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Time, they say, flies—and how true that is. Here we are celebrating our 5th Anniversary. Five years ago, when Covid-19 was wreaking havoc across the globe, I took a leap of faith and launched Short Post, India’s first website for Authentic Gossip. That was on January 31, 2021. I was convinced there was a clear gap in the market for gossip that was credible, sharp, and impactful—especially if told in just 250 words.
In this, I was fortunate. Scores of senior editors across diverse verticals bought into the idea and, in the process, gave wings to my dream. Quite honestly, Short Post could not have crossed these milestones without the unflinching support of its contributing editors. Like all start-ups, we have seen our share of ups and downs, but these editors have stood by us like a rock. I take this opportunity to doff my hat to them.
Thanks to their commitment, we have published close to 5,000 stories spanning politics, business, entertainment, and sports. I say this with pride: we made our mark as people who matter read us. “Small packs, big impact” truly captures the essence of Short Post.
We all know that Covid-19 has reset businesses worldwide, and the media sector is no exception. In the post-Covid era, investors have become more cautious and selective—and advertisers too. To compound matters, the entry of AI has disrupted the media landscape in equal measure. So far, we have managed to hold our ground, hopeful that some angel investors will take a shine to us.
What gives me confidence is this: AI cannot smell news—especially the gossipy kind. In other words, AI cannot churn out Short Post-type stories, no matter the prompt. That puts us in a safe zone. As someone rightly said, “AI is a co-pilot, not a pilot.”
Notwithstanding public posturing by the DMK about firming up an alliance with the Congress, it is being said that senior DMK MP Kanimozhi didn’t have a nice experience trying to forge a seat sharing agreement with the Congress in the two rounds of meetings that she held with Rahul Gandhi this week. What particularly left a bad after taste in the mouth for her was the manner in which Rahul did not permit Kanimozhi to interact with Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath. In fact, after the first round of meeting that was initially held in the Lok Sabha LoP’s office on January 28, it was Rahul who had suggested that Kanimozhi could come over to 10 Janpath. Kanimozhi saw it as an opportunity to interact with Congress matriarch. But Rahul made it clear that his mother was not available for sorting out dicey political alliance matters and that the DMK leaders have to deal with him. While the DMK raised the impropriety of Congress in charge Girish Chodankar thrusting a list of 41 assembly seats that his party wished to fight in his first meeting with CM Stalin, Rahul wanted to know why the DMK was not working “to strengthen the Congress at the grassroots and in local bodies” in TN. Rahul’s approach somewhat surprised Kanimozhi and asked Rahul if he could speak to her half-brother Stalin. Stalin didn’t yield to Congress’ demand for more seats right away and said a panel would go into the demands. The DMK found it difficult to accept Congress terms of coalition power sharing. Rahul pointed out to Kanimozhi what the Congress was sharing with JMM in Jharkhand. Kanimozhi made it clear to Rahul that her party could offer 27/28 — 2 or 3 seats more than 25 that the Congress contested in 2021.
How times have changed quipped a veteran cricket administrator after Bangladesh chose not to travel to India for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup – citing security concerns. A little over 25 years ago, the BCCI, steered by Jagmohan Dalmiya backed the entry of Bangladesh as a full member of the ICC, and the young nation played its first Test against India. Things have changed out of the blue a quarter of a century later; precipitated by political changes in that country, and the killings of a particular community there which seems to have nudged the BCCI to ask the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders to eject Bangladesh left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman from the squad for the IPL 2026 season. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), now clearly tilting towards Pakistan, and ordered by its sports advisor, took a call to ask the ICC to relocate its matches to Sri Lanka. The ICC did not budge and took a firm decision to drop Bangladesh from the tournament and replace it with Scotland. According to reports the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) — supporting Bangladesh — threatened to pull out of the World Cup or not play India in Colombo saying its decision will be left to the Pakistan government. Nothing has been heard from across the border, but what’s certain is the relations between India and Bangladesh being shelved with no bilateral cricket likely to happen anytime soon. Tours to Bangladesh by India’s men and women teams were cancelled last year and henceforth Bangladesh will find it extremely difficult to request India to tour its country for a bilateral series – even if the political situation changes after the election in that country in February.
It seems to be the playbook of all the ruling state governments announcing social welfare schemes when the election is around the corner. So Tamil Nadu is no different. With the Assembly elections fast approaching the TN government headed by chief minister MK Stalin is announcing back-to-back policies, schemes, freebies and other initiatives that are essentially voter-friendly. Call it a curated mix of welfare, AI and technology and education, everything is coming together. In the previous month alone the state government announced various schemes such as free laptops for students to increase digital literacy, a sovereign AI data centre for secure AI infrastructure that will create 1000 plus jobs, newly polished pension scheme to support the elderly, Rs 3000 for pongal assistance to name a few. There are many more in the pipeline depending on which way the election wind blows. But at the end of the day by announcing various schemes and giving away freebies, the ruling DMK government is telling the people…we are on your side.
There seems to be no breather in the domestic aviation scene in the foreseeable future. Though the government proudly announced the entry of Shankh Air, Al Hind Air, FLY91 and Jettwings Airways, they are hardly going to ease air travel. All the new airlines plan to operate only on feeder routes and to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Following disruptions in flights through scheduled cancellations and delayed flights by IndiGo on December 5, 2026, DGCA had ordered a 10% cut in IndiGo’s overall flights — from 2144 flights per day to 1930 flights. As a result, Indigo had to vacate 717 slots out of which 364 were from major metro cities. But to everyone’s surprise there are no takers from existing or new airlines for the vacated slots. About the only airline capable of making a move is Akasa Air, which is awaiting induction of new aircraft in its fleet. Shankh Air, believed to be operated by a former truck operator and based out of Lucknow plans to fly on Tier- 2 and three routes — Varanasi and Gorakhpur. Goa-based FLY91, which planned to operate Airbus aircraft, today operates three ATR 72 -600. The flights are to Lakshadweep from Kochi, and to Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Bengaluru and Hyderabad from Goa. FLY91’s first year operations landed it with a loss of Rs 67 crore. Following this, it offered one of its ATR 72-600 aircraft on lease to an upcoming airline, Gulf-based Al Hind Air. For some reason the deal did not take place. And also, passengers on FLY91 have complained of frequent cancellations and disruptions in operations. About the only fresh lease of life for airline operators in India, dubbed the graveyard, is the new aircraft leasing policy. With the setting up of GIFT City, airlines are shifting leasing units from Singapore and Ireland to Gujarat to take advantage of the new leasing terms and tax exemptions.
The battle lines have all but been drawn for the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls 2026. It is advantage DMK as the polls head for a 3- or 4-cornered contest with actor Vijay the significant new player in the fray. The DMK-Congress alliance is yet to be formalised after seat-sharing talks hit speed bumps, but given the long-term relationship between chief minister MK Stalin and Rahul Gandhi, the Congress is only likely to keep its ties with the DMK going. Poll arithmetic in a contest in which the opposition to the regime is divided among the AIADMK-led NDA alliance, Vijay’s TVK which will be on a solo run and Seeman’s NTK, a fringe player who can however play spoilsport by taking away a proportion of the votes, will favour the ruling DMK despite the anti-incumbency factor. With a lack of data and history, no one can gauge Vijay’s advent into politics. But the way the BJP has played the cards against him is certain to bring him such sympathy for the treatment meted out to him and his last movie Jana Nayagan. Repeated questioning by the CBI with regard to the Karur stampede is another good reason why more people will gravitate towards the TVK. Also, people are yearning for change from the tired Dravidian politics. Even so, it will be DMK, with its committed cadre vote, that will come away with less of its vote share diminished even as AIADMK, which got a near equal vote share in 2021, suffers from its association with the northern upper class party BJP. Stalin seems set to emulate Jayalalithaa’s 2016 performance when her AIADMK was re-elected. The alliances are all but set now no matter what conspiracy theories may be floated from here and what pulls and pressures may come up in the last mile to the polls.
The grapevine has it that Bollywood is set to flesh out yet another police story, this time around infamous policeman Pradeep Sharma, who liquidated 112 criminals in alleged encounters, mostly in Mumbai city. Ab Tak 112 (112 encounters till now) is tentative title of film being bandied about, in apparent one-upmanship to earlier film based on rival policeman, Daya Nayak, titled Ab Tak 56. Both Mumbai police officers had suffered ignominy of suspensions and even dismissal during their chequered careers with a Mumbai Crime Branch probe revealing 214 of the 300 police encounters between 1998 and 2000 were fake. The two are also dwarfed in comparison to DCP Mallaiah G Yadav, who has encountered and liquidated 672 criminals and Naxals in a distinguished career marked by genuine police encounters. Unlike the cinematic bravado that often romanticizes extra-judicial action, DCP Mallaiah G Yadav’s record was forged in India’s most unforgiving internal security theatres, where Naxal insurgency, organized crime and armed extremism merged into daily warfare against the State. His encounters were not urban spectacles staged for headlines but outcomes of prolonged intelligence gathering, cordon-and-search operations and armed retaliation by extremists who chose bullets over surrender. Serving across sensitive districts, Mallaiah systematically dismantled Naxal formations, eliminated dreaded area commanders and neutralised criminal syndicates that had paralysed governance, extorted civilians and assassinated public servants. Unlike his Bollywood counterparts whose careers collapsed under allegations and departmental action, Mallaiah’s service record reflects institutional trust, repeated high-risk postings and operational continuity over decades. As cinema mines old encounter legends for box-office revival, DCP Mallaiah G Yadav’s story remains largely untold—perhaps because it is too stark, too real and too uncomfortable.
