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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.
A fluid situation ensues in Maharashtra’s Lok Sabha 2024 polls with disruption and chaos marking the seat-sharing scenario even within the ruling Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP known for its disciplined, well-oiled election machinery. The BJP, which had successfully split both the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, is now scrambling to even finalise candidates, quell internal rebellion with just a month to go for the polls. The prestigious South Mumbai constituency is the most prominent case in point. Initially this richie-rich constituency was almost granted to state legislative assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, and he had even started campaigning. Soon afterwards though, the seat got tossed around to contenders like Milind Deora, who has already been nominated to the Rajya Sabha and even to Bala Nandgaonkar from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Negotiations with Raj Thackeray and BJP moved from talks of getting him to merge his party with the BJP (he refused), to offering him three LS seats including Mumbai South and finally ended up with the MNS refusing to put up any candidates in this LS election. It was only after Raj Thackeray’s much-hyped Delhi trip visit to meet Amit Shah, that realization seems to have dawned on BJP that the MNS’s north-Indian agitation won’t go down with its voters in the North. There is also still no clarity on whether the BJP plans to retain or clip the wings of Poonam Mahajan, its Mumbai North Central candidate nor is there clarity on the Mumbai North West seat which is being reportedly being eyed by the likes of Govinda, Swara Bhaskar and even Raj Babbar.
So the popular standup comedian Kapil Sharma has moved from TV to OTT. His comedy show with a new title The Great Indian Kapil Show is on Netflix. Will the gamble of moving to a new platform work for Kapil Sharma and his team? His entire gang is part of the new show save for his friends Chandan and Bharti Singh. But a big surprise was the return of Sunil Grover. Both friends had fallen apart. Sources say that Kapil Sharma has got a bigger budget but the script, going by the first episode featuring Ranbir Kapoor and his mother Neetu Kapoor, lacked the usual Kapil’s punch. Kapil, it is learnt, is wooing top stars like Aamir Khan to appear on his show. It will be the first time Aamir will be on a reality show. But trade experts say that Aamir may not have much impact as he is not known for one-liners or witty comments. It is a known fact that when his show was on Sony TV, he had a free hand but Netflix may have its own sets of rules and regulations as they are catering to a wider global audience. This may be one of the reasons that the first episode lacked the usual Kapil Sharma punch. Interestingly, the comedy space attracts high TRP and Kapil moving out, saw Sony TV launch a new show Madness Macheyenge: India Ko Hasayenge hosted by star Huma Qureshi. Now on air for over a month it seems like a dry laughter show; it lacks timing, punch and humour. The first week TRP was too low. Will this laughter show become a bitter medicine for the channel?
Outgoing BJP MP of Jalgaon, Unmesh Patil, is expected to formally join the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray on April 3. After it became clear that Patil had been refused renomination this time by the BJP, he became unreachable all of a sudden. Former BJP MLA Smita Wagh has been fielded by the party since internecine differences caused the party’s rethink about Patil. A stronghold of the BJP, Jalgaon has been in the news since veteran leader Eknath Khadse is watched closely amidst news reports that he will be rejoining the BJP. Khadse was in Delhi two days ago and reportedly called on some top BJP leaders. His daughter-in-law Raksha has been selected to contest for the third time from the north Maharashtra constituency of Raver in Jalgaon district, a Khadse bastion. Though he joined the NCP under Sharad Pawar last year and has been made a MLC by the party, Khadse is said to be restless as he finds little acceptance for himself in the party dominated by western Maharashtra leaders. Against this backdrop, more political migrations in both directions are expected to take place in Jalgaon district. Unmesh Patil called on Sena MP Sanjay Raut and indications are available that he could embrace the Sena (U) tomorrow. ‘Wait and watch,’ is his only comment at present.
BJP heavyweight Nitin Gadkari has discounted any possibility of him becoming Prime Minister and has once again endorsed the leadership of Narendra Modi. This frank revelation of perhaps the most popular minister at present has been telecast by Marathi news channel TV-9. In a frank interview, Gadkari has expressed confidence that the BJP-led alliance will win around 45 of 48 seats in Maharashtra. A Lok Sabha candidate himself, Gadkari has explained why he has friends across all parties. “I take decisions on merits. I don’t look at anyone’s party affiliation but put the public interest above everything,” he said. Gadkari was asked if he would be a PM candidate in case the BJP could win under 200 seats. He emphatically rejected any such possibility and predicted that the NDA will bag not less than 400 seats under Modi’s leadership. After the election, Modi will lead the government, he reiterated. Replying to a question, Gadkari said there was no plan to change the nation’s constitution nor was this a factor in the BJP’s agenda. On the other hand, the Congress had amended the constitution 80 times and had imposed the emergency in 1975, he recalled. Asked about admitting those into the BJP who had been facing corruption charges, Gadkari observed that politics is a game of contradictions, compulsions and limitations. People come and go, change parties. He refused to comment on several subjects, saying that the party’s spokespersons and office-bearers were taking care of such matters.
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.
Most party hoppers are not driven by the politics of ideology or the noble thoughts to serve the people but sheer opportunism to stay in power. Take for instance Bhatruhari Mahtab the five time Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP and co-founder of the party quit as he was being ignored and sidelined by his party (read Naveen Patnaik). He will be fighting Lok Sabha election from Cuttack on BJP ticket against BJD’s Santrupt Mishra, former Birla CEO. Ironically, Cuttack BJP president and former Salepur MLA Prakash Behera resigned from BJP as he was expecting Cuttack ticket. But by going Mahtab way he is likely to join BJD.. The circus of switching parties seems to going on full swing.. Former BJD MP and cine star Sidhant Mohapatra and eminent tribal leader Padma Awardee Damayanti Beshra switched over to BJP along with Mahtab. So too BJD leaders like Prashant Jagdev, Pradip Panigrahi, Arindam Roy, Bipin Pradhan, Arabinda Dhali have joined BJP enmasse. Why are people quitting BJD? Political observers attribute it to the rise and rise of Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s protege, ex-IAS officer VK Pandian, now 5T chairman. He is being groomed to takeover the party say some. He is present in all important meetings and photo ops. At a recent India Today Conclave, Pandian was interviewed one-on-one and this seems to signal where the power is shifting. For diehard BJD members, Pandian is an outsider, a south Indian though his wife is Oriya. Post Ayodhya, BJD members are convinced that there is a saffron wave sweeping the country hence the musical chairs.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde enjoys hotline service to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (been a while now) as alliance partner of the Mahayuti government and his Shiv Sena now formally within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Informed sources say, “PM is too fond of Shinde. After general elections and subsequent state assemblies are positively concluded, Modi plans to elevate him to parliament. Probably, Rajya Sabha nomination, if all goes as per Narendra Modi’s political vision. Shinde only uses his direct connect to the PM very sparingly though.” The down-to-earth Shiv Sena CM faces his current political test to ensure disgruntled MP colleagues, unwilling to relinquish parliamentary constituencies, toe the BJP line. Shinde has power to offer state assembly constituencies in lieu of forfeited Lok Sabha seats in return, keeping with BJP’s objective to maximize the number of winning MPs from Maharashtra. The BJP consciously keeps aloof over Shinde’s intra-party wranglings while Shinde consolidates his leadership over Shiv Sena, independent MLAs who joined his team. Still, Sena colleagues vehemently object to eschewing Lok Sabha seats despite opinion polls indicating their non-winnability. Already, alliance partner chief of independent Prahar party, Bacchu Kadu, re-emphasized fighting intentions over Amravati’s Lok Sabha seat. Here, the BJP has given a ticket to independent MP Navneet Rana. Some freshly sought retirees from among Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena MPs, who trucked with Shinde, have now upped the ante insisting on 16 parliamentary seats. BJP seems in no hurry considering the final nominations due date is over a month away.
