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On a day the Election Commission of India (EC) published voter rolls in Bihar after a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) adhering to its first deadline, it rebuffed charges of the ‘voter theft’ accusations levelled by LoP Rahul Gandhi, saying that the EC “ignores such baseless allegations”. On his part, Rahul claimed that an independent probe by the Opposition had revealed that the EC was allegedly involved in a massive “vote theft” to benefit the ruling BJP. He apparently warned those within the Commission of working against India, and “this is no less than treason. We will find you wherever you are, even if you are retired.” Rahul claimed that the Opposition’s suspicions grew after the results of the Madhya Pradesh and Lok Sabha elections. “Those only deepened after the Maharashtra Assembly polls — especially when we saw that 1 crore new voters had been added to the final voter list. That’s when we launched our own six month investigation”. He claimed his probe had uncovered an “atom bomb”. If Rahul fancied SIR in Bihar helped him unite the Opposition, he may be up for a shock. SIR is not having much traction in Bihar. Even RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav is not focussing on it. Bihar Congress leaders admit no one wants to hype the SIR bogey as they feel it would put off general category voters. With Bihar SIR protest heading nowhere, one hears that Rahul is planning to take voter theft to Karnataka in the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat where the BJP won by 32,707 votes. He claims thousands of new voters aged “way above 18 years” were enrolled in one seat, a point endorsed by CM Siddaramaiah. Besides, deputy CM DK Shivkumar has not been able to reconcile the loss of Bangalore Rural (Lok Sabha) seat contested by his brother DK Suresh.
Donald Trump’s ‘dead economy’ slur upon India/Russia has irked India that officially eschewed interest to purchase the fifth-generation F35 fighter jets. Short Post reported earlier on India’s reluctance to buy the American planes. The U.S. president Trump’s disparaging India talks will adversely impact the U.S. instead. Well-placed sources said, “India’s trade relations with the USA also included wide-ranging exposure to American bond markets for relationship building as indirectly sought by the USA. Trump’s undiplomatic language dissipated this informal American pressure and will evaporate Indian government/private sector spending on American treasury bonds hereon.” Over five years, demand for the U.S. government bonds declined to historically lowest levels (-17%). With foreign governments emulating India’s scaling down of financial spreads in the U.S. bonds and the American Federal Reserve also scaling down its own exposure over rising interest rates, the economic outlook for the Trump government, which raises $2 trillion annually to service its fiscal deficit, appears bleak. India partnered the U.S. economically to encourage her emphasis on exports to the USA. Trump’s belligerent stance repeatedly failed to get India to buckle down over higher tariffs pressures, again put off till August 8, with U.S. dairy and agricultural products imposition upon Indian markets staved off effectively. While concerns linger regarding its pharma and auto sectors India doubled down on indigenous manufacturing that coincidentally is coming of age today. Indian PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ exhortation to Gen ‘Z’ to manufacture semiconductor chips witnessed 20 varieties already past the testing phase, set for launch in six months. Similarly, 48,000 indigenously fabricated Close Quarter Battle) carbine assault rifles developed in collaboration between DRDO and Bharat Forge, set to reach 70,000 units...
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced a substantial 30% hike in honorarium for community Durga Puja organisers, raising the amount from Rs 85,000 last year to Rs 1.10 lakh per club. Playing high on Hindutva card, with approximately 45,000 clubs organising community pujas across the state, the move will cost the state exchequer an estimated Rs 495 crore. Didi also urged electricity supply companies to offer an 80% rebate to puja committees on power usage. The announcement, coming just months before the State Assembly elections, sparked sharp criticism from the Opposition parties, which termed the hike a “bribe” by the ruling Trinamool Congress. Emphasising the cultural and emotional significance of Durga Puja in Bengal, the CM urged organisers to prioritise safety and crowd control over competition. She encouraged clubs to deploy more volunteers and maintain separate entry and exit routes in pandals. She also appealed to the puja committees to support returning migrant workers who, she claimed, have faced mistreatment in BJP-ruled states. This year’s Durga Puja festivities will take place in the last week of September, followed by the annual carnival on October 5.
Maharashtra’s chief minister Devendra Fadnavis whose ministers have been facing much Opposition heat for their resignations, has finally stated that there would be no more resignations coming in from his ministers. Fadnavis, who maintains an impeccable reputation, both with his public acts and deeds, has been much upset with the shenanigans of his coalition ministers and even publicly criticised them for sullying the image of his government. He seems to have been forced to go with them for now. Fadnavis clearly seems to have given in to Ajit Pawar’s alibi that any kind of resignation would have been akin to playing into the hands of the Opposition. In the case of the agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate, it was a case of fighting a more personal battle for Ajit Pawar, since the campaign against Kokate was being led by his own nephew Rohit Pawar with whom he does not have a good equation. With the face saver of reshuffle for Kokate, Ajit Pawar scores an ace by not yielding in to the campaign against his ministers and also gains an upper hand over the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP. As regards the ministers of the other coalition partner Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, his personal interventions with the home minister Amit Shah seems to have saved his ministers from Fadnavis’ wrath. Shinde has been rushing to Delhi multiple times including right in the midst of the monsoon assembly session after three of his ministers faced much heat over Sena MLA assaulting canteen staff, and other operating ladies bars. The Opposition has already taken the toll of one minister, Dhananjay Munde, within the first year of Devendra Fadnavis 3.0 term.
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Panneerselvam has set the political cat among the pigeons. His meetings with chief minister MK Stalin, the first in a morning walk that was said to be coincidental and the second a formal meeting at the CM’s residence, may have opened a whole new avenue before the 2026 polls. There is a likelihood that Stalin will welcome OPS and his rump element from the AIADMK into the DMK+ fold because he believes in all forces joining a larger alliance like the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar. In political terms, OPS may have very little to offer in terms of vote catching abilities, but his coming into the alliance would deliver an anti-AIADMK and anti-BJP message that may resonate with voters. Before ‘walking’ towards a DMK embrace just after he was refused a meeting with the PM on his recent visit to TN, OPS flirted with the idea of joining actor-politico Vijay if only to irritate the AIADMK+ combine. What Stalin sees in all this is an opportunity to gather all the forces he can so that he will be in a stronger bargaining position against the VCK, which has of late been showing some signs of hitching its fortunes to Vijay as a rising star. There is a possibility of DMK inviting Dr Ramadoss and his Vanniyar vote base into the fold in case VCK gets too ambitious in seat-sharing. And in all this, Stalin is dealing from a position of strength as he has the state machinery behind him to ward off what little anti-incumbency that may have gathered so far in his 50 months in office.
One can understand the sadness in Abhimanyu Easwaran’s father, Ranganathan Easwaran, who has been waiting patiently for his son to be capped in Test cricket. Abhimanyu has proved his mettle as an opening batter in first class cricket for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy, for teams in the Duleep Trophy and for India ‘A’. The right hander has played 103 matches, amassed 7841 runs with 27 x 100s and 31 x 50 plus scores. He has played 89 one-day matches, scored 3857 runs, with 9 x 100s and 23 x 50 plus scores. Abhimanyu has been around for a dozen years, and perhaps one with these numbers would have played for India. The fact, unfortunately though is, he has not, while the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan have marched forward. Abhimanyu has been part of two big five-Test series in Australia and England and the team management have not found it ripe and fit for him to pad up even once. With Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma and Jaiswal and KL Rahul, being the opening pair in the last two and a half years, the Sharma-Rahul Dravid team could not find a place for him. Ditto with Sharma and Gautam Gambhir and now Shubman Gill and Gambhir have not looked at him, when on this tour of England, there appeared to be openings. Those who have mattered on this tour — Captain, Coach and the Chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar — did not seem to have the confidence to pick him ahead of the middle order batters Karun Nair — on a comeback– or the left-hander Sudharsan. Abhimanyu’s father is peeved because his son has scored runs, has been picked in the squad, but not capped yet. The big question now is whether Abhimanyu will make the Test cut at all!
Surprisingly, under the BJP-led chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the law and order situation in Odisha has been going from bad to worse with rape, mineral theft, bashing up government officers becoming the order of day. Speculation is rife that the state government is mulling to take a leaf out of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s playbook and implement gangster law. Women safety has become the top priority. Bhabani Shankar Bhoi Talasara, BJP MLA and Dy speaker in Odisha Assembly has given his suggestion in writing to the government to incorporate UP style gangster law in Odisha. It is learnt that CM Majhi seems inclined to adopt his suggestions. Questions are being asked whether the Majhi government has the guts to copy and implement Yogi’s model of empowering police to contain crime including encounters to contain goonda raj? With the Opposition baying for his blood Majhi has no elbow room and will be forced to implement the law.
