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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.
Why did Congress leader Sonia Gandhi prefer Rajasthan, a state ruled by the BJP to Congress-ruled Himachal to file her Rajya Sabha nomination? She preferred to file her papers from Rajasthan even after Himachal PCC chief Pratibha Singh had gone public about offering the lone Rajya Sabha seat to Sonia or Priyanka. Instead of someone from the Gandhi family, the seat from the hill state has gone to legal luminary Abhishek Manu Singhvi who ironically hails from Rajasthan. Party sources said Sonia mainly opted for Rajasthan because it was a large state and was part of the Hindi heartland. Also, she didn’t want to represent a small state like Himachal which has only 68 assembly seats as she feared there could be cross-voting. Rajasthan assembly is 200 member house where Congress has 70 MLAs, so its safe. A five-term Lok Sabha MP from Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, Sonia Gandhi is very anxious to retain 10 Janpath that was originally allotted to her late husband Rajiv Gandhi. Meanwhile, the party has released only four names for Rajya Sabha elections including Chandrakant Handore from Maharashtra and renominating Akhilesh Prasad Singh from Bihar.
Although off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken nine wickets in two of the ongoing Test series against England, it was not great going for the seasoned campaigner in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. The 37-year old has been taken apart by the sweep and reverse sweep shots employed by the England batters notably Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Joe Root. For the first time in the 36 Test series he has played over 12 years and three months, he has conceded in excess of four runs an over. His career average is under three runs an over. All said and done, Ashwin is on the lookout for his 500th wicket, a feat only the legendary leg spinner Anil Kumble (619 wickets) has achieved among Indians. He has 499 so far. He will be only the third finger spinner in the history of Test cricket to accomplish the unique record after Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan (800 wickets) and Australia’s Nathan Lyon (513). The Tamil Nadu bowler has turned out to be a match-winner in 56 Tests, with a majority of 42 at home and to a lesser number, 14 in overseas conditions. He has taken 25 wickets and more at five venues: Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Nagpur. He has taken six wickets at Rajkot in a Test against the West Indies in October 2018. Ashwin will be keen to put this record behind so that he can focus to check the England batters who have been red hot with their flashing blades.
It was all because of one post from senior BJP leader Dr Subramanian Swamy about the possible role of superstar Shahrukh Khan in release of 8 Naval officers who were on death row in Qatar that got the actor all worked up. Swamy who has been continuously undermining all the achievements of the Modi government and taking potshots at PM Modi decided to credit India’s diplomatic victory entirely to SRK’s clout and even suggested that PM Modi should take the Bollywood actor along with him when he visits Qatar on Wednesday (Feb 14). While SRK is hugely popular in the UAE and Qatar, to credit him for the efforts of our MEA and influence of PM Modi in the region would be a travesty. SRK’s office promptly issued a statement clarifying that the actor had no role in the release of the Indian naval officers. “Execution of this successful resolution rests with Indian government officials. All matters of statecraft and diplomacy are best executed by our able leaders,” his office said. Earlier in the day, Swamy had suggested in a post that “Modi should take cinema star Shahrukh Khan to Qatar with him since after MEA and NSA had failed to persuade the Sheikhs of Qatar, Modi pleaded with Khan to intervene , and thus got an expensive settlement from the Qatar Sheikhs to free our Naval officers”. UAE was anguished when SRK’s son Aryan was picked up in Mumbai cruise drug case in October 2021.
Unlike the splits in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena, a vertical split has been averted in the Congress party for now, despite the exit of former chief minister Ashok Chavan. The exit of Chavan has failed to create a fissure in the Congress or even lead to an exodus unlike the exit of Eknath Shinde or Ajit Pawar from their respective parties. The exit of Congress leaders like Chavan, Baba Siddiqui and even Milind Deora has led to weakening of the Congress position in the ongoing seat-distribution talks within the I.N.D.I.A bloc despite holding the highest tally of 42 legislators in the Maha Vikas Aghadi; Sharad Pawar is left with 13 legislators and Uddhav Thackeray with 16 legislators. Soon after Chavan’s formal resignation, AlCC Maharashtra Congress in-charge Ramesh Chennithala launched into a damage control mode and called upon NCP supremo Sharad Pawar along with senior Congress leaders. He also led another delegation to Uddhav Thacekray to take stock of the situation. Pawar, who has been leading the charge of the I.N.D.I.A bloc, is said to have spoken to the Congress legislators and taken stock of the situation. Anjali Ambedkar, wife of Prakash Ambedkar from the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, had noted how their seat-sharing negotiators from the Congress side, be it Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil in 2019 or Ashok Chavan in 2024, had gone the BJP way. Who do we negotiate with in such a situation, she snubbed in a tweet.
The fate of Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Nana Patole is the hot topic of discussion as he is perceived to be the main reason for the overall frustration in the state unit owing to his mercurial nature and outlandish statements, especially at wrong times. A hard core BJP activist once upon a time, Nana kept on shuttling between the Congress and the BJP, which he left after his disaccord with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s agro policies. Nana returned to the Congress and won the 2019 assembly election to become the speaker. He did not last long. Afterwards, he was appointed the state Congress president. Since then, the number of his adversaries started multiplying. The two tall Congress leaders – Milind Deora and Ashok Chavan – to leave the party in succession were grieved due to the perfunctory treatment they had been receiving for a long time. In fact, the list is long. It is led by former CM Narayan Rane, who had come from the united Shiv Sena. Former minister Baba Siddiqui, heavyweight sugar baron Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, rural firebrand Ranjitsingh Nimbalkar, former minister Harshwardhan Patil, senior most MLA Kalidas Kolambakar, influential minority leader Abdul Sattar, Hindi-speaking community’s leader Kripa Shankar Singh and powerful Satyajeet Tambe Patil are easily remembered in this connection. Of course, Patole was not at the helm but at present, those wishing his exit are increasing in number. The next week will prove a game changer in Maharashtra politics, it is felt.
While pursuing her master’s degree in law, this Manchester-based young mother of a four-year old boy did the unthinkable. Rup Ghosh Roy decided court battles were not her cup of tea but cinema is. And she took the plunge as writer-director with a documentary feature titled The Monalisa Smile? Why a question mark? This bold, brave, and hard-hitting film explores the lives of 12 South Asian women living and working in the UK. The film shot in a documentary format throws light on the problems they face daily. Rup, who received an overwhelming response from 48 women with real life stories managed finally to capture 12 unique storytellers, from a beauty queen to an online chef, to a doctor who is also an animal rights activist. The film also explores serious issues such as bullying, racism, etc. The aim of making this documentary is to create awareness, make the film relatable to women and young girls in the UK, and eventually send a message that they are not alone in their battles. Self-funded Rup uploaded her film on filmfreeway.com and entered national and international film festivals like LIFT-OFF GLOBAL, and won the Audience Choice Award and First Time Filmmaker 2023. Her first documentary has created enough waves and she is being noticed and talked about.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan’s decision to walk out of the Congress party is fraught with several major coincidences. His father, late Shankarrao (SB) Chavan, had left the Congress way back in 1978 to join a coalition government, led by his arch political foe Sharad Pawar. Now, Ashok has repeated the act by leaving the party. The second coincidence is that both became Maharashtra’s chief minister twice. While the elder Chavan was the CM for the periods 1974-77 and 1986-88, his son Ashok was appointed CM in the aftermath of the 2008 Pakistani terrorist attacks in Mumbai. After the party won the 2009 assembly election, Ashok continued in the post but was forced to resign when it was disclosed that one of his closest relatives was made a member of the infamous Adarsh Housing Society in south Mumbai. If SB Chavan chose to become a cabinet minister after relinquishing chief ministership, Ashok did the same in later years. It is a known fact that SB Chavan had few friends in the state Congress but he endeared himself to the Gandhi family after returning to the party fold in 1980 when Indira Gandhi staged a spectacular return. His fortunes continued to rise since his old friend PV Narasimha Rao became the PM. Ashok, too, had been in the good books of the Congress but its present state chief Nana Patole is said to be the reason for his decision to leave the party.