Thanks to Reliance Industries, aka the Ambani family that own the IPL team, Mumbai Indians, and their constant endeavour to make the venue spectator-friendly, the Wankhede Stadium was not only a sea of blue for the first home match of Season 17 between Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, but the 50-year-old stadium at D Road, Churchgate itself looked classy and grand with its branding team giving emphasis to the team’s luminous blue in elements inside and outside the stadium. MI has always made refreshing changes to its branding during the IPL matches depicting its entire team and bringing in themes like the “Mumbai Meri Jaan” theme song. The team symbol, Sudarshan Chakra is another striking part of the MI branding. The only disappointment for the “Mumbai Paltan” on Monday (April 1) was that their favourite team went down to Rajasthan Royals. The Jaipur franchise is making up a lot for Rajasthan’s dismal displays in the Ranji Trophy against Mumbai. The nearly full house stadium expressed its fondness for Rohit Sharma shouting “Rohit, Rohit, Rohit” and booing the new captain Hardik Pandya. But a big part of the crowd applauded Pandya’s bold, big and brave shots as he began the process of repairing the damage inflicted by left-arm seamer Trent Boult. The spectators had a good fill of the overall atmosphere and would be hoping for winning results in the forthcoming matches.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal must have surprised his party cadre when he named two junior ministers — Aatishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj — as people who were more aware of the now scrapped liquor policy than him. Why did he drag them into the multi-crore liquorgate? Atishi, Oxford educated and first term MLA is famed for assisting now jailed Manish Sisodia in reforming Delhi government schools. She has been with AAP since 2013. Did Kejriwal feel she was a threat to his wife Sunita? Saurabh Bharadwaj, a qualified engineer, may be facing brickbats from Delhites as Water Minister– the water meters are a scam that Kejriwal may have foisted on him. But did Bharadwaj and Atishi deserve to join Kejriwal league of Delhi’s dirty list — Manish Sisodia (in jail and has been dropped) Satyendra Jain (out on bail, no longer a minister) and Kailash Gahlot, Transport Minister was summoned by the ED. Kejriwal who was sent to judicial custody for a fortnight, does not hold any portfolio. Interestingly, Kerjiwal’s jail term came a day after the Opposition rallied behind him on March 31 and condemned ED action against him. A high point of the rally was the clash between the Congress and the AAP over display of Kejriwal cut-outs at Ramlila maidan. The Congress wanted to know why cut-outs of jailed ex-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren were missing. Post Congress protest, Kejriwal’s cut-outs were removed. Sunita Kejriwal and Kalpana Soren displayed bonhomie by publicly hugging each other. Meanwhile it was the ED which informed the AAP leaders about Kejriwal’s claims. About how “Vijay Nair didn’t report to him but to Atishi and Bharadwaj and his interaction with Vijay Nair was limited.
The threat posed by the Republican leader Prakash Ambedkar is worrying leaders of the Opposition-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) since his Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) had caused narrow defeats of seven Lok Sabha candidates in 2019. Known for his vacillating political postures, Ambedkar had kept MVA on tenterhooks till the last moment this time, too. Now that he has unilaterally announced the list of his candidates, the Congress, the Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar are in a bind. While most VBA’s candidates this time are just locally known, the followers of Ambedkar are likely to vote en masse, perhaps at the cost of the MVA candidates. In 2019, the major beneficiary of VBA’s step was the unified Shiv Sena although it lost the then Aurangabad seat to AIMIM, which had fought the election jointly with VBA. As the Sena is splintered now and Ambedkar is going alone, his repeated allegation that MVA has treated VBA emissaries disrespectfully during seat sharing talks, could pose a serious threat for Uddhav’s nominees. Time and again, VBA has been described as the BJP’s “B Team” and every time, Ambedkar has refuted the allegation vehemently. Whatever the truth, his decision to field candidates had indirectly benefited the saffron party. Nanded, Buldhana, Parbhani, Gadchiroli, Solapur, Hatkanangale and Sangli seats were won by the BJP-Sena alliance, thanks to the VBA, in 2019.
Saturday, March 30 will be remembered by Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar as a harbinger of mixed feelings. While Pawar was just heaving a sigh of relief after his conciliation with his adversary Vijay Shivtare in Pune district, the Ajit’s nephew Rohit Pawar’s claim about the prestigious Baramati constituency going in favour of Supriya Sule went viral on social media. As Ajit is determined to trounce his cousin Supriya from the family fiefdom Baramati by fielding his wife Sunetra, the forecast by his family member came as a rude shock. Till a day ago, an enraged Shivtare had been threatening to ensure Sunetra’s defeat so as to avenge his own waterloo in Purandar assembly election of 2019. Ajit had then publicly declared that he would see to it that Shivtare was not elected. After he lost the election, Shivtare had raised the banner of protest against Ajit. But following elaborate talks two days ago, Shivtare relented and vowed to add 1.5 lakh votes to Sunetra’s victory margin. Even as Ajit was basking in the euphoria, Rohit’s prophecy in Pune that Supriya will win by a margin of at least 2.5 lakh votes must have come as a bolt from the blue for him. Rohit maintained that Ajit had conducted nine surveys in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency so far and each had predicted Supriya’s successful return to the Lok Sabha.
Akin to its strategy in Bihar and Punjab, the Congress has also decided to have friendly fights against its fellow I.N.D.I.A front constituents in Maharashtra as well. The Congress may put up candidates in about six seats against its own alliance partners, particularly the Shiv Sena like they are doing against the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Bihar and Punjab. These fights are likely to play out in places like Sangli, Bhiwandi, Mumbai North West and Mumbai South Central where the party is convinced it has a strong standing. Congress is under pressure from its aspirants like Sanjay Nirupam who is said to be exploring other parties to fight from Mumbai North West constituency. Congress’ Mumbai party chief Varsha Gaikwad, who represents Dharavi assembly constituency, also is said to be keen to contest from Mumbai South Central. The party is also upset with the snub from Uddhav Thackeray, who unilaterally declared candidatures for five seats, even before the Maha Vikas Aghadi had officially decided on it. The Sangli seat has particularly become a bone of contention between the alliance partners and key Congress aspirant Vishal Patil dashing off to complain to the high command against Thackeray’s high-handedness. However things turned sour when Uddhav refused to budge and Sena’s Sanjay Raut even underplayed the development convinced that Congress won’t let seat-sharing affect their alliance.
NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s long-time confidant Shrinivas Patil has created a vexing situation for his mentor by declaring his inability to contest the coming Lok Sabha election from the prestigious Satara constituency — the rich sugar belt — in Maharashtra. While the ruling Mahayuti is zeroing on the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja’s family scion Udayan Raje Bhosale, currently a Rajya Sabha member, Pawar was reassured about fielding Shrinivas and about the latter’s re-election from the constituency, the stronghold of the NCP. A former IAS officer, Shrinivas is 83 now. In fact, when he was asked to contest in a byelection in October 2019, he was reluctant due to his advancing years. However, he bowed to Pawar’s entreaty and won the seat by defeating Udayan Raje. Now that he has shown unwillingness, Pawar will have to look for a replacement which will be formidable enough to take on the royal opponent, who was elected to the Lok Sabha earlier from Satara. A Congress citadel for many decades, Satara district has shown its preference tilting towards the BJP in recent years. Pawar sees this constituency as a prestige issue and has left no stones unturned to retain his hold on it. But after the rebellion by nephew Ajit, the NCP supremo is finding it challenging to keep his horde under control. He is expected to announce the name of his nominee by Sunday.