Shahrukh Khan’s King is waiting to break the box office and music systems of the young and restless…and along with King Khan’s magic, young music director, the 35-year old Anirudh Ravichander is all set for a sound blast. Having set music for Khan’s blockbuster Jawan for which Anirudh walked away with Rs 10 crore. His line-up of superstars, Shah Rukh, Rajinikanth, Allu Arjun, Nani, Vijay is the envy of many established music directors. Anirudh’s signature tunes started with ‘Why this Kolaveri’ sung by Dhanush in 2012. Anirudh is a rare challenge to maestro Ilaiyaraaja right on top of the pyramid and AR Rahman the Oscar holder for music with melodies that have endured. Once Anirudh asked ARR, “Sir which star is your inspiration…Superstar Rajini of course, he said. Anirudh from Rajinikanth’s family, grinned. With so much name and fame, this young man has not let complacence go to his head. He is popular with every production house and is an acknowledged team player. “My team is very alert…even at 50%, they want higher reaches. My instinct follows them,” AR Rahman once told him, “Ani, include more classical North Indian and South Indian ragas for longevity.” Whatever his choice of ragas or beats, he holds the unique record on Spotify for 13 billion streams by an Indian music artist. This hugely popular man is of course chased ..by female fans. His short dalliance with singer actor Andrea Jeremiah spread like wildfire. But it was not encouraged as he hails from a conservative Iyengar family. This young King of music is the perfect foil for a salt and pepper look for King Khan’s gangster film. Anirudh is ready to make the King, who has been there, seen it all, dance to his tunes.
With Assembly elections around the corner, the idea of a minority-led alliance has introduced a fresh layer of uncertainty for the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her party the Trinamool Congress (TMC). While there is little concrete evidence to suggest an imminent erosion of the TMC’s minority vote base, emerging formations and alliance talks could complicate electoral arithmetic in select pockets of the State. The most visible symbol of this mobilisation has emerged along National Highway 12 in Beldanga, Murshidabad district, where suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir has begun constructing a replica of the Babri Masjid. Kabir, who has floated the Janata Unnayan Party (JUP), has accused the TMC of pursuing policies harmful to minorities and is seeking to politically consolidate Muslim voters. Early January, Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Naushad Siddiqui called for a minority party alliance against TMC and BJP. The ISF, linked to the Furfura Sharif shrine in Hooghly, has held discussions with the JUP, alongside talks involving the SDPI, the political wing of the banned Popular Front of India. Muslims constitute about 27% of West Bengal’s population. Minority and women voters have been central to the TMC’s dominance since 2011. Minority leaders cite discontent over OBC list exclusions, Waqf law amendments, and the return of TMC MP Mausam Benazir Noor to the Congress in Malda. Yet, many Muslims continue to see Mamata as the most credible bulwark against the BJP, which is banking on minority vote fragmentation and Hindu consolidation. Kabir met CPI(M) State secretary Mohammed Salim in Kolkata to explore the possibility of contesting the elections together with the ISF. The meeting has sparked unease within sections of the CPI(M), particularly in refugee-dominated and urban areas of south Bengal. Some leaders fear that association with Babri Masjid symbolism could be electorally damaging.
Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat is likely to serve another term. It is reported that he is looking to take over as governor of Maharashtra, which is his additional charge at present. Devvrat was appointed governor of Gujarat in July 2019 while he took the additional charge of Maharashtra on 15 September 2025. Devvrat’s gubernatorial career began in Himachal Pradesh, where he served from 2015 till 2019. Currently, this is his second term in Gujarat. Thus, Devvrat has already served for over 10 years, making him one of the longest-serving governors under the Modi administration. Although Maharashtra is his additional charge, it is noticed that Devvrat is quite active in the state, generating murmurs that he may be a top contender for a full-time appointment here. The issue assumes significance since previous Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari is at the receiving end after the Padma Bhushan honour was bestowed upon him by the Centre. Under Article 156 of the Constitution, a state governor normally enjoys a tenure of five years. However, there is no bar on her or his continuation till the successor is named. Due to certain actions and statements of Koshyari, a lot of bad blood was created between him and then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Given the prime position of Maharashtra in the country, the Centre will choose its next governor by taking all precautions to ensure that no friction occurs, it is certain.
Dalits, who constitute 11.81 % of Maharashtra’s population, have failed to find space in the seat-sharing arrangements from either of the political coalitions in the post-split Maharashtra political scenario. Ramdas Athawale, the erstwhile Union minister for social justice and empowerment, and probably the most prominent Dalit face in the country, has failed to bag even a single seat for his party. Athawale revealed that he has been promised cabinet ministership in the forthcoming Maharashtra government, posts in a few corporations in and assured seats in the forthcoming assembly elections. He also revealed that his supporters had asked him to stay put in the ruling NDA alliance since being in power had benefited his party. He is also cool right now as his own Rajya Sabha term continues till 2026. Ambedkar did rue that despite being an old alliance partner with the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition, those who came in much later like the Eknath Shinde received much better terms than him. Athawale’s pitch for Shirdi constituency had to be given up to accommodate the seat for Eknath Shinde-supporter sitting MP Sadashiv Lokhande. He did admit that deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had reached out to him to cool tempers after he publicly expressed his displeasure. The other senior Dalit leader, Prakash Ambedkar has already put up 20 candidates from his Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. This time around though Ambedkar has decided to put up candidates from all communities and not necessarily only from the Dalit community.
Dharmapuri in Tamil Nadu seems to be a fiery battleground this election. Both AIADMK and PMK are locked in a no-holds battle. AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) is quite livid that PMK’s Dr Anbumani Ramadoss who almost signed a seat sharing deal with AIADMK, ditched them at the last moment, tied-up with BJP. As a strategy Dr Anbumani has fielded his wife Sowmiya who has the heft to woo women voters like a film star. In a show of strength the entire PMK family founders and other heavyweights are camping out to ensure Sowmiya wins. Sowmiya takes direction from both father-in-law, Party founder Dr S Ramadoss and husband Dr Anbumani, a former Union health minister. Her three daughters move around and appeal to elderly women. The feeling that a family which campaigns together makes a collective impact, predominates. But EPS is roaring like a wounded tiger…this Lok Sabha constituency has six assembly segments. He too is ensuring that AIADMK wins the Dharmapuri seat. The demographics here tell a different story…a significant number are Vellala Gounders (EPS’s community). A huge 47% are from the schedule lists…these voters are AIADMK loyalists. It may take much convincing for them to switch loyalties, especially to forgive PMK’s expediency. Looks like sentiments and traditions are battling it out in Dharmapuri.
The BJP, which is heading a non-DMK, non-AIADMK bloc in Tamil Nadu and is contesting directly from 19 seats, including Coimbatore from where its state BJP chief K Annamalai is contesting, hopes to make good electoral inroads in the Dravidian heartland. With opinion polls indicating that the BJP could spring a surprise in the southern state, the buzz is that there is an unofficial tie-up between the DMK and the AIADMK to defeat the outlier BJP. In fact, the two Dravidian parties are so alarmed by the rise of Annamalai they are even uniting to defeat him in his Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency. Coimbatore is also the home ground of AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami. Which is why it does seem odd to see the AIADMK join hands with the DMK to fix Annamalai. It is being said a sinister project to defeat Annamalai in Coimbatore is being executed by Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin’s son-in-law and businessman V Sabareesan and minister’s son Udhayanidhi. Sabareesan has reportedly been making multiple trips to Coimbatore. Of course, the eagerness of DMK’s first family to pin down Annamalai in Coimbatore has not helped much. Annamalai has been busy traveling to other constituencies and all over the state. Opinion polls are indicating that the BJP-NDA could win four to six seats in Tamil Nadu. Non-BJP leaders concede that PM Modi has been giving a lot of attention to the state; he has visited Tamil Nadu over eight times since the beginning of 2024. Modi’s visits are naturally bound to yield results.
The battle for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is seeing intense and bitter battle between BJP and TMC in north Bengal’s six constituencies which go to poll on April 19 and April 26. The six constituencies are: Raiganj, Balurghat, Darjeeling, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won seven out of eight seats routing Trinamool Congress. However, TMC regained a significant portion of its lost political ground in the 2021 Assembly election and 2023 panchayat elections. BJP is fiercely contesting to retain its seats against TMC’s aggressive push via its social welfare schemes launched in the last two years. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee started campaigning for north Bengal on the same day on April 4. In terms of ethnic support it seems mixed. Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha is endorsing the TMC candidate, but the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha led by Bimal Gurung is siding with the BJP. Despite the support of Gurung, BJP faces problems from within; Kurseong’s BJP MLA, Bishnu Prasad Sharma is contesting as an independent after being denied a Lok Sabha ticket. Situation also remains critical in Alipurduar, after BJP dropped its outgoing MP John Barla, citing poor performance, who remained conspicuous by his absence during Modi’s recent rallies. Once a bastion of Left Front ally Forward Bloc, Cooch Behar equations remain different — with Lok Sabha seat going to BJP. Similarly, the Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association representing the Rajbanshi Community is supporting TMC.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar’s surprise move to decide to file a nomination from family fiefdom Baramati is seen more as a precaution than strategy. His wife Sunetra is the nominee of his faction of the NCP. His uncle Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Suleis seeking re-election from the constituency, facing the formidable challenge mounted by her sister in law Sunetra. Ajit has obtained nomination forms and is expected to file the same. As and when Sunetra’s papers are found in order, he will withdraw. The precaution has been prompted after the Congress fiasco in Ramtek seat in Vidarbha. There, official candidate Rashmi Barve’s nomination was rejected on caste certificate grounds. Fortunately for the Congress, her husband Shyamkumar had also filed papers as a dummy candidate. He is now in the fray. Emulating the lesson, Ajit has prepared to fight in case of any complications in the scrutiny. His action is perceived as a firm resolve to end his uncle’s hegemony in Baramati in particular and Pune district, too
In Odisha with BJD and BJP deciding to fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections separately, the big question everybody is asking: “Who will wrest the prestigious Parliamentary seat of Puri? Will it be BJP’s Dr Sambit Patra or BJD’s ex-Mumbai top cop Arup Patnaik? Analysts feel BJP’s articulate spokesperson Dr Patra has an edge; he has a head start advantage over Patnaik as he contested 2019 Lok Sabha against BJD’s Pinaki Misra from Puri but lost it by 11,000 votes. So he knows the constituency well. Besides, even after losing the last election, Dr Patra has been nursing the constituency for the last five years and building relationships with locals. Also, Dr Patra’s name was announced quite early in the day by the BJP. On the other hand, many feel Arup Patnaik has been para dropped quite late in the day even though his home town is Delang, Puri. Yes, he is also not new to the game. It may be recalled Patnaik fought the 2019 poll against BJP’s Aparajita Sarangi from Bhubaneshwar but lost it by slender margin. Seasoned observers say “Though Ayodhya is a big positive for BJP, one can’t rule out that Puri’s Lord Jagannath Temple too has been transformed at a cost of nearly Rs 1,000 crore by chief minister Naveen Patnaik. And this is bound to have a positive effect on BJD vis a vis Arup Patnaik. One has to wait and watch till June 4 to find out who will Lord Jagannath bless — Dr Sambit Patra or Arup Patnaik?