Former ATS officer Mehboob Mujawar’s sensational disclosure that he had been ordered to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in connection with the Malegaon Bomb blast case has created a no-win situation for the Congress party, which has retreated somewhat from its intransigent stand about the NIA court verdict that has acquitted all seven accused. Mujawar has named then top police boss Parambir Singh though not directly Hemant Karkare, who led the investigation in the initial months. Alarmed by the threat of a Hindu backlash, former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan has declared that the term ‘Saffron Terror’ should be replaced with ‘Sanatan Terror’ by arguing that terror has no religion. Chavan adopted this tactic after former Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde was blamed all around for coining the term Saffron Terror. Similarly, most top Congress leaders have desisted from commenting on the issue. To add to the party’s woes, Mujawar said he had been inducted into the ATS with the object of establishing the blast as an act of saffron terror. Mujawar declined to oblige the brass as arresting Bhagwat would have been much beyond his sphere, he said. Mujawar expressed happiness over the verdict and said he was happy that he, too, had contributed in this direction to a small extent. Mujawar was implicated in several cases but was acquitted in all of them. However, his long police career was destroyed, he lamented.
Khushbu Sundar is the classic evolutionary survivor. She walked into the DMK and instantly became Kalaignar’s favoured acolyte. Quitting the DMK, she had a brief flirtation with the Congress and a stormy exit in 2020 leading to her entry into the BJP’s power establishment. She remains a high-profile activist and was rewarded with a post in the Women’s Commission. But a leadership status eluded her, despite her avowed talent as a public speaker. In every TV debate, she could shine with her English fluency and general knowledge. She was no glamour actress wallflower, depending on her star attraction to make heads turn …she could hold her own, authoritatively. Perhaps it is this power profile …perhaps her Muslim identity …or even her fluency in Tamil that has now raised her status to vice president, TN BJP. What timing! Just as she was about to work her attraction quotient of this mint new status, two entrants to the DMK camp have bunged a lethal spanner on her and the BJP. DMDK President Premalatha Vijaykanth has walked into Stalin’s charmed circle. And OPS, another survivor of doubtful worth has also sashayed into the DMK camp. Khushbu, already facing the handicap of a nationalist party facing two local Dravidian establishments in TN, has to now face the combined onslaught of me-too aspirants who are bound to affect the poll logic. Khushbu still tries her best…she appealed to TVK newbie chief Vijay to join the BJP alliance to unseat the DMK.
The retention of controversial minister Manikrao Kokate in the team of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has generated angry reactions across Maharashtra. Kokate was divested of his agriculture portfolio after he was caught playing rummy on his mobile phone in the legislature session. Now, he has been transferred to the Sports and Youth Welfare department though there were vociferous demands for his removal altogether. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has shielded Kokate to the discomfiture of the Mahayuti alliance, it is felt. A much-maligned politician, Kokate has been disrobed by social worker Anjali Damania, whose chagrin for his continuation has no bounds. Damania has described how Kokate has changed eight parties over the past 26 years. His wealth in 2014 was Rs 6 crore, which shot up to Rs 21 crore in 2019 and swelled to Rs 48 crore in 2024, Damania has stated. Damania is a crusader who has embarrassed many high and mighty with one disclosure after another. Her baring of Kokate’s ‘progress’ has come as little surprise since the minister is known for his audacious behaviour for quite some time. Kokate’s nemesis was NCP (SP) leader Rohit Pawar, who first circulated the clip showing Kokate playing rummy on his mobile inside the house. Fadnavis had indicated that Kokate will face a penalty. However, the mere transfer of Kokate is not considered adequate.
Government officials working in India’s wealthiest civic corporation, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are facing the brunt of being caught in the crossfire of Shiv Sena’s internecine conflict. Having ruled the BMC for over 25 years without a break has meant that, both the Shiv Sena factions — Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde — have immense understanding about the nuances of how BMC works. With the result that they are adopting every trick in the book, to use the BMC to get back at the other. Amidst allegations of close aides bagging multi-crore Covid deals and Covid procurements done at inflated costs, an IAS officer and former additional commissioner of BMC, was raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and found having assets worth Rs 100 crore. Soon afterwards, demolition of a 40-year-old party office of the Uddhav Thackeray faction at Bandra East, led to party workers slapping a civic engineer. Officials now fear a spike in pressure tactics as the BMC elections inch closer. Uddhav is no stranger to this business of (mis) using the BMC official machinery for his political fights. He had similarly used the BMC’s offices to get back at opponents supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) like actress Kangana Ranaut or Navneet Rana or Mohit Kambhoj by initiating action for illegal alterations. Even Radio Jockey Mallishka wasn’t spared of BMC notices for poking fun at the potholed roads of Mumbai.
Fifty-five year old accomplished singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan has been awarded a honorary doctorate by Birmingham City University (BCU) in recognition of his outstanding services to music and the arts at a special ceremony held at the University’s Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He was also presented with a bespoke medal made by students at the University’s renowned School of Jewellery. A student ensemble who performed at the ceremony led by Dr Radhika Balakrishnan, a Carnatic classical vocalist and BCU’s first-ever Indian Council for Cultural Relations Chair in Indian Studies who is also a teacher at the Shankar Mahadevan Academy has helped Mahadevan to strengthen his ties with the University. Mahadevan has expressed a keen desire to join hands with BCU and form a tie-up between his Academy and the University. To support Mahadevan’s vision and mission none other than Ustad Zakir Hussain, renowned tabla player, composer, and percussionist, and John McLaughlin, legendary guitarist and a pioneer of jazz fusion joined him on stage and also participated in an impromptu jamming session with the University students to the delight of the audience. Professor Philip Plowden, Vice Chancellor at BCU said: “Shankar is also an educational innovator who believes in making the best tuition available to talented aspiring musicians. We are honored to have the opportunity to formally bring Shankar into our University community.”
Bharat Rashtra Samiti founder and Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s (KCR) decision to exploit the Solapur belt for expanding his party’s presence in Maharashtra has started impacting politics in the state. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has fired a salvo at KCR by taunting him that Rao should take care of his own party first and then dream of coming to Maharashtra for political activities. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, too, has sniggered at Rao’s forays into the state. Undeterred, Rao zeroed in on Solapur because of the substantial Telugu-speaking population in this once famous textile town. The textile trade is controlled by this section. Several MPs and MLAs belonging to this section have dominated Solapur district’s politics for a long time. Telugus in the district have maintained ties with their places of origin in Telangana over the past two centuries. Of late, this section is feeling left out since the district’s politics has taken a pro-BJP turn. Looking for a viable option, some Telugu-speaking leaders have joined the BRS bandwagon. The Rao government has extended several sops to the weaving community in Telangana and is promising to do the same in Maharashtra. Another sore issue is Solapur farmers’ complaint that their share of water is diverted to the more powerful districts like Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur. Rao is expected to hammer on this discontent, too, in future.
It was vintage PM Narendra Modi all over again as he slammed the Opposition unity move in Patna while addressing BJP karyakartas from all over the country in Bhopal. Flush with the success of his Indo-US visit and a number of MoUs signed, Modi was oozing confidence; he did not seem worried about the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Karnataka poll rout had been firmly put in the back burner. He described the Patna Opposition move as coming together of leaders with a proven track record in corruption and reminded people of crores of funds lost to the exchequer because of them. Answering a question from a BJP worker, he said he never saw such agitation among the Opposition parties like this time. “You remember what happened in 2014 and 2019? The staunch opponents of BJP were not this much agitated either in 2014 or in 2019. Enemies have now come together. Leaders who used to abuse each other are now prostrating before each other. Don’t get angry at them, have pity,” Modi said. He used the occasion to launch his UCC agenda and reminded citizens that if triple talaq, now outlawed by the Supreme Court, had been a necessary tenet of Islam, then why Pakistan, Indonesia, and Bangladesh do not have it?
Nearly after a decade, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is heavily campaigning for the upcoming three-tier Panchayat Poll. Didi last campaigned in 2008, and that too sparingly. This time around Didi addressed a rally at Kakdwip of South 24 Parganas on June 16 during the concluding day of Trinamoole Nabo Jowar programme. It could be well categorised as TMC chairperson kickstarting Panchayat Poll campaign. Mamata has already held rallies in districts of North Bengal, where TMC is struggling to gain a foothold. On July 3, she will be campaigning at Birbhum, one of the strongest TMC-held districts besides the North and South 24 Parganas. Didi is leaving nothing to chance to ensure a win in the maximum number of gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads. Interestingly, Mamata has once again been vocal about corruption within her party and made it clear to her voters not to fall prey to ‘cut money and syndicate raj’. Political observers believe that Didi is aware of the fact that this rural body poll is crucial to cementing TMC’s position as the strongest anti-BJP party. It is learnt that Didi is keen that TMC contest 40 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. But, the moot point is whether the Opposition Party will agree to her demand when they meet in Shimla some time in July.