When Santrupt Misra, HR Director of Aditya Birla Group quit his job after 27 years to join the Biju Janata Dal none of his close friends were surprised. Why? He had confided to them a few years ago that he wanted to return back to Odisha some day and was waiting for the right break to change his track. And that break came in 2021 when Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik appointed him as the Chairman of Ekamra Kshetra Lingaraj Temple Advisory Committee, an honorary position bestowed on him while he was still working with Birlas. The way Santrupt handled the Temple project — his foresight, strategic thinking, ability to communicate clearly and solving issues impressed Patnaik immensely. Likewise Santrupt was inspired by Patnaik’s vision, ideology and leadership style. For the uninitiated, Misra is Odia and Odisha is home state; he majored at Utkal University before taking the corporate plunge. His track record in the corporate world is impressive. He has worked with JK, TISS, Hindustan Unilever followed by the Aditya Birla Group. Incidentally, his wife Alka, chairman of the World Skill Development Council is based out of Bhubaneshwar. So it made imminent sense for Santrupt to return back to Odisha. Grapevine has it that he may be nominated to the Rajya Sabha seat or may opt for Lok Sabha seat either from Cuttack or Puri.
Two of Bollywoods beautiful and talented actors, Yami Gautam Dhar and Priyamani are unravelling the story of Article 370, which is set to hit screens on February 23. The talk about this film, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, is hard to ignore, even as comparisons with The Kashmir Files, Kerala Story and Emergency fly thick and fast. It is the timing of its release that has set expectations high and may be controversial. With the election machinery already rolling in full force, a powerful medium like cinema focusing on the abrogation of Article 370 is bound to land with a sonic thud. For honing its propaganda skills in multiple ways, the BJP is often complimented for its talent to use social media and its communication bag of tricks. But what the Dravidian cavalry taught about using cinema as the quickest, and most effective touchpoint with the electorate is a many layered case study. Tamil Nadu chief ministers M Karunanidhi and MGR used this powerful medium to totally transform an electorate under the spell of Sanskritised ideology. The Dravidian evolution is parallel to its cinematic evolution as an ideal propaganda machine. But it must be said that these two powerful leaders did not stir up religious clashes. Producer Aditya Dhar at the press meet when questioned about the timing of his film as it helps the BJP said, “To win the elections, we don’t need films like mine. The Ram Mandir took shape after a 100 years’ wait. It is now a fait accompli”.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) found itself on sticky ground when its biggest star face MP Dev made a swan song at the last day of Parliament session. Prior to that this Tollywood superstar and two-time MP from Ghatal seat resigned from three crucial government-nominated positions, the move coming at a time when there are talks within TMC that party supremo Mamata Banerjee is keen to renominate him from his parliamentary constituency. Party insiders pointed out that Dev had been disillusioned by the allegation of misappropriation of money in his name by a section of district unit, besides his long standing differences with Sankar Dalui, a MLA of Ghatal. Soon, both Didi and party’s second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee met Dev to discuss the issue and removed Dalui from the post of district unit head. Post that Dev made a cryptic statement stating that he might want to leave politics but politics would never leave him. Officially Dev stated that it is important for him to work towards Ghatal’s Master plan which is to put an end to the recurring problem of flooding in Ghatal during monsoon. Didi promised that her government will fund the Ghatal Masterplan. It may be noted that Ghatal is under Pashchim Medinipur district which is the home turf of Opposition BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari. Incidentally, in 2019, Dev defeated once close aide of Didi and former IPS officer Bharati Ghosh by over seven lakh margin. All seats of both Purba and Pashchim Medinipur districts are matters of prestige for the TMC as Adhikari is leaving no stones unturned to capture these seats.
Speculations are rife that the relationship between the party supremo Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and party’s general secretary, the perceived heir apparent, Abhishek Banerjee has hit rock bottom. For the past several weeks, Abhishek not only maintained a low profile, but also limited his activities to his own constituency, Diamond Harbour. He was last seen along with Didi during her ‘Sanhati Yatra’ on the day of the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, but was conspicuous by his absence from the recent dharna by Didi against the Centre’s denial of funds to the state. However, Abhishek breaking his silence said that he is awaiting Didi’s directive to take up party work outside his constituency. He even cited that his “Nabo Jowar Yatra” ahead of the panchayat election in 2023, was under the directive of the party supremo. Although terming it to be normal, he admitted to differences (read not rift) with Mamata over certain issues such as the age of retirement of party leaders. He further made it categorical that he has no aspirations of getting into administration such as the post of chief minister of Bengal or that of Central Ministry. Political observers say that if there was a rift, Didi would not have remained silent; she would have taken strong measures like dismissing Abhishek. Mamata seems to be siding with the experienced leaders, but by not taking any action against Abhishek, she is also indicating that he has authority over the group.
The exit of former CM Ashok Chavan from the Congress party just on the eve of Rajya Sabha elections and the buzz about his imminent switch to the BJP along with some MLAs has stunned party circles in Delhi. It has also led to a delay in the release of Rajya Sabha list for probable contests across the states. What Chavan’s exit has done is that it has diminished the prospect of bagging at least one RS seat from the state. “Neither Abhishek Singhvi nor Raghuram Rajan wanted to be from Maharashtra,” revealed a Congress leader. Before Chavan’s exit, the Congress had prided itself in the fact that with 44 MLAs, it was the single largest party among the Opposition parties. All that could soon become history if more legislators troop out of the party to help BJP clinch a minimum of 3 to 4 MPs and the NDA about 5 of the 6 vacancies from the state. Party sources said the AICC was anticipating Chavan to move out because of legal proceedings in the Adarsh housing case. The BJP surely did not need Ashokrao as it had convincingly wrested Nanded Lok Sabha seat from him in 2019. So what was the big idea? Congress sources feel Ashokrao’s grip on Nanded zilla parishad has made him a formidable leader. As a Maratha leader from Marathwada, Ashokrao could be an asset to the BJP. Yet it remains to be seen if he would be immediately accommodated in the RS. After all Doon-school educated RPN Singh, a Kurmi leader had waited patiently for two years to get a RS seat from UP.
Repeated stories in www.shortpost.in predicting that Ashok Chavan, former chief minister of Maharashtra will bid adieu to the Congress party are now confirmed, though he has taken his own time to decide. Chavan’s absence from the legislative assembly floor in 2022 when the house was voting on a motion expressing confidence in the government of Eknath Shinde had proved sensational. However, his clarification that he was held up in a traffic jam was accepted by his party. At the time, DCM Devendra Fadnavis had thanked the ‘invisible hands’ supporting the government. On Monday (Feb 12), there was a feeling of déjà vu when Fadnavis said that some bigwigs from the Opposition were expected to join the BJP. Within minutes, Chavan announced his resignation from the Congress and the legislative assembly. Although he has not confirmed his saffron entry, Chavan has not denied the possibility, either. “Wait for a couple of days,” is all that he has said for the time being. Even when Chavan had supervised Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra’s meticulous arrangements in his home constituency Nanded, www.shortpost.in had hinted at his restlessness. However, the news story was not taken seriously. Chavan, too, continued to participate in the party’s activities. Recovering from the shock, Congress leaders in Maharashtra are presently frantically contacting the party legislators since reports are circulating that several of them are preparing to follow Chavan out of the Congress.