Veteran leader Sharad Pawar has backtracked on his controversial remark about nephew Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra, whom he had described as an ‘outsider’ in Baramati. Pawar had passed this remark while campaigning for his daughter Supriya Sule, and appealed to the electors indirectly to vote for a ‘local’ candidate. This remark to further Supriya’s prospects became viral and has been condemned by several women activists. Alerted by the likely backlash during voting, Pawar clarified before the media in Satara that he had never made such a statement. ‘I was only reacting to Ajit’s call to elect his wife by saying that after the people of Baramati had elected myself, Ajit and Supriya, they should elect another Pawar.” Ajit and Sunetra were married in 1985, almost four decades ago. Although she has refused to react to the thorny issue, it is becoming election ammunition. Sunetra is the younger sister of Dr Padamsingh Patil, an ardent former confidant of Pawar and Dharashiv (Osmanabad) strongman, dreaded for his daredevil style of politics. In a bid to blunt likely opposition attacks, Pawar mentioned that he was the first chief minister in India to implement a special policy for women whereby they were granted reservations for local body elections. He recalled that it was during his term as defence minister that women were inducted in defence services.
The NCP faction under founder Sharad Pawar is banking upon ‘imported’ candidates for the coming Lok Sabha election. The NCP (Pawar) is contesting 10 seats in Maharashtra and five of its nominees have come from outside. But the party is not alone. All major parties have adopted this route to ensure wins on their roster. After nephew Ajit Pawar engineered a vertical split in the NCP, most of the elected members, in the state and in parliament, chose to part ways with Sharad Pawar. Hence he explored the hopefuls elsewhere and offered them candidature, denied by their party. Those crossing over include BJP’s Shriram Patil from Jalgaon. Wardha’s NCP (Ajit faction) candidate Amar Kale has been elected on a Congress ticket to the assembly thrice. At least two Ajit followers have staged a homecoming. They are Nilesh Lanke from Ahmednagar district and Bajrang Sonawane from Beed district. Both have been fielded by Sharad Pawar soon after their return. Lanke is a powerful orator, who will take on the influential Vikhe-Patil family’s scion Dr Sujay, sitting MP. The latest to join him is Dhairyasheel from the powerful Mohite-Patil family from Solapur district. He will be contesting from Madha. He was BJP’s organising secretary for several years. Pawar himself is campaigning for them despite his advancing years. The Shiv Sena (Shinde), the BJP and the Congress, too, have welcomed such turncoats.
Maverick leader Prakash Ambedkar’s allegation that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has reached an understanding with the BJP in 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Maharashtra is bound to add to the Opposition’s headache. At present, a series of allegations is heard against NCP chief Sharad Pawar that he had almost joined BJP and NDA but turned away at the last moment. Those repeating the charge include Praful Patel and Chhagan Bhujbal, both his former staunch supporters. As a result, an element of distrust appears creeping in MVA as Pawar has always remained unpredictable. Though Ambedkar’s many past statements have been found to be audacious, his latest claim could fuel the internecine conflict in MVA further. Ambedkar has alleged that the 20 constituencies where ‘fixing’ is made include Buldhana, Beed and Kalyan. Interestingly, the name of chief minister Eknath Shinde’s son Dr Shrikant Shinde, current Kalyan MP, is yet to be announced as a candidate for the seat formally. However, his name has been mentioned by deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis as the nominee. Even as Mahayuti is still grappling with seat sharing among its three partners, MVA is riddled with protests and a pall of suspicion owing to the dispute over some prestigious constituencies can be felt. Added to the intrigue is constant whispers about some important MVA leaders crossing over to the saffron camp. Ambedkar is expected to reveal the so-called list in a day or two.
For a disciplined party this one certainly comes as a shock. A section of BJP cadres in West Bengal have launched “Save Bengal BJP” campaign by organising a rally to protest against turncoats being given Lok Sabha tickets. The criteria for getting a party ticket should be local representation and party loyalty. They feel outsiders are being accommodated while genuine party leaders are getting elbowed out. Interestingly the “BJP Bachao Manch” is canvassing to press the ‘NOTA’ button, expressing no confidence with BJP candidates. These vociferous cadres are also questioning the legitimacy and authority of its own leader — Suvendu Adhikari whose proposals have been considered by the Delhi High Command. Convenor of this committee Deepak Sarkar says, if chief ministers like Hemant Soren, Arvind Kejriwal are jailed then why Adhikari is being given a breather despite being named in several CBI and ED cases. They have also questioned why the high command has shifted Dilip Ghosh from Medinipur to Burdwan-Durgapur constituency, Debasree Chowdhari from Raiganj to South Kolkata. Besides, they have also objected to the candidatures of SS Ahluwalia from Asansol against Shatrughan Sinha and that of Suvendu Adhikari’s brother Soumendu nominated from Kanthi. The rebel cadres have made it categorically clear that they will not leave the party, instead, if necessary, they will field independent candidates in seats where original BJP leaders have been ignored. Hope Delhi high command is listening.
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The past couple of years have been a free run for Tamil film superstar Vijay…Tarzan like he jumps from big budget film to bigger budget film, marketing them , keeping ahead in the “most profitable star” race and of course, making that all too familiar transition to politics. Reportedly, he had a spat with Dad Chandrasekhar, his wife Sangeetha had taken off to her UK home and he only vibed with mother Shobha. So his fans were restive about his jump to politics. Meanwhile, his much talked about 68th film, GOAT, a Venkat Prabhu directed sci fi extravaganza with Prabhu Deva and a host of Kollywood names have been marketed and hyped sky high. His swan song, the 69th film has already raised speculation; it was to be made by the RRR makers DVV Films but it pulled out, leaving behind three contenders –Sun Pictures, AGS Entertainment and Seven Screen films. As anticipated this last film spins around politics. But he has made it clear that his party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam would be in the fray for the 2026 assembly elections. Meanwhile he fulfilled his mother’s wishes by building a Sai Baba temple in Korattur. Devotees are thronging the temple especially on Thursdays. Is the big draw for Sai Baba or Vijay is hard to gauge. But, there is no denying he is a compulsive newsmaker.
After the announcement of the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Tamil Nadu over eight times…more to follow. His stormtroopers Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Amit Shah and L Murugan have literally camped in TN. But why is Rahul Gandhi not sparing his time and attention to this important state, with a history of a heritage relationship with DMK over the years? After much surprise expressed by Congress cadres, Rahul is scheduled to visit TN on April 12, that too an afternoon sortie in Tirunelveli where he campaign for the I.N.D.I.A front candidate, and a cameo role with Stalin at Coimbatore, the current epicenter of the electoral battle in TN. Even his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too has not bothered to visit TN where so many women candidates are in the fray. Modi’s roadshows and lavish attention garnering campaign meetings in TN has intrigued all political watchers. Of course, it’s a valiant effort by a PM to thunder with a third alternative to the Dravidian Monopoly, and this concentrated focus is already showing optics of a significant rise in the BJP presence. So it is logical that Rahul and Congress go all out to counter the BJP rise. Newly minted TN Congress chief Selva Perundagai claimed that if he had pressurized, both Rahul and Kharge would have camped in TN. “But why waste our efforts, when Stalin has guaranteed that his campaign is more than enough”. Is Rahul over-depending on DMK?
The arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in the liquor gate scam has deeply shaken the decade-old Aam Aadmi Party with a number of its MLAs and MPs looking for safe exit. In fact the resignation of one of Delhi’s six ministers, Dalit leader Raaj Kumar Anand, a day after the Supreme Court refused to provide urgent relief to Kejriwal has added to unravelling of the AAP at least in Delhi. First, Kejriwal suffered a setback after Delhi High Court dismissed a challenge by him against his March 21 arrest by the ED. The court stated that the central agency was left with “little option” as Kejriwal had ignored several summons in the case. The ED also alleged that Kejriwal was actively involved in using and concealing the alleged proceeds of crime. Thereafter the Supreme Court also did not seem to be in a hurry to provide succour to him. Meanwhile, desertions in the party began with the lone Lok Sabha member, Sushil Kumar Rinku, a dalit leader from Jalandhar joining the BJP along with Punjab MLA Sheetal Angural. It also set off a buzz that next in line to jump ship would be Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha. In midst of these desertions senior AAP leader Dr Sandeep Pathak took an ostrich-like approach to those wishing to exit AAP. He tweeted “Jho bhajpa (BJP) mein jana chahte hain, unhe tata bye bye“. Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jhakhar found it odd that the AAP should be dismissive of those leaving the party. “Instead of reflecting on the reasons, Dr Pathak has reacted exactly in the same manner as Amrinder Warring of the Congress did when its leaders left Congress to join BJP. This arrogance will prove to be the one of the reasons for the undoing of both their parties”.