At the mega Opposition parties meeting called by the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar in Patna, the Tamil Nadu chief minister felt a little out of place; he could not comprehend the fast and furious Hindi exchange of all leaders. A language that he is vehemently opposed to. Had the PM called for such a meeting, Stalin would have boycotted it. Observers close to a few participants talk about how Stalin was trying hard to get the gist from T R Baalu who also seemed at sea. After nearly four hours of this meeting, Stalin made excuses to leave early, citing his flight schedule departure time so as to avoid facing the media in Patna. Instead called for a Press meet at the Chennai airport where he could address in Tamil. A senior analyst asks didn’t Stalin travel in a chartered flight and that has no departure time compulsions. It is learnt that for the second round of the meet at Shimla, Stalin may ask Baalu and Kanimozhi to represent him. One has to wait and watch whether this ‘Unite to Unseat the BJP in 2024’ is still strong enough to reach the third phase at Chennai.
The Navi Mumbai-registered ideaForge Technology Ltd (iFTL) is coming out with its maiden public issue valued at Rs 567 crore. The IPO consists of a fresh issue of Rs 240 crore from the company and an offer for sale of Rs 327 crore by one promoter, five individual shareholders and eight corporate shareholders of the company. The price band is Rs 638-672 for Rs 10 paid-up share. The 2007-registered iFTL was a loss-making company until fiscal 2021. The company could wipe out its accumulated deficit only in fiscal 2022. The company claims to be the pioneer and the pre-eminent market leader in the Indian unmanned aircraft systems market, with a market share of approximately 50% in fiscal 2022. It has one of the industry’s leading product portfolios targeted at civil and defence applications. It has a broad range of products with feature-based differentiation. Sixteen year-old company was not eligible for making an IPO on its own financial performance and has adopted a `technical route’ to float its maiden public issue. If the company’s prospects are promising, why are so many big shareholders offloading their stake and making their cost of residual holding negative? Unstable past performance, unassuming promoter stake and absurd issue pricing make the IPO a risky proposition. For detailed story click https://investlive.net/
On and off the field, shenanigans are bandied about for overlooking the claims of Mumbai youngsters Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan in the national team for the format they are most suitable for. The chatter in the grapevine is that both will be summoned by the BCCI and told in no uncertain terms that they have to straighten up in order to be considered for red and white ball cricket. Had it not been for the supposed black marks against these talents, Khan would have probably played four Tests starting from the Delhi Test against Australia, leading to the ICC WTC final at The Oval in London, and Shaw could have been on the broader canvas for the Asia Cup and World Cup competitions. This column understands that the players’ home association — the Mumbai Cricket Association — is abreast of what’s going on as regards their non-selection in the Indian teams. According to an insider in the BCCI, people have immense respect for their skill and prolific run-scoring ability, but Shaw and Khan have to get the green signal from the BCCI for their names to be placed on the selection committee table. The insider stated that the game of cricket teaches suitable life lessons, and the BCCI would counsel Shaw and Khan, make them mend their ways and that they are, by their performances, very much on the radar of Indian team selection.
No one can blame BJP for being a party that works 24×7 on elections. There is no predicting yet how 2024 may go but the ruling BJP is already busy planning its campaign to maximise its chances. The party may be a fledgling force in Tamil Nadu, but it has already initiated planning for the polls in terms of suitable constituencies and candidates who would fit into them. For instance, the party seems to have plumped for Nirmala Sitharaman, finance minister, to contest the South Madras seat where they feel she may get maximum support going by the profile of the constituency voters. Union minister L Murugan may have earmarked the Nilgiris as his place to contest. The party has also zoomed in on constituencies in western and southern Tamil Nadu as potentially most likely to be attracted by its ideology. The party’s bigwigs have been touring the state in the last couple of weeks to put in motion poll plans. Apparently, the AIADMK has agreed to apportion nine Lok Sabha seats plus Puducherry for BJP and the heads of the party have authorised its leaders to examine which nine constituencies would be best to lay early claims to putting up candidates there. The alliance may be far from sealed and seat sharing is even further away, but the BJP is already doing its pre-poll work thoroughly in the State.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted US First Lady Jill Biden a lab grown 7.5 carat green diamond during his recently concluded 3-day state visit to the US . Questions were raised about the nature of the jewel. The diamond is eco-friendly, as eco-diversified resources like solar and wind power were used in its making. It reflects earth-mined diamonds’ chemical and optical properties. The Green Diamond is sculpted with precision and care using cutting edge technology. It emits only 0.028 grams of Carbon per carat and is certified by the Gemological lab, IGI. A diamond maker from Surat described the lab grown green diamond as “an atma nirbhar step that is giving jobs to millions of people all around India.” PM Modi’s US visit seems to have offered some goodies to overseas Indians. In a major boost to software professionals, PM Modi announced that US consulates would be opened in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. And an Indian consulate would be opened in Seattle. He also conveyed that people may not have to leave the US once their H1 B visa expires. He also had a personal interaction with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc and Google. He invited Pichai to explore further avenues of collaboration in the domains of Artificial Intelligence; fintech; cybersecurity products & services; as well as mobile device manufacturing in India. PM and Pichai also discussed collaboration between Google and academic institutions in India to promote R&D and skill development.
Om Raut’s film Adipurush seems to have disappointed Bahubali Prabhas’ fans. There are conflicting reports about collections and footfalls in the theatres even as Prabhas tweeted “Adipurush continues its roaring success at the box office! With a mind boggling collection of Rs 375 crore (sic)”. But movie critic Taran Adarsh tweeted “Disappointing”. So how does the future look for the first pan India star Prabhas? Not bright, feel some trade analysts. They say it is his third flop after Saaho and Radhe Shyam. Adipurush ran into controversy from Day One when the trailer was released and for its poor dialogues after release. Son of a Telugu film producer, the 43-year old Prabhas entered the Telugu film industry in 2002 and all his seven films were hit. What changed his life and catapulted him into the big league –making him the highest paid star in the south — was the title role he bagged in SS Rajamouli’s Bahubali and its sequel grossing. The film was an all time hit and the rest is history. Prabhas has a couple of projects in the pipeline; one with Deepika Padukone and Big B. Also releasing this year is action thriller Salaar. Interestingly, like Salman Khan even Prabhas is the most eligible bachelor… and heart broken. Anushka Shetty turned down his marriage proposal and the latest grapevine he is dating Adipurush co-star Kriti Sanon.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, the powerful southpaw batsman, has stolen the thunder from Sarfaraz Khan and crashed through the national team’s door. In as much as the ardent followers of the game in Mumbai would sympathise with Sarfaraz, the ‘pocket dynamo’, for not being able to convince the national selection committee of his gifts, they would also congratulate Yashasvi for his rapid rise as a talented left-hand opener across all formats. Not long ago, Sarfaraz was ahead of another budding star from Mumbai, Arman Jaffer, in the India potential category, but the last year saw Yashasvi make a big noise with his bat. A fabulous Tata-IPL 16 and the 21-year-old — immediately after two good domestic seasons — won him a call as a standby for Pune and Maharashtra’s Ruturaj Gaikwad, whose wedding prevented him travelling to the UK for pre-match preparations for the WTC final at ‘The Oval’. So a perseverant and ambitious youth who gave a helping hand to his father sell savouries at a famous maidan in Mumbai caught the imagination of the cricketing fraternity with his blitzkrieg-like displays in the IPL. The Mumbai Cricket Association and Rajasthan Royals must get credit for shaping his fledgling career, but Sarfaraz ought to be disappointed in losing faith in the system. His non-selection for the West Indies tour has left the legendary Sunil Gavaskar fuming. At the end of it all, sweet news for Yashasvi and a bitter pill to swallow for Sarfaraz. Yet again!
Whereas Nationalist Congress party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has been working towards Opposition unity at the national level, his own party’s Maharashtra unit is witnessing a cold war in which his nephew Ajit Pawar, senior leaders Jayant Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal have become the main players. Ajit has asked the party leadership for organizational responsibility. “I have remained the leader of the opposition in the legislature. Now I wish to work for the organization,” he has declared time and again. On the other hand, his principal rival Jayant Patil, too, is eager to play a larger role in the party’s affairs. Former deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal has now added a new dimension to the cold war by demanding that a non-Maratha worker should be entrusted with some major role in the NCP. Bhujbal has told the party that the BJP and the Congress have given important positions to OBC leaders in the organization. The NCP, too, should emulate their example, Bhujbal has advised the leadership. At present, Sharad Pawar, his daughter Supriya and Ajit occupy most prominent posts in the party. Besides belonging to the Maratha caste, they are perceived as running a family undertaking. Pawar’s decision to keep Ajit away from any new responsibility has been interpreted variously. As a result, several BJP leaders have started extending open invitations to Ajit to join their fold. Pawar’s next move will decide which way the dice turns.