When Trinamool Congress (TMC) announced author /journalist Sagarika Ghose among the four candidates for the upcoming elections to the Rajya Sabha elections, it was a clear indication that the party supremo Mamata Banerjee has had her way in picking the candidates. Except for selection of the Dalit Matua community leader Mamata Bala Thakur, sister of Union Minister Shantanu Thakur, by Abhishek Banerjee, Didi has held her ground on having saner, experienced voices in the Parliament. While Mamata opted to re-send Sushmita Dev, former president of the Congress’ women’s wing and ex-Lok Sabha MP from Assam who joined TMC in August 2021, she also decided to renominate Nadimul Haque, a sitting Rajya Sabha MP, for another term. Haque is also a Urdu language journalist. Both Dev and Haque are considered to be close to the Bengal CM. TMC sources were surprised by the nomination of Ghose, a personal friend of the CM. Mamata is known to personally interact with Ghose and her family during her Delhi visit. However, what surprised political circles was Sushmita’s come-back .Daughter of former Union minister Santosh Mohan Dev, Sushmita was sent to the Rajya Sabha by the TMC in 2021 but she stepped down in August 2023 to make way for social activist Samirul Islam who was nominated by the TMC. “Can’t believe Mamata di has nominated me back to Rajya Sabha in 6 months,” says Sushmita. Meanwhile, Congress continues to play its RS cards close to its chest. Tipped to win 8 seats in the RS polls ,it is reportedly toying with the idea of fielding Raghuram Rajan, Abhishek Singhvi from Karnataka, party treasurer Ajay Maken from MP and Salman Khurshid from Bihar.
A war of words has erupted between Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over the two political killings in the state during the past week. Even earlier, Uddhav had used select invectives to attack Fadnavis over political issues. The latest provocation is the killing of Abhishek Ghosalkar, a Sena (U) leader in Mumbai, by one of his acquaintances. Various media stories have surfaced subsequently, suggesting their soured ties over electoral ambitions of both. Fadnavis is criticised by various I.N.D.I.A constituent leaders. Uddhav leads them. In the past, Uddhav had called Fadnavis ‘worthless’ (faaltoo) and a blot (‘kalank’) for Maharashtra. In his latest assault, Uddhav has called Fadnavis a ‘psycho’ (mano rugna) and remarked that his earlier adjectives pale before the way Fadnavis has reacted to this killing. The DCM had ridiculed the demands for his resignation by saying that the opposition will ask for his exit even if tomorrow a dog is killed under a vehicle. Rather than responding to Uddhav, Fadnavis retorted, “My only prayer to the Almighty for Uddhav is ‘Get well soon’ as it appears from the choice of his words that he is suffering from some psychological disorder.”
In a significant move, PM Narendra Modi conferred Bharat Ratna, nation’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna, on two late non-Congress PMs — PV Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh– and agricultural scientist Dr MS Swaminathan, who is considered the father of our Green Revolution. Honouring former PM Charan Singh with Bharat Ratna, a prominent Jat leader from Western UP, had a positive impact on his grandson and Rashtriya Lokdal Party leader Jayant Chaudhary. An emotional Jayant not only declared that PM Modi’s gesture had “floored him”, he also made it clear he was going to be with the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. The award for Charan Singh and Dr Swaminathan — who had recommended a formula for fixing the MSP– clearly comes at a time when farmers from Punjab and Haryana are gearing up to take part in the ‘Dilli Chalo’ protest on February 16 for higher income. They were planning a rerun of their 2021 protest against farm laws. Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai have held a first round of talks with farm leaders in Chandigarh. In conferring Bharat Ratna on former PM Narasimaha Rao, PM Modi acknowledged his “visionary leadership” in opening India to “global markets, fostering a new era of economic development”. For a Congress President, whose body was not allowed inside the AICC in 2005, it was Modi who built a samadhi for Rao in Ekta Sthal, Delhi a decade later. BRS/TRS leaders were happy about the honour for Rao as he hailed from Telangana.” Of course, in his own inimitable way Rao had paved the way for Ram Mandir. Just as LK Advani had.
Shooting incidents in Maharashtra have brought the Maharashtra government under fire and raised a chorus for the resignation of home minister Devendra Fadnavis. The killing of close aide of Uddhav Thackeray, Abhishek Ghosalkar during a Facebook live as also the shooting in a Ulhasnagar police station by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator have raised questions of the law and order situation in the state. Parallels are being drawn with Bihar and the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government has come under fire especially from Uddhav Thackeray’s firebrand Sanjay Raut who has demanded implementation of President’s rule in the state. Raut has also been vocal against his bete noire chief minister Eknath Shinde for ‘goonda raj’ and ‘mafia raj’ in Maharashtra. He supported his claims by releasing pictures of gangsters along with Shinde at the state secretariat. The Uddhav faction of the Sena, which is under fire from various agencies, has upped the ante against Shinde and Fadnavis, who it believes are leading the charge to poach their legislators with threats of cases and other means to get them into the ruling alliance. A BJP internal survey in Maharashtra has been unflattering for the party; hence the overdrive to poach political support from other parties. These rising incidents of violence needs to be viewed from the lens of the escalating political tensions amidst the coerced realignments resulting in bitter local equations in the run-up to the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections the political temperature in Odisha is rising with possible alliance talks going on between various political parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s who was in Odisha recently at a public gathering called Naveen ji as “mitra” openly and this seems to have embarrassed the local BJP unit. It is public knowledge that both Modi and Patnaik have great equations. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who just finished his last leg of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra campaigning in Odisha seems to be upset with the BJP-BJD informal alliance. With a view to energize Odisha’s Congress cadres, Rahul has cautioned Odia people saying Odisha is a partnership government of Naveen Patnaik and Narendra Modi wherein Patnaik is helping Modi in Delhi, while Modi helps Naveen in Odisha. Adding further he said that if BJP comes to power even Navratna NALCO will be sold off to private players. Former bureaucrat VK Pandian, Patnaik’s right hand man acknowledged through podcast that lot of things have been ironed out between BJP and BJD saying that Patnaik has it made clear long ago that BJD will have constructive cooperation with the Centre reiterating that the chief minister is not here to fight BJP or Congress. What is important according to Pandian is “covering Odisha’s interest”. For BJP it has no option but a tactical alliance considering the fact Patnaik’s popularity continues to rise and BJP overall has not been able to penetrate the state save for Western Odisha.
Can some of the frontline batters of the Indian cricket team eschew playing the aerial shots in the remaining three Tests of the series against England? The ill-timed shots have caused their doom in recent times. There is no gainsaying the fact that the days of stonewalling are a thing of the past, one that would bring boredom during the six-hour action every day causing drawn results. The scoring rate, even on the not-so-perfect batting strips, has risen with England’s batters averaging 3.92 an over in the first two Tests in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam as against India’s 3.27 an over. Thanks to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 209 India reached 396 in the first innings of the second Test in Visakhapatnam; a score 40 runs short of the first innings In Hyderabad where the total was 436 but which could have been upwards of 550 if only India’s top five were thoughtful in shot selection. Both Test matches did not go beyond the fourth day and hopefully, India’s batters will respond appropriately to Head Coach Rahul Dravid’s observation that decision-making on the issue of shot selection is crucial to piling up runs, especially in the first innings. So can the big batters of India’s top and middle order cut out the frills of hitting airy-fairy shots that they did in the first innings in Hyderabad? Ground shots yield good returns, food for thought for the lines of Sharma & company.
