All
Politics
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Celebrities
The much-discussed honey trap episode in Maharashtra has come back with a vengeance although its existence had been dismissed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Moreover, the CM’s Man Friday, Girish Mahajan’s one of the photographs with alleged kingpin of the scandal Prafulla Lodha has been circulating on the social media. In retaliation, Lodha’s photos with bigwigs like Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule, her NCP colleague Jayant Patil, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and several others are surfacing. Fadnavis has said that such pictures have no significance since in public life, it is common to be photographed with different people. It is true but Lodha’s involvement in a rape case has now been reported from Pune, changing the complexion of the so-called honey trap matter. Lodha’s premises in north Maharashtra’s Jalgaon, Jamner and Pahoor have been raided by the authorities. That is the area to which Mahajan belongs. Mahajan’s sworn foe, Eknath Khadse, has threatened to expose more details though local people remember how Lodha was always seen with an influential leader and had later levelled grave allegations against the mentor. Last year, he had filed a nomination for the Lok Sabha election but later withdrew it. Subsequently, he joined the BJP. Looks like the honey trap case is not cooling down. Lodha was arrested earlier in Mumbai on 5 July in connection with a POSCO case. The honey trap case is discussed with references to a prominent Nasik hotelier, a top revenue official and a controversial woman seen with a score of police and government officials. The Congress party has alleged that 72 civil servants and some political bigwigs are trapped in the delicate situation.
Maharashtra’s debt has now crossed the Rs 10 lakh crore mark, revealed former Opposition leader in Maharashtra’s Legislative Council Ambadas Danve. The state is raising Rs 57,509.7 crore through supplementary demands. Danve pointed out that the state spends one-third of its revenue in servicing its debt. The state already has a per capita debt of Rs 72,761 and has already earmarked Rs 1.54 lakh crore towards debt servicing including Rs 89,798 crore for principal amount repayment and Rs 64,659 crore towards interest servicing, in the 2025-26 budget. Danve estimated Maharashtra’s fiscal deficit to cross Rs 2 lakh crore by the end of this financial year; it currently stands at Rs 1.36 lakh crore. The state has been issuing tenders though it doesn’t have the funds to pay contractors and now hopes to rely on revenue of Rs 24,000 crore expected from excise duty on liquor to sail through, he said. The state has already diverted Rs 1081.7 lakh crore from various departments to fund its Ladki Bahin Yojana. According to financial analyst Rupesh Keer of Samarthan Advocacy, this is the first time that the state has taken debts to service its ballooning debt interest which reflects poor fiscal discipline. Already, Maharashtra has slipped down to the fifth position in terms of development in the country. The state is already under fire from the Comptroller and Auditors Report (CAG) for various off-budgetary borrowings that bypass legislative scrutiny and threaten to lead Maharashtra into a cycle of debt trap.
PM Modi responded to Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation only after it had been accepted. In a brief message on X he said Dhankar has had “many opportunities to serve the country in various capacities” including as Vice-President of India. He wished him “good health”. What triggered 74-year old Dhankhar’s sudden resignation on the first day (July 21) of the Monsoon Session of the Parliament on July 21 evening? No one believes it has anything to do with his health. Some believe his exit is linked to the way he conducted Rajya Sabha proceedings on the first day. After years of being tough on the Opposition, he was suddenly found indulging them particularly on sensitive “national security issues”. This came as a shock to the government. He was found allowing LoP Mallikarjun Kharge to hold forth on everything from — Operation Sindoor to Pahalgam Attack to President Trump’s role in securing India-Pak cease-fire. Leader of the House JP Nadda did lodge a protest. Kharge contradicted what PM Modi said on Op Sindoor as an incontrovertible victory over Pakistan — just outside Parliament House. BJP sources said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had conveyed the government’s disquiet — rather PM Modi’s disappointment. It is felt Rajnath’s message must have upset him. Soon after Rajnath met Dhankhar, he was found playing the Opposition card as chairman. He mentioned that he had received a notice from the Opposition to constitute a statutory committee for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma and that it has been signed by more than 50 members of the Upper House. Of course, Dhankhar did ask Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal if a similar motion to impeach Justice Varma had been moved in the Lok Sabha. The buzz is Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is most likely to be next V-P– he is considered the best bet ahead of UP polls.
Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade is among the frontrunners for the vacant post of Vice-President of India. Hailing from Marathwada, he has devoted his life for the BJP. A former speaker of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, Haribhau had been a member of the house for multiple terms. Known for his accommodative nature, He was fondly called by his first name, which denoted both affection and respect. Those close to him would address him as Nana. So far, the Vice-President’s office has not been graced by anyone from Maharashtra though the state’s daughter, Pratibha Patil, became the first Lady President of the country. The highest political post was occupied by YB Chavan, who became deputy Prime Minister in the short-lived Charan Singh government. Haribhau was born on 17 August 1945 in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. He became an RSS activist at a young age in a region that was averse to the saffron ideology. Haribhau toiled for decades to spread the message of the Jan Sangh and then the BJP. Many prominent regional leaders owe their rise to the guidance and support provided by Haribhau to them. As the saffron influence increased in Maharashtra, Haribhau was invariably made a party candidate for the assembly. Coincidentally, Pratibha Patil was the Governor of Rajasthan when she was selected by the Congress party to become the President of the country. If Haribhau is handpicked to become V-P, it will be one more feather in Rajasthan’s and Maharashtra’s cap.