The embattled Maharashtra Congress is receiving one shock after another. Now, leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar, has been forced to refute claims that he is on the cusp of joining the BJP. Senior Congress leaders in various constituencies are coming out openly against the state unit’s decision on seat sharing with the Shiv Sena (Uddhav) and the NCP (Sharad Pawar). Some have even left the party. Though hardly any damage control effort by the party is seen, the so-called revelation about Wadittewar has been made by minister of food and drug administration Dharmarao Baba Atram. He told the media that talks about Wadettiwar joining the BJP had taken place in his presence. Wadettiwar is a close confidant of former chief minister Ashok Chavan, who recently joined the BJP. Enraged by the claim, Wadettiwar demanded that a narco test should be carried out on Atram. He alleged that Atram was making false statements since the BJP was certain to lose the Gadchiroli seat held by it for the past decade. In Nasik and Mumbai, too, Congress workers have expressed anguish over the seat sharing and candidate selection. In Nasik, several Congress leaders have threatened to resign since senior worker Shobha Bachchav has been fielded from Dhule. Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad, too, has conveyed her hurt sentiments to the high command.
Has the Congress not been able to market its election manifesto because of PM Modi likening it to Muslim League charter? Probably, yes. A section of the Congress leaders feel the manifesto did have interesting features but the message got lost mid-way as the BJP attacked it for pandering to Muslims. In fact, PM Modi led the way likening the Congress’s assurances to the minority community as bearing resemblance to “Muslim League while a part of it is dominated by the Leftists”. He had charged the Congress of being cut off from the aspirations and expectations of today’s India. The Congress manifesto laid emphasis on Paanch Nyay or 5 pillars of justice as well as 25 guarantees as part of its election promises for Lok Sabha polls. For minorities, the Congress promised to “have the freedom of choice of dress, food, language and personal laws.” Party sources admit that instead of responding to Modi’s Muslim League charge, the Congress should have focused on its resolve to launch the Mahalakshmi scheme to provide Rs 1 lakh per year to every poor Indian family as an unconditional cash transfer. “Instead of responding to Modi, if we had focussed on our message, we could have done better”. It could have been a game changer. That is if the Congress could get its message across to women voters. “I doubt, if we have applied our mind to this,” says a party leader. However, given the poor track-record of roll-out of Congress guarantees in Karnataka and Telangana, it is possible that women voters could be wary of such tall promises.
MNS president Raj Thackeray’s ‘unconditional’ support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP has scored its first casualty. MNS general secretary Keertikumar Shinde left the organisation soon after Raj declared his stand at a huge rally in Shivaji Park in Mumbai on April 9. Shinde’s resignation has gone viral on social media. Raj’s critics, too, have come out to point fingers at him. The first such salvo was fired by Republican leader Prakash Ambedkar, who has claimed that the BJP supporters from north and south India have begun feeling insecure because of the stand taken by Raj. MNS had in the past assaulted their brethren, Ambedkar recalled and said the undivided Shiv Sena and later MNS had launched violent agitations against ‘outsiders’ in Maharashtra. The other criticism of Raj was a statement by Sena (Uddhav) MP Sanjay Raut. He was asked why his party had not sought Raj’s support if it had tried to enlist Ambedkar to its side. Raut sarcastically said that the moot issue was the seriousness of the person (Raj) to be approached and not if his help was sought. “Politics is not a game to pass time,” Raut quipped. Also, the silence of Raj about supporting the Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar is considered significant. His clarification on this delicate aspect is expected to be issued soon.
Loyalty is passe. A new trend is emerging that is seeing political parties betting on defectors and turncoats to win the elections. In West Bengal, both the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Opposition BJP have given tickets to turncoats instead of party loyalists. For instance, out of its 42 candidates, TMC has fielded four turncoats who have either joined the party recently or are elected MPs/MLAs from rival parties. Besides, tickets have been given to three more who are either TMC MPs or MLAs with a history of switching sides. Similarly, BJP out of the 40 seats announced, has given tickets to five turncoats from TMC. Out of which three are MLAs and they are: Biswajit Das, Mukut Mani Adhikari and Krishna Kalyani. Others like actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, Sujata Mondal, Biplab Mitra and Abu Taher Khan quit BJP or Congress to join TMC. Similarly, incumbent MP of Barrackpore Arjun Singh who was with TMC earlier had defected to BJP and won 2019 election. But soon went back to TMC as he was sidelined by the saffron camp. Interestingly, he has again gone to BJP as TMC denied him the ticket. Ditto: MLA Tapas Roy. He quit TMC after having a fallout with Didi’s close aide Sudip Banerjee. Roy now challenges Banerjee from Kolkata North LS seat. The decisions taken by the political parties to accommodate turncoats have not gone down well with party cadres and loyalists; it has incited unrest and animosity. Many loyalists say they will not campaign for such turncoats with the same fervour they did once upon a time. The parties in turn have justified their decisions by stating they gave weightage to a candidate’s “winnability”. Seems like a short sighted strategy.
The Congress seems to have become a sacrificial lamb at the altar of coalition politics in the Maharashtra seat-sharing adjustments. Though the Congress got 17 seats in the state, most of the tickets were from seats where the Opposition is on a stronger footing. Take Mumbai, here, Congress has got two seats — Mumbai North and Mumbai North Central — both of which are BJP strongholds. It failed to get a seat for its own Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad, a prominent Dalit face, who was keen to represent the Dharavi belt from the Mumbai South Central seat, which her father had represented. Not surprisingly, Varsha Gaikwad has gone incommunicado with the media. The Congress also had to let go of its claim for Sangli and Bhiwandi seats, where Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar’s cadres simply went ahead and claimed it without even bothering to ask. The ex-state youth Congress chief Vishwajeet Kadam’s repeated Delhi trips failed to cut any ice. Though the I.N.D.I.A front and its Maharashtra leg, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) managed to put up a united front while declaring its candidates, the rumblings didn’t take long to come out. “We don’t know how we are going to face our cadres and get them to work in this election. They were so upbeat about taking on Modi on our turf and suddenly we seem to be out of constituencies where we were strong and stuck up with seats where we stand no chance. There is large-scale frustration and anger among our cadres,” admitted a Congress office-bearer.
With talks with BJP failing, the Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik is going all out to ensure his party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) wins maximum number of Lok Sabha seats in Odisha. And this has put immense pressure on candidates like hockey legend Dilip Kumar Tirkey who is contesting against veteran BJP politician Jual Oram, a five time MP from Sundargarh. Padma Shri and Arjuna Awardee Tirkey is currently President of Hockey India. He was BJD’s Rajya Sabha MP between 2012 and 2018. In 2014, Oram had defeated Tirkey by 18,829 votes. So can Tirkey defeat Oram this time? Not really if one considers reasons given by political analysts. First, BJP’s Jual Oram is a veteran and given his political acumen it will be difficult to turf him out. Second, Tirkey is a Christian and that may help woo Christian votes and improve his performance but not good enough to win as Ayodhya wave is all over Odisha. And finally, this is Oram’s last election so he is bound to win at all costs. Commenting on his rival, Jual Oram said “Dilip is like a younger brother… he was a star hockey player…he is a good human being… but he lacks experience”. On June 4 we will know the voter’s preference.
Top Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde’s daughter Praniti Shinde has heaved a sigh of relief after her traditional opponent, CPM’s Narasayya Adam has declared his support to her for the Solapur Lok Sabha constituency. Though Praniti had trounced Adam thrice since 2009 in the assembly election, the formation of the I.N.D.I.A front has ended this rivalry, even though it could be a transient arrangement. But more surprising is the fact that Adam has now claimed that the massive housing project that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated by specially visiting Solapur in January this year was not due to the BJP. In fact, it was Adam who had urged Modi in 2019 to accelerate the project and had publicly thanked him when it took off as well as after its completion. In the changing scenario, Congress president Sonia Gandhi reportedly spoke with CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechuri about the Solapur seat to seek CPM’s support. Sushilkumar’s proximity with the Gandhi clan is well known. He also called up Yechuri. Later, a meeting took place between Praniti and Adam, who had started singing a different tune. Considering these factors, the BJP has fielded Ram Satpute to take on Praniti. Still, some nervousness is palpable in the Congress camp as the strategy of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and the AIMIM is still uncovered. Nonetheless, Praniti’s prospects have brightened due to Adam’s support.
When the former Governor of Telangana and Puducherry Tamilisai Soundararajan decided to contest South Chennai seat on a BJP ticket against the DMK incumbent Tamizhachi Thangapandian it made for hot news and speculation. The general question DMK and other political parties were asking was: Why did she come out of the Raj Bhavan? Unable to hold back, Tamilisai Soundararajan finally lashed out at her opponents asking “Why are you people so focussed on my getting out of Raj Bhavan? Why does it bother you? Ok…let me tell you. If Kanimozhi can get out of Tihar jail and contest elections, I can too. At least I did not come from Tihar.” And this canard that BJP lacks candidates has been countered by her asking, why should Kanimozhi stand from Tuticorin or Dayanidhi Maran from south Chennai? Does the DMK lack suitable candidates? “I have come out to the streets to campaign for my leader, for myself, for the kind people of south Chennai and make a mark. And mark my words, I am going to talk about every act of omission and commission of the DMK, expose their greed and chicanery. Try and stop me,” thundered Soundararajan in her election rally. Oh! Boy, this lady has courage and chutzpah.
