asansol South MLA Agnimitra Pal will contest from Medinipur. In 2019 Agnimitra lost the Asansol LS seat to TMC’s actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha. Similarly, former Union minister and outgoing Raiganj MP, Debashree Chaudhury has been shifted to Kolkata South seat, which is a home turf of the ruling TMC. Further, Haringhata MLA Asim Sarkar has been fielded by BJP from Burdwan East constituency and Bangaon South MLA Swapan Majumder has been given ticket by the party from Barasat Lok Sabha constituency. A section of BJP cadres said that this is to contain factional conflicts that have erupted in the districts. Analysts say this shuffling is being done to negate the possibility of negative sentiment against outgoing MPs not delivering on their promises. However, BJP leaders are openly dismissing this argument. According to them, the Lok Sabha elections will be fought in the name of Brand Modi. People will evaluate the work of the Modi government and vote accordingly.
The election fever seems to have divided Tollywood over movie release dates. The next 60 days will see intense polling activities across West Bengal but some of the Tollywood producers-directors are not worried about it; they feel it will not affect the footfalls. The much-awaited Bengali film Mirza by Ankush Hazra of one of the top mainstream actors will stick to its pre-declared Eid release date of April 10. Ankush pointed out that the film gets 10 days before the first phase of the election which starts on April 19. He further added that the response to the film will be known in the first week itself hence polling will not affect the release. Echoing similar views, director duo Shiboprasad Mukherjee-Nandita Roy’s new venture Amar Boss which will see the comeback of veteran actress Raakhee Gulzar in Bengali after almost 20 years. Shibu is targeting the month of May for the release. The confident director mentioned that his previous releases such as Ramdhanu was released during 2014 polls and Kantha in 2019 elections and both were superhits hence he sees no reason to fear. National-award winning director Srijit Mukherji’s much awaited movie Padatik, a tribute to masterclass director Mrinal Sen on his birth centenary is slated to release on May 14. Producer Firdousul Hasan is unwilling to back down with the release date since maximum moviegoers are not workers from political parties. But some are not taking chances. Like Superstar Jeet, his movie Boomerang’s release has been pushed from May to June 7 release. Similarly, actor director Arna Mukhopadhyay’s movie Athoi has shifted the release from April to June.
Bengal CPI-M found itself on a sticky ground after the allies of Left Front– Forward Bloc, CPI and RSP gave an ultimatum to announce the candidate list in 42 Lok Sabha seats. Chairman of Left Front Biman Bose announced the first list of candidates for 16 seats — three seats for the allied parties respectively and 13 for CPI-M on March 14, after being given a deadline of 24 hours by the allies a couple of days ago. The situation turned extremely volatile when Left Front allies questioned CPI-M’s alliance talks with Congress. Left Front sources confirmed that even during the internal discussion of announcing the names, these three smaller parties declined CPI-M’s offer of exchanging seats so that they could leave room for Congress and ISF. Interestingly, sources claimed that CPI was offered to exchange its usual Basirhat seat with some other seat in South Bengal. However, a senior CPI leader said this is a heritage seat since the party’s stalwarts like Indrajit Gupta, Ajoy Chakraborty used to contest from these seats. Similarly, Forward Bloc has made it categorical that it will continue to contest from its usual seats of Cooch Behar, Purulia and Barasat. Meanwhile, Congress has informed CPI-M that it will contest the Purulia seat. Meanwhile, CPI-M’s State Secretary Mohammad Salim accepted that it’s the responsibility of his party to take the Left Front and Left Unity forward and keep it intact.
With the Trinamool Congress deciding to contest the upcoming general elections solo in West Bengal speculations are rife whether party supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee pulled off an ace. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Didi’s party for the first time won 34 seats but received a severe jolt in 2019 where TMC managed to secure only 22 seats and BJP gained 18 seats. Notably, in 2019, neither was the TMC in the state weighed down by anti-incumbency nor were its mountain of woes this high including the charges of corruption against several of its heavyweight ministers and leaders, and the Sandeshkhali controversy. Interestingly, it pulled a surprise by fielding cricketer Yusuf Pathan from Baharampur against Pradesh Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Tollywood actor Rachana Banerjee from Hooghly against BJP’s incumbent MP, actor-turned-politician Locket Chatterjee. Tollywood stars turned politicians June Maliah and Saayoni Ghosh made it to the list owing to their contribution in the party. Didi not only gave tickets to her close and veterans of the party, she also retained Mahua Moitra from Krishnanagar and Superstar Dev from Ghatal. But she did drop five sitting MPs including non-performers such as Nusrat Khan, Mimi Chakraborty, and Aparupa Poddar along with ailing Choudhury Mohan Jatua and turncoat Arjun Singh. Significantly, ex-bureaucrat Gopal Lama, former IG Prasun Banerjee, youth leader of North Bengal Prakash Chik Baraik have been given tickets from seats in North Bengal where TMC is yet to make a breakthrough. Furthermore, six ex-BJP leaders — Mukut Mani Adhikari, Biswajit Das, Biplab Maitra, Krishna Kalyani, Kirti Azad and Shatrughan Sinha made it to the list.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was in Bengal to start his unofficial poll campaign met his political rival – West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Supremo Mamata Banerjee at Raj Bhavan. Since then, state BJP unit has been trying to address queries from party cadres about this bonhomie. Significantly Mamata after the meeting said that both of them discussed several things which are not related to politics. Likewise even Modi said the same thing to the senior state leaders like Sukanta Majumder and Suvendu Adhikari. Furthermore, Modi did not meet any of the party leaders during his stay at Raj Bhavan this time. Incidentally, the theory of “Modi-Didi setting” is doing the rounds not only among the Left parties but even among the grassroots cadres of the BJP. Party insiders said that the state leadership is faced with uncomfortable questions such as why the PM never criticized Didi’s nephew and party’s second-in- command Abhishek Banerjee during these rallies. It may be recalled that during Modi’s earlier rallies ahead of the State Assembly election, he was quite outspoken and had taunted Bua-Bhatija governance style. Political observers say that Modi’s speeches had a conscious effort of not going on a personal attack on Didi, since it went against the BJP during 2021 State Assembly polls. It may be recalled that PM’s “Didi-O-Didi” jibes during his political rallies did not seem to go well with average Bengali voters.