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.
Former Union home minister Shivraj Patil’s daughter-in-law Dr Archana Chakurkar is all set to join the BJP in Mumbai on Saturday. Former chief minister Ashok Chavan has played a vital role in this major political upheaval which will impact Marathwada region’s power structure from now on. The development has unnerved the state Congress party, which is already buffeted by one desertion after another. On the heels of famous thespian Govinda, the influential Shivraj family member’s decision has left Congress leaders speechless. Shivraj was the Lok Sabha speaker for a full term and had handled several major portfolios at the Centre, besides holding the gubernatorial reigns in Punjab. His trusted aide Basavraj Patil joined the BJP last month, sending out clear signals that Archana will follow him sooner than later. Belonging to the powerful Lingayat caste, the Patil clan has been wielding considerable clout in Latur, Dharashiv and Nanded districts, which share the state’s border with Karnataka. Archana, in fact, was all set to enter the saffron camp some years ago. However, that could not happen due to various reasons. After her arrival in Mumbai, Archana called on deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis Friday afternoon. The picture of their meeting has been made viral, prior to her formal welcome. Some more prominent faces will soon join the BJP, it has been indicated.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde seems cornered in his own Mahayuti alliance by the BJP. There is much unrest, fear and anxiety in the Shiv Sena camp (Shinde faction) as he struggles to even accommodate his own elected Parliamentarians. Thirteen of the total 18 MPs from the united Shiv Sena had broken away with Shinde post to form the government along with the BJP in June 2022. But, restlessness prevails as the BJP seems to be eyeing their seats citing the BJP’s winnability factor based on surveys. Shinde has apparently been directed to change six of his sitting MP’s now following negative reports in their surveys. Shinde’s lieutenant Sanjay Shirsat clearly echoed the anger in his camp when he stated that surveys often proved to be wrong earlier and cannot be the determining factor for granting tickets. It is getting more personal for Shinde as the BJP has not spared Shinde’s own son, Dr Shrikant Shinde, a two-term MP from Kalyan. There are talks of asking him to contest from Thane. Shinde is contending with midnight protests at his official CM residence by Nashik’s sitting MP Hemant Godse. Ticket distribution has created unrest in the Shinde camp who reckon that the BJP could adopt an even more rigid stance in Maharashtra’s assembly ticket distribution process, once they achieve their goal of returning to power in the Centre in June 2024.
When he started his Lok Sabha poll campaign from Trichy, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin was intent only on radiating confidence and positivity that the DMK would remain the Cock of the Walk. But cannily, he also commissioned bi-weekly surveys through his son-in-law, V Sabareesan’s poll outfit. The latest survey results throws up some uncomfortable truth — BJP stands in second in some constituencies. This has instilled fear denting the super confidence that victory was already DMK’s. Stalin shared this survey finding with AIADMK to trigger a concerted action plan. The BJP has galvanised its star candidates like K Annamalai, Tamilisai Soundararajan, L Murugan, Nainaar Nagendran and insisted it’s ally partner leaders OPS , TTV and others too face the electorate as candidates. The only exception has been Dr Anbumani Ramadoss; he has fielded his wife Dr Sowmiya. A reliable source says Anbumani is determined to get into Parliament on a reserved seat. There is also talk that BJP is using saam, daam, dand, bhed to ensure its success. The cost of acquiring TN voters has gone very high. But like in all high value races, misinformation/disinformation is seen as the ploy in confusing the opponent. Stalin is said to have given whip talk to his followers that they should leave nothing to chance, but use their poll armoury to full extent.
If the flavour of the Indian summer is the Tata-IPL-17, the fortunes of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are followed by a frenzy that is matchless! The team bought by India Cements for $ 90 million has been a 10-time finalist and 5-time winner, all under the stewardship of “Thalaiva” Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The 226-time captain of the team in 14 seasons (the team was suspended for two seasons), MSD — he passed on the captaincy mantle to Ruturaj Gaikwad before the start of the ongoing season — is still the league’s biggest draw. CSK in its “Manjal” (yellow in English) is known more for getting its nuts and bolts right when giving shape to the composition of the squad and the playing XI. CSK has made a roaring start to its campaign and looks like the team to beat for the title. The unprecedented 6th title is on the way is the refrain amongst its fans and with a number of breathtaking batters and match winners in its line up, and equally efficient bowlers accustomed to seeing through their side past the finishing line. CSK would like to clinch the trophy for its fans, Dhoni and team promoter N Srinivasan, who must have been disappointed that Tamil Nadu did not win the Ranji Trophy. Two wins on its home turf at the Chepauk against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans, in a most convincing manner, is just what the doctor ordered for its fans to get into the mood.
BJP’s Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is working in right earnest, sans political distractions anymore, to ensure 41 to 45 (out of 48) Lok Sabha seats for NDA from Maharashtra. His party high command cleared the field in Maharashtra by designating him as BJP’s sole face, having strategically elevated Sudhir Mungantiwar, and Pankaja Munde among other perceived contenders to the Parliamentary arena. Fadnavis’ political challenge remains to ensure his party contests 31 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and convince chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to accommodate BJP candidates from their allocated seats just like Milind Deora found Rajya Sabha nomination from Shinde’s quota. Fadnavis has emphasized the ‘winnability’ criterion and 50% vote share to turn into reality, PM Narendra Modi’s aspiration for 370 BJP MPs in Lok Sabha 3.0. Fadnavis must ensure NCP MLA, Pankaja’s cousin Dhananjay Munde’s wholehearted efforts to ensure his sister (whom he defeated in 2019 state assemblies) wins from Beed. He never enjoyed good relations even with the late Gopinath Munde. “The important thing is Fadnavis has liberty to offer adequate representation in subsequent state assemblies while asking coalition partners to swallow the bitter pill for general elections. The results of the Lok Sabha will decide subsequent state assembly seat allocations in Maharashtra as well,” a source revealed. Whether this will have a placatory effect on known rabble rouser, independent MLA Bacchu Kadu, remains to be seen?
Eruption of discontent after a candidate’s name is announced is an expected occurrence for all major parties but when it is a three-party combination, the problems aggravate to another level. Leaders of the ruling alliance MahaYuti — the BJP, the Shiv Sena’s Shinde faction and the NCP’s Ajit Pawar group — are spending more time in dousing the fires than concentrating on campaigning. The case with the opposition-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is no different. The Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray, the Congress and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar are so engrossed in settling their mutual disputes that it is becoming difficult to understand who is an official nominee and belonging to which party. Deserting the original party to join another has become rampant and has added to the headache of the leaders from both sides. To add fuel to the fire, Republican leader Prakash Ambedkar, independent MLA Bachchu Kadu and splinter group leaders have been making one announcement after another to confound their own followers. Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has been accused of playing a double game by Ambedkar who was wooed by MVA till the other day. On the other hand, the Congress is angry with Uddhav for unilaterally announcing the candidates for some disputed seats. Maratha reservation demand leader Manoj Jarange Patil has been contributing his bit by daily changing his stand. The picture will be clear only on the last day of withdrawal of nomination by the candidates.