Will Maharashtra Navnirman Sena founder Raj Thackeray embrace the BJP via the NDA? His Gudi Padwa Melawa speech which will take place at Shivaji Park, Dadar, central Mumbai is, hence, awaited with baited breath by all sides since some electoral calculations will depend upon his stand. A firm supporter of Narendra Modi in 2014, Raj was among the first to demand that Modi be made Prime Minister. Within a couple of years, he turned a bitter critic of the PM and continued to lambast BJP. After the dramatic change of power in Maharashtra in 2019, Raj trained his guns against cousin Uddhav Thackeray, who was installed as chief minister by Sharad Pawar and the Congress party. Thereafter, Raj gradually started changing his stance and recently, came out openly in support of the BJP. His meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah and his silence from the next moment till now has heightened the suspense about his next move. If Raj joins the NDA alliance, the Shiv Sena under Uddhav will be the most vulnerable as it will be difficult for it to repulse his acidic attacks, evoking Balasaheb Thackeray’s utterances against ‘anti-national’ forces. His staunch advocacy of Hindutva was praised by deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday (Apr 8), giving indications that Raj is ready to make an important announcement on Tuesday (Apr 9).
A BJP heavyweight once upon a time, Eknath Khadse’s homecoming in the saffron camp was indicated time and again. Now that he has himself confirmed it, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) under Sharad Pawar has been dealt another severe blow on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections. Khadse had only a short while ago joined the NCP and was made a member of the state legislative council. Since the Pawar faction of the NCP has just three members in the upper house, including Khadse, his desertion of the party which elected him to the house will not legally amount to a defection. Hence, Khadse can continue to be a MLC. His daughter in law Raksha has been renominated by the BJP for the Lok Sabha. To counter the move, Pawar had decided to field Khadse. However, the former BJP boss declined, citing health reasons. Soon thereafter, his Delhi visits and his ‘courtesy call’ on Union home minister Amit Shah led to the talk of his returning to the BJP but he continued to discount the possibility. Finally, Khadse himself accepted that his donning the saffron garb again would be taking place soon. Having proved to be a headache for the formidable Devendra Fadnavis in his ministry, the Jalgaon giant will have to watch his step twice before opening his mouth about the BJP affairs.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, now a BJP MP, has hit out at the state Congress leadership by calling it choice names. Chavan was provoked to come out strongly against the party which had made him and his father the chief minister when its leaders tried to portray him as a Trojan Horse while he was in the Congress. It is being whispered that as a member of the election committee of the Congress, Chavan deliberately undermined the party’s prospects by misguiding the leadership. Chavan’s claim that he was working for the Congress till the last evening before joining the BJP has become a tool for his adversaries to beat him. Finally losing his cool, Chavan has said that those critics were targeting him to hide their own failings and ineffectiveness. They lack a decision-making instinct, he has remarked. The possibility of Chavan joining the BJP was being discussed for the past one year. But the Congress party never took the hint seriously, always debunking it. Now that Chavan has been elected to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP, his erstwhile cronies in the Congress are holding him responsible for the Congress party’s lamentable show in Sangli and Mumbai over the seat-sharing discussions. Chavan has alleged that the so-called leaders all lack mass base and enjoy life by lunching in 5-star hotels, doing little for the party.
After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by sister Priyanka, filed his nomination papers for the Wayanad Lok Sabha in Kerala seat on April 5 and asserted that “this election is a fight for the soul of India; it is a fight to preserve our democracy from the forces of hatred, corruption, and injustice that seek to suppress the voice of Bharat Mata,” and vowed to “bring together every citizen from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and from Manipur to Mumbai to strengthen our Union of States.” Congress leaders were convinced that he would not contest from a safe “second” seat. That is at least in the South. Party sources said it was because there was no such safe seat other than Wayanad which had 98% minority voters. Rahul was determined to secure a second term from Wayanad. “We know CM Pinarayi Vijayan is making his efforts to secure all seats from Kerala but we are confident that Rahulji will pull it through,” said a Congress leader. Sources said Rahul could not explore a safe seat in Congress-ruled states like Telangana or Karnataka as the party had already finalised a total 208 candidates. In Telangana, Hyderabad and Khammam were the only seats that remained to be allocated. Does it mean Rahul will not fight a second seat at all? The Gandhi siblings have still not spoken their mind about family turf — Amethi and Rae Bareli. Notwithstanding Robert Vadra’s public claims, it is possible that Amethi could still be fought by someone from the family. So would Rae Bareli. Much of course would depend on which way Wayanad votes on April 26.
It is poll season and time for wild conspiracy theories. Among many of them, a fanciful one is that the BJP is so keen on unseating Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram that they set the ED to file a PMLA case against Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter. It is suggested that the senior politician has been told to get his LDF voters to cast in favour of Rajeev Chandrasekhar. This is being done because the noted 3-time MP, a stern critic of BJP, cannot be put down as a ‘dynast’ or a favoured ‘nepo’ baby unlike other politicians that the BJP regularly mocks. Whether the theory is true or not, a close contest is on the cards in a constituency whose demographic dynamic is different from that of other seats as it is a Hindu-majority place, unlike many others in Kerala where the minorities pout together could outnumber the Hindus. The Union Minister may have been brought in a tad late to take on ‘Mr Bombastic’ Tharoor, but the BJP would like to do everything to help him down a thorn in the flesh. Among the two seats that the BJP most fancies in Kerala is also the one in which the actor Suresh Gopi is contesting. Thrissur, the cultural capital of Kerala, has not been a happy electoral hunting ground for Gopi, but he will be in it for a third time to try and fulfil the party’s desire in snatching the seat.
In West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) is mocking BJP for its failure to announce candidates for two prestigious constituencies Diamond Harbour and Asansol even after 26 days of announcement of candidates by the ruling TMC. Two time MP Abhishek Banerjee, second in command of TMC and nephew of party supremo Mamata Banerjee, has been challenging the BJP to field its Opposition party leader Suvendu Adhikari against him. Some of the names doing rounds were that of advocate Kaustav Bagchi, Priyanka Tibrewal and Abhijit Das. It seems BJP was waiting for Opposition parties to announce its candidature. Now, it is public that Congress and CPI-M ally ISF leader Nausad Siddique’s will contest from Diamond Harbour. BJP state leadership is also waiting for the first phase of election to get over as state BJP president Sukanta Mujumder is contesting from his Balurghat seat which is being challenged by TMC’s sitting MLA and minister Biplab Mitra. Also, BJP is not in a hurry to name its candidate for Diamond Harbour as it goes to poll in the last phase. Similarly, despite announcing names of 40 candidates in three separate lists, the BJP high command is yet to give name for Asansol seat, where TMC once again fielded veteran actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha, who had won the bypoll election in 2022. According to BJP sources, names that are doing rounds are that of Surendra Singh Ahluwalia, former minister and outgoing MP from Burdwan-Durgapur constituency and Jitendra Tiwari Ex-TMC, former mayor of Asansol and Ex-MLA.
Mumbai’s southernmost Lok Sabha seat has reverted to BJP after a decade and current Maharashtra Skill Development Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha may be fielded there. BJP sources say, “Lodha secured highest votes in Maharashtra during 2014 state assemblies, and improved his vote catching performance in 2019. Importantly, south Mumbai was traditionally BJP’s bastion electing Jaywantiben Mehta until 2014, being the Jan Sangh’s headquarters. Uddhav Thackeray wrested the seat away, committed alliance adharma, deliberately fielding lesser-known Arvind Sawant, Sena’s MTNL trade union face prodded by a corporate house that backed a Congress candidate.” Lodha worked as poll manager for late Arun Jaitley’s Amritsar constituency in 2014. He not only nurtured his assembly constituency but also strategically cultivated the larger parliamentary voters across six assemblies. He organized the massive felicitation function for Lata ‘Didi’ Mangeshkar at Mahalaxmi racecourse grounds inviting newly minted PM Narendra Modi as chief guest in 2014. “Miffed Uddhav Thackeray, seated in the audience, exited the event midway through the function. The undivided Shiv Sena chief had earlier scoffed at winning prospects of his own man Sawant during general elections, though BJP exit polls indicated a 50, 000 winning vote for the Sena candidate. Without Thackeray’s family in NDA, BJP cadres prevailed upon BJP’s top poll management demanding the constituency, even putting paid to efforts by BJP’s state assembly speaker Rahul Narvekar’s aspiration to become BJP parliamentarian. Last heard, Narvekar has piped down public rallying across south Mumbai. So will it be Lodha?
“Malai da, Annamalai”, a famous Tamil punch dialogue from Superstar Rajinikanth’s movie Annamalai still pulls punches after 30 years. The Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai could well have reinvented this punch in his meteoric rise. He has risen to be the fastest brand in TN politics, after idolising MGR and Jayalalithaa. A Tamil digital page has an insightful take on what happened in Coimbatore recently. The Sangh Parivar and all other BJP resources had attended this motivational conclave in big numbers, including Ajay Ghosh, Vibhav Pracharak who spearheaded the strategy for the candidates — a mild caution against overconfidence and taking mass support for granted. Annamalai strode to the dais and belted out what seemed as a rebuff to all dissident voices. He is said to have thundered “…my mission is not to bring the North and South poles in alignment. I am here as Modiji’s choice for Coimbatore. I already have the three and a half lakh vote numbers. I have not come here depending on any power to boost my efforts and strategy.” The Sangh Parivar is said to have been stunned by this overriding confidence, and perceived lack of sensitivity to the common aim of party unity. But sources at BJP HQ in Chennai have a totally different spin. It is just Annamalai’s undiluted faith in Brand Modi and his loyalty to the creed of his party…that mere faces are not enough to win, you need the super optics power of Modiji to withstand the Dravidian behemoth.