In West Bengal BJP seems to be going all out to capitalise the Sandeshkhali controversy to the hilt. Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a public rally in Bengal recently, minced no words to target Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee over exploitation of women by TMC leaders. He termed Sandeshkhali controversy as ‘jhor’ (storm) that will reach every part of West Bengal, accusing the TMC government of protecting criminals and trusting its own leaders over the testimonies of oppressed women. Later PM Modi met some women from Sandeshkhali. Not one to take it lying down, Didi countered it with a massive march themed, Mahilader Adhikar, Amader Angikar (women’s rights, our commitment) on the eve of International Women’s Day. Mamata charged BJP with turning a blind eye on women atrocities in Manipur and other places. Interestingly, some of the women from Sandeshkhali who were present at Didi’s rally claimed that the villagers had regained their land as a result of “Didi’s” stern and prompt actions. Significantly, in the West Bengal assembly elections of 2021, approximately half of the female voters cast their ballots in favor of the TMC, whereas 37% supported the BJP. During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP received 38% of the female vote share, while the TMC garnered 47%. TMC has taken several initiatives like Kanyashri, Rupashree, and Lakshmir Bhandar focussing on women empowerment. Political analysts pointed out that in 2021, the two Ms — Muslims and Mahila helped Trinamool win hands down and keep BJP at bay.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been experiencing internal tensions and factional feuds, which could potentially impact its performance in the upcoming Lok Sabha Election. Though TMC failed to stop its veteran leader and MLA Tapas Roy from resigning as legislator and quit the party, it managed to heal the rift between party spokesperson leader Kunal Ghosh and veteran leader and Kolkata North MP Sudip Banerjee. However, insiders of the party and close aides of Roy have confirmed that former poll strategist and Jan Suraj party leader Prasant Kishor (PK) personally called Roy following his resignation from the party and asked him not to join any party in a hurry. Kunal Ghosh met Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay at his residence in presence of local councillors to resolve the issues. Both Ghosh and Roy had been vocal against Bandyopadhyay on several occasions. Interestingly, despite being close to party’s supremo Mamata Banerjee, Roy has been supporting Mamata’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee’s idea of a new guard. It may be noted that Didi had always utilised Roy’s organisational capabilities rather than inducting him in her cabinet. Post his resignation, speculations of Roy joining BJP are rife within the political circuit. Party insiders said that PK, despite not officially functioning as poll strategist, continues to advise Didi. Many are also saying that Bandyopadhyay was advised by PK to invite Ghosh at his residence to resolve the matter, since Kolkata North is a potential seat of the ruling TMC.
Amid major political backlash due to the Sandeshkhali controversy, ruling Trinamool Congress will be holding its third Mega Rally named as Janagarjan Sabha at the historic Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata on March 10. Chief minister and party supremo Mamata Banerjee will address the rally, which is seen as her official poll bugle for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Second in command of the party and Didi’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee will also address the gathering. Party insiders pointed out that both the leaders will mainly highlight the issues of pending central dues to the state government under various central-sponsored schemes with a focus on the 100-day job scheme under MGNREGA and the housing scheme under PMAY. It may be recalled that before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, TMC brought all the Opposition parties including Congress under the banner — United Front at a similar mega rally at Brigade Parade Ground to counter Narendra Modi-led BJP. However, the rally did not yield results, rather failed to stop the BJP’s clear sweep. This time TMC has made it clear that every district and block unit must ensure packed houses instead of displaying their personal stature. According to political analysts, Didi finds herself on a sticky ground over the ongoing Sandeshkhali controversy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s poll campaigns slated during the first week of March, where in all probability he will address a rally in North 24 Parganas district and also meet local women allegedly victims of sexual harassment and violence by TMC’s strongman Sheikh Shajahan.
After striking a deal with the Samajwadi Party and AAP over seat sharing for the state of Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi, Congress High Command is once again in talks with Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on seat-sharing. Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh has said that the party is hopeful that I.N.D.I.A Bloc will fight the BJP unitedly. Sources said that a new proposal has been formulated for seat sharing with TMC. Insiders of Congress say that Congress is seeking 6 out of 42 seats in Bengal including its own seats of Baharampur and Maldah Dakshin. In exchange for this Congress is willing to offer TMC seats in other states. Apparently, discussions are on with TMC over the seats of Maldah Uttar, Raiganj and Darjeeling constituencies, plus one more. In lieu of this it will leave two seats for TMC in Assam and one in Meghalaya. Although there’s no confirmation from the TMC, sources said that Didi has softened her previous stance where she was categorical that her party would go alone in Bengal since the Congress is in talks with the Left. Congress insiders further said that it will ask NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to convince Didi on the same. Meanwhile, political observers viewed that this might make Mamata rethink since seat sharing in other states with Congress might help TMC gain the national party recognition.