When the BJP released its 5th list of candidates and Varun Gandhi did not find his name, he may have not been surprised. What may have surprised him was that his mother Maneka was still fielded from Sultanpur. That is because even before the list was out Varun was preparing to be axed and had wanted to file nomination papers as an independent candidate. He knew he had crossed quite a few red lines to be renominated as an MP candidate. In Pilibhit, the BJP had replaced him with former Congress leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada, a constituency represented by Varun twice. While Varun literally invited the wrath of the BJP leadership by attacking the Yogi Adityanath government in UP — license of Amethi’s Sanjay Gandhi Hospital was suspended following death of a patient, the Pilibhit MP also attacked policies of the Modi government in signed opinion pieces in newspapers. Congress sources said Varun had turned a rebel in the BJP only because his cousin Priyanka Vadra had encouraged him to do so. She had wanted Varun to create trouble, leave the BJP and eventually join the Congress. She had even arranged a conciliatory meeting between Varun and Rahul Gandhi. Somehow, Rahul was not open to Varun joining the Congress as of now. With his mother getting a BJP ticket, Varun may not be inclined to contest 2024 polls. Elections are always a season of crazy new endings and beginnings but the one that happened in Kurukshetra, Haryana takes the cake. BJP workers can’t still figure out why party leadership has fielded coal-scam tainted Naveen Jindal. BJP had defeated him in 2014 and 2019. In 2024,”We will not work for him”, says the demoralised cadre.
Actress and BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut has been reminded by several netizens of her remarks against popular star Urmila Matondkar when the latter was fielded by the Congress party in Mumbai North to contest the Lok Sabha election in 2019. On a later occasion, Kangana had expressed her willingness to stand for an election. In the course of that interaction, she had called Urmila a soft porn star. This has been recalled by several net users as a quip allegedly uploaded by Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate against Kangana has set off a war of words between BJP and Congress. The offensive tweet was later withdrawn but the verbal give and take continues. Excerpts of Kangana’s 2020 interview to a TV channel have been uploaded. She says, “Urmila Matondkar, she is a soft porn star. I know it’s very blatant, but I want to ask you… she is not known for her acting for sure, what is she known for, for doing soft porn, right? If she can get a ticket (candidature for a political party), why won’t I get a ticket?” Kangana’s comment against Urmila followed Matondkar’s criticism of Ranaut for disrespecting veteran actor Jaya Bachchan. In a 2020 speech in parliament, Bachchan had spoken out against the tarnishing of the entire film industry. About the latest Congress post, Kangana will announce her next step after meeting BJP leaders in Delhi. Whatever the outcome, the ‘X’ post will continue to haunt the Congress party for some time.
Manoj Jarange Patil has once again changed his tactics for the coming Lok Sabha election. Now, he says only one candidate should be fielded on behalf of the caste in each Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra. Moreover, he has clearly stated that such a candidate need not belong to the Maratha caste but should be a votary of the demand. Jarange’s decision was announced at a rally of the Maratha reservation demand’s supporters. Diluting his aggressive stand further, Jarange has said that for the Maratha community, the assembly election is more important than the Parliament’s election. ‘We will teach the government a lesson at that time,” he said while criticizing chief minister Eknath Shinde. Earlier, Jarange had threatened to derail the election process by fielding one Maratha candidate from each village so that the ballot paper would carry hundreds of names and EVMs would have to be replaced by printed ballot papers. However, given the heat generated by the LS election process, Jarange has been more or less ignored by the media to which he was sort of addicted. The selection of candidates by various political parties and their alliances and fronts has a clear imprint of caste considerations. Thus, the spirit generated by Jarange to press his demand for Maratha caste reservations has evaporated. His claim that his decision can impact the results in 18 LS constituencies is hence viewed with disbelief.
It was a coordinated action by a group of Congress sympathisers who erupted in mocking actor Kangana Ranaut after she was given a ticket to contest from Mandi in Himachal by the BJP. There was prominent editor Mrinal Pande who first mocked “Mandi”.Then Supriya Shrinate wanted to know the “rate card”. Then HS Ahir came up with references to prostitutes. It is for these reasons that the controversy triggered by Congress spokesperson Shrinate’s social media posts about Kangana just didn’t ebb. The BJP too decided to take the issue of attack on its candidate with the EC. The Congress tried to build a counter narrative — digging up an old clip of Kangana where she is heard taking a “soft porn star” jibe at former Congress leader Urmila Matondkar. So did Shrinate’s bit that her posts against Kangana were not hers but had been posted by someone else. Her explanation did not convince the party. Himachal Congress leaders were surprised by the manner in which Kanagana handled personal attacks. She questioned the Congress for “sexualising a small town’s name” and said that “every woman deserves her dignity. Mandi is being used in a sexual context everywhere, just because it has a young woman candidate. I am hurt by the ‘Mandi’ thing, which is known as Chota Kashi and has been the land of several rishis.” Her remarks made even Himachal CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu take pride in Kangana and describe as her daughter of the state. Congress sources feel Kangana may find the going tough if incumbent MP Pratibha Singh chooses to contest. “Let’s not forget was announced by the BJP only after Pratibha announced she would not be contesting.”
It is reliably learnt that Adani Data Network, which was the surprise entrant in the 5G spectrum auction conducted by the Telecom Department, has silently walked out of the space. Adani had acquired the right to use 400 MHz of the spectrum in the 26 GHz milimetre waveband for 20 years. Adani it seems has not paid the requisite auction money by the stipulated period perhaps an indication it is having second thoughts about its entry into 5G space. Generally, in such cases, the bank guarantee, given at time of bidding, would be encashed and a penalty charged. Reportedly, the Department has decided to waive off both as the ecosystem is yet to be developed. After the auction in September 2021, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said that the acquirers of spectrum would roll out their 5G services by October 2022. The government had received bids for Rs 150,173 crore from Jio, Bharti Airtel, Voda and Adani. The total amount mopped up by the government from 5G spectrum capable of offering ultra-high speed mobile internet connectivity was Rs 77,815 cr. At the time of bidding for the 400 MHz spectrum, Adani Group had indicated that it was the group’s first step in integrating its digital infrastructure portfolio including data centres, terrestrial fibre and submarine cables, industrial cloud, AI innovative labs, cyber security and super apps. The Telecom department was supposed to hold the next round of spectrum auction in February 2024 but with elections round the corner, the auction was not held, and may be held once the new government is sworn in. This time round, however, the Government expects operators to go for lower bands beginning with 600MHz for many which are lapsing soon. Back in September 2021, the Government decided that spectrum auctions should be held annually.
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), a leading party in Tamil Nadu under the leadership of founder Dr S Ramadoss and incumbent leader and son, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss has jumped on the BJP bandwagon after jettisoning AIADMK’s offer at the eleventh hour. Out of the 10 seats allotted, one was definitely for the former Union health minister Dr Anbumani. The wise soothsayers had even predicted the family’s long time turf, Dharmapuri as the constituency of choice for him. In a surprising turn of events his wife Dr Sowmiya Anbumani is now fielded from Dharmapuri, the first time a lady of the house of Ramadoss is to contest in an election. Dr Sowmiya, a PHD in Sociology, who heads the party mouthpiece, Makkal TV claims “ I am no novice to election grind. I have worked for my husband and know my constituency well….confident that our women voters would elect me. As for Dharmapuri, an agri centre for mangoes, millets, tomatoes, tamarind and silkworm production, I plan to negotiate better support prices for them.” She also plans to set up SIPCOT industrial estates to lure back over three lakh workers who have gone out in search of jobs. Even if she is whistling in the dark to take on the mighty Dravidian parties, at least she has a strategic plan for Dharmapuri, not the oft heard leverage of Dravidian invincibility. And she represents a growing woman power.