The big question everybody is asking is whether BJP’s firebrand Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi will win again this time? Poll experts say, unlike 2019 which had two players BJD and BJP contesting the Bhubaneswar seat, this time Congress too has entered the fray thereby making it a triangular contest and this may result in vote split. In 2019, BJP’s Sarangi won because Congress was absent, its votes got transferred to BJP. Aparajita may have a tough time to retain Bhubaneswar LS seat with aggressive BJD and now Congress making its LS seat debut this time. To counter Aparajita, BJD has given ticket to Manmath Routray, who is an ex-Air India pilot and son of veteran Congress leader — six time MLA Suresh (“Sura”) Routray from Jatni, a major suburban of Bhubaneswar. It is said that given Sura Routray’s immense clout, the scale may tilt in his son’s favour inspite of Modi’s wave. Political watchers say BJD too has become smarter taking out of BJP’s playbook has allocated 25% of its seat to party hoppers from BJP and Congress so as to checkmate Saffron party not only in Bhubaneswar but also in Kendrapara, Nabarangpur, Balangir, Bargarh, Berhampur, Keonjhar constituencies.
For over 30 years, Radhika Saratkumar reigned as the iconic diva of both big screen and TV. Her very first film, Kizhakke Pogum Rail (East bound train) broke all records for a newcomer. Now the question being asked will this train Vadakke Poguma, (go North) to Parliament, New Delhi? Sixty-one year old Radhika herself may admit that the course she has to run is trying, tough and treacherous in the Virudhunagar constituency. She of the smash Tamil serial hit, Chithi would definitely resort to homegrown nostalgia in her stump speeches. The perception is that brand BJP plus Saratkumar( her superstar husband) plus Radhika’s enduring film popularity, her numerous product endorsements , her profitable Radan pictures , and her woman next door gharelu image could resonate with Virudhunagar voters. But, Congress’s Manik Tagore is no push over. He won the seat twice out of his three outings. As for Vijay Prabhakar, son of the late “Captain” Vijaykant, jointly fielded by AIADMK and DMDK, may reap the sympathy votes and huge popularity of his father. But the ground reality here is totally heart wrenching — lakhs are jobless with the predominant fire cracker and matchbox industry falling on hard times hit by cheap Chinese products. The second highest job provider is the weaving industry which faces the desperation and angst of 60,000 jobless. Radhika has very little time to scope her constituency and even less time to project what she can do for her electorate.
Shiv Sena party chief Uddhav Thackeray’s announcement to field a not so well-known candidate from the prestigious Kalyan-Dombivli Lok Sabha constituency has surprised many though the ruling alliance appears pleased with the decision. Although chief minister Eknath Shinde’s son Dr Shrikant is tipped to contest the seat this time, too, his name was not announced formally till Wednesday evening. The BJP’s insistence for the constituency is said to have delayed a final decision of the NDA. Seizing the initiative, Uddhav has justified his selection of Vaishali Darekar Rane, not even a frontrunner for the party ticket. A former Maharashtra Navnirman Sena activist, Vaishali staged her homecoming in 2016. At present, she is heading one of the Sena shakhas. Although some more famous names were being discussed, Vaishali’s choice is intriguing for most Sena workers. On the other hand, Dr Shrikant Shinde, the CM’s son, is a formidable candidate but the tussle between the BJP and the Sena (Shinde) has continued despite several rounds of meetings. Now that Uddhav has fielded a lightweight, alliance leaders feel the seat is already in their bag. Vaishali is a Dombivli resident in the constituency. Uddhav’s wife Rashmi was born and brought up in the middle-class town, known for its unwavering support of Hindutva and the BJP. Thus, the so-called Dombivli connection is now viral on social media platforms.
It is now amply clear that career diplomat and EAM S Jaishankar is not averse to playing a political role. At least that is what he has done ever since the Katchatheevu issue has come to occupy the centre stage of politics. It got the EAM to hold a presser, and explain how India gave away an island to Sri Lanka as it did not care much for fishing communities in Tamil Nadu. It was a follow-up on a RTI reply to Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. However much of the political idea to pitch the vexed Katchatheevu issue into the centre -stage of Lok Sabha elections in the southern state is being credited to Jaishankar; Tamil Nadu goes to polls — first round — on April 19. Jaishankar’s suggestion that the party must focus on how Congress PMs displayed indifference about Katchatheevu Island and gave away Indian fishermen’s rights despite legal views to the contrary was liked by PM Modi and the TN BJP unit. Jaishankar pointed out how Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi had dubbed Katchatheevu, given to Sri Lanka in 1974 as part of a maritime boundary agreement, as a “little island” and “little rock.” In May 1961, Nehru had written, ‘I attach no importance at all to this little island and I would have no hesitation in giving up our claim to it.” Oddly, the DMK has been raising the issue in the Parliament and Jaishankar points out how he has written to the TN CM at least 21 times.
A fluid situation ensues in Maharashtra’s Lok Sabha 2024 polls with disruption and chaos marking the seat-sharing scenario even within the ruling Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP known for its disciplined, well-oiled election machinery. The BJP, which had successfully split both the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, is now scrambling to even finalise candidates, quell internal rebellion with just a month to go for the polls. The prestigious South Mumbai constituency is the most prominent case in point. Initially this richie-rich constituency was almost granted to state legislative assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, and he had even started campaigning. Soon afterwards though, the seat got tossed around to contenders like Milind Deora, who has already been nominated to the Rajya Sabha and even to Bala Nandgaonkar from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Negotiations with Raj Thackeray and BJP moved from talks of getting him to merge his party with the BJP (he refused), to offering him three LS seats including Mumbai South and finally ended up with the MNS refusing to put up any candidates in this LS election. It was only after Raj Thackeray’s much-hyped Delhi trip visit to meet Amit Shah, that realization seems to have dawned on BJP that the MNS’s north-Indian agitation won’t go down with its voters in the North. There is also still no clarity on whether the BJP plans to retain or clip the wings of Poonam Mahajan, its Mumbai North Central candidate nor is there clarity on the Mumbai North West seat which is being reportedly being eyed by the likes of Govinda, Swara Bhaskar and even Raj Babbar.
Outgoing BJP MP of Jalgaon, Unmesh Patil, is expected to formally join the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray on April 3. After it became clear that Patil had been refused renomination this time by the BJP, he became unreachable all of a sudden. Former BJP MLA Smita Wagh has been fielded by the party since internecine differences caused the party’s rethink about Patil. A stronghold of the BJP, Jalgaon has been in the news since veteran leader Eknath Khadse is watched closely amidst news reports that he will be rejoining the BJP. Khadse was in Delhi two days ago and reportedly called on some top BJP leaders. His daughter-in-law Raksha has been selected to contest for the third time from the north Maharashtra constituency of Raver in Jalgaon district, a Khadse bastion. Though he joined the NCP under Sharad Pawar last year and has been made a MLC by the party, Khadse is said to be restless as he finds little acceptance for himself in the party dominated by western Maharashtra leaders. Against this backdrop, more political migrations in both directions are expected to take place in Jalgaon district. Unmesh Patil called on Sena MP Sanjay Raut and indications are available that he could embrace the Sena (U) tomorrow. ‘Wait and watch,’ is his only comment at present.
BJP heavyweight Nitin Gadkari has discounted any possibility of him becoming Prime Minister and has once again endorsed the leadership of Narendra Modi. This frank revelation of perhaps the most popular minister at present has been telecast by Marathi news channel TV-9. In a frank interview, Gadkari has expressed confidence that the BJP-led alliance will win around 45 of 48 seats in Maharashtra. A Lok Sabha candidate himself, Gadkari has explained why he has friends across all parties. “I take decisions on merits. I don’t look at anyone’s party affiliation but put the public interest above everything,” he said. Gadkari was asked if he would be a PM candidate in case the BJP could win under 200 seats. He emphatically rejected any such possibility and predicted that the NDA will bag not less than 400 seats under Modi’s leadership. After the election, Modi will lead the government, he reiterated. Replying to a question, Gadkari said there was no plan to change the nation’s constitution nor was this a factor in the BJP’s agenda. On the other hand, the Congress had amended the constitution 80 times and had imposed the emergency in 1975, he recalled. Asked about admitting those into the BJP who had been facing corruption charges, Gadkari observed that politics is a game of contradictions, compulsions and limitations. People come and go, change parties. He refused to comment on several subjects, saying that the party’s spokespersons and office-bearers were taking care of such matters.
The BJP high command announced the candidate’s list for the Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in three phases. The list came as a shock to BJP cadres and gave opportunity to Trinamool Congress, Congress and Left parties to tom-tom that Bengal BJP is battling intense infighting. Incidentally, former State BJP President Dilip Ghosh who is the outgoing MP from Medinipur has been shifted to contest from Burdwan-Durgapur constituency replacing incumbent MP Surendra Singh Ahluwalia, who has been denied ticket till now. Instead BJP’s Asansol South MLA Agnimitra Pal will contest from Medinipur. In 2019 Agnimitra lost the Asansol LS seat to TMC’s actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha. Similarly, former Union minister and outgoing Raiganj MP, Debashree Chaudhury has been shifted to Kolkata South seat, which is a home turf of the ruling TMC. Further, Haringhata MLA Asim Sarkar has been fielded by BJP from Burdwan East constituency and Bangaon South MLA Swapan Majumder has been given ticket by the party from Barasat Lok Sabha constituency. A section of BJP cadres said that this is to contain factional conflicts that have erupted in the districts. Analysts say this shuffling is being done to negate the possibility of negative sentiment against outgoing MPs not delivering on their promises. However, BJP leaders are openly dismissing this argument. According to them, the Lok Sabha elections will be fought in the name of Brand Modi. People will evaluate the work of the Modi government and vote accordingly.