The Opposition leaders’ first huddle in Patna to chalk out the strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections got off to a shaky start with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal in a rush to push senior leaders, particularly Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to accept his agenda on Delhi Ordinance. The ordinance had provided for setting up of National Capital Civil Service Authority under Delhi L-G for transfer and posting of officials. Kejriwal’s overdrive surprised the leaders. Congress sources said that the party leadership did not want to be seen being pushed around. After all, state units in Punjab and Delhi units were opposed to supporting the AAP in Parliament. Kejriwal did not expect the Congress to deal with the matter with caution and which is probably why he opted to skip the Press briefing at the end of the meeting. “Kejriwal’s churlish conduct upset senior leaders…It was suggested that a view on the ordinance would be taken at the next meeting in July in Shimla, ” rued a Congress source. Otherwise, there seemed to be a lot of light-heartedness at the meet as RJD leader Lalu Prasad openly suggested to Rahul Gandhi that he must get married – that too before the press. He also remarked how, “Lord Hanuman thrashed BJP with his mace in Karnataka, had made Rahul win.” Only Mamata Banerjee who is facing the brunt of education scam in her state spoke about the menace of ED.
Taking a dig at PM Narendra Modi, Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik recently quipped “double engine government is not important, what’s important is good governance”. Irked by this statement BJP’s bureaucrat-turned-MP Aparijita Sarangi shot back at Patnaik’s government by targeting CM’s right hand man and private secretary, V Karthikeyan Pandian who is also 5T Secretary (5T stands for Team work, Technology, Transparency, Transformation and Time limit). Patnaik who depends on bureaucrats to fulfil his commitment given to people has given IAS officer Pandian the carte blanche to clear strategic and administrative issues so much so that the elected leaders play a subservient role. Sarangi alleged how people’s mandate to govern Odisha has been hijacked by a 5T bureaucrat who takes all the decisions as a single window clearance, making elected BJD representatives helpless. For Patnaik empowering bureaucrats to execute his vision is not new. He had done this earlier with late bureaucrat-turned-politician Pyarimohan Mohapatra who became so powerful as Patnaik’s advisor that he planned a coup to dethrone the CM. Now, Pandian seems to be enjoying CM’s confidence.
A fortnight back nobody had heard of DMK minister V Senthil Balaji outside of Tamil Nadu till ED arrested him on June 14. Drama thereafter of him being admitted to a hospital, chief minister MK Stalin visiting him and Opposition leaders across the country coming out in his support and castigating Modi government did surprise everybody. Who is really V Senthil Balaji? Basically he is a fund raiser who ensures that funds reach at the highest level without any seepages. His controversial political trapeze act of crossing from the AIADMK to the DMK and getting rewarded with two plum ministries — Electricity and Excise (the cash cow TASMAC chain) — unleashed much heartburn among the DMK old timers. He is Stalin’s go to man. The Tamil Nadu governor has been firing missiles about the rampant corruption in Tamil Nadu. Ditto: BJP’s one man demolition army, K Annamalai. Balaji who was shifted from the government-run Omandurar Hospital to the privately-run Kaveri Hospital underwent bypass surgery under the Madras HC order. The ED filed a plea in the SC wanting a team of AIIMS doctors to take charge of Balaji. As if this intriguing cat and mouse game was not challenging, out of the blue, Stalin’s brother-in-law, Dr Rajamurthi, Director of the KK Nagar ESI Hospital has protested that he has been drawn into a controversy about Balaji’s Kaveri Hospital choice.
He came. He stayed. And, he is leaving now. Piramal Enterprises of Ajay Piramal has decided to quit Shriram Finance by selling its entire holding. Whichever way one looks at his original wisdom to get into the Chennai-based Shriram group, it is clear that his game plan has gone horribly wrong somewhere along. Surely, he would have gotten a handsome return on his investment in the Shriram. That need not necessarily crown this businessman as a wiser strategist. He must have seen in Shriram an opportunity to propel his dream of making it to the big league in the field of non-banking finance. Perhaps, he did not bargain for the deep cultural mismatch with the Shriram group. The Shriram group has remained an enigma for many outsiders. Piramal the investor perhaps discovered this only after getting into it. Maybe, he was in a hurry to overhaul Shriram. Luckily, Ajay Piramal’s group company managed to acquire Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code route in September 2021. Post-Dewan, Shriram is no attraction for Piramal. One thing is clear, however. The cleaning of the shareholding cobweb at Shriram was in no small measure due to Piramal pressure. For the man who has been successful in the pharma space with spate of takeovers his calculations in the case of Shriram seems to have gone wrong. You win some, you lose some.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House for a private dinner he decided to carry gifts marking 80th birthday of President Biden — a milestone he had reached last November. Krishna Yajurveda’s Vaikhanas Grihya Sutram mentions that an individual becomes ‘Drishta Sahasrachandro’ or the one who has seen one thousand full moons when he completes the age of 80 years and eight months. An elaborate set of Vedic rituals are performed such as Vinayak Pooja — prayers to Lord Ganesha, culminating in Poornaahuti (oblation to the sacred fire) Satabhishekam and finally Sahasra Chandra Darshanam or gazing at the 1000th full Moon. During Sahasra Poorna Chandrodayam celebrations, there is a custom of Das Danam or donations of 10 different kinds. The gifts were carried in a special sandalwood box, handcrafted by a master craftsman from Jaipur. It contained the silver idol of Ganesha handcrafted by a family of fifth generation silversmiths of Kolkata. It also included a diya (oil lamp) .It also contained delicate silver boxes containing symbolic – Das Danams or the 10 donations, which signifies the donations made on this occasion. Among the boxes was this 24K pure and hallmarked gold coin that is offered as Hiranyadaan (donation of gold).
Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee will be reaching Patna on June 22, a day before the Opposition meet on June 23. All eyes are on her since Mamata, who championed the need for the Opposition unity to take on BJP in 2024 polls had floated a formula that everyone should support the party in their pockets of influence, will be sitting with Congress leaders after a long time. It is important to note that several regional party leaders including JDU chief Nitish Kumar, RJD scion Tejaswi Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav met Didi at her residence to discuss Opposition unity and strategy. Also TMC chief shed her aversion to sitting with Congress despite the fact that Pradesh Congress has been aggressively canvassing against her in the state. Recently, at a public rally in Kakdwip of South 24 Parganas, Didi made it categorical that she’s ready to ally with Congress at the Centre, but not in the state as it has allied with the CPM. According to the political analysts, Didi is happy about the fact that her formula of support for the regional party at its bastion has been accepted and she’s ready to support Congress at its 200-odd Lok Sabha seats.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin is determined to milk the detention of V Senthil Balaji by the Enforcement Directorate to the hilt by keeping him on as minister without portfolio. There is political mileage to be had in demonstrating that the Centre is misusing the investigative agencies to pile on pressure against regional parties. The case of this politician is peculiar because he has been a key fundraiser for both the major Dravidian parties and has been known to handle key portfolios where the money flow is the highest like liquor and electricity. There are huge margins in both commodities, including electricity where the most funds flow not from generation and sale as much as purchase of electricity from other states to cover up shortfall in peak demand months. Senthil Balaji has been known to be a fair distributor of the money flow to Dravidian party seniors. He may prove a tough nut to crack as it is unlikely that he will involve anyone else in the troubles he is in because of which he could well become the Manish Sisodia of the south. His ‘show’ of ill health that facilitated a HC order to move him to a private hospital patronised most by DMK bigwigs has come to the notice of the Supreme Court too.
The champions of the ‘Bazball’ brand of cricket — the England captain Ben Stokes and the country’s New Zealand coach Brendon McCullum — have every reason to be pleased and proud that their mindset to take Test match cricket forward boldly and bravely has found admirers. Baz is the nickname of McCullum, and hence the term coined by the media to describe the style of playing the game most forcefully, notwithstanding the situation at any given time. McCullum, who believed in going after the ball while playing for New Zealand– taking risks — brought about a remarkable transformation in England’s Test team’s outlook, taking over from Chris Silverwood in the three-match home Test series against New Zealand in June 2022. England’s 22 batsmen have scored at 4.61 runs an over in 13 Tests, and its 14 bowlers have conceded 3.21 runs in 2129.1 overs before the start of the ‘Ashes’ that has been given a riveting start in the first Test at Edgbaston. The Stokes and McCullum team has won 11 and lost one to South Africa and New Zealand. The ongoing ‘Ashes’ is the first under the ‘Bazball’ variety and hence seen as the ultimate Test series because Australia has not won a series in England for 22 years. Someone like the former Australian captain Ian Chappell asks what’s new about “Bazball”, but the former South African captain Ali Bacher says Stokes and McCullum will keep Test match cricket alive!