In an attempt to go all out on the target of gaining 35 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit West Bengal to kick off the 2024 Lok Sabha Election campaign. He will be addressing a rally at Arambagh in Hooghly district on March 1. Arambagh is BJP’s stronghold but it lost the seat in 2019 to TMC’s Aparupa Poddar. Notable, the Hooghly seat is held by BJP MP Locket Chatterjee. Followed by Arambagh, the PM is likely to hold a rally in Krishnanagar on March 2 which was helmed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra before being expelled from Parliament over ‘cash-for-query’ case. While BJP has been accused of vendetta politics in the removal of Moitra from Parliament, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has already announced her re-nomination for this seat. Modi’s last meeting in this first leg of campaigning is likely to be held at Barasat, on one of TMC’s strongest turf in South Bengal on March 6. Significantly, Didi has begun a series of district-to-district tours announcing a slew of projects. Meanwhile, BJP insiders said that the meeting at Kachhari Maidan in Barasat on March 6, Modi is likely to meet the ‘victims’ of Sandeshkhali. They are likely to be brought from Sandeshkhali under the leadership of BJP state president Sukanta Majumder. Political observers said that since the state BJP has not succeeded in countering Didi, bringing Modi from the beginning of the poll campaign is nothing but a clear attempt of challenging the ruling party ahead of the polls.
Indian arthouse filmmaker Anurag Kashyap criticised present-day Bengali cinema content citing that remakes of South Indian movies led to this downfall. In a one-on-one conversation with Kashyap during the inauguration of maiden French Film Festival in Kolkata and screening of his movie Kennedy, he was categorical in stating that Bengali content doesn’t attract him anymore. His last watched Bengali movie remains cerebral filmmaker Mrinal Sen’s Padatik. According to him, deterioration in Bollywood is not as evident as in Bengali cinema since it used to be class apart because of the maestros like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwick Ghatak. Kashyap mentioned that he could only recollect quality work from Bengali filmmaker Srijit Mukherji’s Autograph and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Antaheen which was essayed by actor Radhika Apte and Rahul Bose. Talking about the ongoing controversy of director Sandeep Vanga Reddy’s film Animal, Kashyap mentioned misogynistic themes, and glorification of toxic masculinity had always been there in Bollywood — but viewers were less aware. Commenting on being targeted by a section of film as well as the political sphere for his provocative works, Kashyap said that everyone in today’s world is provoking in some way or other including the media. Citing the example of Ray who was targeted as selling poverty like porn in his films, he added that it does not affect him anymore.
The idyllic village of Sandeshkhali in West Bengal has been in the news recently due to demonstrations by several women who claim that Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Shajahan Sheikh and his associates had grabbed their land and sexually assaulted several. Shajahan notoriety came to the fore following his followers attacking Enforcement Directorate officers who had gone to raid his property on January 5 in connection to a ration scam. With Lok Sabha Elections around the corner, Opposition leaders claim they were denied permission to visit Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, later getting permission from the court. However, TMC supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee refuted these accusations blaming the BJP and RSS by terming it as a sinister design at play. Didi even promised to send her officials to clear the dues of the locals and set up special police teams to address any criminal issues. Incidentally, Sandeshkhali falls under Basirhat Lok Sabha seat which is predominantly a Muslim belt and Nusrat Jahan is the outgoing MP. It may be recalled that Mamata gained maximum votes from women through her pro-women policies and benefits. Political analysts are citing this as a massive personal betrayal along with a political controversy. This is all because Didi’s image as the supporter of the oppressed and women is fundamentally threatened by this controversy. Many also view that Shahjahan’s arrest can open up a can of worms and lead to an anti-Didi movement just like the Nandigram and Singur which overthrew the Left-led government.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) found itself on sticky ground when its biggest star face MP Dev made a swan song at the last day of Parliament session. Prior to that this Tollywood superstar and two-time MP from Ghatal seat resigned from three crucial government-nominated positions, the move coming at a time when there are talks within TMC that party supremo Mamata Banerjee is keen to renominate him from his parliamentary constituency. Party insiders pointed out that Dev had been disillusioned by the allegation of misappropriation of money in his name by a section of district unit, besides his long standing differences with Sankar Dalui, a MLA of Ghatal. Soon, both Didi and party’s second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee met Dev to discuss the issue and removed Dalui from the post of district unit head. Post that Dev made a cryptic statement stating that he might want to leave politics but politics would never leave him. Officially Dev stated that it is important for him to work towards Ghatal’s Master plan which is to put an end to the recurring problem of flooding in Ghatal during monsoon. Didi promised that her government will fund the Ghatal Masterplan. It may be noted that Ghatal is under Pashchim Medinipur district which is the home turf of Opposition BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. Incidentally, in 2019, Dev defeated once close aide of Didi and former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh by over seven lakh margin. All seats of both Purba and Pashchim Medinipur districts are matters of prestige for the TMC as Adhikari is leaving no stones unturned to capture these seats.