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee has made it official that her party will take on BJP in the run-up to the State Assembly polls based on Bengali Asmita. Addressing a massive Martyrs Day rally in Kolkata she accused BJP of unleashing linguistic terrorism and Mamata made it categorical that another Bhasha Movement will be embarked upon to safeguard Bengali pride. She claimed that more than 1,000 Bengali-speaking individuals have been detained and jailed in BJP-ruled states such as Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. TMC supremo stated that terror has been unleashed on the Bengali language and described the BJP’s actions as a massive conspiracy against Bengali identity. She warned that if linguistic profiling of Bengalis does not stop, the resistance movement will be taken to the national capital. Mamata also announced a statewide protest campaign against what she described as the ongoing oppression of the Bengali language. Directly attacking Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Didi said he is unable to manage his own state but continues to interfere in West Bengal’s affairs. Interestingly, she went a step further in her political critique, claiming that the present Indian government is being remotely controlled by U.S. President Donald Trump. Significantly, during the rally, Mamata introduced the gathering to the father of Jhantu Ali Sheikh and a family member of Bitan Adhikari—both victims of the Pahalgam terror attack earlier this year.
A skirmish between India and England, that’s been fascinating so far, is set to resume at Manchester from July 23. England will strive for a 3-1 lead and a series win before the teams travel to London for the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy at The Oval. While England — given an impetus to its attack by the return of fast bowler Jofra Archer — will take the field with its tail up, India will have to do the catching up with no leeway for mistakes in the three departments of the game. The first three Tests have delivered contests that the purists of the sport would have taken delight at; so remarkable have they been. And yet it is India, shepherded by the young captain in Shubman Gill, that appears to be on the precipice before the first ball is sent down at Manchester. Gill has to get his No 3 in Karun Nair to be more productive and tell Yashasvi Jaiswal not to throw away his wicket. Then he has to find a bowling group that has the wherewithal to take 20 wickets. Jasprit Bumrah appears to be a case of “fait accompli” and lead the attack, a perforce situation for India dictated by England’s 2-1 lead in the series and an 8-day gap between the Lord’s and Manchester Tests. Mohammed Siraj, who flared up in the third Test will be his Dukes-ball partner. Seamer Anshul Kamboj has been added as a cover for the injured Arshdeep Singh. Gill has to choose from Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna and Kamboj as first change. Gill has plenty in his plate — including Rishab Pant’s finger injury — to ponder at in order to keep the series alive.
With assembly elections early next year in Tamil Nadu, major political parties in the state including the DMK and AIADMK, have begun to enlist the services of consultancy firms to devise political strategies and campaign plans for their leaders. DMK, the ruling party, has roped in the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) and Showtime Consultancy, owned by Robbin Sharma, through its in-house firm, Populus Empowerment Network (PEN), which successfully handled its 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The DMK as a political party has faith in political strategist ever since the I-PAC, then led by ace political strategist Prashant Kishor, was credited with the party’s comeback in 2021. This time round the DMK has roped in Robbin who worked for the TDP and Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) in the 2024 Assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra respectively. TN is likely to face a four-cornered contest among DMK, AIADMK, TVK, and NTK. AIADMK, the principal opposition party has signed on Sravanth D and Hari H of the Hyderabad-based Pramanya Strategy Consulting. The firm had worked for Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena in the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections. Actor-politician Vijay has been working with John Arokiasamy, a political strategist who had previously worked for Congress and PMK, for his Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK). His party colleague, Aadhav Arjuna, also owns a political consultancy firm, Voice of Commons. Current DMK President M K Stalin was the first political leader in TN to hire a political strategist, Sunil Kanugolu, in 2014. Though his strategy failed in the 2016 polls, leading to the AIADMK’s successive government, it succeeded in 2019. It is said both Dravidian parties kept political strategists away when they were led by the charismatic M Karunanidhi (DMK) and J Jayalalithaa (AIADMK), but things changed dramatically after their deaths in 2018 and 2016 respectively.
The Kolkata-based Hindustan Motors Ltd plant which once rolled out the iconic Ambassador cars has been leased out by the West Bengal government to Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd to manufacture rail coaches. The 40 acres of its long-defunct land has been leased out for 99 years. The Rs 126-crore deal will see the plant produce Vande Bharat and Metro train coaches. Hindustan Motors, part of CK Birla Group, began operations in 1957, producing both the Landmaster and Ambassador cars. The latter becoming a symbol of Indian roads for decades. The plant, which ceased operations in 2014 after a “suspension of work” notice post-Lok Sabha elections, struggled for survival amid growing competition and dwindling production; from 700-750 cars per month to 250-300. Even though the then Left Front government supported by making it mandatory, the use of Ambassador cars as taxis it failed to revive the plant. Titagarh Rail Systems, already operating a wagon unit nearby, has bagged major contracts to manufacture Vande Bharat and Metro coaches. And this plant’s strategic location — just 3 km from Delhi Road and close to rail lines — makes it an ideal expansion site. During the company’s 25th anniversary three years ago, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had hinted at land allocation, which has now received official cabinet approval. However, concerns persist over legal and compensation issues for former workers. The Supreme Court recently upheld a Calcutta High Court verdict allowing the state to reclaim 395 acres from Hindustan Motors for public use, including this project. This development brings a ray of hope to Hooghly, a district that has witnessed major industrial exits over the years—from Tata’s Nano in Singur in 2008 to Hind Motors shutdown in 2014 and Dunlop’s closure in Sahaganj.