It appears Tamilisai Soundarrajan, currently Governor of Telangana and Puducherry, is preparing to come back into active politics. She has been pressing for the Union Territory (UT) seat, which Rangasamy’s party that heads the alliance, has marked for the BJP. With her term as Governor coming to an end, she was looking for an MP seat to contest after her unsuccessful foray in 2019 when she lost to Kanimozhi in the Lok Sabha polls. As she is a favoured candidate in a winnable seat in the UT, it seems Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has had to strike off one of the seats she was aiming at in Tamil Nadu where she must stand for the polls as BJP has decided to field all its ministers and senior leaders in elective seats. The current FM had been eyeing the Puducherry as well as the South Chennai seats. But Kamal Hasaan will be a high-profile candidate for the DMK+ front in South Chennai and the finance minister may have to move further south to seek a suitable seat. She might now pick the Tiruchirapalli constituency since she had gone to college and graduated from there. Kamal favours South Chennai for his foray into Lok Sabha polls as Coimbatore, from where he fought the last assembly elections, has been marked for Mahendran of DMK.
Braving all odds, chilled weather, cold and snow Indian performing artists especially those from Maharashtra are flocking to the UK. Usually, the influx begins after spring sets in, and Indian performing arts events are showcased till summer ends. But this year the month of January witnessed vocalists, and dramatists performing in the UK. Also, most of them are coming directly from India. Disciple of late Ustad Rashid Khan, eminent vocalist Koyel Bhattacharya from Kolkata, accompanied by her husband Kuntal Das, a tabla player disciple of the late Shubhankar Banerjee arrived here in London to perform at the Royal Albert Hall on January 15 for the prestigious Saudha Arts. The husband-wife duo will present their repertoire of ghazals, thumris, dadras and classical songs for SAJDA – Festival Of South Asian Performing Arts. Close on their heels the renowned 54-year-old Marathi vocalist Pt Anand Bhate from the Kirana gharana will perform in March in the cities of Leicester, London, and Edinburgh. Bhate will enthral audiences with his mixed bag of classical, light vocal and devotional songs. The UK audience will also enjoy the comedy Marathi drama Niyam Va Ati Laagoo presented by the young poet, writer, singer, and dramatist Sankarshan Karhade who will be accompanied by the comedian-actor Prasad Barwe and Amruta Deshmukh who was seen on Marathi Big Boss 4.
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A Mood Of the Nation pre-election survey carried out by India Today and C-Voter has predicted that the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) consisting Uddhav-led Shiv Sena, the Congress and the NCP under Sharad Pawar will bag 26 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra while the ruling alliance of the Sena under CM Eknath Shinde as well as the two DCMs, Devendra Fadanvis and Ajit Pawar only 22. In 2019, the BJP-Sena alliance had won 41 seats. It is generally expected that it would repeat the performance, especially since Ajit Pawar teamed up with the saffron alliance. Buoyed up by the forecast, the Opposition in the state has started making claims that its Lok Sabha tally would exceed 35. Maharashtra’s LS tally is only second to Uttar Pradesh with 80 seats. Hence, Maharashtra occupies a crucial place in the BJP’s electoral calculation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s frequent visits to the state are interpreted as a sign of nervousness on the part of the ruling side. He is slated to pay his next visit on February 19 to launch some mega infra projects. According to the survey, the Congress will win 12 seats while the Sena (Uddhav) and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar would capture 14 seats together, leaving 22 for the NDA. The MVA is feeling more confident ever since Republican leader Prakash Ambedkar has agreed to enter the LS fray under its banner. In 2019, the united Sena had won 19 seats, along with the BJP’s 21. The united NCP had four while the Congress and the AIMIM could win one seat each. The survey findings are rather surprising since it has predicted a BJP sweep in several major states, including UP, MP, Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Electoral alliance plans are evolving fast, even as party doors are kept revolving. So when the Home Minister Amit Shah in his interview to ‘Daily Thanthi’ said, “Our doors are open for anyone to come and join us”. D Jayakumar, AIADMK heavyweight reacted, “BJP doors may be open, but we have shut the doors for BJP, put a big lock too”. Perhaps defying him, 15 former AIADMK legislators and former MP walked in to the BJP, and were given a warm welcome by BJP president JP Nadda, Union ministers Rajeev Chandrasekhar, L Murugan and Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. With so many AIADMK leaders crossing over to BJP where was AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS)? EPS it is learnt had just worshipped at the Bhadra Kaali Amman temple when the media encircled him to get his views. His bland response was “I have not seen the newspapers this morning. I can clarify only after reading the news”. Was EPS trying hard to save his face? Or was he really unaware of his brood’s cross over? Even as a former Congress leader’s son, well respected and considered a quiet achiever was said to be negotiating a truce and face saving retreat, things were playing out without a script. The modus operandi advised by brokering political strategists ….”Sap bhi mare aur lathi bhi na toote”.
Many companies who have got into the electrical vehicle (EV) manufacturing space are looking forward to the music of their cash registers ringing since the government announced its renewed push for such engines. Adding to the euphoria has been the report released in end-January by HSBC Global Research that hybrid vehicles are a practical midterm solution on the decarbonisation road. The smaller players like the Bengaluru-headquartered Altigreen Propulsion Labs, which was a pioneer in hybrids and has announced plans to move towards 100% EVs, is however being cautious in view of the biggies that are already in the field, like Mahindra, Bajaj, Piaggio and TVS. This David is trying to establish its footing in the last-mile transportation space, for electrically-operated cargo as well as passenger delivery vans. Along the way, the company raised Series A funding, which it says is the largest fund-raise from Indian venture and corporate investors by an electric 3W startup. The first investment into the Indian EV sector for all five funders – Sixth Sense, Xponentia, Reliance New Energy, Accurant USA and Momentum Singapore — is a reflection that EVs and last-mile transport have come into their own and are being studied, and investors are willing to take sizeable and long-term bets on them. Of these, Accurant — the investment venture of Bahman of Open Systems International, Inc. — is making its first India investment and promises to be a big player in EV charging infrastructure. As the government moves towards achieving its target of ‘only electric vehicles’ by 2030, will David beat Goliath again as in the original story?
In the last few years, several star marriages have turned sour. Many of them opted for a divorce/separation. A few got remarried – Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. And some like Karishma Kapoor, Pooja Bhatt and Sohail Khan prefer to remain single again. The latest separation announcement came from Esha Deol — Hema Malini-Dharmendra’s eldest daughter. She is the first person from Deol family to separate from her husband Bharat Takhtani after 12 years of marriage. Reason: she could not come to terms with various restrictions imposed by her hubby like wearing shorts at home. The first star marriage that turned rocky and hit national headlines was that of superstar Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia. The reason given was Kaka’s numerous affairs. But, most Bollywood marriages have not worked out primarily because of the ‘other’ girl/boy in their partner’s life. Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora separated after reports about her affair with Arjun Kapoor came out in the open. He recently married Raveena Tandon’s stylist Shura Khan. Some stars did not call off their marriages because of sheer societal pressure and kept it under wraps. A case in point is Sunny Deol inspite of his proximity with Dimple has managed to keep his married life intact. In some cases, it has been the substance abuse. Aamir Khan divorced twice is married for the third time. Model turned actor Arjun Rampal separated from super model Mehr Jessia after 21 years of marriage and is now living with Gabriellia Demetriades. Most marriages in Bollywood have turned sour largely because of “torrid affairs”.