Besides sending shock waves in political circles, Uddhav Thackeray’s ardent soldier Maneesha Kayande’s sudden entry into the Shiv Sena led by chief minister Eknath Shinde has once again revived the fight for the post of leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council. At present, the UIddhav group and the Nationalist Congress party (NCP) have nine MLCs each on their side. Uddhav’s loyalist Ambadas Danve is the LoP in the Upper House. However, due to MLC Kayande’s abrupt switch, the equation is disturbed. NCP leader Ajit Pawar has indicated that his party can consider claiming the post after the new arithmetic. While the post of chairman of the council has been vacant, Uddhav’s follower Neelam Gorhe has been handling the work in her capacity as deputy chairperson of the house. In all probability, the matter of changing sides by Kayande can be referred to her if the Uddhav group challenges her move. In that case, Gorhe will have to adjudicate if the defection is legal or otherwise. Kayande had been a frontline worker of the BJP for almost two decades. She left the party due to some unpleasant developments within that party and joined the Shiv Sena, then a single entity. She was sent to the council by Uddhav. Her term of the house ends next year. Kayande was welcomed into the party by Shinde amidst much fanfare on the eve of the Sena’s Foundation Day anniversary.
The Agra-registered HMA Agro Industries Ltd (HAIL) is coming out with its maiden public issue valued Rs 480 crore (82.05 lakh equity shares at the cap price). The offer is being made through the book-building route with a price band of Rs 555-585 for Rs 10 paid-up share. HAIL, promoted by five brothers, have been in the meat business for more than four decades. HAIL is the flagship company of the group and is a three star export house. HAIL is currently among the largest exporters of frozen buffalo meat products from India and it accounts for more than 10% of India’s total export of frozen buffalo meat. A disturbing aspect of the promoters is they have disassociated themselves from as many as eight companies during the last three years preceding the date of the Red Herring Prospectus. It is family-run business with brothers and children occupying key positions. Promoters hold 100 per cent stake. When compared to the other frozen food players, HAIL’s Return on Net Worth and Return on Capital Employed is quite impressive. In terms of price discounting too, HAIL compares reasonably well with frozen food heavyweights like Venky’s. Nevertheless, a disturbing aspect of HAIL is, the promoters and their relatives would be holding more than 83% of the post-IPO capital of Rs 50 crore at a negative cost which makes the stock vulnerable post lock-in period. By arrangement with https://investlive.net/.
From Day One, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious Project Cheetah aimed at re-introducing cheetahs in the country has come in for severe criticisms. First, the Opposition leaders castigated the Modi government for its fanfare of releasing cheetahs in Kuno National in Madhya Pradesh on his birthday. Now, with the death of six cheetahs there is more criticism directed at the PM. Taking cognizance of what’s happening Valmik Thapar, a wildlife expert who has studied Indian and African wildlife for nearly 50 years in a signed edit in The Economic Times makes startling revelations. He says cheetahs were never found in India but for centuries “maharajas, princes and the rich and famous were obsessed with importing this animal from its source population.” He raises two pertinent questions in the article “Why did the architects of this multimillion-dollar reintroduction plan ill-advise GoI? Did they not know that India’s 300-year history was full of the presence of captive cheetahs, which were clearly runaways that turned feral?” Second, why was Kuno-Palpur selected as a site for reintroduction? “Anyone who has observed wild cheetahs in Africa will realise that the Kuno region is not suitable because of a lack of prey, uneven ground, a high density of leopards and hyenas, and a thriving population of ferocious village dogs…” One wonders why the government of the day did not consult an expert like Thapar when it conceived Project Cheetah.
In south India film stars dabbling in politics is commonplace. So Tamil Nadu superstar Vijay signaling his entry into politics is not surprising. But, his entry strategy is. Thalapathy, as he is fondly known, chose to launch his political entry with a unique event. He hosted a gala lunch to felicitate top three rankers from every constituency in Chennai’s Neelankarai. The student’s community were ecstatic to be honoured by their youth icon. The star picked the most impressionable group, Gen Z to motivate and build allegiance. This box office vasool Raja has quietly pursued his political persona, interacting with his legion of fans, engaging them in social service like blood donation camps, flood hit relief camps and helping the differently abled people. The AIADMK, DMK, AMMK and other parties have found their political calling thanks to film stars. Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar has not openly claimed his religious faith. Vijay is strong and self-willed… father, director S A Chandrasekhar was in a hurry to launch Vijay the politician, leading to a family split. At the felicitation meet, the 48-year old Vijay exhorted the merit scholars, “If there is one crucial thing you can all do, it is to influence your parents DO NOT VOTE for money “. Vijay, who has set his sights on 2026 assembly polls, knows he has miles to go…but for now it is a good beginning.
The BJD-run government in Odisha headed by Naveen Patnaik has come in for harsh criticisms for frequent power outages in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack that too in peak summer. This ‘off-and-on blackout’ is happening even after the private sector Tata Power took over the management of power distribution in Odisha. It is learnt that the main reason for the power outage is because Odisha does not have an underground cabling system as is prevalent in most States. Here, the high tension cables are on a pole which snaps when there is a cyclone or heat wave. It would be hard to imagine, Patnaik who is trying to transform Odisha at a rapid pace is not able to fix such a basic problem. Incidentally, Bhubaneswar has the tag of smart city. Everybody is asking, if this is the plight of a smart city then one could well imagine the plight of other cities of the state. Well, as expected the Opposition parties led by the BJP have squarely blamed the BJD-run government stating that it has no control over Tata Power. However, power experts say blaming Tata Power is not a solution. Patnaik’s government needs to explore the expensive option of laying down underground electric cable. It is understood that Odisha’s chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena is closely examining the viability of laying down underground cable in the smart city to start with.
Congress Peeved As Teen Murti Loses Its Nehru Link, Renamed Prime Ministers Museum & Library Society
In a special meeting of the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library (NMML) Society, it was resolved to change the name to the Prime Ministers Museum & Library Society. The meeting was presided by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who is the Vice President of the Society. PM Narendra Modi had mooted the idea of setting up of a museum dedicated to all the PMs of India on Teen Murti Premises, New Delhi in 2016. The Executive Council, NMML had in its 162nd meeting held November 25, 2016 approved the construction of the Museum of all PMs in the Teen Murti Estate. The project was completed and the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya was opened to the public on April 21 2022. The Executive Council subsequently felt that the name of the Institution should reflect the present activities which now also include a Sangrahalaya depicting the collective journey of democracy in Independent India and highlighting the contribution of each Prime Minister in nation-building. Nripendra Misra , who is chairman of the Executive Council, explained the need for a change in name by emphasizing that the Prime Minister’s Museum expresses the nation’s deep commitment to democracy and so the name of the institution should reflect its new form. The Congress, which has not been enthusiastic about all PMs’ museums right from the start, lashed out at losing the nostalgic Teen Murti link with Nehru.
When Jai Inder Kaur, daughter of former Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, organised a BJP rally in Patiala to celebrate 9 years of Modi government last week it became apparent that she would be staking claim to the Patiala Lok Sabha seat currently held by her mother Perneet Kaur. Congress sources conceded that the Patiala Lok Sabha seat was now up for grabs. “We had after all suspended Perneet Kaur in February on the charge of helping her husband and the BJP,” said a Congress leader. With the exit of the royal family from the Congress fold, the party may not have any serious candidate to take on Jai Inder Kaur. Significantly, Kaur’s father was conspicuous by his absence at the rally as he wanted to keep the focus on his daughter. After being dumped by the Congress as CM, Capt Amarinder had floated Punjab Lok Congress in 2021. He merged his party along with the BJP in 2022 and was subsequently inducted into the party’s national executive. The Patiala rally was attended by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. Some of them who have worked with Capt Amarinder have reportedly sent feelers to the BJP. After the loss of Jalandhar Lok Sabha by -election, there is also talk of the BJP and the Akali Dal coming back together for 2024.
Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) has opened its first Maharashtra office in Nagpur with a bang. Former BJP MLAs Charan Waghmare and Raju Todsam have joined the party, hailing the leadership of Telangana chief minister and BRS founder K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR). They have alleged that the BJP in Vidarbha region was more favourable to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) than to its own workers. Waghmare said he was expelled from the party because he was opposed to the BJP’s electoral alliance with the NCP. Both plan to contest the next assembly election on BRS tickets. Buoyed by the increasing response, BRS has announced that it will be opening its offices all over Maharashtra in the near future. Already, the BRS is gaining popularity in Marathwada region for Telangana’s decision to buy its onion, otherwise dumped by farmers by the roadside since the prices in that region had crashed and it was not possible to sell the produce. Former MLA Harshwardhan Jadhav, who joined the BRS about a month ago, took the initiative to finalise the deal between the growers and the market committees in Telangana. Another former MLA, Deepak Atram, has predicted that more and more political workers will enter the BRS after frustration with their present party leadership. KCR is now said to be concentrated more on Maharashtra than on Andhra Pradesh and is in search of influential leaders from other parties.