She seems to hate the media — journalists and paparazzi. And the 77-year old actress-politician Jaya Bachchan makes no bones about it. At every event the paps get a taste of her snide remarks or sarcasm. Recently, at an event she was waiting for her car along with her daughter Shweta. When the car arrived, she sarcastically turned around asked the waiting media, “Chalo, aap log be saath mein, aajayeaa.” A seasoned film journalist say she got the first glimpse of the veteran actress reacting negatively towards media way back in 2013 at Subhash Ghai’s birthday bash at a Andheri pub when a photographer addressed Aishwarya Rai as Aishwarya. Even before the Bachchan bahu could react an angry Jaya Bachchan asked, “Kya Aishwarya Aishwarya bula rahe ho, tumhare class mein padhti thi kya? ‘‘. The ‘Gudi’ actress historically loved by all seems to have surprised media by her rude behaviour. Again, at a public event when an elderly female fan patted her, she immediately shrugged her hands off. One may have noticed she seems to avoid media in general. At the premiere of her grandson Agastya Nanda’s The Archies she even refused to pose for the media and had to be persuaded by the family to do it. At the prayer meeting of Rono Mukherjee, uncle of Kajol and Rani, she muttered something in Bengali at the paps covering the event. Most paps are wondering why she hates their tribe. By her own admission in her granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda’s podcast she said “I despise the people who interfere in your personal life and fill their stomachs by selling those products. I hate it …”
At a time when there is a big question mark on the future of football in India and Indian Super League (ISL), Kerala government is laying the ground for a Sports League for colleges in the state. Modelled on the lines of popular collegiate sports leagues in the U.S., specific league competitions will be held for football and volleyball to start with. The first season of College Sports League-Kerala (CSL – K), organised by the Directorate of Sports & Youth Affairs and Sports Kerala Foundation will start from July 18, 2025 at Calicut University. “It has come to our notice that students tend to move away from sports after passing out from school,” according to Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman. Through CSL-K, Kerala aims to develop a competitive and interesting sports environment in colleges, he said. “We have constituted specific sports councils in almost all colleges, which will take charge of conducting the league in their campuses, he added. The inaugural season’s events will kick off with football league from July 18 to 26, featuring 60 teams from all UGC approved colleges in the state. From next year, the organisers plan to expand the league into a three-tier event. The preliminary screening will involve 168 district-level leagues from 14 districts. This will be followed by 48 matches in zonal level league featuring district champs and wild card entries. Finally, there will be a state-level league with knockout rounds leading to the grand finale to crown the champion College. The volleyball league will take place on the MG University campus next month. The project is being implemented with a seed capital of Rs 60 lakh. The league is expected to be self-sufficient financially in the coming years with sponsors like Decathlon and local banks. Students will be encouraged to participate via incentives like stipends, performance bonuses and scholarships.
With the fall of December, heavy-weight Trinamool Congress (TMC) and state BJP leaders have locked horns for the 2023 Panchayat polls. Both the parties have been indulging in organising counter rallies as a show of strength and their organisational hold of the area. Recently, the state witnessed the most high voltage rallies, where TMC’s National general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP targeted each other’s fiefdoms with their choice of rally venues. While Abhishek held a rally at Contai near the residence of Adhikari, the latter chose to address a gathering at Diamond Harbour, the constituency that the TMC national general secretary represents in Lok Sabha. However, both the leaders moved the court in order to hold the rallies and later directly challenged each other at their respective public meetings. Adhikari has been quoting multiple dates saying the present Didi’s government will not last beyond December and the state will have assembly elections along with Lok Sabha election in 2024. However, BJP sources have said that quoting dates has not gone down well with the BJP high command. Besides taking on TMC’s second in command, Adhikari held a rally at Didi’s home turf at Harzra. Interestingly, Adhikari backtracked from his claim of toppling the government in December, instead giving a fresh date of January 13.
There is a clear three-way divide in the West Bengal entertainment industry. While a section of the stars continue with their allegiance with the CPI (M), a majority of actors (TV and cinema) are with Trinamool Congress and some are with BJP. Significantly, the allegiance factor has hit the stars in the opposition camp real hard as no work comes their way. The change started when the West Bengal’s entertainment industry sided with the then Opposition leader Mamata Banerjee’s movement against Singur Land Acquisition and Nandigram massacre. The successful agitation saw Didi’s TMC dethroning the Left Front government and effectively, the entertainment industry changed its colour to green from red. With the entry of BJP into the state, some prominent stars embraced saffron and joined the BJP as allegations of corruption and “cut-money” plagued Didi’s party. But they had to pay a price. Noted actors like Mithun Chakraborty, Rudranil Ghosh, Rupa Ganguly, and Locket Chatterjee have been openly saying that the attitude of their industry colleagues have changed ever since they joined BJP. Rudranil claims he has been out of work for the last 18 months, while Mithun says he has been getting negative vibes. The heartthrob of Bengali films and TMC MP Dev however said, politics should never come in the way of personal ties and professional work. Dev’s latest film ‘Projapoti’ features Mithun.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) is trying to gain a foothold in the North-eastern states. It has seriously started campaigning in Meghalaya which goes to poll in March 2023. Having bitten the dust in Tripura in the last Assembly polls held in 2018 and by-poll in 2021, TMC’s focus on Meghalaya came to fore after the former chief minister Mukul Sangma switched camps from Congress to Trinamool in November 2021. Interestingly, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee’s mission to evolve from a regional party to a national party is being shaped in the north-east. It may be recalled that her Goa experiment failed miserably. Didi, who is personally focusing only on West Bengal, has asked her nephew, party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to oversee the North-eastern states affairs. And he has got into the new role quickly. He has already addressed a rally in Tura and is expected to do more in the coming months. Besides, he has launched a scathing attack against the present state government led by Conrad Sangma, chief of National People’s Party, who is in alliance with the BJP. Abhishek has claimed that the NPP government is shadow governed by the Centre and Assam chief minister Hemant Biswa Sarma. He announced that “sons of the Meghalaya’s soil Chief Minister Mukul Sangma would be the party’s chief ministerial face in the upcoming polls and that the TMC will not run the new government from Bengal if it comes to power.