Ahead of what seems like a concerted move by southern states like Karnataka and Kerala for a sit-in protest about “lack of funds from Centre” in Delhi, PM Modi slammed the politics over the “north-south fund fight” fuelled by the Congress. He made it clear that there could be no divisive politics over government funds. “Divisive politics over national resources is dangerous. We cannot see state funds in a narrow prism,” he said speaking on the Motion of Thanks in the Rajya Sabha. It was a day when Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his team landed in Delhi to do a brief sit-in protest over lack of funds. The Congress government in Karnataka is struggling to fulfil the six guarantees it had promised while coming to power in May 2023. CPI(M) in Kerala may not have a freebie burden like the Congress in Karnataka but the growing traction of PM Modi and BJP in the state has got a worried Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan to do a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar. Flaying the Opposition CMs, PM Modi questioned the tone and tenor of the Karnataka leaders.“Humara tax, humara money; ye kaisi bhasha boli ja rahi hai? Charging the Congress of trying to divide the country over funds, Modi reminded the Southern states that the eastern states had mobilized oxygen supply during Covid or the way they keep up supply of coal, it would be short-sighted to underestimate the importance of any region in the country. “Mera desh Bangalore, Chennai, Telangana, Puri sab jagah hai. I don’t discriminate against states,” he said.
Is West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s jibe about Congress not in a position to cross 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 proving too costly for the Grand Old Party (GOP)? Upset with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra passing through her state, the TMC supremo had challenged the Congress to take on the BJP in the Hindi heartland states. She was upset that the yatra had traversed through Bengal’s six districts and compared it to a “mere photo opportunity” for “migratory birds” as she felt its aim was only to disturb Muslim votes. Citing the challenge posed by an I.N.D.I.A partner like the TMC, PM Narendra Modi — speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Motion of Thanks to the President– decided to play on the number challenge for the Congress. “A challenge has been posed before you from West Bengal that the Congress will not be able to cross 40 seats in Lok Sabha. I pray that you can secure 40,” he said. Modi also referred to Rahul as “yuvraj” saying that he was presented as a “start-up” but turned out to be a “non-starter”. Indulging in some banter with LoP Mallikarjun Kharge, Modi wondered how he had managed to give a long speech in the House.”Then, I realised that the two commandos who are usually here were not present. Kharge ji, after realising there were no umpires or commandos, kept hitting 4s and 6s,” he said referring to the absence of Rahul and Jairam Ramesh in Delhi. Attacking the Congress for being outdated, Modi felt it had also outsourced its work.
Congress and CPI(M) seems to have once again struck a chord with each other after West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee made it categorical that her party will contest the Lok Sabha elections in all constituencies in the state. Interestingly, Congress scion and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi who was in Bengal with his Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra found support from CPI(M) at a time when Didi expressed her displeasure that she remained uninformed about Gandhi’s programme in her state. Senior CPI(M) leaders including state secretary Mohammad Salim, state committee member Sujan Chakraborty met Rahul during his tour in Murshidabad. Significantly, the Left leaders not only joined Rahul but also held a closed-door meeting, where Salim has been categorical in stating that they are in support of Rahul’s programme. Congress sources confirmed that Pradesh Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been behind this meeting since Adhir is known to be a close-aide of Rahul. Following this meeting, the Congress has once again shown its trust in Adhir by appointing him as chairman of the party’s Pradesh Election Committee. The 24-member committee includes ex-MP Pradip Bhattacharya, CWC member Deepa Dasmunsi, DP Roy and others. Further, Bengal Congress chief has not lost a Lok Sabha election since 1999 and will be able to negotiate seat-sharing talks with CPI(M) since the TMC has blamed him for the seat-sharing debacle in the state.
Hot on the heels of his crack of dawn powwow with his party lieutenants, Tamil film superstar Vijay finally announced the name of his party — Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (Vetri is Tamil for Vijay). As expected it was received with oodles of enthusiasm from his devoted fans and open criticisms from other political outfits. AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami says Vijay is being backed by BJP. Superstar Vijay is following the path already trekked by MGR, J Jayalalithaa, Vijayakanth, Sarathkumar and Kamal Haasan. Looks like politics is going to be his full time job as he will give up acting after his 69th film is released. But, one thing is clear: his party TVK is not contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls; they will be contesting only the 2026 Assembly elections in TN. Well known film director Ameer has tried to decode Vijay’s strategy. “No one would have raised questions if he had announced it after the Lok Sabha elections. He must be the only aspirant who neither met the people nor the media. Whoever advised him has misled him.” The claim that his official astrologer chose the auspicious date (Feb 2) and time for announcing his grand entry made for more spice. The addendum …though Vijay is a Christian by faith, he believes in astrology and all the attendant superstitions of the land. An experienced commentator demystifies. Vijay has cannily entered the political arena and set the cat among the pigeons. Right now Vijay is a Ghilli –a blockbuster he starred in 2004.
Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s recent inauguration of ‘Akshar Bhumi’ (Odia language park, a walk through museum which traces the history of Odia language) followed by World Odia Language Conference Feb 3-5 at Bhubanewar’s Janata Maidan, attracting 10,000 visitors from India and overseas is making headlines in Odisha dailies. This mega event had the presence of international and national scholars including winners of Jnanpith, Padma and Sahitya Akademi awardees and recipients of Kabir Samman. Political observers say Patnaik is now promoting Odiya language and culture as a political weapon. Towards this the Odisha government and JNU, New Delhi have signed a MoU for establishing Biju Patnaik Special Centre for Odia Studies at JNU for research in Odia language. Patnaik, who knows the pulse of his people, is instilling pride at home and overseas by promoting Odia race, culture, language and literature. In doing so he is silencing critics who criticized him for not knowing his own mother tongue well. Opposition leaders in Odisha are referring to this event as “political gaslighting”. With general elections just a couple of months away, Patnaik is sending a clear message to his critics that language does play a significant role in political propaganda.
Meetings between public figures and underworld elements are no novelty but when they happen one after another and a chief minister or deputy chief minister (DCM) are in the picture, literally, eyebrows are bound to raise. Photographs of Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s son Dr Shrikant, MP, and DCM Ajit Pawar himself, besides his son Parth, receiving mafia members have gone viral over the past few days, igniting a political inferno. Coincidentally, this is happening when the state is rocked on account of indiscriminate firing by BJP’s Kalyan (East) MLA Ganpat Gaikwad at his foes inside a police station. Gaikwad had made serious allegations against Shinde and Shrikant. The CM’s supporters have taken objection to it and demanded BJP’s action against Gaikwad. Amidst all this, the first shock was notorious muscle man Gajaa Marane’s meeting with Parth in the latter’s Pune residence. Ajit later said it should not have happened and admonished his son. Within a few days, the CM was cornered when his son Shrikant received good wishes from Hemant Dabhekar, a known criminal from Pune, at ‘Varsha,’ official residence of the CM. The occasion was Shrikant’s birthday. Even before the dust was settling, Pimpri-Chinchwad’s don Asif Mohamed Iqbal Shaikh alias Asif Dadhi met Ajit Pawar. The purpose of the meeting is not known but it is believed that Asif is desirous of entering politics. The Opposition parties in Maharashtra have found ready-made cannon fodder and are making full use of the opportunity.