Now, it is official that both BJP and BJD are going solo in the general and assembly elections. And the BJP Odisha unit seems to be elated with this new development; they feel that against the backdrop of Ayodhya, the party stands a better chance this time. An indication that they were expecting a solo fight showed when the party immediately released its first list of candidates for 18 of the 21 seats. The list has familiar names: Jual Oram from Sundargarh, Dharmendra Pradhan from Sambalpur, Pratap Sarangi from Balasore, Dr Sambit Patra from Puri, Aparajita Sarangi from Bhubaneswar, Pradeep Panigrahi from Berhampur and others. Sources say four sitting MPs Suresh Pujari,Basant Panda, Nitish Gangadev and Biseswar Tudu may be accommodated in the Assembly elections. There is a strong rumour that the ruling BJD may field Dr Santrupt Mishra, ex Birla HR director and Arup Patnaik ex Mumbai Police Commissioner from Cuttack and Puri respectively. The biggest surprise is BJP’s national vice president Baijayant ’Jay’ Panda is returning back to Odisha to fight from Kendrapara amidst rumour that sidelined BJD film star MP who won Kendrapara and denied BJD ticket. The Odia star may join BJP, contesting from Cuttack constituency following BJD’s six time Cuttack MP Bhatruhari Mahtab quitting BJD. Speculation is rife that Mahtab too may join BJP. Similarly there are rumours that BJP MLA Naba Charan Majhi has been asked to contest the Mayurbhanj Lok Sabha seat instead, making way to accommodate President Murmu’s daughter in the Odisha Legislative Assembly.
BJP has fielded former Governor of Telangana and Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan from South Chennai seat against DMK incumbent Tamizhachi Thangapandian. Tamil is the pivot that strikes, in the names of these two formidable ladies and incidentally both are 62-year old. So, what’s special about DMK MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian (her name and its significance is in itself an oeuvre in Dravidam) who was elected in 2019? Thamizhachi has impeccable credentials — highly educated, taught English in Chennai’s Queen Mary’s College, author, lyricist , orator, sister of DMK heavyweight Minister Thangam Thennarasu and wife of late Thangapandian also an influencer of the party. Is this fight seen as Plebe Vs Patrician? Why was Tamilisai chosen to take on this high profile incumbent Thamizhachi? According to a media analyst, the ex- Governor, who lost to Kanimozhi in 2019, is a nimble and sagacious politician…she may appear the perfect foil for a sophisticate Thamizhachi, but in terms of easy touch points Tamilisai is adept at spontaneous camaraderie. On a realpolitik level, South Chennai is a middle class bastion that has seen enough of Dravidian rhetoric, and may be ready for a change given the BJP wave in the South riding on Modi’s charisma and K Annamalai’s padayatra. South Chennai could be a litmus test for BJP’s entry. Already there are references to a cult Tamil film dance competition in Vanjikottai Valiban where late Padmini and Vyjayanthimala compete in a nimbly choreographed dance. And the hero applauds, “Sabaash, Sariyana potti (in Tamil it means wow, a good fight)”.
While a Mumbai cricket faithful would like to say “Shabash” to the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for becoming the avant-gardist in Indian cricket by announcing a like-for-like match fee (if the BCCI fee is Re 1 we will top it up with an equivalent sum for each match day) to its Ranji Trophy cricketers from the next season (2024-2025), the 42-time winner of the national championship has not walked the extra mile; it has not put in place an annual retainer programme. The other members of the BCCI should take a leaf out of the MCA book that augments the first-class cricketers’ monetary resources from a single season; they cannot say they don’t have the money. Looking at a broader canvas, an annual retainer programme will be a most welcome development for hundreds of Ranji Trophy players. The borderline lot who warm the bench need more financial security/incentive. Every Ranji Trophy player in the country will doff his hat to the MCA which awarded a team bonus of Rs 5 crore to the Ajinkya Rahane-led team for winning the Ranji Trophy recently. The BCCI has loosened its purse strings and disbursed a substantial percentage to its members — Rs 100 crore or thereabout every fiscal is not small money. The performance (results achieved) of its team in the BCCI tournaments is a true and only reflection of its strength. So Messrs Amol Kale/Ajinkya Naik and the MCA Apex Council, you can take a step further now. The topping up of per day match fee could have been from the just concluded season too.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal made a soft, public outreach to Delhi citizens via a social post. Dubbing her husband’s arrest in a money laundering case by the ED “as a betrayal of people of Delhi” Sunita in a post in X in Hindi went on to describe how her husband always stood with the people of the national capital. Picking up from Kejriwal’s sound bite outside the PMLA court about his life being dedicated to his country “whether inside (jail) or outside”, Sunita asserted that “the public knows everything”. She went on to charge PM Modi of suppressing the voice of a three-time elected CM out of “arrogance of power”. “Modiji is trying to crush everyone. This is a betrayal of the people of Delhi. The public knows that he is Janardan. Jai Hind”, she tweeted. Sunita’s post is interesting in the sense she is widely speculated to emerge as Kejriwal’s favourite choice to replace him as CM if he ever were forced to vacate office. It is however not clear if the AAP rank and file will readily accept her. There are veterans like Gopal Rai who may have a grip on the party, but it is unlikely he may get Kejriwal’s nod. It is likely that party strategists such as Sandeep Pathak may have asked Sunita to test the political waters. Sunita had taken VRS from the IRS in July 2016, nearly three years after her husband became CM. A 1993-batch IRS officer with Master’s in Zoology, Sunita had met Kejriwal, a 1995-batch IRS officer, during a training programme at Bhopal. Though not known to show interest in party matters, Sunita had taken a keen interest in redesigning CM’s official residence that goes by the moniker “Sheesh Mahal”. Interestingly, on her X timeline are posts about BJP’s electoral bonds and voices from Delhi in support of her husband.
Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is emerging as the BJP lone firefighter… dousing the fires created by the announcements of candidatures of 20 of the total 48 seats in Maharashtra. The BJP in the state is busy molly-coddling sitting MP’s, aspirants, party supporters and various rival factions. It is as if the BJP’s high stakes campaign in Maharashtra is riding high entirely on the shoulders of Fadnavis. Fadnavis personally visited the Kandivli residence of Gopal Shetty, to quell anger among Shetty’s supporters after the two time MP from Mumbai North constituency, was asked to vacate the seat in favour of Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal. He also met up with senior leader, Harshavardhan Patil, who is upset at the prospect of having to campaign for the wife of his bete noire, Ajit Pawar from Baramati constituency. The Madha constituency has already been on the boil despite Fadnavis deputing Girish Mahajan to quell tempers there. Then there are simmering issues like sitting MP from Satara, Udayanraje Bhonsale rushing to New Delhi to prevent the seat going to his cousin Shivendraraje Bhonsale after Devendra’s intervention failed. Fadnavis also had to personally intervene to cool down tempers with the Ranas of Amravati — Ravi and Navneet — who are keen to get re-nominated on a BJP ticket. Beyond this, Fadnavis is also spearheading alliance talks with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
Uddhav Thackeray seems to be a man on a mission. Not only was he the first one to kickstart his party’s campaign but also the one to jump the gun by announcing names of four candidates from his party even as the seat sharing talks were in progress among alliance partners of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Uddhav, who emerged the worst affected post the split of his party, seems on a mission to avenge the betrayal. He has already addressed 23 campaign meetings and has planned more meetings in the regions of Konkan, West and North Maharashtra as also Marathwada. Most of his meetings are attracting huge crowds and this has already caused discomfiture in the BJP camp, which is in alliance talks with his cousin Raj Thackeray to undercut the strong sympathy Uddhav seems to enjoy in the state. When Uddhav announced the candidature of Amol Kirtikar for Mumbai North-West constituency it drew sharp retorts Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam as he was keen to contest from that constituency. Talk of not sticking to coalition dharma failed to deter him and he went ahead with more declarations. He was also the first party in MVA to declare co-ordinators for 23 Parliamentary constituencies at a juncture when the MVA had not even finalised on the number of seats within the MVA coalition. Similarly, he went ahead and announced his candidature for the Sangli constituency and Congress was left mumbling that they are still in the reckoning for this seat.