Speculations are rife that the relationship between the party supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and party’s general secretary, the perceived heir apparent, Abhishek Banerjee has hit rock bottom. For the past several weeks, Abhishek not only maintained a low profile, but also limited his activities to his own constituency, Diamond Harbour. He was last seen along with Didi during her ‘Sanhati Yatra’ on the day of the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, but was conspicuous by his absence from the recent dharna by Didi against the Centre’s denial of funds to the state. However, Abhishek breaking his silence said that he is awaiting Didi’s directive to take up party work outside his constituency. He even cited that his “Nabo Jowar Yatra” ahead of the panchayat election in 2023, was under the directive of the party supremo. Although terming it to be normal, he admitted to differences (read not rift) with Mamata over certain issues such as the age of retirement of party leaders. He further made it categorical that he has no aspirations of getting into administration such as the post of chief minister of Bengal or that of Central Ministry. Political observers say that if there was a rift, Didi would not have remained silent; she would have taken strong measures like dismissing Abhishek. Mamata seems to be siding with the experienced leaders, but by not taking any action against Abhishek, she is also indicating that he has authority over the group.
Congress and CPI(M) seems to have once again struck a chord with each other after West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee made it categorical that her party will contest the Lok Sabha elections in all constituencies in the state. Interestingly, Congress scion and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi who was in Bengal with his Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra found support from CPI(M) at a time when Didi expressed her displeasure that she remained uninformed about Gandhi’s programme in her state. Senior CPI(M) leaders including state secretary Mohammad Salim, state committee member Sujan Chakraborty met Rahul during his tour in Murshidabad. Significantly, the Left leaders not only joined Rahul but also held a closed-door meeting, where Salim has been categorical in stating that they are in support of Rahul’s programme. Congress sources confirmed that Pradesh Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been behind this meeting since Adhir is known to be a close-aide of Rahul. Following this meeting, the Congress has once again shown its trust in Adhir by appointing him as chairman of the party’s Pradesh Election Committee. The 24-member committee includes ex-MP Pradip Bhattacharya, CWC member Deepa Dasmunsi, DP Roy and others. Further, Bengal Congress chief has not lost a Lok Sabha election since 1999 and will be able to negotiate seat-sharing talks with CPI(M) since the TMC has blamed him for the seat-sharing debacle in the state.
The CPI(M) which has been out of power for over a decade in West Bengal and reduced to zero seats in both the Lok Sabha and the Assembly, is contemplating contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha election only in constituencies where it feels confident of doing well. In other words, it will contest only from a few constituencies. According to CPI(M) sources, the Left party is keen on contesting from Murshidabad, Maldah North, Krishnanagar, and Raiganj. There were also talks that if the tripartite alliance with Congress and ISF works out it would give up seats like Diamond Harbour, Uluberia, and Sreerampore to ISF and the Basirhat seat to sole ISF MLA Naushad Siddiqui, if its partner CPI agrees. Interestingly, CPI(M) is optimistic about the Krishnanagar seat owing to its vote percentage in the 2021 State Assembly election and 2022 panchayat poll. The party’s vote percentage was more than 30% in several areas including Nakashipara, Palashipara, Tehatta and Krishnanagar, won by TMC’s Mahua Moitra in 2019. It may be noted that CPI(M)’s last representation in Lok Sabha was in 2014 where two seats of Raiganj and Murshidabad were won by Mohammad Salim and Badruddoza Khan respectively. But, in 2019, Congress refused to let go of these two seats thus helping TMC to gain Murshidabad seat and Raiganj to BJP. However, Congress blamed CPI(M) for announcing the candidate list unilaterally which led to the calling of the alliance. However, the CPM state secretariat is still not sure what will be the final understanding with the Congress.
Bengali filmmakers have begun dubbing their movies in other languages to reach the pan-India audience. By dubbing their films, Bengali filmmakers are able to break the language barrier and appeal to moviegoers who may not understand Bengali but are interested in the content and storytelling. Interestingly, Tollywood superstar turned producer Jeet Madnani began by breaking into the pan-India mould by releasing his movies in Hindi too. His first one was the blockbuster commercial flick Chengiz. Jeet feels that not only as an actor but as a producer he must take Bengali cinema to a whole new level making it the next big film industry like Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. His recent release an action drama Manush: Child of Destiny was dubbed in Hindi. Not only Jeet, Superstar Dev, one of the most successful actor-producers, released the biopic on Freedom Fighter Bagha Jatin in Bengali and Hindi. But the most talked about attempt has been from director-duo Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee whose Raktabeej became the first Bengali film to be released in four languages — Bengali, Assamese, Hindi and Oriya. Shibu, as commonly called, feels that these eastern regions have a good market for Bengali films since many Bengalis hail from these states too and those natives do have keen interest in Bengali content.
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Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee leaves no stone unturned to play the secular card. On January 22 — the Ram Mandir inauguration day — Didi has organised Sarba Dharm Yatra which will show her visiting Mandir, Masjid, Girja in Kolkata to establish her secular identity. Didi’s whose residence is near one of the renowned Kali Temple of Kalighat will be offering her prayers and then join the procession to convey the message of all-religion harmony. Her next stop will be at a mosque in Ballygunge, where she will be offering “chadar”. Following which Didi will light candles at a Church in Park Circus where a stage will be set up for the Peace and Harmony rally. According to Trinamool sources, no politician will be on that stage, instead representatives of all religions including Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis and Muslims will be present. Besides them only Mamata will be addressing the crowd on that day. It may be noted that the Bengal CM was invited by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the inaugural function, which she declined citing that it to be a political gimmick by the BJP ahead of Lok Sabha Election 2024. Incidentally, Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari moved the court to stop Mamata’s solidarity march, but was declined by Calcutta High Court.