With months to go for the Panchayat Election 2023, reports of back-to-back violence, crude bomb blasts, recovery of firearms and live bombs are being reported in some districts of West Bengal. Some of the districts of South Bengal — Birbhum, North and South 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, and Junglemahal areas have seen recent cases of political violence with bomb blasts killing three minors and injuring several people including children in separate incidents. Both Didi and second in command of the party, her nephew Abhishek Banerjee have been categorical to keep away from violence after the party suffered brutal electoral losses in last Lok Sabha polls due to political violence that took place during Panchayat Election 2018. Incidentally, both Bengal Police and Bengal Special Task Force (STF) have arrested a number of people having allegiance to the ruling party for being involved in the blasts and clashes. This has largely prompted Oppositions to claim that Bengal is “on a bed of bombs and arms”. However, senior cabinet minister Firhad Hakim countered stating the Union Government has eased inter-state border vigilance so that arms could be smuggled into the state to create anarchy. According to political analysts, the panchayats of Bengal have emerged as the epicenter of political violence as they provide critical opening for the parties to strengthen their hold over nearly every aspect of rural society besides the dominance and political influence to the grassroots.
West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee is on a two-day tour to the two most tribal-dominated districts of Jhargram and West Midnapore amid off-the-cuff remarks by one of her ministers regarding President Droupadi Murmu. The tour also holds significance, with an increase in Maoist activities and considerable hold of the BJP in this area. Didi first conducted administrative review meetings in West Midnapore and Jhargram, followed by a political rally at Midnapore College grounds. She also met the leaders and functionaries to brief them ahead of the rural polls. Incidentally, there is a potential electoral impact since tribal voters account for about 5.8% of Bengal’s total population and in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won five of the eight tribal-dominated seats across the districts of Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram, West Midnapore and Birbhum, popularly called Junglemahal. However, Didi recovered her lost ground by winning 28 of the 54 tribal-dominated seats in south Bengal which includes four Assembly seats in Jhargram and 13 of 15 constituencies in West Midnapore in 2021. According to party insiders, Mamata is worried about the reports of infighting in Jhargram between her tribal MLA Dulal Murmu and a strongman of the district leadership, Ujjal Dutta. She is also worried about the absence of her most trusted lieutenant Anubrata Mondal, who was also looking after the party functioning in West Midnapore, besides Birbhum.
Relying on the strong rural connect CPM is going all out to seal the spot in Panchayat Elections to be held in West Bengal in 2023. Having returned empty-handed in the Lok Sabha Polls 2019 and State Assembly elections 2021, the CPM is clear that this Panchayat Election is a do-or-die situation for its political existence in the state. Incidentally, the CPM had to bite the dust in the wake of anti-land acquisition movements losing around 50% panchayat seats in 2008, leading to the fall of its citadel in 2011. It continued with Trinamool Congress going all guns out for an uncontested win in the 2018 polls. Sources said that the Left top brass believes that terming TMC as “B Team” of BJP led to the decline of their vote share, where anti-TMC votes translated into saffron share. Hence, the recent dictate from the party leadership is that no official or unofficial pact with the BJP in upcoming panchayat elections. Significantly, TMC’s corruption and a beleaguered BJP led to the increase of vote share of CPM in recent past. With vote share declining to 4.71% during 2021 Assembly polls held in March, CPM clawed back with 11.87% in Kolkata Municipal Corporation polls held in December same year. These numbers went up further to 14.2% and 16.75% respectively in the Municipal elections across Bengal held during February and March 2022.
It is daggers drawn in the West Bengal unit of BJP. According to party insiders, the state BJP President Sukanta Majumdar is likely to go; he may be replaced by the Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari. If this happens, Suvendu will resign from the post of LoP giving way to BJP MLA Manoj Tigga, chief whip of the state unit. These changes will be made once Panchayat Poll dates are announced. Majumdar is likely to get a shunting post of central secretary or any post in the parliamentary party. All these developments come against the backdrop of the party’s new state observer and All India General Secretary (Organization) BL Santosh’s discussions with the Bengal committee members following Majumdar’s failure to attack TMC over a series of issues. Besides, it is known that Suvendu even while at TMC had great acceptance, ground-level reach and connect. This will benefit BJP in the Panchayat Polls. However, both RSS and the old guards of the BJP are against Suvendu’s ascension as the next state president. They are rooting for National vice president and former state president Dilip Ghosh, a diehard RSS man. The state RSS and VHP members feel, if Suvendu becomes the state president, the power of the party will go into the hands of Trinamool turncoat which will tarnish the prospects of BJP in Panchayat polls.