Maharashtra has muddled into chaos as the seat sharing process gets underway. Incidents of threats of rebellion, secret midnight parlays, allegations and accusations, bickerings, shifting to different parties and symbols have become the order of the day. The partial announcement of candidatures by parties has already muddled the coalition politics creating more chaos across the political spectrum in Maharashtra. So far, the BJP has announced candidatures for 20 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, the Congress for 7, Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of Shiv Sena for 4, while the rest are still groping in the dark. The BJP’s announcements have been greeted with threats of rebellion and even demands for changing of candidate at Madha constituency by BJP veteran leader Naik Nimbalkar. Girish Mahajan, who was deputed there to cool down tempers with the influential Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil clan, was blocked from entering the area. At Raver constituency, the re-nomination of sitting MP Raksha Khadse led to dissenting voices from her own party members and family. Though a straight fight with sister-in-law Rohini Khadse, has been averted for now, the bad blood threatens to impact the BJP’s chances here. Jalgaon nominee Smita Wagh is also facing opposition. The candidature of sitting MP from Amravati, Navneet Rana, aligned to Devendra Fadnavis camp, is also stuck due to strong opposition by her Sena counterpart Anantrao Adusul. To add to the confusion Manoj Jarange Patil is planning to field Maratha candidates. Even the Dhangar community has demanded adequate representation failing which they have threatened to put up their own candidates. Even individual rebels like Vasant More, ex-MNS leader from Pune, are planning to play spoilsport.
Wednesday, March 20 had compelling events at different venues. Superstar Rajinikanth inaugurated Kauvery Hospital’s advanced quaternary care centre at Vadapalani. His address was peppered with personal anecdotes and much humour. Evoking laughter, he said “This body has been through many hospitals…Isabella, Kauvery, Ramachandra, St. Elizabeth (Singapore) and The Mayo Clinic (USA).” Time was when the Alwarpet Kauvery Hospital was identified by another landmark…Kamal Haasan’s residence across the road. Today, its prominence makes it the GPS for Kamal’s residence/office. Ouch! Was that a reference to Kamal’s drop in popularity after his Rajya Sabha seat acceptance? The same day saw actor Dhanush, the estranged Damaad of Rajini, announcing his new film — a biopic on music maestro Ilayaraja. Guess what, the music for this biopic is by Ilayaraja himself. Surprise, surprise ….the screenplay is by Kamal. Dhanush gave an emotional vent to his aspirations, “I have longed to play the role of this living music legend. And I now have only one more wish…to act as Rajinikanth in a biopic,”even as Kamal shared the stage.
The $ 10 billion Indian Premier League (IPL) will get off the ground at the good old Chepauk on Friday (Mar 22). And it’s a no-brainer that attention will bolt down on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli who has not faced a ball in a competition after the second innings of the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town, which means he will be facing a Chennai Super Kings bowler in the Tata IPL-17 lung opener after a 77-day break from the game. Virat has played 237 matches (229 innings) and scored 7263 runs — the highest in the League — but he and his fans are yet to see RCB lift the trophy. Now the RCB men can only be second best to its women’s team that cracked the code to win the WPL! Last year, Virat (he doesn’t like being hailed as King Kohli) scored 639 runs with 2x100s. The champion batter has shown loyalty to the franchise bought in 2008 for $ 111.6 million, owned by United Spirits Ltd, a Diageo Group company. The cricketing world, especially India’s selection committee chaired by Ajit Agarkar, captain Rohit Sharma and Head Coach Rahul Dravid will be keen to see how Virat shapes up in the league. Virat is a big brand which will be present at the ICC Men’s Twenty 20 to be exhibited in New York, Florida and Texas, apart from Caribbean venues. The interest will be around how the champion is hitting the ball!
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal after carrying out searches at his official residence and questioning the AAP leader for nearly two hours in connection with the money laundering probe linked to the now scrapped liquor excise policy. The arrest comes hours after the Delhi HC refused to grant him interim protection from coercive action in the money laundering probe. In fact, the HC judges sought to know why Kejriwal was only being summoned by the ED — nine summons had been issued — and he had not been arrested so far. Kejriwal’s arrest had become inevitable ever since the ED had taken BRS leader K Kavitha into custody last week. AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in jail for the last several months. Time was really running out for the so-called “anti-corruption” hero. According to the ED, Kavitha was allegedly linked to a ‘South Group’ lobby of liquor traders who were trying to play a bigger role in the now scrapped Delhi excise policy. Vijay Nair, one of the accused, allegedly received kickbacks worth at least Rs 100 crore on behalf of AAP leaders from the ‘South Group’, said to be controlled by Sarath Reddy, Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy. Politically, Kejriwal’s arrest is bound to impact the performance of AAP in Delhi as well in Punjab. In fact, Congress sources wondered if the so-called tie-up between the parties would even last in Delhi. All this only means with the arrest of two CMs by the ED — Kerjriwal and Hemant Soren– the I.N.D.I.A front looks much hobbled.
The Congress leadership made a mega event of its lapses. Yes, its failure to file I-T returns for assessment Year 2018-19. Confronted with a penalty of Rs 135 cr, party’s top leaders decided that they must make full use of the I-T action against its finances and dub it as a vindictive action in the time of elections. Is it going to help? Unlikely. Making a rare appearance along with son Rahul and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi dubbed the I-T action as an attempt to cripple the party financially. She declared freezing Congress bank accounts impacted “our democracy itself most fundamentally”. On his part Rahul Gandhi, highlighted how his party was unable to conduct a normal campaign. He wondered if the “idea of India as a democracy” is a lie. The government’s actions are “being orchestrated to cripple us before the elections.” The Congress narrative was countered by senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad. He pointed out that the Congress lost its appeal at every stage — I-T tribunal and in the Delhi HC. “Rs 135 crore tax plus interest was levied. Delhi High Court rejected their appeal on March 13. The court remarked, “It was a badly handled matter. Somebody from the Congress office went to sleep right from 2021. Now they have gone to SC. The matter is listed on April 1. Rahul Gandhi did not disclose these facts but chose to attack all democratic institutions.” Prasad clarified that political parties do not have to pay income tax but have to file their returns every year. “If you do not file every year, you lose your exemption. What has the BJP got to do with it”.
Tamil Nadu’s BJP first list of 9 Lok Sabha candidates was more or less on expected lines. The party leadership decided that all its senior leaders — from state BJP unit chief and charismatic K Annamalai to Union Minister L Murugan to former governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and former Union minister Pon RadhaKrishnan — must enter the fray and explore the popularity of the BJP and ensure that PM Modi’s message reaches people. This was apparently the desire of PM Modi who has paid special attention to the state and has been regularly visiting Chennai and other TN cities in the past few months. As for constituencies, Annamalai would probably be comfortable in his skin as his maiden contest would be from Coimbatore, which is his home turf. The BJP also enjoys a good support base here. Another contest that would be equally interesting is one in Thoothukudi where the party has fielded Nainar Nagendran against incumbent DMK MP Kanimozhi, sister of TN CM MK Stalin. A combative BJP MLA, Nainar could prove to be a challenge for Kani after rains wreaked havoc in her area recently. The third interesting contest would be Kanyakumari from where Pon Radhakrishnan, who was a minister in Vajpayee government, is looking at a smooth re-election. This is a seat that any Nadar leader would covet. The Perambalur seat has been given to TR Paarvinder, founder of Indiya Jananayaka Katchi. He owns SRM University & Tamil channel Puthia Thalaimurai. It is certainly not going to be a smooth sail for a fellow Nadar leader Tamilisai Soundararajan from Chennai South. Similarly it will be a tough battle for Union Minister L Murugan to take on a “resourceful” 2-G enabled A Raja in Nilgiris, a reserved constituency The BJP has fielded a resourceful C Narasimhan from Krishnagiri.