The CPI(M) in West Bengal has largely voted in favour of an alliance with the Congress but with a rider. The heavyweights at Bengal headquarters in Alimuddin Street have made it categorical that the Congress will have to make its position clear on alliance for 2024 general election since the Congress high command seems to be in favour of alliance with Trinamool Congress. According to sources, CPI(M) state secretary Mohammad Salim has explained to the party’s rank and file that it will keep fighting BJP and Trinamool in the state. Significantly, Salim has also made it categorical that if Congress manages an alliance with the Trinamool and at the same time look for holding hands with CPI(M), the Left will come out of such a tripartite alliance. The state secretary of CPI(M) has made it clear that there will be no ‘reconciliation’ with the Trinamool. According to political analysts, CPI(M) decision of going alone in Bengal is mainly because of the results of panchayat elections and last year’s civic polls which shows that the combined vote share of the Left, the Congress and the Indian Secular Front – which stood at a meagre 10% in the 2021 assembly election – has crossed the 20% mark in the panchayat election. Interestingly, CPI(M)’s share of vote percentage has gone up from 6% to 14% in comparison to 2018’s panchayat elections.
Walking the same path of the CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bengal BJP, has created a new cell, ‘Cultural Promotion’ within the Election Management Committee to promote its ideologies and visions. It may be noted that CPI(M)’s Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), the cultural wing, has always been used in election campaigns. Ditto TMC. Incidentally, BJP’s Cultural Promotional Wing will be having two divisions namely ‘Loksanskrit Dal’ and ‘Path Natak’ to be handled by actors Papiya Adhikary and Rudranil Ghosh respectively. Papiya’s association with films and commercial theatres (jatras) will be catering to BJP’s needs. Moreover her dance group ‘Mukti’ mainly stages programmes which will help BJP to spread its political messages. However, Papiya refused to give any details about the arrangement but admitted to having been present during the recent BJP’s election management committee meeting. Even Rudranil unwilling to speak about the development, but is learnt that he directed the theme song that the state BJP made ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s meeting in Kolkata. BJP sources said that this time, the BJP wants him to set up small street drama groups all over the state and stage dramas as part of Lok Sabha election campaign. It may be recalled that both Papiya and Rudranil joined the BJP before the last assembly elections where Papiya contested from Uluberia South in Howrah and Rudranil from Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata, which neither could win.
Two 16-year-old school students, Hrishit Deb of K.R. Mangalam World School, GK-II, New Delhi and Sri Mansi Katuri from Emerson High School, McKinney, Texas, US have developed an app that offers career counselling. Called Kwicon, this app is aimed at empowering students with transformative education, practical experience, mentorship, and networking for personal and professional growth. This app was among top 400 innovations presented at the prestigious ATL Marathon 2022-23 which is Niti Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission. Significantly, Hrishit pointed out that with Class 10-12 board examinations due in a month, students undergo stress and concerns about the fact that if they can’t get the desired marks what will be their career options. There are an increased number of mental health cases post examinations. A recent survey across schools in India says that a whopping 80% of students are clueless about what they need to do after the board examination. Only 15% of students between Class 9 and Class 12 are sure of what courses to pursue. The survey also revealed that only 50% of parents have clarity about their children’s career path. Kwicon app allows students and alumni to connect based on shared interests, majors, and career goals.
Amid growing differences between the senior bloc and the new bloc of state BJP and several lobbies of the top functionaries of the Bengal unit, the Central BJP unit has decided to work with a private political consulting agency for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Jarvis Technology & Strategy Consulting has been appointed to counter ruling Trinamool Congress’ political strategist the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), created by Prashant Kishor. Party sources said that there won’t be any conflicts in the functioning of the agency and the BJP state unit. While the party’s state leadership will handle political campaigns and grassroots outreach initiatives, the agency will carry out on-the-ground and backup research to provide information to the state leadership which can enable political tactics for the state unit. Interestingly, State BJP president, Sukanta Majumdar hasn’t acknowledged or refuted the development, though asserting that election strategies are private and internal affairs. Meanwhile, party insiders said that as per initial plans, the consulting agency will operate not only from Kolkata but will set up camp offices in different districts of the state as well. Incidentally, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National President JP Nadda who recently visited Kolkata made it categorical to the state unit that they will have to frame their strategies and policies to target 35 LS seat-win in 2024. Further, they must intensify social media campaigns from now on.
At a time when Trinamool Congress (TMC) is rife with the debate of old guard vs new guard, there is a strong vibe of tickets being distributed on the basis of age. Party’s second in command Abhishek Banerjee has been pushing for 65 years as the upper limit of age for contesting a poll and holding party post. However, Didi thinks otherwise where in her words, “The age is in mind, and as long as you can serve people you need to continue.” Interestingly, if Abhishek’s theory is to be considered then at present out of 23 MPs, 10 MPs are above the age bracket. They are: Sudip Banerjee (71), Sougata Roy (77), Shatrughan Sinha (77), Mala Roy (66) and Kakali Ghosh (65). Besides age there are other exclusion criteria. For instance, TMC MP Sisir Adhikari, father of BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari may be replaced. Significantly, if TMC goes by age criterion then it will have to bring 29 new faces out of 42 seats that they would be contesting in 2024 polls. Besides, party sources indicated that TMC may field in the seats they lost in 2019 Lok Sabha election. Incidentally, the TMC’s candidate list in 2019 polls was a mixed bag comprising stars, youth, seniors, women and backward. They helped the party. So one has to wait-and-watch who has their way –Didi or nephew.