Factional feud and infighting among senior leaders of Trinamool Congress (TMC), for the past few days, has made it split wide open ahead of the party’s Lok Sabha dream. While the BJP is trying desperately to regain its lost grounds in Bengal, the TMC infighting among the senior guards is adding fodder to saffron motive. Local MLA Tapas Roy took a jibe against party colleague and MP Sudip Banerjee of indulging in “anti-party” activity by “keeping a good rapport with BJP” as well as a “corrupt politician who has spent days in jail” for his involvement in a Ponzi scam 2017. Though Sudip did not make any counter claims but referred to the common saying “Hathi chale bazar…..”. Sudip is Didi’s representative in Delhi who has interacted with PM Narendra Modi several times on her behalf. In fact, Didi had invited Sudip and his wife, MLA Nayana Banerjee to a programme held in her constituency, making it clear about her support. Another local MLA Tapas Chatterjee expressed his dissatisfaction for not being invited to Didi’s event held at a venue situated within his constituency. In both incidents, senior party leaders, MP Sougata Roy and local MLA Madan Mitra came out in support of Roy and Chatterjee respectively. However, according to party insiders, on both occasions, Didi has expressed her anger with close circuit. She is quoted saying that Chatterjee could have spoken to her instead of going to the media.
A renewed vigour can be witnessed with the CPI(M) West Bengal Unit. CPI(M) has always relied on its grassroots connections, especially the panchayats. Having been decimated in the 2021 Assembly election with no representation, the Left is now leaving no stones unturned to capitalize on their cadre politics. For 2023 Panchayat polls it has launched its campaign “Nazare Panchayat” (Eye on Panchayat) with a helpline number asking to submit complaints against the Trinamool Congress. It has also shared a video claiming that within the first seven days of the campaign the party has received 1500 complaints. Out of which, 55% are against TMC leaders, 77% of calls are from rural areas and 40% of those are related to panchayat issues. Significantly, the CPI(M) state leadership including state secretary Mohammad Salim, senior politburo members Sujan Chakraborty, Abhash Roy Chowdhury, Debolina Hembram, youth leaders Meenakshi Mukherjee, Satarup Ghosh are leading several protest marches, addressing rallies in the districts. The student and youth wing of the party — SFI, DYFI — recently called for an Insaf Sabha in Kolkata seeking justice for the murder of one of their youth leader Anis Khan witnessing a large turnout. It also held similar rallies in Murshidabad, Jalpaiguri, Siliguri, West Midnapore, Malda, and Raiganj. Incidentally, a supporter with bow and arrow surfaced during the Raigunj rally, which reminded the erstwhile Left agitation in Bengal.
Panchayat polls in West Bengal is due in 2023 and the ground reality is that besides TMC, CPI(M)’s performance stands best with its network of cadres spread across. BJP still struggles with only a “Nabanna Abhijyan” (march to state secretariat) a face saver. TMC is mired in corruption charges following the arrest of two of its top leaders and BJP leadership expected a groundswell in the party’s favour. That was not to be. Having failed to capitalize on this, prompted the party to seek support from its arch rivals — the CPI(M) and Congress during Nabanna Abhijyan. State president Sukanta Majumder had to tweet seeking support from the arch rivals asking them to participate in their programme, keeping aside political differences. More surprisingly, even his predecessor and critic Dilip Ghosh supported the call. It is a known fact that CPI(M) and Congress support each other to capture a Gram Panchayat or to rule a Zilla Parishad. District BJP leaders have made it clear to the state high command that it will not stop itself from supporting CPI(M) or Congress in forming a panchayat. The district leaders are aware that the majority of the supporters from Left and Congress switched camps in 2021 only to defeat TMC and now they have all moved back. As a support to the idea, the state BJP is all out to capitalize on CPI(M)’s programme Chor Dharo Jail Bharo.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s latest attempt to de-link PM Narendra Modi from the ED-CBI investigation in the state surprised the political fraternity across the country. “Modi is not doing these things,” Didi told her state assembly while speaking about the recent raids by the CBI and ED against top Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders, rather passing the onus completely to second-in-command of the country Amit Shah. Incidentally, besides NIA no other agencies come directly under the Union Home Ministry and no investigation would be possible without a go-ahead from the PM. Meanwhile, TMC is clear that Didi along with chief ministers such as Bihar’s Nitish Kumar and Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren will join hands to fight BJP vis a vis PM Narendra Modi in 2024 and continue to be the “fulcrum of opposition unity”. Political analysts in West Bengal feel it is too much of a risk as Lok Sabha Polls are two years away and with TMC government only 16 months old it needs to have cordial relations with the Centre for its smooth functioning as well as tackle several issues like GST dues, fund allocations etc. Analysts also feel that it is slowly dawning on Mamata that the opposition unity remains an unreal proposition, especially with Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi two of the main Hindi-heartland anti-BJP forces doing their own brand of politics?
For this year’s Durga Puja, the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has decided to increase the grant to 40,000-plus Durga pandals from Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 each which will cost the State exchequer Rs 240 crore. This grant, part of Didi’s vote bank politics, was started in 2018 and continues to draw flaks from the Opposition. It also finds no favour from her own party men as they feel the imagery propagates Hinduism which will benefit the BJP. Is this hike in grant Mamata’s desperate attempt to rebuild a clean image of her party? Isn’t this a big risk when time and again Didi has been stating that the state’s financial health is not at its best as a result of which the government employees disbursements have been stalled, new recruitments postponed and crucial repair of embankments in riverine Bengal put on hold? Analysts feel that this could be seen as the deflection of attention from the rumbles of unrest between the party’s old guard and emerging younger leadership. Adding further analysts explain Mamata’s pujas extravaganza is to blunt the allegations of the BJP about her alleged indifference to the sentiments of the majority community. Even her recent rally to thank UNESCO for the “Heritage” tag for Durga Puja is another clear attempt to divert political instability within the party.