Intense bargaining for claiming more and more Lok Sabha constituencies has delayed the seat-sharing formulas in Maharashtra for both sides. While the ruling alliance is still to declare its candidates in many constituencies, an agreement on this issue is as yet eluding the Opposition I.N.D.I.A front despite several rounds of discussion. Top leaders from both sides are found closeted with each other or with potential defectors. Chief minister Eknath Shinde and two deputy chief ministers, Devendra Fadanvis and Ajit Pawar keep on assuring their followers that the formula is being finalized and will be announced soon. From I.N.D.I.A front side, Sharad Pawar, former CM Uddhav Thackeray and state Congress president Nana Patole have been meeting time and again to hammer out an agreement that would be respectable for all three constituents. Nonetheless, rebels are popping up all over the state to add to the headache for both camps. Family clashes concerning the Pawar and Thackeray families have added to the ferocity of the fight. Uddhav has mounted a bitter attack against cousin Raj for meeting Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi, thereby implying that the MNS chief has compromised the honour of Marathi Manoos. Ajit Pawar continues to be lashed by his adversaries while Beed candidate Pankaja Munde’s selection is described as a signal that her sister, sitting MP Pritam Munde, will be dropped this time. The role of their cousin Dhananjay Munde will be under scanner, given their earlier political enmity.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s isolation from the larger Pawar family in Baramati has deepened and appears to be heading to a point of no return. Now, his aunt has come out against him. Veteran Sharad Pawar’s younger sister Saroj Patil, a former school headmistress, has broken her political silence for the first time to stand by her elder brother. Saroj is the wife of the late ND Patil, who was an ardent political opponent of the Congress party and Pawar. In her late eighties, Saroj has alleged that it is the BJP’s plan to defeat Supriya Sule from Baramati, thereby finishing Sharad’s clout. But she has warned that Sharad can’t be uprooted from Baramati for which he has worked for such a long time. The family feud has come out in the open ever since Ajit decided to break away from the family patriarch and assumed serious proportions as he announced fielding his wife Sunetra against Supriya. Though Saroj has praised Supriya and Sunetra as ‘decent’ ladies, she has tipped in favour of the NCP MP and remarked that Sunetra is not so much studied. Her veiled criticism of Ajit comes on the heels of the onslaught by his brother Shriniwas, who said the Ajit is an arrogant person who does not respect family elders. In response, a communication has become viral in social media, in which it is said that Ajit has established himself with his talent and hard work. The signatory is “A Wise Baramatikar.”
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is appearing to be almost in the BJP’s bag, boosting the ruling alliance’s confidence for the Lok Sabha election. The BJP-MNS alliance was reportedly sealed after Union home minister Amit Shah met MNS chief Raj Thackeray in Delhi on Tuesday (Mar 19), though the meeting was scheduled to take place on Monday night. Raj has insisted on two Lok Sabha seats for his party, Mumbai South and Nasik and using his election symbol, the Railway Engine. If the alliance becomes a reality, the BJP will be able to hit several birds with a single stone as Raj will aggressively extoll Hindutva, will attack cousin Uddhav on ode to Veer Savarkar and kneeling before the Shiv Sena’s erstwhile political foes like the Communists and the DMK. Raj will thus prove to be an asset for the ruling alliance. BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde, an old friend of Raj, and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis played a behind the scene role in persuading the MNS leader to join the bandwagon. Raj was accompanied by his son Amit. No other leader was with him when Shah met them. MNS has been unable to make any dent in the electoral map of Maharashtra so far. The likely handshake will prove to be a win-win situation for both. Shortpost.in had indicated the possibility on Monday.
As expected by many of his critics, Republican leader Prakash Ambedkar has dealt another blow to the I.N.D.I.A front in Maharashtra, attacking the Shiv Sena (Uddhav) and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar. He has suggested to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge that an arrangement should be made between their two parties about the seven seats which the oldest party will be contesting in the state. The presence of Ambedkar has been proving uncomfortable for the I.N.D.I.A due to his various public utterances. Sena MP Sanjay Raut had expressed displeasure about this before the media a few days ago. Undeterred, Ambedkar continues to assail his potential allies. In fact, veteran leader Sharad Pawar and Ambedkar have not seen eye to eye on most issues. However, the mercurial leader was accommodated into the Opposition front at the behest of Uddhav. But Ambedkar has also taken him to task. In his letter to Kharge, he has charged that the Sena and NCP leaders have not been even hearing his party emissaries. “They are giving us step-motherly treatment,” he complained. Still, he has not forgotten to dangle a carrot for the Congress by indicating that the two-party arrangement can continue in the future, also. Though busy finalising the seat-sharing formula, the Sena and the NCP are finding it difficult to find capable candidates in several constituencies like Nagpur. Ambedkar’s intransigence, hence, is considered a headache invited by I.N.D.I.A.
Is the Rohit Sharma-Hardik Pandya (Mumbai Indians) captaincy saga sticking out like a sore thumb? On the face of it, the answer is a definite yes. From what Hardik said at an IPL pre-season interaction with the media it appears that they have not said “Hi buddy” to each other for a long time. MI is a five-time winner of the IPL and the owners — the Ambanis of the RIL — want more silverware in their cupboard. All action happened in November last when the IPL confirmed the trade-off between MI and Gujarat Titans and, subsequently Hardik was named the captain. Rohit was dislodged after a 163-match run (158 in IPL and 5 in the 2013 Champions League) as captain with five IPL titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020 and one CL20 title in 2013 and this change of guard made the Rohit bandwagon squeal against Hardik. All said and done Hardik (92 matches for MI) crippled with an ankle injury for a few months, is the MI chieftain and he will be his own man. He said, “he (Rohit) will always be there to help me out if I need his help.” Hardik has led the Gujarat Titans to a title win in 2022 and only CSK’s Ravindra Jadeja stopped him from a repeat in 2023. Hardik has a near 71 % win record for the Titans (22 wins from 31). He has had lower back and ankle injury issues for two years. Can he withstand the 14-match league run from March 24 when MI and GT lock horns at the Narendra Modi Stadium?
The past three days saw an edge of the seat thriller even as the father son duo of the PMK, Dr S Ramadoss and Dr Anbumani Ramadoss did the pendulum rock to choose between the BJP and the AIADMK. Over dinner, father dear was said to have made an emotion charged appeal to son, “This could well be my last election…my wish is to send at least a couple of PMK MPs to Delhi. Just agree to this once, then you can have your way.” Anbumani, already on the horns of his most challenging dilemma, agreed. Emissaries from PMK and AIADMK met for sealing the deal. Reportedly, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) drove to Thailapuram to personally oversee the tie up. Obviously, a Shivaratri must have ensued, to change the firm stand of senior Ramadoss, who was convinced with the most powerful arguments and lure, to join the BJP bandwagon. Imagine Edappadi’s shock and jolt when he heard about the latest nail biting finish to the swinging deal. BJP chief K Annamalai and Union minister L Murugan have played the most convincing roles in this crucial tie up, powerful enough to make Senior Ramadoss say, “PM Modi has worked tirelessly for this country. The people of TN are ready for a change, having experienced Dravidam in power”. The fine-tuned print of the deal will be revealed soon, but a visibly satisfied Dr. Anbumani made the acceptance speech when he stood tall and said “we have chosen”. And the Pied Piper of Hamelin continues to play his tune.