In a major blow to the organisers of the ‘Ek Lokho Konthe Gita Path’ (Gita Chant in Lakh Voices) event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly not attending the Brigade Parade Ground event in Kolkata on December 24 because of a government programme. PM Modi was supposed to recite the Gita with Shankaracharya Sadanand Saraswati. Besides Modi not attending, the organiser has yet to get confirmation from the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. In a show of strength for the past three months, Bengal BJP went ahead with the plan keeping PM Modi at the forefront. It is learnt that not only the Sanatanis but also BJP workers and functionaries are hugely disappointed with this development. Meanwhile, Assembly Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari and BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar convened an emergency meeting after being informed by the PMO about the PM’s absence. Party sources said that frustration is evident among the workers as the city has witnessed extensive displays of banners and posters featuring the Prime Minister announcing his presence at the programme. It is also learnt that around 3,500 sants (sadhus) will be coming for the event and over 55,000 Bengali translations and 34,000 Hindi copies of the Bhagavad Gita have been sold in the last 10 days.
For several days, the issue of the age of political leadership rocked Trinamool Congress. The party which is reportedly divided between Mamata front and Abhishek front found a smart way to move an end to this discussion. During the foundation day celebration of the Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress senior Trinamool leader and MP, Sudip Banerjee said that the senior leadership feels that the party must address workers as “Under the leadership of Mamata and commandership of Abhishek.” Echoing similar lines, veteran TMC leader and minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay has observed that he would rather like to portray Mamata as the driving force behind the party and Abhishek as the emerging leader of the party. Incidentally, Didi recently during a party programme made it clear that the ‘new’ has to pay respect to the ‘old’ and the ‘old’ has to bring the ‘new’ closer. Significantly, post this unexpected debate, Abhishek for the first time stated that party workers need to derive inspiration from veterans and yet it’s important to consider work efficiency and productivity after a certain age hence there should be a retirement age in politics. Incidentally, 10 out 23 of its Lok Sabha MPs are aged over 65 years, with many party seniors feeling the heat of their age as contestants in next year’s Lok Sabha polls swirl through the party ranks.
The Congress debacle in Hindi heartland in the recently held assembly polls puts it at a disadvantage to negotiate seat sharing for the 2024 general elections. According to sources, the Congress leadership has started preliminary talks with the leaders of several regional parties on seat settlement. Regional parties in I.N.D.I.A are in an ‘advantageous’ position with Congress losing three states. Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar in Bihar have got the opportunity to put Congress ‘under pressure’. Amid allegations of being a dictator in the coalition front, Congress felt the heat after several regional party heads Mamata, Akhilesh, Nitish saying “no” to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s hasty calling of the I.N.D.I.A. meeting. According to Delhi Congress sources, Rahul Gandhi has already held initial discussions with Mamata about seat sharing. It may be noted that Trinamool Congress has agreed to allot three seats out of 42 seats to Congress in the Lok Sabha polls. Two of the three constituencies are Adhir Chowdhury’s Baharampur and Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury’s Maldah South. The third constituency is the late Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi constituency — Raiganj in North Bengal. The agreement on these three seats is considered to be virtually final. Mamata who will be in Delhi on December 18, will attend the I.N.D.I.A. meeting which is called mainly for the seat sharing agreement between the alliance partners in the state.
Having stood by expelled Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has left both Pradesh Congress and CPI (M) in a dilemma. In Bengal the party workers from both Cong and CPI (M) have questioned the stand as Trinamool is their rival and feels that the State BJP would be encashing the move. Significantly, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that Mahua will again contest from Krishnanagar seat. According to Pradesh Congress sources, having supported Mahua, will any Opposition candidates have a chance of winning? Moreover, the anti-BJP and minority votes are expected to go in favor of Mahua. It is further added that the party workers are skeptical of how to establish “setting” theory between Trinamool and BJP as claimed by Pradesh Congress President Adhir Chowdhury and CPI (M) State Secretary Mohammad Salim. A section of Congress and CPI (M) leaders feel that this will be giving Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari an upper hand of establishing his claim of Congress-CPI(M) being the B-team of Trinamool. However, Adhir has made it clear that support to Mahua since the beginning was similar to that of Rahul Gandhi where both were targeted for voicing against Adani, which is no way connected to opposing a corrupt Trinamool government in Bengal. Similarly, Salim, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and State member Sujan Chakraborty said that protesting against Mahua’s expulsion was because it was arbitrary, however, the party to continue its protest against both BJP and TMC in Bengal
From his artistic innovations to renovate Kolkata Tramways to debut solo art exhibition titled “Love and Longing” IAS officer, Rajanvir Singh Kapur is handling his administrative affairs and passion simultaneously. Kapur is currently Special Secretary, Sundarbans Affairs Department of Government of West Bengal and is the officer who brought a lot of artistic innovations in the Kolkata tramways from holding moving library to a restaurant during his previous charge as Managing Director of West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC). A self-taught artist, Rajan’s art depicts women empowerment, and also signifies the emotional states of love and longing created during the pandemic where many loved ones were separated by distance and many losing their loved ones. Besides paintings, Kapur also used Phulkari, a traditional embroidery in Punjab region, as an expression for his art work. He has taken the melange of love through various elements like jealousy, envy, seduction, taboo etc through paintings depicting each emotion. The launch of the art exhibition saw various artists and well-known personalities of the city. IAS officer Roshni Sen, Director Arindam Sil, Actor turned MLA Soham Chakraborty, Actor Pallavi Chatterjee, were amongst the many who attended the launch. Eminent painter Jogen Chowdhury observed that it is interesting to see how an administrator perceived art as he’s intrinsically involved in the daily lives of people owing to his work. Kapur believes that at present his arts are not for sale, but would if he needed to do it for a cause.