All is not well with the West Bengal BJP unit ever since Trinamool Congress came to power with a thumping majority for the third term. The divide in the state saffron unit was clear since Balurghat MP Sukanta Majumder became the state president replacing Dilip Ghosh. Ghosh, a diehard RSS man, was the state president between 2015 and 2020 and under him BJP won 18 Lok Sabha seats. Recently, Ghosh criticized the CBI stating that it has “done some setting in Bengal”, putting the BJP leadership in a spot. His criticism can be attributed to the RSS’s cold war with the BJP. This is reflected as a direct attack on PM Narendra Modi. Moreover, it is not the first time Ghosh has defied the gag order from the central leadership. Earlier in June, in an email communique, the former Bengal president was asked to refrain from making comments against his party colleagues. Even the party president JP Nadda spoke to him on this issue. However, repeated defiance by Ghosh makes a section in the BJP believe that he enjoys sanction from “powerful authorities”. It is learnt that RSS has a game plan to add around 700 more shakhas to its existing network of 1,900 shakhas in West Bengal by 2024. This syncs well with Ghosh’s defiance.
With two of the senior party leaders in jail over corruption charges the debate of the era of young rule has once again surfaced in Trinamool Congress (TMC). Recently an explicit banner in support of Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee who is also the party’s national general secretary was put up near Didi’s home turf of Kalighat. The banner read “In the next 6 months, TMC will come up in a new avatar. Just like the one desired by the people”. Within 48 hours, a counter banner was put up in the same area stating “Old is base, new is the future”. The poster also read, “Under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and under the command of Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool has been and will remain”. Post the Partha-Anubrata fiasco, the ruling party is undergoing an organizational overhaul across all the units including the youth wing, women’s wing, and students’ wing besides the mother unit. The whole process is being overseen by Abhishek. Once restructuring is complete then Didi along with Abhishek and others in the top-tier leadership are likely to meet all the office-bearers right down to the grassroots. According to insiders, Didi will be laying out the road map for the rank and file, which will be diligently followed after the Puja season. It will essentially be the run-up to the panchayat elections next year.
The uneasy question among the top leadership of Trinamool Congress is: who would take up the mantle from the party supremo Mamata Banerjee. Significantly, after a long time, Didi was accompanied by Abhishek Banerjee who holds the position of national general secretary during her recent visit to New Delhi. He was also present with Mamata when she took stock of her party’s activities in the monsoon session and endorsed the joint opposition moves in Parliament, especially those against the BJP’s use of central agencies to raid and arrest opposition leaders. Incidentally, a section of senior leaders including Kalyan Banerjee had been vocal about Abhishek’s prominence in the party. He was criticized for both the Goa election and Tripura bypoll debacle, and also for trying to replicate the Diamond Harbour model, his Lok Sabha constituency. However, the opposing faction including Kalyan babu praised Abhishek stating that the young leader gave space and a patient hearing to all senior MPs and leaders. But, the message is loud and clear; in the run-up to the party’s Martyrs’ Day rally in Kolkata, posters put up across the state featured just two leaders — Didi and her nephew Abhishek. Furthermore, it’s Abhishek who’s now expanding the party in Tripura, Goa, Assam, and Meghalaya. Clearly, Abhishek is being projected as the natural successor of Mamata Banerjee, but it has been the BJP that made him a leader by constantly attacking him.
Nothing seems to be going well with the ruling Trinamool Congress after two of its prominent leaders Anubrata Mandal and Partha Chatterjee were arrested by the central agencies CBI and ED respectively. However, despite washing away hands from these two leaders, TMC has been prompt in protesting against Mandal’s arrest in a subtle way by organizing a two-day protest through youth and students wing. However, this was not the case for “Parthada”. “Kestoda” as Mandal is popularly called has held an unprecedented power for over a decade despite not holding any position in the government, not even as an elected legislative representative. His exceptional organizational skill of mobilising the masses to counter the Left in their erstwhile citadel of Birbhum helped Mandal to gain prominence in the TMC. Incidentally, Bahubali of Birbhum helped the party to win 11 out of 12 seats from Birbhum in the 2021 Assembly elections, and both Lok Sabha seats — Bolpur and Birbhum in 2019. Does Anubrata hold power beyond his district? Yes, he does. His influence spread over Purba and Paschim Bardhaman, which is why he was also made a part of the party’s national working committee. Kestoda, who is also a fundraiser for the party, has delivered on all fronts, party insiders. And this is why Mamata Banerjee has always defended him vehemently in public especially now by holding protest marches after his arrest.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s recent visit to New Delhi remained a low-key affair despite meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi appraising him about the state dues. She has always remained vocal and the biggest critic of the Modi Government and the BJP. But this time, her New Delhi visit did cover several meetings, sans high octane protest and meeting the media. Mamata’s mellowed stance about her visit has led to several questions. A section of the Opposition chief ministers said that Mamata despite attending the NITI Aayog meeting after a long time was not herself that of being extremely vocal. One of the insiders said that during the meeting, Didi did not complain or oppose the government policies. Interestingly, the TMC supremo in her last letter to the Prime Minister complained about non-payment of dues of Rs 97,000 crore by the Centre. Incidentally, chief ministers of Odisha, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and Punjab briefed the media about their demands and observations. But not TMC. Insiders say that the media cell of the TMC was asked not to share any information pertaining to her visit. The CPI(M) has pointed out that the visit was mainly to address the ED raids pertaining to the SSC-Teacher Recruitment Scam involving a senior cabinet minister of her government. Presumably, Didi maintained a low profile to avoid any attack on her government over corruption charges.