Rahul Dravid hit the nail on its head while saying that “reading the game and game situation” is paramount in cricket, in particular Test cricket. The most famous “Wall” of Indian cricket, whose cautious, mentality was recently acknowledged by the former South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini, had without pointing fingers at any individual, said that India was short by 70 odd runs in the first innings of the first Test in Hyderabad, and again after the 106 run win in the second Test in Visakhapatnam, he pointed out that India’s first innings score was under par and that the score, instead of 396 should have been 450-475, especially with Yashasvi Jaiswal getting 209. The former England captain Michael Atherton, the Chief Cricket Correspondent of ‘The Times’ wrote that the top and middle order Indian batters were careless in the first innings in Hyderabad. He did not name individuals, but he was referring to the careless shots played by Rohit Sharma, Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. India’s head coach m said that it’s all about understanding that (reading the situation)and knowing that they are making the right decision to put them (the opponent) under pressure or recognise that this is the moment to soak in the pressure and be a little bit more conservative rather than attack. India lost the first Test partially because it was not able to score 500 plus in the first innings.
In his last ‘Motion of Thanks’ reply to President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the Parliament, PM Narendra Modi exuded super confidence about returning to office for a third term with at least 370 seats for the BJP and 400 seats for the NDA. He taunted the Opposition for losing “the courage to contest elections”. In an obvious reference to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s plans to shift to the Rajya Sabha, Modi said “Some seats were changed last time too…I have also heard that many people now want to go to Rajya Sabha instead of Lok Sabha.” Sonia Gandhi walked out half way through his speech. He asserted that the “third term of our government is not very far now. Only 100-125 days remain to go.” Modi promised that India would become the third-largest economic power in the world in his third term and expressed confidence that his next term would see some “very big decisions”. Modi was in form as he took the Congress to the cleaners for not finding its mojo in its decade in the Opposition and attacked it for squandering its time in launching-relaunching the same product — a veiled reference to Rahul Gandhi. Quoting a 1959 speech of Jawaharlal Nehru, Modi showed how the first PM felt that the “Indians were lazy”. Showcasing his own government’s work of building 4 crore houses for the poor, Modi said if his government were to work at the speed of Congress “it would have taken 100 years to do this work. Five generations would have passed by then.”
BJP Kalyan (East) MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, who fired several bullets at his arch enemies inside a police station, has made several sensational allegations against Maharashtra’s chief minister Eknath Shinde and his son Shrikant, MP. The matter is likely to snowball into a major political storm as this is the first incident of its kind in Maharashtra. According to Gaikwad, a property dispute at Ulhasnagar near Kalyan was at the root of the shocking incident. He has alleged that the father-son duo had been fostering goondaism in the area. Gaikwad has been representing the Kalyan (East) constituency for nearly two decades, becoming a thorn in the side of the Shinde faction. The critically injured Mahesh Gaikwad and Rahul Patil are said to be staunch followers of Shinde and Shrikant. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who handles the home department, however, has become the whipping boy for the Opposition. NCP MP Supriya Sule and state Congress president Nana Patole led the demand brigade seeking Fadnavis’ resignation immediately after the news of the firing spread like wildfire. On the other hand, OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal (Ajit Pawar faction) has ridiculed the demand asking “Did Fadnavis ask the MLA to fire?” A home minister would have to resign a hundred times a day if he is demanded to quit after each criminal incident. But Sharad Pawar has remarked that the incident shows in which direction the state is moving.
For once Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge must be happy with the kind of impact his Rajya Sabha speech is making. For reasons best known to him, he used a BJP campaign tagline and got the ruling party to make it go viral. Kharge’s remarks that the BJP would be getting “abki paar, 400 paar” — video clip — was posted on BJP’s X handle. It was all the attention that he could ask for. Since he spoke in motion of thanks to the President’s address, PM Narendra Modi was present in the House. In his speech, Kharge was heard saying, “You have a majority, with 330-334 seats. This time it will be above 400,” evoking laughter from the PM and all senior ministers. Kharge’s remarks indicated that he had come a long way since the time he had complained about how I.N.D.I.A bloc CMs like Mamata Banerjee or Nitish Kumar before he joined the NDA were not taking his calls. The BJP could not have been more happy that Kharge, a Dalit leader of the Congress from Karnataka, had endorsed a big win for the party. The Congress leader’s clip with an imaginary header from PM Modi “I need new haters, the old ones have become my fans” was naturally on its social media post. Meanwhile, aiming to surpass its 2019 performance of 303 seats, the party recently launched its campaign theme song “Sapne Nahi Haqeeqat Bunte Hai, Tabhi Toh Sab Modi Ko Chunte Hain (we do not spin dreams, but weave reality, which is why people choose Modi)”.
With the general elections a few months away, the political temperature in Odisha seems to be rising. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with senior BJP leaders will be visiting Sambalpur on February 3. Political watchers interpret Modi’s Sambalpur visit to create “hawa and mahol” of election mood, apart from launching news projects worth Rs 69000-crore. Besides inaugurating IIM-Sambalpur, Modi is also endorsing Dharmendra Pradhan who will be contesting the Lok Sabha election from Sambalpur constituency. Even though PM Modi and Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik are good friends, yet Modi is leaving no stones unturned to ensure a big win for BJP. Energized by BJP’s recent win in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh, the general thinking among BJP leaders in Odisha is, “If North East and Chattisgarh could be won by BJP, why not Odisha ”? Poll pundits say Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) immense penetration at Panchayat and booth levels will ensure its eventual victory. BJP does not have alternative programmes at the state level that can challenge BJD seriously. Surprisingly, BJP’s constant accusation of BJD’s corruption has neither dented Patnaik’s image nor decreased his party’s popularity. The general feeling among people of Odisha is that Naveen babu has delivered.
While Tamil Nadu was agog with the excitement of Vijay stepping into politics to keep up a film star tradition, the older parties may be putting on their thinking caps to see what effect this will have on the polity. Of course, Vijay’s party will be a player only in the 2026 Assembly elections. TN parties are now busy pulling out their calculators for forging alliances. It is all but confirmed that the PMK — led by founder S Ramadoss and son Anbumani — one of the first as a caste party to gain prominence in the avowed “casteless’ Dravidian society, will go with the BJP’s offer of seven seats in the Lok Sabha polls. Having toyed with joining DMK, the Vanniyar party has few options but to go with BJP as it cannot mix with a front in which the VCK, another caste outfit, is an ally. It appears senior AIADMK leaders have told Eddapadi K Palanswami not to entertain the PMK. Besides the PMK, the BJP front might have the DMDK in its fold as Premalatha might throw in her lot with Modi’s party as her late husband Vijayakanth was a great fan of the Prime Minister and canvassed for him and his party from 2014 onwards. Tamil Maanila Congress, without a great vote share or presence, is yet to make its choice clear. The three-way battle will be on with the DMK-Congress-MDMK-VCK combine against the BJP- front while AIADMK will go in without any major allies.
The story of the India versus England Test series so far has been the champion Indian batters being foxed by a tyro orthodox left-arm spinner in Tom Hartley in the first Test. Handed over the Test cap by former England captain Michael Atherton — both from Lancashire — the 24-year-old spinner was carted by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first innings, but without showing any feelings of being embarrassed, Hartley, 6.4 ft in his socks, ran amok taking seven wickets in the second innings and inflicted a shocking defeat on India. The right-hand wrist spinner Rehan Ahmed turned out to be ordinary though. Now in the second Test, England which created a ruckus about Shoaib Bashir not being given the entry permit on time has included the off-spinner in the XI for the second Test. England which has been advertising the aggressive brand of cricket to sustain interest in the multi-day Test cricket has taken outrageous calls while choosing personnel, it has been peculiar for the five-Test series in India. It may have erred in choosing its most experienced left-arm spinner, Jack Leach because of his hamstring and knee-related ailments, but Bashir was not available for selection because he did not have the Indian visa in Abu Dhabi where England ran the preparatory camp for 10 days. But Hartley grabbed the opportunity and stunned the home team that was supposed to outplay the spinners. Bashir will be keen to make the ball obey his whims. The outcome of the second Test will indicate as to which team is likely to win the series.