The run-up to the Panchayat election in West Bengal to be held on July 8 is witnessing violence right from the first day (June 9) of filing nomination papers. Incidentally, the Opposition parties moved the Calcutta High Court after new State Election Commissioner Rajiva Sinha announced that the filing of nominations will be from June 9 to June 15 and June 20 will be the last date of withdrawal. Incidents of sporadic violence have been reported from South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, Birbhum, East Midnapore, East Burdwan, Cooch Behar where BJP, CPM and Congress have accused the ruling TMC of preventing their candidates from filing nominations. According to TMC senior leadership, it is still facing the repercussions of Panchayat polls 2018, where TMC won more than 95% of gram panchayats, of which 34% of the seats were uncontested, a record in the history of Bengal Panchayat polls. Further, TMC is grappling with rampant infighting in its own bastion of South Bengal which turned violent. Incidentally, the appeal by the party’s general secretary Abhishek Banerjee to keep Panchayat poll violence-free seems to have fallen on deaf ears. What needs to be seen is whether Didi and the Election Commission will comply with the Calcutta High Court’s ruling and deploy central force at the super sensitive booths across the state during the panchayat poll.
The stock market is in a bull phase with both the benchmark indices — Sensex, Nifty50 – touching new highs every week. The market which is constantly looking for a trigger to scale to new highs seems to have got a big one. According to Mint “Participatory notes are poised for a comeback, this time through the International Financial Services Centre, Gift City, Gujarat, after nearly a decade of being discouraged by Indian regulators. Some leading global banks that currently issue P-Notes from global jurisdictions, such as Singapore, are considering shifting to GIFT City as the special economic zone offers both tax sops and regulatory clarity.” The return of P-Notes will be like music to the ears for the stock market players. According to The Hindu Business Line report “foreign investors had patronised P-Notes for 14 years between 2004 and 2018. At the peak, P-Note linked investments in India stood at around Rs 4-lakh crore. But P-Notes lost their charm after SEBI restricted its use and banned them completely in the derivatives segment.” Currently, India is parched for foreign money in stock markets and allowing P-Notes could act like steroids, experts say. On a net basis, the foreign portfolio investors sold Indian equities worth more than $20 bn in 2022. Tax arbitrage has forced FPIs to move to other jurisdictions.
Irony! Kerala’s Left Front Govt In Talks With Tatas, Adanis To Bail Out Kannur International Airport
It is rare that the fortunes of an airport are tied to an airline. One of the big casualties of Go First’s insolvency is Kerala’s second public-private airport, Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL). Set up at a cost of Rs 2500 crore in 2018, the airport which has attracted over 20 million passengers is today defaulting on salaries and all infrastructure payments. In fact, things have turned worse in the last two months, with the airport defaulting on interest payments on borrowings which have now risen to Rs 1200 crore. Go First used to operate 240 flights per month from KIAL to domestic and international destinations. These operations earned it a revenue of Rs 5 crore every month. Also, KIAL was used by Go First as a major parking bay for its fleet of aircraft. The airlines which operate from KIAL today are Air India Express and Indigo, which do only four or five flights per day. The Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is worried that the airport could turn out to be another white elephant. It is believed that his government has approached the Tatas and Adanis to bail out KIAL. This is ironic, as the same Pinarayi government had vehemently opposed the privatisation of Trivandrum International to Adani. Critics say that Vijayan will go to any extent to save KIAL, as it is in the backyard of all the top Kerala CPM leaders.
With the 2024 election not far away, the chorus to name chief minister aspirant for BJP in Odisha is growing. Also, there is a concern what will be the role of BJP Minister Dharmendra Pradhan come 2024 Odisha election. So far, Pradhan has exhibited indecisiveness where he wants to be — State or the Centre. He has chosen to keep all options open. This is because he knows there is little chance of his dislodging Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in the Odisha 2024 state election. Sources say, Pradhan who is currently a Rajya Sabha member from MP is most likely to file for Lok Sabha seat in Odisha from Dhenkanal or Sambalpur area. Factoring the possibility of BJP faring well in Odisha, Dharmendra is toying with the idea of fielding his wife Mridula in the Assembly election either from Pallahara or Talcher in Odisha, offering him another opportunity for power play in Odisha. Now coming to the question, who will be the CM face of BJP in Odisha in the 2024 election? Two names are doing the rounds – one is that of Pradhan and the other one is Modi’s favourite vocal ex-IAS officer Aparijita Sarangi, a BJP MP from Bhubaneswar. Aparajita remains unstoppable though there was an earlier attempt to restrict her movement to her constituency Bhubaneswar. Today she remains unbridled holding meetings and campaigns beyond her assigned territories covering Bhadrakh, Nilagiri, Kendrapada and others.
The progress of the ground floor in Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya was reviewed recently by the senior members of the Trust including Chairman Construction Committee headed by Nripendra Misra. Even as details of the temple were shared in a release by Misra, it was disclosed that the construction work on infrastructure buildings was in full swing and it was likely to be completed by October 2023. The dome size of the five mandaps are 34 ft wide and 32 ft. The height of the courtyard varies from 69 feet to 111 feet. The Temple is 380 feet in length, 250 feet wide and 161 feet high from the courtyard. The three-storey Temple has five mandaps and one main Shikar. The size of Sanctum Sanctorum is 20 feet x 20 feet in length and width with a total area of 403.34 sq. ft. There will be 46 numbers of teakwood doors. The door of Sanctum Sanctorum will be ornated with gold. There are 392 pillars which have been structurally provided taking into consideration the load factor and other climatic challenges. Meanwhile, it is learnt that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has sent an invitation letter to PM Modi for the grand opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya while suggesting three “auspicious dates” for the ceremony. They are between January 17 and 24. It may be recalled that the temple’s foundation was laid in a ceremony presided over by Modi on August 5, 2020.
A front-page newspaper advertisement issued by the chief minister Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena tom-tomming a survey that rated Shinde ahead of his deputy Devendra Fadnavis for CM’s post, has highlighted the shadow boxing between the ruling allies in Maharashtra. Interestingly, the advertisement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photo comes in the wake of the discontentment brewing in the Shinde camp following tactics adopted by the BJP. The friction between the Shinde’s Sena and the BJP was also evident in reports that the national party had asked Shinde to sack five of his party ministers on grounds of unsatisfactory performance. This had upset the Shinde camp since all five ministers on the chopping board were Shinde strongmen, who played key roles in his government formation that helped him get the CM’s chair. The BJP strategy to expand in Maharashtra — not by making inroads into Opposition spaces but by inching into strongholds held by its own ally, the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena — has clearly upset the CM and his party of supporters. His supporters fear being denied tickets in their own backyards. Not surprisingly, firebrand Shiv Sena Parliamentarian Sanjay Raut commented that the BJP would make Shinde’s men to scramble for every seat. Amit Shah has announced a target to win 45 of the total 48 seats in the state during his recent rally at Nanded.
For decades business houses in Tamil Nadu have kept the business out of bounds for women members. That thinking is slowly changing. Now, the corporate world in this Dravidian land is turning gender-agnostic. With the four groups in the larger TVS family quietly going their separate ways legally, the yester-year hurdle (somewhat perceived, though) has disappeared for the womenfolk in their families. Suresh Krishna’s daughters are running the show in Sundram Fasteners. Venu Srinivasan’s daughter is also firmly in the family business. Of course, Mallika Srinivasan is driving the Amalgamation group. The iconic Apollo Hospitals is managed by Pratap Reddy’s daughters. N Srinivasan’s daughter Rupa Gurunath is well entrenched in The India Cements. Cavinkare has seen C K Ranganathan’s daughter too is getting into her father’s business. The Sengol fame Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers has already welcomed a fifth generation (four daughters) into the business. Perhaps the Murugappa group is an exception at the moment where one of the women members of the family –Valli Arunachalam — is engaged in a bitter legal wrangle with others over the denial of her right to get her due in the business of the group. Incidentally, it was the eldest daughter who alerted her father and MD of Pricol Vikram Mohan to the raid by Minda on his company! Well, women power has truly come to party in the family business.