The three-time chief minister of West Bengal and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee who had over the years made a clean image of her trademark white cotton sari and rubber chappals is on a path of image correction after the recent recovery of Rs 50 crore allegedly accumulated by her senior cabinet minister Partha Chatterjee. Right now, despite sacking Parthda (as referred to by Didi), the TMC supremo needs to rebuild her image with the Opposition parties. After her thumping hat-trick win in Assembly Polls last year, Mamata was upbeat and confident of taking her brand national and becoming the fulcrum of the Opposition’s planned league against Prime Minister Modi for the 2024 general election. But the TMC chief still does not hold all the cards in the fight against BJP and needs to build bridges with the rest of the Opposition. Mamata will be in Delhi from August 4-8, says party source. Though the official reason for her visit is to boost the confidence of TMC MPs who have been at the forefront of protests against the Modi government. Also, her meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi remains unclear due to TMC’s strained relationship with Congress. It is also being said that the TMC chief is likely to make an appearance in the Central Hall of the Parliament.
West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee was at her usual self in launching a scathing attack on CPI(M) during her address at the Martyrs’ Day Rally in the heart of Kolkata on July 21. She not only referred to the alleged corruption during the Left Front regime but also threatened to rake up controversial files which would be a deviation from her slogan “Badla Noy Badol Chai” (No Revenge, But Change). Amid the row over irregularities in School Service Commission (SSC) appointments, Mamata slammed the CPI(M) by referring to the erstwhile government which always favoured and appointed the wives of CPI(M) party cadres as school teachers. She categorically named senior CPI(M) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who has been contesting the TMC government over irregularities in SSC appointments for some time now. Is Mamata’s reference to the CPI(M) and Left Front a clear attempt to project CPI(M) as her principal opposition? Political observers believe that Mamata is clear about her opponents which remain Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. She doesn’t even take names of state BJP leaders instead she’s in cordial terms with veterans of CPI(M).Will CPI(M) take a cue from Mamata’s attack to rejuvenate the party and set forth Bhattacharya as the new face of the party?
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a call to reject the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls. Addressing at the Shaheed Diwas (Martyrs’ Day) rally in the heart of Kolkata, Didi launched a scathing attack on the BJP stating that 2024 will not be a vote for election, but one for rejection of BJP for its monumental incompetence. Mamata made it clear that only her party has the spine to take on the BJP since her party is not afraid of ED, CBI and other Central agencies. Mamata said that in 2024, when the BJP fails to form a majority, the Opposition parties have to come together to set up the next government. According to political observers, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo had been trying to bring the Opposition parties together by organising a mega rally at Brigade Parade Ground but that attempt failed in 2019 general elections. Mamata stressed that in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, her party will win in West Bengal and other states such as Tripura, Meghalaya and Uttar Pradesh where it would be contesting. Significantly, the TMC chief remained tight-lipped about Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s questioning by the ED. However, party insiders say that Didi is focused on regaining the lost Lok Sabha seats, Opposition unity will therefore come later.
After a gap of two years, Trinamool Congress is holding its Martyrs’ Day Rally in Kolkata on July 21 with the party chairperson and chief minister Mamata Banerjee likely to raise her national pitch ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, and to lay out the big strategy of expanding TMC base outside West Bengal. This will be the first physical rally after Mamata’s historic hat-trick win in the State Assembly polls last year. Even though the senior party leaders including second-in-command of the party and Didi’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee remained tight-lipped, speculations are rife that some senior leaders from both BJP and Congress are likely to join the TMC. One-time aide of Mamata, Sovan Chatterjee and his associate Baishakhi Banerjee are likely to rejoin the party after a gap of almost four years. Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh who switched camps from TMC to BJP during 2019 Lok Sabha Polls was back in the party a couple of months ago. Now his son Pawan is likely to join the TMC. Besides them, three prominent Congress leaders of National ranks presumably from North South and North East States would also be present at the rally tomorrow. Interestingly, after catering to the northeast with the Tripura bypoll election and making public Mamata’s national ambition with the Goa election, large TV screens will be placed in Meghalaya and other north-eastern states for the audience to watch Mamata speak.
The CPI (M) in West Bengal is currently under extreme political crisis after being completely whitewashed in the 2021 Bengal Assembly Election. With no MLAs at the Assembly, the party has been trying desperately to reach out to the grassroot level and increase their public relations by highlighting the achievements of the 34 years of Left Front regime. Lack of leaders with the stature of someone like the late chief minister and CPI (M) patriarch Jyoti Basu and his successor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the party continues to highlight upon their 34 years of Left Front regime. Moreover, it celebrated the anniversary of the establishment of the first Left Front government. Numerous social media posts and videos were shared along with the talk shows participated by former Left Front chairman Biman Bose, former Left Front minister and senior leaders Surjya Kanta Mishra, Ashok Bhattacharya and others. Significantly, Bhattacharjee still remains still the go-to person, despite staying away from public limelight since leaving office in 2011. The party made an interesting choice, when it urged the 78-year-old ailing Bhattacharjee to address the 11th All India Conference of the CPI (M)’s youth wing the Democratic Youth Federation of India recently held in Kolkata. For a party that is now looking to gain a toehold in the state after over a decade of continuous electoral reverses, has also held ahead several events on the occasion of Jyoti Basu’s 109th Birth Anniversary.