Most party hoppers are not driven by the politics of ideology or the noble thoughts to serve the people but sheer opportunism to stay in power. Take for instance Bhatruhari Mahtab the five time Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP and co-founder of the party quit as he was being ignored and sidelined by his party (read Naveen Patnaik). He will be fighting Lok Sabha election from Cuttack on BJP ticket against BJD’s Santrupt Mishra, former Birla CEO. Ironically, Cuttack BJP president and former Salepur MLA Prakash Behera resigned from BJP as he was expecting Cuttack ticket. But by going Mahtab way he is likely to join BJD.. The circus of switching parties seems to going on full swing.. Former BJD MP and cine star Sidhant Mohapatra and eminent tribal leader Padma Awardee Damayanti Beshra switched over to BJP along with Mahtab. So too BJD leaders like Prashant Jagdev, Pradip Panigrahi, Arindam Roy, Bipin Pradhan, Arabinda Dhali have joined BJP enmasse. Why are people quitting BJD? Political observers attribute it to the rise and rise of Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s protege, ex-IAS officer VK Pandian, now 5T chairman. He is being groomed to takeover the party say some. He is present in all important meetings and photo ops. At a recent India Today Conclave, Pandian was interviewed one-on-one and this seems to signal where the power is shifting. For diehard BJD members, Pandian is an outsider, a south Indian though his wife is Oriya. Post Ayodhya, BJD members are convinced that there is a saffron wave sweeping the country hence the musical chairs.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde enjoys hotline service to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (been a while now) as alliance partner of the Mahayuti government and his Shiv Sena now formally within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Informed sources say, “PM is too fond of Shinde. After general elections and subsequent state assemblies are positively concluded, Modi plans to elevate him to parliament. Probably, Rajya Sabha nomination, if all goes as per Narendra Modi’s political vision. Shinde only uses his direct connect to the PM very sparingly though.” The down-to-earth Shiv Sena CM faces his current political test to ensure disgruntled MP colleagues, unwilling to relinquish parliamentary constituencies, toe the BJP line. Shinde has power to offer state assembly constituencies in lieu of forfeited Lok Sabha seats in return, keeping with BJP’s objective to maximize the number of winning MPs from Maharashtra. The BJP consciously keeps aloof over Shinde’s intra-party wranglings while Shinde consolidates his leadership over Shiv Sena, independent MLAs who joined his team. Still, Sena colleagues vehemently object to eschewing Lok Sabha seats despite opinion polls indicating their non-winnability. Already, alliance partner chief of independent Prahar party, Bacchu Kadu, re-emphasized fighting intentions over Amravati’s Lok Sabha seat. Here, the BJP has given a ticket to independent MP Navneet Rana. Some freshly sought retirees from among Maharashtra’s Shiv Sena MPs, who trucked with Shinde, have now upped the ante insisting on 16 parliamentary seats. BJP seems in no hurry considering the final nominations due date is over a month away.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal must have surprised his party cadre when he named two junior ministers — Aatishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj — as people who were more aware of the now scrapped liquor policy than him. Why did he drag them into the multi-crore liquorgate? Atishi, Oxford educated and first term MLA is famed for assisting now jailed Manish Sisodia in reforming Delhi government schools. She has been with AAP since 2013. Did Kejriwal feel she was a threat to his wife Sunita? Saurabh Bharadwaj, a qualified engineer, may be facing brickbats from Delhites as Water Minister– the water meters are a scam that Kejriwal may have foisted on him. But did Bharadwaj and Atishi deserve to join Kejriwal league of Delhi’s dirty list — Manish Sisodia (in jail and has been dropped) Satyendra Jain (out on bail, no longer a minister) and Kailash Gahlot, Transport Minister was summoned by the ED. Kejriwal who was sent to judicial custody for a fortnight, does not hold any portfolio. Interestingly, Kerjiwal’s jail term came a day after the Opposition rallied behind him on March 31 and condemned ED action against him. A high point of the rally was the clash between the Congress and the AAP over display of Kejriwal cut-outs at Ramlila maidan. The Congress wanted to know why cut-outs of jailed ex-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren were missing. Post Congress protest, Kejriwal’s cut-outs were removed. Sunita Kejriwal and Kalpana Soren displayed bonhomie by publicly hugging each other. Meanwhile it was the ED which informed the AAP leaders about Kejriwal’s claims. About how “Vijay Nair didn’t report to him but to Atishi and Bharadwaj and his interaction with Vijay Nair was limited.
The threat posed by the Republican leader Prakash Ambedkar is worrying leaders of the Opposition-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) since his Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) had caused narrow defeats of seven Lok Sabha candidates in 2019. Known for his vacillating political postures, Ambedkar had kept MVA on tenterhooks till the last moment this time, too. Now that he has unilaterally announced the list of his candidates, the Congress, the Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar are in a bind. While most VBA’s candidates this time are just locally known, the followers of Ambedkar are likely to vote en masse, perhaps at the cost of the MVA candidates. In 2019, the major beneficiary of VBA’s step was the unified Shiv Sena although it lost the then Aurangabad seat to AIMIM, which had fought the election jointly with VBA. As the Sena is splintered now and Ambedkar is going alone, his repeated allegation that MVA has treated VBA emissaries disrespectfully during seat sharing talks, could pose a serious threat for Uddhav’s nominees. Time and again, VBA has been described as the BJP’s “B Team” and every time, Ambedkar has refuted the allegation vehemently. Whatever the truth, his decision to field candidates had indirectly benefited the saffron party. Nanded, Buldhana, Parbhani, Gadchiroli, Solapur, Hatkanangale and Sangli seats were won by the BJP-Sena alliance, thanks to the VBA, in 2019.
Saturday, March 30 will be remembered by Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar as a harbinger of mixed feelings. While Pawar was just heaving a sigh of relief after his conciliation with his adversary Vijay Shivtare in Pune district, the Ajit’s nephew Rohit Pawar’s claim about the prestigious Baramati constituency going in favour of Supriya Sule went viral on social media. As Ajit is determined to trounce his cousin Supriya from the family fiefdom Baramati by fielding his wife Sunetra, the forecast by his family member came as a rude shock. Till a day ago, an enraged Shivtare had been threatening to ensure Sunetra’s defeat so as to avenge his own waterloo in Purandar assembly election of 2019. Ajit had then publicly declared that he would see to it that Shivtare was not elected. After he lost the election, Shivtare had raised the banner of protest against Ajit. But following elaborate talks two days ago, Shivtare relented and vowed to add 1.5 lakh votes to Sunetra’s victory margin. Even as Ajit was basking in the euphoria, Rohit’s prophecy in Pune that Supriya will win by a margin of at least 2.5 lakh votes must have come as a bolt from the blue for him. Rohit maintained that Ajit had conducted nine surveys in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency so far and each had predicted Supriya’s successful return to the Lok Sabha.
Akin to its strategy in Bihar and Punjab, the Congress has also decided to have friendly fights against its fellow I.N.D.I.A front constituents in Maharashtra as well. The Congress may put up candidates in about six seats against its own alliance partners, particularly the Shiv Sena like they are doing against the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Bihar and Punjab. These fights are likely to play out in places like Sangli, Bhiwandi, Mumbai North West and Mumbai South Central where the party is convinced it has a strong standing. Congress is under pressure from its aspirants like Sanjay Nirupam who is said to be exploring other parties to fight from Mumbai North West constituency. Congress’ Mumbai party chief Varsha Gaikwad, who represents Dharavi assembly constituency, also is said to be keen to contest from Mumbai South Central. The party is also upset with the snub from Uddhav Thackeray, who unilaterally declared candidatures for five seats, even before the Maha Vikas Aghadi had officially decided on it. The Sangli seat has particularly become a bone of contention between the alliance partners and key Congress aspirant Vishal Patil dashing off to complain to the high command against Thackeray’s high-handedness. However things turned sour when Uddhav refused to budge and Sena’s Sanjay Raut even underplayed the development convinced that Congress won’t let seat-sharing affect their alliance.
NCP leader Sharad Pawar’s long-time confidant Shrinivas Patil has created a vexing situation for his mentor by declaring his inability to contest the coming Lok Sabha election from the prestigious Satara constituency — the rich sugar belt — in Maharashtra. While the ruling Mahayuti is zeroing on the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaja’s family scion Udayan Raje Bhosale, currently a Rajya Sabha member, Pawar was reassured about fielding Shrinivas and about the latter’s re-election from the constituency, the stronghold of the NCP. A former IAS officer, Shrinivas is 83 now. In fact, when he was asked to contest in a byelection in October 2019, he was reluctant due to his advancing years. However, he bowed to Pawar’s entreaty and won the seat by defeating Udayan Raje. Now that he has shown unwillingness, Pawar will have to look for a replacement which will be formidable enough to take on the royal opponent, who was elected to the Lok Sabha earlier from Satara. A Congress citadel for many decades, Satara district has shown its preference tilting towards the BJP in recent years. Pawar sees this constituency as a prestige issue and has left no stones unturned to retain his hold on it. But after the rebellion by nephew Ajit, the NCP supremo is finding it challenging to keep his horde under control. He is expected to announce the name of his nominee by Sunday.