NCP president Sharad Pawar’s wife Pratibha appeared at the ED Mumbai office on February 1, surprising most of his supporters and the media, too. Married to the legendary leader over six decades ago, Pratibha rarely makes a public appearance. The only recent time she was seen in a crowd was when Pawar announced his resignation as party president last year. Before that, she was present when Pawar was felicitated at an all-party function after he turned 75. Daughter of a cricketer, Sadu Shinde, the lady has never dabbled in politics or public affairs. Hence, seeing her alighting from her car, NCP protestors started shouting anti-government slogans with renewed energy. They had gathered to condemn the ED’s summons to Pawar’s grandson, Rohit Pawar, a NCP MLA from Jamkhed in western Maharashtra. As Pawar himself was not present, Pratibha decided to lend moral support to Rohit, who is a successful businessman. She was accompanied by Revati Sule, Supriya Sule’s daughter. Rohit has emerged as the spokesman of the Pawar faction of the NCP. He is viewed as Pawar’s political heir for the state politics while Supriya continues to be the party face in the national affairs. Rohit has advised his followers to maintain calm since he feels the ED’s action is taken in view of the impending elections and hence will not transpire anything against him.
After Dev Anand one can safely call the 67-year old Anil ‘Jhakas’ Kapoor, Bollywood’s Evergreen hero. He has constantly reinvented himself. The Woh Saat Din actor has come a long way. In a career spanning over 40 years, Anil who is recognised for playing all kinds of roles has acted in over 100 films. He is identified for some of the interesting roles he essayed in Hindi films like Mr India, Mashaal, Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, Nayak, Welcome, English movie Slumdog Millionaire and English TV serial 24. And in recent times, he has managed to give two consecutive superhits – Animal and Fighter. So be it TV, OTT or big screen, his works have always been noteworthy. The Night Manager on OTT has always been the talk of the town and his portrayal of a shrewd, cunning businessman was well received. With Fighter he has reached an altogether different zone. According to Trade Analyst Girish Wankhede, his energy and intensity are palpable, we can see Anil Kapoor 2.0 or 3.0 because of his versatility and his understanding of each medium. The fitness freak has consciously kept out of controversy or linked up with his female co-stars. Like Big B, Anil too is very disciplined and professional. He never went out of circulation like many stars of his time and who are desperately trying to make a comeback. His career graph, like Dharmendra, Jeetendra, has been steady. Clearly, Anil is a smart actor who can easily write a book, ‘How To Stay Relevant’ all the time.
West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is clearly upset with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra making its way into her state. She is so miffed with the Congress action that she feels the entire yatra is a bid to revive the Left Parties in the state — a battle she had fought hard to eliminate. She feels any softness on the yatra at this stage could allow the Left Parties to make a comeback in Bengal. It is felt that the idea of yatra in Bengal itself was something that CPI(M)boss Sitaram Yechury perhaps worked out with Rahul .That’s perhaps why Didi has given instructions up to the district level not to cooperate with Congress functionaries. Bengal Congress leaders are finding district officials so paranoid that they are finding it difficult to make even basic travel arrangements for Rahul Gandhi. This at a time when the yatra is about to re-enter the state for a second phase on January 31. Interestingly, in the first phase when Rahul Gandhi entered Bengal he was greeted with posters of “Didi for PM”. Mamata, who has announced she will go alone for 2024 is apparently determined to take on the BJP, win on her own at least 40 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. She also wants to vanquish Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Choudhury from his Berhampore Lok Sabha seat. The only concession for the Congress that she is willing to make is Malda Dakshin seat and that too for the sake of Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury, as he is a kin of the late ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, an old colleague.
Former Union minister Milind Deora is emerging as a frontrunner for one of the Rajya Sabha seats which is among the six that are falling vacant from the state next month. According to the present statistics, all but one seat can be bagged by the three-party ruling alliance. The sixth seat can be won by the Congress party easily as it has the requisite vote quota, which is 42, to win the election. The Congress has 44 members in the lower house of Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar have around 16 MLAs in their camps. Thus, even if they join hands for the election which is held in the open, they will have little chance of any victory. Moreover, the state assembly speaker, Rahul Narwekar, has ruled that the Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde is the real party. Hence, its whip will be binding on Uddhav’s supporter MLAs. Likewise, a hearing is going on about the disqualification or otherwise of the MLAs with Pawar. If the speaker’s ruling goes in favour of Ajit Pawar, the MLAs will have to obey the whip of the breakaway NCP. In that situation, the Congress will be the only opposition party left in the field. Deora has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Given his proximity with Shinde, the hopefuls in that camp will find it prudent to support the former South Mumbai MP.
Senior minister Chhagan Bhujbal is becoming the central point in the whirlwind scenario that is building up in Maharashtra over the state government’s decision to grant reservations to the Maratha caste due to his aggressive stance for protecting the OBC reservations. Chief minister Eknath Shinde and his two DCMs, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar have advised Bhujbal to ‘understand’ the government’s notification in this regard first before making any public statement. In retaliation for some Maratha leaders’ comments, Bhujbal has declared in front of his supporters that he will not hanker for a ministership if there is a choice between his post and his demand. In a bid to reinforce the BJP’s commitment towards the OBCs, Fadnavis has issued a veiled warning. He said he would approach the party leadership if an eventuality to threaten the OBC reservations ever arose. When Fadnavis was asked about Bhujbal’s statements, he merely said that Bhujbal needs to maintain restraint. He can discuss the matter in detail after both meet. Ajit Pawar, likewise, said it would be necessary to know Bhujbal’s exact grievance and what the government had offered. Perhaps unsettled after several quarters have alerted the Maratha community about the difficulties in the way of securing the reservations, the agitation leader, Manoj Jarange Patil has reiterated his determination to fight out till it is achieved. Both camps are finalising their strategy and are unrelenting about their stands.
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....
At Tirupati, if it is rendering of Bharat Ratna MS Subbulakshmi’s Sri Venkatesa Suprabhatham that invokes Lord Venkatesa every morning, it is interesting that in Ayodhya too MS’s invocation to Sri Krishna made it to the playlist with the nadaswaram playing her Tamil song during the pran pratishtha ceremony. It was the rendition of her hugely popular Tamil devotional song Kurai ondrum illai — a song set in Carnatic music — in praise of Sri Krishna/ Lord Venkatesa that was written by veteran Congress freedom fighter and former governor general of India CR Rajagoplachari. Of course, there were many South connections and contributions to the making of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Most important of course is the beautiful idol of Ram Lalla sculpted by Arun Yogiraj from the unique Krishna Shila stone found in Mysuru. But the “mangal dhwani” that resonated during the consecration ceremony certainly makes for interesting details in its composition. Apparently over 50 exquisite instruments came from 18 different states for this auspicious occasion and resonated for nearly two hours. Asked to comment on the selection of MS’s song at the ceremony, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai linked it with the coincidence of PM Modi listening to rendering of Carnatic music by Sikkil Gurucharan, who is supposed to be related to MS, sitting in Kambar Mandapam at Srirangam temple, near Trichy. It was a musical rendering of Kamba Ramayanam. The BJP leader also shared how his state had hugely contributed for the temple cause, including a single person donating as much Rs 25 cr by cheque.