Even though BJP continues with its winning streak in the bypolls of Tripura State Assembly, all is not well within the party. Internal feuds continue to loom large just months ahead of the Tripura State Assembly Polls in early 2023. The rift which transpired after the sudden replacement of the chief minister Biplab Deb a month ago, resurfaced after the former CM was sidelined during the programme to host Presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu. Deb was not seen along with Murmu and chief minister Manik Saha on the dais. He had to be content sitting with the group of common legislators perfectly hinting at “dais to diaspora”. The incident has not gone down well with Deb’s followers. They have taken up the matter with National president J P Nadda and also intend to personally meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. The rift basically ensued as these followers believed that the replacement of former chief minister with low-key medical practitioner Saha, who was also a late entrant and an ex-Congressman, was temporary. Fissures have deepened further with a clear indication when a relatively weak candidate was nominated to the prestigious Agartala seat during the recent bypoll against a strong Congressman. It was literally a walkover for Sudip Roy Burman who recently went back to his original party – Congress – from BJP.
Nothing seems to work for the Bengal BJP at present. While Trinamool Congress manages to make a significant dent in North Bengal by gaining the maximum number of panchayat and gram panchayat boards under Siliguri division, the Bengal BJP is grappling with internal feuds. Taking cognizance of this, the central BJP leadership has sent out a strong message to the leaders who have been vocal against the present state leadership. Towards this it has excluded Dilip Ghosh, former state president and MP from Medinipur, and Locket Chatterjee, MP from Hooghly, from the panchayat coordination committee. Instead, Debasree Chaudhuri, MP from Raiganj, has been given the charge. Interestingly, Ghosh had spearheaded the 2018 panchayat polls which helped BJP to make inroads and become West Bengal’s principal opposition party. Similarly, Locket who was in charge of the committee set up to celebrate the Modi Government’s 8th Anniversary celebration, also failed to be a part of the Panchayat Committee. Insiders said both Ghosh and Chatterjee had been voicing their dissent against the current president Dr Sukanta Majumder. Debasree is known to be close to Majumder. When asked why Ghosh has been excluded from the committee, BJP says Ghosh is one of the members of the National Working Committee. But so is Debasree. Locket’s exclusion is understandable as she continues to show her allegiance to the former state president.
Looks like Trinamool Congress Supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is taking no chance as far as elections in her state are concerned. Panchayat polls are in 2023 but Didi is already in an election mode. She plans to visit every district in the state so as to establish direct contacts with TMC booth-level workers and voters. This early preparation by Didi is for several reasons. First, to take stock of the implementation of her government’s development schemes and glean whether local leaders and administration are working in tandem. Second, to nip factional feuds within TMC. Third, to weed out corruption from the grassroots level. Above all, Didi has recruited a special force from outside to give her reports without dilution of what’s happening within her party at all levels. Didi who kicked off her panchayat campaign visiting the Jangalmahal areas in the Jhargram district is likely to visit all 23 districts of the state. Her one message to her party workers is: ensure panchayat polls are peaceful unlike 2018, which was marred by violence and opposition not allowed to contest. That poll violence cost the TMC dearly in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections where it lost 16 seats – from 38 it was down to 22 seats. This worked to BJPs advantage, winning 18 seats. Didi cannot afford that mistake again.
Four-time National award-winning director Srijit Mukherji’s film X=Prem was declined screening slots at the iconic state-run Nandan theatre. Director-cum-Trinamool Congress MLA Raj Chakraborty’s film Habji Gabji got an afternoon slot though. Srijit tweeted, “Two films released on the same day. Both applied for Nandan. But, only one got through. Whereas ideally and in all fairness either both or neither should have. Why did this happen? Though all films are equal, some films are apparently more equal than others :-).” Raj Chakraborty’s counter was quick stating, “I don’t want publicity through controversy because the film will speak the final (last) word.” Mukherji later clarified that his question was addressed to the state government’s information and cultural affairs department, which did not cite any reason while denying him the daytime slot. Interestingly, the reason why producers clamour for the state -run theatres, especially Nandan, is because 50% of the revenue earned at the state-run theatres goes to the producers after GST deduction. The rule is applicable for the first week of release and, thereafter the amount drops to 40% in week two and so on. In the recent past, director Anik Dutta’s film Aparajita, based on legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s journey on his masterpiece creation Pather Panchali, was denied screening at Nandan as Dutta is anti-TMC.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
Four years have zipped by and we are crossing another milestone on 31st January 2025 – it’s our 4th Anniversary. It feels good.
Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
Yes, we have created a brand (in a limited sense), created demand (readers) and created supply (senior journalists). But we are facing teething problems like all start-ups. What makes us happy and confident is the recognition of our efforts. For instance, we have an arrangement with the OPEN Magazine, part of the $4.5 billion Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka-RPG Group. This arrangement sees around 10 Short Post stories posted on OPEN Magazine website every week. This arrangement is testimony that our content has been well received! Also, I may add that the Maharashtra government has recognised Short Post and has allowed our senior editor to cover the Assembly sessions. Ditto: Odisha.
Our goal is to ensure that Short Post becomes a habit. I would like people to keep checking their smartphones to know the latest Authentic Gossip. As regards AI and the fear of it disrupting all businesses including media. On that, personally, I have no such fear as I am confident AI cannot smell news particularly Authentic Gossip. That’s the place we are well entrenched.