BJP is set to prepare a centre stage at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Gita Jayanti Celebration on December 24. It is apparent that the programme is the initiative of various organizations of the Sangh Parivar, yet the official organiser is Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad. Several functionaries of the organisation including central committee member of Vishva Hindu Parishad, Swami Nirgunananda Maharaj met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 17, officially inviting him to attend the programme. Over lakhs of monks across several Sanatan Hindu organisations such as Bharat Sevashram Sangha and others will be chanting Gita Sotras to mark the occasion named ‘Laksh Kante Gitapath’ (Gita Chants by Lakh Voices). The organisers along with BJP Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar presented the PM with the official invite on a silver plaque with Devnagari script written in copper. Manas Bhattacharya, member of the organising committee says that the PM has expressed his desire to chant Gita Sotras along with the monks. Even the President Draupadi Murmu has confirmed her presence. Claiming it to be a non-political event, Bhattacharya informed that they will also invite West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as the chief guest and other MPs and MLAs of the state across political parties. It may seem a non-political event but BJP will not let lose the opportunity to use the platform to drive home its Hindutva agenda in Bengal ahead of 2024 general elections.
In several months after some of her prominent party leaders were arrested for their alleged involvement in scams, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee in her first public endorsement not only stood by them but made it categorical that she will also apply the same tactics of arrests against BJP leaders. Reinstating her faith in party’s Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra in the eye of the storm in the “cash-for-query” case, Didi stated that it is the ploy of BJP to “oust Mahua ” from the Parliament. According to her, this would end up boosting the popularity and electoral prospects of the TMC MP, one of the Adani group’s fiercest critics. Interestingly, Didi named four arrested TMC leaders — Partha Chatterjee, Manik Bhattacharya, Anubrata Mondal and Jyotipriyo Mallick – and said they were not-guilty of money laundering in teacher’s recruitment scam, cattle smuggling scam and ration distribution scam. Sending a warning to BJP, Didi vowed to make it a revenge game by arresting eight BJP leaders with cases of criminal offenses. As a much needed step amid increasing allegations of scam against party leaders, TMC’s meeting at Netaji Indoor Stadium was to boost the morale of party members. BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari threatened to lodge an FIR against the chief minister for her comments to arrest “eight BJP leaders” in an act of “tit-for-tat”.
Family members of Bangladesh revolutionary poet Kazi Nazrul Islam living in India and Bangladesh came together in Kolkata to condemn the “distorted” AR Rahman rendition of Nazrul’s patriotic song Karar Oi Louho Kopat in the war biopic Pippa. The song was written by Islam in 1922 as a rousing nationalist anthem against the British Raj. It is learnt, a section of the family including Kazi Arindam, the poet’s younger grandson, and Khilkhil Kazi, Nazrul’s Dhaka-based granddaughter are likely to move the court against another family member — poet’s eldest grandson Anirban Kazi. Both claimed that Anirban signed as a witness to the “supposed contract” for the song’s adaptation and recreation license forged between Kalyani Kazi, Nazrul’s daughter-in-law, and the producers of the film in September 2021 in exchange for Rs 2 lakhs. Incidentally, Kalyani passed away in May 2023. Moreover, the copyrights of Nazrul’s works, currently held by the poet’s legal heirs, would expire in 2036. Khilkhil Kazi, who flew from Dhaka is one of the trustees of Nazrul Board of Bangladesh which permits artists to use Nazrul Giti in productions. The protesting family members have demanded immediate removal of the song from the movie and all digital platforms. To avoid such recurrence, both Arindam and Khilkhil Kazi have sought intervention from the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. They have requested Didi to set up a Nazrul Board of West Bengal, which will be represented by Arindam Kazi on behalf of the poet’s family to look into these copyright matters.
In a recent turn of events, the once powerful former BJP state president and Kharagpur Sadar MP Dilip Ghosh finds himself totally sidelined by his party. Apparently, his room at the party’s headquarters and also the main auditorium were put under locks. A few days back when he visited the party headquarters, he found that AC from his room had been removed. However, state functionaries dismisses these incidents saying it could be because the state party office has been shifted to the Salt Lake Sector V and the IT cell is under renovation. However, Ghosh’s close associates claim that ‘Dilipda’ was never informed of such a change. Party sources say that the state unit was immensely displeased with Ghosh’s decision to hold ‘Vijaya Sammelan’ after Durga Puja without taking permission from the state functionaries. This resulted in the decision that the party office in central Kolkata would not be opened for anyone without the permission of state president Sukanta Majumder. This is the second time Ghosh faces action from the party high command. In July this year he was removed from the position of National Vice President. Ghosh’s sidelining started after his initial attempt to ‘be friends’ with Majumder was thwarted and their statewide tour was mysteriously cancelled. It further worsened due to his regular criticisms of top leaders in the state unit.