Former Union home minister Shivraj Patil’s daughter-in-law Dr Archana Chakurkar is all set to join the BJP in Mumbai on Saturday. Former chief minister Ashok Chavan has played a vital role in this major political upheaval which will impact Marathwada region’s power structure from now on. The development has unnerved the state Congress party, which is already buffeted by one desertion after another. On the heels of famous thespian Govinda, the influential Shivraj family member’s decision has left Congress leaders speechless. Shivraj was the Lok Sabha speaker for a full term and had handled several major portfolios at the Centre, besides holding the gubernatorial reigns in Punjab. His trusted aide Basavraj Patil joined the BJP last month, sending out clear signals that Archana will follow him sooner than later. Belonging to the powerful Lingayat caste, the Patil clan has been wielding considerable clout in Latur, Dharashiv and Nanded districts, which share the state’s border with Karnataka. Archana, in fact, was all set to enter the saffron camp some years ago. However, that could not happen due to various reasons. After her arrival in Mumbai, Archana called on deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis Friday afternoon. The picture of their meeting has been made viral, prior to her formal welcome. Some more prominent faces will soon join the BJP, it has been indicated.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde seems cornered in his own Mahayuti alliance by the BJP. There is much unrest, fear and anxiety in the Shiv Sena camp (Shinde faction) as he struggles to even accommodate his own elected Parliamentarians. Thirteen of the total 18 MPs from the united Shiv Sena had broken away with Shinde post to form the government along with the BJP in June 2022. But, restlessness prevails as the BJP seems to be eyeing their seats citing the BJP’s winnability factor based on surveys. Shinde has apparently been directed to change six of his sitting MP’s now following negative reports in their surveys. Shinde’s lieutenant Sanjay Shirsat clearly echoed the anger in his camp when he stated that surveys often proved to be wrong earlier and cannot be the determining factor for granting tickets. It is getting more personal for Shinde as the BJP has not spared Shinde’s own son, Dr Shrikant Shinde, a two-term MP from Kalyan. There are talks of asking him to contest from Thane. Shinde is contending with midnight protests at his official CM residence by Nashik’s sitting MP Hemant Godse. Ticket distribution has created unrest in the Shinde camp who reckon that the BJP could adopt an even more rigid stance in Maharashtra’s assembly ticket distribution process, once they achieve their goal of returning to power in the Centre in June 2024.
When he started his Lok Sabha poll campaign from Trichy, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin was intent only on radiating confidence and positivity that the DMK would remain the Cock of the Walk. But cannily, he also commissioned bi-weekly surveys through his son-in-law, V Sabareesan’s poll outfit. The latest survey results throws up some uncomfortable truth — BJP stands in second in some constituencies. This has instilled fear denting the super confidence that victory was already DMK’s. Stalin shared this survey finding with AIADMK to trigger a concerted action plan. The BJP has galvanised its star candidates like K Annamalai, Tamilisai Soundararajan, L Murugan, Nainaar Nagendran and insisted it’s ally partner leaders OPS , TTV and others too face the electorate as candidates. The only exception has been Dr Anbumani Ramadoss; he has fielded his wife Dr Sowmiya. A reliable source says Anbumani is determined to get into Parliament on a reserved seat. There is also talk that BJP is using saam, daam, dand, bhed to ensure its success. The cost of acquiring TN voters has gone very high. But like in all high value races, misinformation/disinformation is seen as the ploy in confusing the opponent. Stalin is said to have given whip talk to his followers that they should leave nothing to chance, but use their poll armoury to full extent.
BJP’s Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is working in right earnest, sans political distractions anymore, to ensure 41 to 45 (out of 48) Lok Sabha seats for NDA from Maharashtra. His party high command cleared the field in Maharashtra by designating him as BJP’s sole face, having strategically elevated Sudhir Mungantiwar, and Pankaja Munde among other perceived contenders to the Parliamentary arena. Fadnavis’ political challenge remains to ensure his party contests 31 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and convince chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to accommodate BJP candidates from their allocated seats just like Milind Deora found Rajya Sabha nomination from Shinde’s quota. Fadnavis has emphasized the ‘winnability’ criterion and 50% vote share to turn into reality, PM Narendra Modi’s aspiration for 370 BJP MPs in Lok Sabha 3.0. Fadnavis must ensure NCP MLA, Pankaja’s cousin Dhananjay Munde’s wholehearted efforts to ensure his sister (whom he defeated in 2019 state assemblies) wins from Beed. He never enjoyed good relations even with the late Gopinath Munde. “The important thing is Fadnavis has liberty to offer adequate representation in subsequent state assemblies while asking coalition partners to swallow the bitter pill for general elections. The results of the Lok Sabha will decide subsequent state assembly seat allocations in Maharashtra as well,” a source revealed. Whether this will have a placatory effect on known rabble rouser, independent MLA Bacchu Kadu, remains to be seen?
Eruption of discontent after a candidate’s name is announced is an expected occurrence for all major parties but when it is a three-party combination, the problems aggravate to another level. Leaders of the ruling alliance MahaYuti — the BJP, the Shiv Sena’s Shinde faction and the NCP’s Ajit Pawar group — are spending more time in dousing the fires than concentrating on campaigning. The case with the opposition-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is no different. The Shiv Sena under Uddhav Thackeray, the Congress and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar are so engrossed in settling their mutual disputes that it is becoming difficult to understand who is an official nominee and belonging to which party. Deserting the original party to join another has become rampant and has added to the headache of the leaders from both sides. To add fuel to the fire, Republican leader Prakash Ambedkar, independent MLA Bachchu Kadu and splinter group leaders have been making one announcement after another to confound their own followers. Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has been accused of playing a double game by Ambedkar who was wooed by MVA till the other day. On the other hand, the Congress is angry with Uddhav for unilaterally announcing the candidates for some disputed seats. Maratha reservation demand leader Manoj Jarange Patil has been contributing his bit by daily changing his stand. The picture will be clear only on the last day of withdrawal of nomination by the candidates.
When the BJP released its 5th list of candidates and Varun Gandhi did not find his name, he may have not been surprised. What may have surprised him was that his mother Maneka was still fielded from Sultanpur. That is because even before the list was out Varun was preparing to be axed and had wanted to file nomination papers as an independent candidate. He knew he had crossed quite a few red lines to be renominated as an MP candidate. In Pilibhit, the BJP had replaced him with former Congress leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada, a constituency represented by Varun twice. While Varun literally invited the wrath of the BJP leadership by attacking the Yogi Adityanath government in UP — license of Amethi’s Sanjay Gandhi Hospital was suspended following death of a patient, the Pilibhit MP also attacked policies of the Modi government in signed opinion pieces in newspapers. Congress sources said Varun had turned a rebel in the BJP only because his cousin Priyanka Vadra had encouraged him to do so. She had wanted Varun to create trouble, leave the BJP and eventually join the Congress. She had even arranged a conciliatory meeting between Varun and Rahul Gandhi. Somehow, Rahul was not open to Varun joining the Congress as of now. With his mother getting a BJP ticket, Varun may not be inclined to contest 2024 polls. Elections are always a season of crazy new endings and beginnings but the one that happened in Kurukshetra, Haryana takes the cake. BJP workers can’t still figure out why party leadership has fielded coal-scam tainted Naveen Jindal. BJP had defeated him in 2014 and 2019. In 2024,”We will not work for him”, says the demoralised cadre.
Actress and BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut has been reminded by several netizens of her remarks against popular star Urmila Matondkar when the latter was fielded by the Congress party in Mumbai North to contest the Lok Sabha election in 2019. On a later occasion, Kangana had expressed her willingness to stand for an election. In the course of that interaction, she had called Urmila a soft porn star. This has been recalled by several net users as a quip allegedly uploaded by Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate against Kangana has set off a war of words between BJP and Congress. The offensive tweet was later withdrawn but the verbal give and take continues. Excerpts of Kangana’s 2020 interview to a TV channel have been uploaded. She says, “Urmila Matondkar, she is a soft porn star. I know it’s very blatant, but I want to ask you… she is not known for her acting for sure, what is she known for, for doing soft porn, right? If she can get a ticket (candidature for a political party), why won’t I get a ticket?” Kangana’s comment against Urmila followed Matondkar’s criticism of Ranaut for disrespecting veteran actor Jaya Bachchan. In a 2020 speech in parliament, Bachchan had spoken out against the tarnishing of the entire film industry. About the latest Congress post, Kangana will announce her next step after meeting BJP leaders in Delhi. Whatever the outcome, the ‘X’ post will continue to haunt the Congress party for some time.
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Is Here To Stay…
Time, they say, flies—and how true that is. Here we are celebrating our 5th Anniversary. Five years ago, when Covid-19 was wreaking havoc across the globe, I took a leap of faith and launched Short Post, India’s first website for Authentic Gossip. That was on January 31, 2021. I was convinced there was a clear gap in the market for gossip that was credible, sharp, and impactful—especially if told in just 250 words.
In this, I was fortunate. Scores of senior editors across diverse verticals bought into the idea and, in the process, gave wings to my dream. Quite honestly, Short Post could not have crossed these milestones without the unflinching support of its contributing editors. Like all start-ups, we have seen our share of ups and downs, but these editors have stood by us like a rock. I take this opportunity to doff my hat to them.
Thanks to their commitment, we have published close to 5,000 stories spanning politics, business, entertainment, and sports. I say this with pride: we made our mark as people who matter read us. “Small packs, big impact” truly captures the essence of Short Post.
We all know that Covid-19 has reset businesses worldwide, and the media sector is no exception. In the post-Covid era, investors have become more cautious and selective—and advertisers too. To compound matters, the entry of AI has disrupted the media landscape in equal measure. So far, we have managed to hold our ground, hopeful that some angel investors will take a shine to us.
What gives me confidence is this: AI cannot smell news—especially the gossipy kind. In other words, AI cannot churn out Short Post-type stories, no matter the prompt. That puts us in a safe zone. As someone rightly said, “AI is a co-pilot, not a pilot.”