It is out-of-the-box thinking, but one that needs to be addressed by the BCCI’s senior national selection committee with purpose and urgency. Willy-nilly, Ajinkya Rahane — not on annual retainership — appears to have returned to captaincy stakes after his triumphant comeback to the national ranks for the multi-day Test match cricket. Rahane is not naive to the leadership role; he was the captain of the Indian team that scored a remarkable series win in Australia after the team was shot out for 36 in the second innings at Adelaide in December 2020. He has led India in 6 Tests and won four, three against Australia. He has not lost a Test match. Rahane has an average of 39.89 as captain scoring 359 runs in 11 innings. The soft-spoken Mumbaikar has made quite an impression as a leader, and the selection committee, without a chairman, could look at him for the series in the West Indies. In fact, the selection committee — after India’s dismal display in the ICC WTC final at The Oval — must take the opportunity to look to bring in new players with a good record in the domestic tournaments. India has gone down in two WTC finals because of its stereotype policies — including the decision to drop Ravichandran Ashwin — and hence the time is upon the selection committee to usher changes, and quickly too.
Nationalist Congress party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has sprung one more surprise as part of his reshuffle of party top functionaries. NCP’s Raigad MP Sunil Tatkare has been appointed national treasurer. Various interpretations are coming forward since Tatkare is viewed as a staunch supporter of Pawar though considered close to Ajit Pawar as well. Nonetheless, the appointment of Tatkare is termed as a blow for Ajit, whose position within the party is becoming shaky by the day, his detractors whisper. On the other hand, keeping Ajit away from all top party posts is described as a masterstroke by Pawar’s loyalists. In a tricky situation, Ajit can build bridges with the BJP if the Congress or the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray decide to sideline the NCP in the coming elections, especially the Mumbai municipal contest. Already, some leaders of the two parties have started indicating that they will not accept the NCP as the main force in the Maha Vikas Aghadi that ruled the state for two and a half years. In the fluid situation, the reticence of the BJP is felt to be fraught with a hidden agenda since except for Devendra Fadnavis, none of the party leaders have reacted to the developments within the NCP. In stark contrast, Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut has not lost a single opportunity to needle Ajit Pawar, whose next move will decide the shape of things in Maharashtra.
After many hiccups and pickups, Prabhas led Adipurush is all set for release. One would think Bahubali Prabhas as Ram, Kriti Sanon as Sita, and hold your breath, Saif Ali Khan as Ravan would fly high even in the pre-release teasers and publicity pleasers. But controversy and caustic carp is already being tossed like hailstones. Prabhas, it seems, does not fit into that beloved divine mould of Lord Ram. Even his dialogue is dead pan. The cast and crew visited Tirupathi Balaji temple for a Big Bang trailer release, and director Om Raut stirred up a salacious controversy…he publicly kissed Kriti, the Sita Ma whose chastity is the anchor of the epic ballad. Ram devotees taunted Kirti’s claim that she had observed Vrat for the film. But the arrow that hit the jugular was the one liner of Censor Board Member and film critic, Umair Sandhu: ”Adipurush…Torture“.To add more grist to this devilish mill Kangana Ranaut, the self-styled moral police, critic and media high priestess has poured out her anger at yet another Ramayan in the works, which has Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram, Alia Bhat as Sita and the KGF rough Yash as Ravan. Is Bollywood drained and devoid of compelling stories? Or is this artistic hara-kiri, to relive again and again the beloved epic of our land to indulge the egoistic fantasies of top stars?
There is not much excitement in the BJP circles about TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s brief meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda early this month. The possibility of an electoral alliance between the two parties ahead of the Telangana assembly election later this year and general elections next year are being ruled out as it would not suit BJP. TDP was a part of the NDA in 2014 but quit the ruling alliance in March 2018 before the 2019 elections on the issue of special status to Andhra Pradesh. However, both parties came together after the recent municipal elections in Port Blair. BJP sources said TDP is not much liked in Telangana as it had opposed creation of a separate state of Telangana. “It is precisely for this reason that the Congress-TDP alliance has not clicked in the new state. Congress is a stronger party but gets pulled down by the TDP,” pointed out a BJP functionary. It is precisely for this reason that the BJP which is trying to make some inroads in Telangana would shun a tie-up with the TDP. As for Andhra, a party source admitted that the BJP was already in alliance with Pawan Kalyan’s party Jana Sena and may tie-up with TDP. Significantly, PM Modi remembered NT Rama Rao, TDP founder and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh on his birth anniversary in his radio program Mann Ki Baat last month.
Eighty-two year old Sharad Pawar has always been considered heavyweight in the Indian political firmament. His influence cuts across party lines — Congress, BJP, CPM, TMC, AAP etc. Nobody dares to cross swords with him. In fact, be it Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Narendra Modi or regional party leaders, they have held Pawar in high esteem and given a lot of weightage to his suggestions and ideas. So, when the supremo of Nationalist Congress Party stepped down from the party’s president’s post a few days ago and then on the party’s Foundation Day named two working presidents — Praful Patel and daughter Supriya Sule – it did put cat among the pigeons. The big question everybody is asking what happens to the ambitious nephew Ajit Pawar? Historically, Ajit was not interested in national politics; his eyes were on the CM’s gaddi. But, now with cousin Supriya made in charge of Maharashtra does it signal that his wings are being clipped? Nobody is sticking their neck out. But by making the suave, articulate Praful Patel also a working president, Pawar Sr has again displayed why he is unpredictable. Patel, a smart businessman and seasoned politician, is currently under the glare of the Enforcement Directorate in the Iqbal Mirchi case. The ED has attached his property – four floors in Ceejay House in Worli, Mumbai. According to a political analyst, if ED is hot on Patel’s case and should he resign from NCP’s working president post then the entire mantle of leadership falls on Sule. Post that the road is clear for her. It is mere conjecture though anything can happen in politics, says the political analyst.
No government has been under a giant microscope as the present dispensation headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Anything he does or says gets two extreme views. This is why the article in the Indian Express by Distinguished Professor Ashok Gulati and Research Associate Purvi Thangaraj, both from ICRIER, makes for an interesting reading. The duo have evaluated the performance of UPA and NDA on three parameters. They have chosen GDP growth, inflation numbers and impact of social welfare schemes for two periods. The UPA government –2004-05 to 2013-14 — headed by Manmohan Singh. And the NDA government — 2014-15 to 2022-23 — headed by Modi. The average annual GDP growth during Modi’s regime stood at 5.7% compared with 6.8% clocked during Singh’s 10-year period. “But in terms of taming CPI inflation, the Modi government has surely done a much better job by holding the inflation rate at 5.1% vis-a-vis Manmohan Singh’s period when it averaged at 8.1%. On the social welfare scheme front, the writers say the Modi government appears to have surpassed the achievements of the Singh government. In sum, they say, “Overall, while the Modi government’s performance in terms of GDP growth has been somewhat subdued, it has succeeded in taming inflation, keeping agri-growth respectable and doing a much better job on welfare schemes than UPA.”
The twitter world went on overdrive over a tweet by Trinamool Congress national spokesperson Saket Gokhale over the CoWin data leak. He tweeted: “a major data breach of Modi Govt where personal details of all vaccinated Indians including their mobile nos., Aadhaar numbers, Passport numbers, voters ID have been leaked and are freely available.” Some of the people whose data were leaked are: Dy Chairman Rajya Sabha Haribansh Narayan Singh; TMC leaders Derek O’ Brien, Sushmita Dev; Congress leaders P Chidambaram, Jairam Ramesh, Ahishek Manu Singhvi KC Venugopal and couple of TV journalists. So where does the blame lie? Clearly, during Pandemic anybody who travelled had to give a vaccine certificate. Besides, self-attested copies of Aadhaar/Passport/Pan cards are given by all of us for various purposes – banks, insurance companies, CAs etc. So the leak can be from anywhere. From the government side, union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar immediately tweeted: “With ref to some Alleged Cowin data breaches reported on social media, @IndianCERT has immdtly responded n reviewed this (sic). A Telegram Bot was throwing up Cowin app details upon entry of phone numbers. The data being accessed by bot from a threat actor data, which seems to hv been populated wth previously stolen data in the past. It does not appear that Cowin app or database has been directly breached.“
In a country which celebrates weddings in unbelievable opulence and obscene lavishness, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman daughter‘s wedding was a low-key affair. So it was not surprising that the news that Sitharaman’s daughter Parakala Vangamayi married Pratik Doshi, OSD of Joint Secretary rank in the PMO, spread like a wildfire. It became talk of the town for being a low key affair. This quiet almost secret wedding held in Sitharaman’s Jayanagar home in Bengaluru was blessed by the Seers of Udipi’s Adamaru Mutt in the presence of close relatives; no fanfare or trumpeting, no glitterati or paparazzi. Naturally speculations were doing the rounds why it was such a low key affair, what did the bride and groom wear, and most importantly who is the groom was flying thick and fast. The bride, a journalist, wore a traditional pink silk saree, and Sitharaman, a Molekalmani saree. The groom Pratik Doshi is a Gujarati who worked as Research Assistant at Modi’s CM’s office after his graduation from Singapore’s Management School. Doshi’s transition to national level as OSD in the PM’s office with his portfolio of Research and Strategy was seamless and smooth as silk. Doshi, people in the know aver, is the eyes and ears of the PM. The same curious network is busy now, feverishly connecting the dots...Chanakyan intrigue, political chutzpah, or plain and simple falling in love?