Making her country and community proud is Roshini Mukerjee, senior banker-turned- fashion entrepreneur living in the UK for close to two decades. This Indian-British entrepreneur was awarded — Women in Business: Empowering Other Women in India. Roshni is the founder of the brand Myosutra which promises to bring forth culture to couture on sarees to bridge both worlds of Europe and Bengal. She was awarded at the Indo-UK Business meet in the Palaces of Westminster hosted by MP Bob Blackman. She received the award from MP Dean Russel. This is also a recognition of her drive, determination, and vision of entrepreneurship in the UK. Myosutra which was established in 2017 offers handpicked exclusive Bengal Handlooms where each piece is an artwork that reflects both worlds of Europe and Bengal. By setting up this business she has ensured women who suffer domestic violence find both solace and solution and in the process are empowered. Her unconditional love for the Indian craftsmanship has translated into Myosutra promoting Indian ethnic wear like sarees, kurtas, dhotis and accessories. Roshini has been making a conscious effort to showcase Bengal. Her aim is to uplift the women weavers of Bengal and also to make Indian culture and tradition more accessible to the British Indians, the British Asians and the British community.
At a time when the Ethics Committee of the Parliament gave its stamp on the recommendation to dismiss Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Maitra from parliamentary position in the case of exchange of money, the parliamentarian has got support not only from the second in command of the party – TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, but also from the arch rivals the CPI(M) and Congress. However, BJP MLA and Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari is not satisfied with that and claims that Mahua has done anti-national work and must be jailed. Taking a dig at the TMC leader who represents Krishnanagar constituency, Adhikari was categorical in stating that her membership is only a matter of time and people want such fraudulent MPs to go to jail. However, for the first time since the issue sparked, Abhishek stood by Mahua stating that the firebrand leader is “competent enough to fight her own battles”. Interestingly, veteran Congress leader Pradeep Bhattacharya stood by Mahua saying that he is doubtful about the logic behind the decision by majority. He further suggested Mahua should approach the court if possible. Echoing similar views, CPI(M) State Committee member Sujan Chakraborty said, ‘It was not understood how a person could be expelled at the same time be investigated upon by CBI. The ethics committee takes a different role arbitrarily. This activity of the Ethics Committee was not seen after allegations were raised against BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri in the Lok Sabha.”
The growing trend of Bengali Tollywood is that several actors turn producers in order to compete with the OTT creative works that have gained immense popularity post Covid pandemic. From superstar Prosenjit Chatterjee, Jeet, Dev to parallel actors Parambrata Chattopadhyay, starlet duo Bonny Sengupta and Koushani Mukherjee and several others have started their own production houses. Majority of the actor-turned-producers have pointed out that their production ventures are mainly to explore themselves as actors in varied subjects and roles. According to Jeet, Grassroot Entertainment’ and Jeetz Filmworks focus mainly on commercial blockbusters with Jeet in the lead. It can be recalled that after establishing himself as a heartthrob of Bengali movies Dev set up his own production, Dev Entertainment Ventures which has produced Projapati, Tonic, Kishmish, Bagha Jatin and Durgo Rahasya. As Dev points out, it is important to do good content and establish oneself as an actor after having a good stint as a hero. However, Parambrata identifies that content is the only thing that matters to him the most. This cerebral actor established his first production house Workshop Productions in 2011 along with colleague actor Rudranil Ghosh but had to close it down. Now, with directors Aritra Sen and Supriyo Sen he has started Roadshow Films. Veteran Actor Prosenjit’s production house, NIDEAS Creations and Productions is giving opportunities to newcomers while Bonny and Koushani had to launch BK Entertainments only to break free from being typecast in romantic movies.
In an attempt to make a dent in West Bengal ahead of 2024 General Elections speculations are rife that the Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda are likely to take joint charge of the organisation of Bengal. According to sources, the state BJP has already been informed by the central leadership about the proposed arrangement. Moreover, during Shah’s recent visit to inaugurate Durga Puja Pandal of Santosh Mitra Square, he had categorically said, “I will come to Bengal regularly and will also talk about politics.” Echoing Shah, Nadda stated the same, mentioning that the BJP will ensure a corruption free Bengal. However, sources mentioned that continued internal feud in the Bengal BJP unit has resulted in these statements. There have been agitations, riots, clashes outside the party’s head office in Kolkata protesting the role of state leadership. Cadres tore district leaders and state president Sukanta Majumder’s posters. In separate incidents, two BJP MPs from Bengal face protests in their home turf. While Malda Uttar MP Khagen Murmu faced protests from villagers displaced by erosion, Union Minister of State Subhas Sarkar was locked at the party office by BJP supporters protesting his interference in appointments. Recently, old guards of state BJP have floated BJP Bachao Manch, and have taken to the path of agitation expressing their strong distrust of the role of the current state leadership. These incidents have left the central leadership extremely displeased with the state unit.
West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee returned to her office at Nabanna after one and half months due to her knee problem. Didi last visited her office on September 11 before she went to Spain and Dubai. She returned to Kolkata on September 23 and was forced to visit SSKM Superspeciality Hospital for knee problems. That’s when doctors advised her to rest. Since then, Didi has been working from home. As a result she was forced to ‘virtually’ inaugurate several Durga Puja pandals this year. On October 27, she went in person to attend the Durga Puja carnival at Red Road. Her government is under pressure — facing the twin blows of the arrest of her senior cabinet minister Jyotipriya Mallick in the ration distribution scam and Tata Motors winning the Singur case against the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation. The arbitral tribunal has directed the West Bengal government to pay Rs 766 crore with interest to the automobile giant since they were forced to shelve the Nano project in 2008. TMC is weighing options to challenge the verdict.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
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If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.