Ninth-time lucky Bihar CM Nitish Kumar defied all political odds of survival commencing another stint as CM, after junking the Mahagatbandhan with RJD-Congress yet again. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused Kumar of practising the ‘Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram’ brand of political opportunism, others tagged the sobriquet of ‘Paltu Ram’. These commonly used phrases do harsh injustice to Lord Rama’s name, suffixed with negative connotations like transferred epithets. A BJP leader says, “Pejorative terminologies for Lord Rama, preached through conscious Leftist narratives, are deliberately being contextually misplaced. Regional political player Nitish Kumar (staved off the 2014 BJP wave to return as CM in 2015) is the Indian political chess board’s survival specialist. Nitsh, holding charge of home department in 2017, dissolved alliance with RJD-Congress first (after intelligence revealed imminent plans by Lalu Prasad Yadav to break bad and install son Tejaswi as CM) still completing full tenure. It is true that post 2020 state assemblies, Kumar with 43 MLAs (BJP elected 75 MLAs) had fought in alliance with BJP, was assured full tenure as CM but still broke our alliance.” CM Kumar’s helmsmanship plans for I.N.D.I.A. and national politics went awry thereafter and the Tejaswi threat loomed once again, probably forcing his hand for yet another political play for Bihar. Turn around another negatively used phrase, “Ram Bharose Hindu Hotel” positively to more accurately show Kumar seeking refuge in Lord Rama (saffron front) in his hour of political crisis to succeed and complete full tenure as CM yet again.
Looks like the 41-year old actor Ranbir Kapoor is on a roll. He returns to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s camp after a gap of 23 years with his wife Alia Bhatt signed up as the leading lady for Love and War. Ranbir was launched by Bhansali in Saawariya. The subject of the new movie seems to be a love triangle and Vicky Kaushal too is part of the cast. Besides, Ranbir will start shooting for Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayan in March with south heroine Sai Pallavi. Meanwhile, the actor is getting trolled for being a meat eater and criticized for playing Ram. To top it all his successful film like Animal has got extreme reactions from the feminist group. But that has not stopped filmmakers from casting him in their films. Film Trade Analyst Girish Wankhede says, “Ranbir Kapoor is on a roll because he has given one of the biggest hits of last year and the entire trade and filmgoers think that it was a long due from a Superstar like Ranbir.” He has been in the industry for more than a decade but was not able to deliver the blockbusters, but with Animal he has proved that he is a bankable star. Ranbir is slated to do the sequel of Animal. Ranbir who has acted in 38 films in the last 23 years charges around Rs 30 crore for a film. Today, he is one the most sought after actors. Going by this trend Ranbir could well emerge as the next Superstar.
Contemporary South cinema is now exploring an age old theme with the newest of technology and marketing missiles. Kollywood, Tollywood and Kannada cinemas are cannily exploiting ancient mythology themes with gusto. On Makar Sankranti day, Telugu film director Prasanth Varma’s Hanu Man was released and the promo promised that every Rs 5 from a ticket would be contributed to the Ram Mandir construction in Ayodhya. And he was not wrong with his brand equity math – he donated Rs 2.6 crore to Sri Ram Mandir. Hot on the heels of Hanu Man, Varma proclaimed Jai Hanuman, the sequel/prequel on January 22 with a devotional pooja organised at the Hyderabad Hanuman mandir. Varma’s soon to be shot script features a fantasy world of superhuman beings and incidents from the Aadi Kaavyam with never before explored events to be woven into the film. Kannada filmmaker Suresh Arts Productions announced Sri Rama, Jai Hanuman on the same Prana Prathistha day, planning a unique story telling in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and English. Ramanand Sagar had set a benchmark viewership record when his Ramayan made television history in 1987-88, when traffic countrywide would come to a standstill every Sunday. A new age revival of Hindu mythology and stories that have stood the test of centuries is about to happen. The cinema factory has an instinct for super profitable panorama. Are you ready to be enchanted and entranced?
The adept handling of the Manoj Jarange Patil-led Maratha agitation not only consolidates the position of chief minister Eknath Shinde but also marks the emergence of Shinde as the dark horse of Maharashtra politics. Shinde, who himself is a Maratha, could also benefit electorally from the politically strong Maratha vote bank, that has been the mainstay of the Pawars — both uncle Sharad and his nephew Ajit — as also the Congress. By successfully containing the agitation on the outskirts of Mumbai, the CM now finds himself one-up over his deputies, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, both of whom nurse ambitions to upstage him. And the backlash is already showing up. Fadnavis has already clarified that police cases will continue against arsonists who indulged in violence against policemen specifying that only courts were authorised to withdraw cases. Shinde had promised withdrawal of all police cases against Maratha activists. Fadnavis supporter advocate Gunaratne Sadavarte has also threatened to challenge the government reservation order in the courts. Chhagan Bhujbal from the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP has also criticised the draft notification from Shinde government terming the reservation as an eyewash that will not stand up to legal scrutiny. The agitation has successfully helped divert attention from Shinde and his team of 39 legislators being called as ‘traitors’ by Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena that kept Shinde on the defensive and threatened his electoral stakes. The agitation also helped divert attention from the negative effect of breaking two popular political parties — Shiv Sena and NCP for the BJP.
From all indications, it is becoming clear that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi will not be contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli — a seat that she has represented since 2004 for four terms. As such she has not visited her constituency or has been taking any interest in her voters. Perhaps this was one of the reasons that she did not attend the pran pratishtha ceremony. Congress sources say she would prefer to be a Rajya Sabha MP and is actually looking to get elected from Himachal when the vacancy rises early April. It will be a seat vacated by BJP chief JP Nadda. With daughter Priyanka Vadra having a house in Shimla, the Gandhi family feels Himachal is their second home. Sonia has been telling Congress leaders how Himachal has been close to Indira Gandhi. Though she is an outsider, Sonia will not be the first outsider MP for the state. Sources point out that post Emergency there was Mohinder Kaur (1978-84) — mother of now BJP leader and former Punjab CM, Capt Amarinder Singh — who had got elected as RS MP for one term. As for Rae Bareli — a seat once represented by Indira Gandhi and considered to be family turf — there is a buzz that it may go to the next generation. With the Samajwadi Party featuring Rae Bareli among the 11 seats where it is willing to back the Congress, looks like it could soften the electoral battle if either Priyanka Vadra or Rahul Gandhi wish to enter the fray from UP.
Call it “Bazball” or whatever that is supposed to convey playing a brand of cricket to take the rival head-on and thereby entertain the paying spectator, England has sent across a message to India in no uncertain terms that its batters from 1 to 11 will go after its bowlers. In two opening stands in the first Test at the Uppal venue in Hyderabad, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett swung their bats without fear of getting out to rattle up 55 and 45 runs before the first wicket went down. Clearly the camp the team held in Abu Dhabi to prepare for the five-Test series has yielded results. England made only 246 in the first innings and trailed the home team by 190 runs, but not perturbed by a daunting task, it roughed up the bowlers with the brilliant Ollie Pope collaring the spinners to make a near double century, though he was let off at 110 by Axar Patel and 186 by KL Rahul. From a clear first-innings setback England gave it a chance to cause a turnaround in the first Test and in the event of India going down will give plenty of thought for the national selectors to look at options in the bowling department. Moreover, questions will be asked about the attitude of the batters in offering catches when set. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul will do well to introspect. All said and done the “Bazball” style has made an impact in India.
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.