The news of Big B admitted to a city hospital went viral on WhatsApp and a news website of a TV channel and a news aggregator carried the story. In fact, Amitabh Bachchan called his health scare news, a fake. Nobody knows who started this rumour mongering but needless to say, it did worry people who are betting on Big B. If a star gets married or is hospitalised it does derail all the schedules leading to cost overruns. Mercifully everybody can relax. Eighty-one year old Bachchan is a complete workaholic and going by the IMDB report there are 14 films in the pipeline — some of them Aankhen 2 and Hasmukh Pighal Gaya are on hold. Meanwhile, he is busy shooting with south actors like Prabhas, Rajnikanth. With Deepika Padukone he is doing The Intern. It may be recalled that Amitabh Bachchan’s sign off note after the last season of KBC was looked at his exit from the show but then Sony Television quickly issued a statement that Bachchan is definitely going to be there in the next season—so to his millions fans and well-wishers Amitabh Bachchan is not going anywhere at least for now. You will see Big B on the small screen and on the big screen.
Sixty-two year old Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan is undoubtedly the acknowledged heroine of the election “manch”. And with good reason. The full time Governor of Telangana and the stand in Governor for Puducherry put in her papers and walked out of Raj Bhavan to wade in the heat and dust of the ensuing elections. She is cautious though, amidst speculations that are pinging around like a gaming parlour. Having lost to DMK’s Kanimozhi in Tuticorin in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, this colourful BJP personality was written off as a political power, even as she was made the Governor of Telangana, where she found herself in a stormy environment when K Chandrasekhar Rao’s party Bharat Rashtra Samiti was the face of power. But Governor Soundararajan could tenaciously hold her own, in fact it was obvious that she honed her power skills even as she was given additional charge of Puducherry. But close aides could see through her hankering to get into active politics, not be a figurehead representative of the BJP even as she saw the rise and rise of K Annamalai as TN BJP chief. Her resignation made waves and now the buzz is rife …is she a key Prachara Beerangi (Tamil for cannon) or is she contesting from Tuticorin or S. Chennai or no surprise, Puducherry? Watch this space for the role of her career… Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan … she of the colourful bold print sarees, flowers in her hair and dazzling smile.
It was a political storm that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi provoked little realising that it could risk hurting Hindu sentiments. His flippant use of “Shakti”– an evolved stream of worship in sanatana dharma — at a political platform where DMK leaders, who are not sympathetic to the Hindu cause, were present came as a political surprise. It was precisely for this reason that SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, who comes from the Ram Mandir belt, kept away from this “anti-sanatana dharma” forum in Mumbai– he didn’t want to be seen sharing space with “anti- Hindu” Tamil leaders like MK Stalin or VCK leader. Looks like Rahul imagined he could attack Hinduism, and get away with his word play on “shakti”. What he did not realise was that an alert BJP team would pick every word he had uttered against Hindus. The interaction with a Christian pastor in Kanyakumari during his Bharat Jodo Yatra and deprecatory references to Hinduism made two years ago was one such gem .The pastor is heard telling Rahul,”Jesus is the real god, not Shakti” in the clip. It came in handy as PM Modi lambasted Rahul as a person who had scant respect for sanatan dharma. From Jagtial in Telangana to Shimoga in Karnataka, Modi tore into Rahul’s remarks at his rallies and personalised his fight against Shakti. “For me, every daughter, mother, and sister is a personification of Shakti. To those who are raising their voices against Shakti, I accept your challenge. I am willing to sacrifice my life for Shakti,” he added. Modi, who clearly reached out to 49 % women voters through a series of governance steps, has now sharpened the battle for their attention with “shakti”.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s sly reference to him has been ridiculed by former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan. Similarly, the scion’s claim that then finance minister Arun Jaitley had requested him not to speak about the Land Acquisition Act has been questioned by top BJP leaders. In his public rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on March 17, Rahul had described how a senior Congress leader from the state had wept before Sonia Gandhi while admitting that he was joining the BJP lest he would be arrested. Although Rahul did not name the leader, the reference was obviously suggestive and it was identified to be Chavan, who recently joined the BJP and was immediately elected to the Rajya Sabha. Chavan said if Rahul was pointing a finger at him, there was no truth in the allegation. Chavan said his decision to leave the Congress party was not known to anyone. He was busy with the party’s work till the previous evening and nobody had an inkling of his next move. The news broke out when Chavan submitted his legislative assembly membership’s resignation to the speaker. Hence, the claim that he had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi in this connection was utterly laughable and unfounded, Chavan stated emphatically. Rahul’s other assertion that Jaitley had met him has similarly been viewed with mistrust. Let him come out with evidence to substantiate his claim, BJP leaders have challenged Rahul.
The ruling Mahayuti has been unable to resolve the stalemate created over the seat sharing formula, which is likely to undergo a major change if the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is included in the saffron alliance. While deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has indicated that the Mahayuti now has no scope to welcome any new partner, several other factors have impacted the ongoing talks. One of them is MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who has been ambivalent about joining the Mahayuti but has not discounted the possibility outright. His trusted aide Bala Nandgaonkar has been reportedly sounded to contest from South Mumbai, a Shiv Sena stronghold all these years, though due to the BJP support. BJP leaders are weighing the pros and cons about taking MNS on board since it is felt that Raj can easily discredit his cousin Uddhav Thackeray in campaigning. Even at present, Raj does not lose a single opportunity to throw barbs at his cousin Uddhav. Besides South Mumbai, there are about a dozen seats which are claimed by more than one partners of the Mahayuti. The BJP, of course, will get the largest slice though the Sena led by CM Eknath Shinde and the NCP under Ajit Pawar are yet not ready to relent about their demands. The final round of talks will be held in Delhi in a day or two, according to the three leaders.
Even as the Election Commission of India will be announcing the schedule for 2024 Lok Sabha elections and elections to four state assemblies on March 16, with it the Model Code of Conduct will kick in, there is apparently going to be no change in PM Narendra Modi’s travel plans abroad. Yes, he will be going to Bhutan after the announcement of poll dates. He is going to the Himalayan Kingdom on March 21 and 22. The visit is significant from the point of China creating problems there. Modi feels he must send a message to Beijing that India is standing with Bhutan. A few days ago, I & B minister Anurag Thakur made it clear that the government is not going into caretaker mode and the Union Cabinet will continue to meet as and when necessary. With opinion polls already predicting the return of the NDA Government post poll with overwhelming numbers, it is not surprising that PM Modi vows to continue working.
There is apparently a sense of unease and worry among the West Bengal security establishment that chief minister Mamata Banerjee should get grievously hurt at home. She was reportedly “pushed from behind” while working on the treadmill. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo fell and hit her forehead against a showcase. She was rushed to the SSKM Hospital by her nephew and heir apparent Abhishek in his car. She was discharged after stitches on her forehead. Though there is no clear answer as to who pushed her, sources say, attempts are being made to water down Didi’s initial statement to the doctor. The push has also raised questions about proximate security to the CM. This incident reminds of the attack on late Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa. Security agencies feel Mamata should move to the official CM residence in Alipore. Apparently, no Bengal CM prefers to live here. Mamata has been staying at her personal residence along with her brothers and their extended families in Kalighat. Of late there has been a lot of jostling among the brothers and their wives for a piece of action in TMC politics. They have been questioning why Abhishek, who is Diamond Harbour MP, was getting so much importance within the TMC. Party cadres worry that Mamata has been prone to disastrous attacks almost before every election. During 2021 assembly elections, it was a wheelchair-bound Mamata with her leg in a cast, who managed to swing the polls after suffering an injury in Nandigram. Post-Sandeshkhali, however a bandaged Didi may not be able to whip much sympathy. Stark revelations in PDS and recruitment scams have become a bitter pill for the masses.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.