MS Dhoni’s popularity in Tamil Nadu is beyond belief…if he were to contest an election, never mind the party, he would win hands down. If there is a popularity contest between TN’s other Thala, star Ajitkumar and Dhoni with the same sobriquet Thala, all bets are off for who would win. Maybe Dhoni’s wife Sakshi was well aware that such high profile fame could easily be monetised; start any venture…sports goods, eatery, clothing with the Dhoni brand and harvest profits. Dhoni being Dhoni hit upon filmmaking, Tamil films in particular. Remember M S Dhoni: The Untold Story it was a box office hit and was ranked as the 5th highest Bollywood movie for 2015. The couple have started their own production house Dhoni Entertainment, and just released the teaser of their maiden film Let’s Get Married. Ramesh Tamizh Mani directs a cast of popular actors. Harish Kalyan, Ivana, Nadia the evergreen beauty, Yogi Babu and other entertainers. The teaser clearly reflects the film’s theme – a wholesome family entertainment. Dhoni’s humility and never-say-fail attitude is sure to sustain this new venture of the Chennai King.
Is the AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) ill and advised to rest? Seems plausible, as he has not been sighted in public for the past two weeks, communicating only through his staff. He had announced anti-DMK protest marches throughout Tamil Nadu but was not seen participating in any, even the one in Salem, his pocket borough, something quite out of character for a politician who thrives on being seen and heard with his hearty smile and presence. The party cadres are on chat and chatter mode, flying speculations in every which way. Some said he was having severe joint pain after the hectic birthday celebrations, early May, and has been advised to rest. Others are concerned about bone health issues. EPS has shouldered many burdens since the Assembly elections when the DMK wrested power from his party. Then he had to take on the rivalry and bitter power struggles with O Panneerselvan, his party heavyweight which brought on a number of legal battles. The speculations about his health took on a new dimension when he visited the temple, after a visit to Coimbatore to consult doctors about “bone problems”. Was he advised surgery, even a visit abroad for treatment? For now, his party cadres are joining in the prayers at the Lord Murugan temple, and wishing him a speedy recovery so that he can return to his busy schedule.
South’s popular actor Trisha Krishnan is still in royal mode after her superlative performance as the Chola Princess Kundavai in Mani Ratnam’s two-part magnum opus, Ponniyin Selvan. After the slick success of her film with Vijay Sethupathi, 96 in 2018, her career was on a downward plunge. And then after her 40th birthday, she hit the mother lode with Ponniyin Selvan, a role she carried with much elan, and grace even when pitted against beauty queen Aishwarya Rai. Post Ponniyin Selvan, Trisha is the most sought after star. She has signed six new films with all top heroes. Just shows what a legendary director and his talent to showcase an actor as a living character of the story can do to falling ratings. Trisha is already in Leo with superstar Vijay, a pairing that reminds of their earlier super hit, Gilli. She has Vidamuairchi with hero Ajit. She has signed up for a Mani Ratnam directed Kamal Haasan movie, ready to pit her acting skill against Dhanush in his 50th film and has a hot Malayalam film with Mohanlal. Besides, first web serial The Road. Looks like her 40th birthday was the turning point of her life. K Town is in awe of this petite pack of dynamite who leaves an unforgettable impression. Despite talk of romantic links after she walked out of two engagements.
They have immense pride in identifying themselves as manufacturing jewellers. They are the fourth generation entrepreneurs. Their four girl children have also gotten into the business. Founded in 1900, this iconic brand from the city of Chennai has come under the national focus when the Vummidis were traced to be the maker of “Sengol” that the Adeenams had gifted to Pandit Nehru to symbolise the transfer of power from the British. The Modi Sarkar has now installed that “Sengol” near the Speaker’s seat in the new Parliament. The installation of “Sengol” in the new Parliament is a defining moment for the owners of Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers. The “Sengol” installation in its wake has cast on Brand Vummidi an additional responsibility. Yet, it has pushed the brand equity of Vummidi to a new level. It is an ideal time for the owners to spread out into the globe. Steps are already on in this direction. If one were to go by Amarendran Vummidi, Managing Partner, Vummidi Banguru Jewellers (VBJ) will spread wings to the U.S. and set up a store in Dallas very soon. There is a significant presence of the Indian diaspora in that part of America. The American foray will be through a newly-floated Indian subsidiary, Amarendran reveals.
The chips are down for India in the ICC WTC final against Australia at `The Oval’ in London. After six sessions, Australia has its foot at the door to win the Test championship for the first time. The same venue had delivered a famous first away victory for India in England in 1971 when the Ajit Wadekar-led Indian team outwitted the home team led by the shrewd Ray Illingworth. Then, Wadekar deployed the likes of the cunning left-arm spinner Bishen Singh Bedi, the accurate S Venkataraghavan and the sleight of hand of right-arm leg-spinner Bhagwat Chandrasekhar to bring down England. Some 52 years later, India opted for a pace-centric attack ignoring the claims of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (132 wickets in two ICC WTC cycles). With the impending defeat — with three days of play remaining — the former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and opener Mathew Hayden, have pointed out a significant flaw in the Indian team selection that one cannot pick a bowling attack for the first day’s play. Having opted for Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur, Sharma had no option but to field upon winning the toss. The pacers had a rewarding outing on the second day, dismissing seven Australians for 142, but by then, the horse had already bolted – Australia had made 327 for three on Day 1, thereby ending the probability of a real showdown.
With the Opposition parties gunning for Ashwin Vaishnaw’s scalp over Balasore’s triple train tragedy, the Railway Minister has now ordered a high level safety audit inquiry for the entire railway network across the country. The objective is to ensure that the rail network is tamper proof beyond the reach of unauthorized human elements. Those who have served senior positions in the Indian Railways say that the suave Railway minister known to deliver on his commitments wants to let the public at large know that the Railways work culture will be much better than they are today. Vaishnaw in his own inimitable style is firing on all cylinders to address the railway safety issues. His immediate meeting with the Railway Board after returning from Odisha spelling out his work expectations has set the ball rolling across the rank and file of railway employees across the country. The Railway Board chairman held a meeting with all general managers and divisional railway managers communicating what needs to be done on a range of activities which will prevent such big accidents.
The travel boom set off by the end of the Covid-19 pandemic is seeing action in every mode of transport, from roads to rail and, of course, flights. But while the Indian Railways are using the opportunity to push the new Vande Bharat Expresses with premium facilities and premium prices, a number of small airlines are still trying to find their bearings after the sector nosedived during the pandemic. One entrepreneur who is waiting to take off is Manoj Chacko, former vice-president of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Chacko, CEO of the recently registered Fly91, from India’s telephone dialling code, has seen it all. Air Deccan, the forerunner in the field that made flying affordable to all, took off well but made the mistake of going in for Airbus aircraft too early. “They should have stuck to the ATR with which they began,” he says. “Introducing a mixed fleet compelled them to compete in a different space.” Kingfisher’s acquisition of Deccan was a “big mistake”, says Chacko, who quit soon after. “Vijay Mallya called me back after three years, but too much water had already flowed under the bridge by then.” Flying to Hubli, Kolhapur and smaller places was not an issue, but the attempt to go international was the killer, he says. His new airline, headquartered in Goa, will operate small 76-seater aircraft from October 2023, with a plan to go national gradually in about five years. “We’ll be playing a test match, and aim to replace short rail journeys of 10 to 12 hours,” he explains, adding: “We won’t get into the ‘cheapest fare’ race: our fares will compare with those for the railways’ 2nd-class AC. We will pay salaries comparable to, say Indigo but keep a low-cost structure with neutral distribution channels and a consumer-friendly booking app.” Happy flying!
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
Four years have zipped by and we are crossing another milestone on 31st January 2025 – it’s our 4th Anniversary. It feels good.
Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
Yes, we have created a brand (in a limited sense), created demand (readers) and created supply (senior journalists). But we are facing teething problems like all start-ups. What makes us happy and confident is the recognition of our efforts. For instance, we have an arrangement with the OPEN Magazine, part of the $4.5 billion Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka-RPG Group. This arrangement sees around 10 Short Post stories posted on OPEN Magazine website every week. This arrangement is testimony that our content has been well received! Also, I may add that the Maharashtra government has recognised Short Post and has allowed our senior editor to cover the Assembly sessions. Ditto: Odisha.
Our goal is to ensure that Short Post becomes a habit. I would like people to keep checking their smartphones to know the latest Authentic Gossip. As regards AI and the fear of it disrupting all businesses including media. On that, personally, I have no such fear as I am confident AI cannot smell news particularly Authentic Gossip. That’s the place we are well entrenched.