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In a move reflecting deeper shifts within the Trinamool Congress’ internal power dynamics, national general secretary of the party and Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, it seems, voluntarily opted out of being featured on posters for the TMC’s Annual Martyr’s Day Rally to be held on July 21. This decision underscores Didi’s continued projection as the sole face of the party amid ongoing debates over leadership prominence. According to party veteran Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Abhishek has conveyed the decision to exclude his image from the posters. Sudip further clarified that the posters for the programme, provided by Abhishek’s office on a pen drive, contained only Didi’s image. The absence of Abhishek’s image in posters in the past had sparked off debates. In the November 2023 Netaji Indoor rally, party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh publicly questioned nephew’s omission. The controversy resurfaced in early 2024 and now in 2025 over the party’s New Year calendar, which featured both leaders but with Abhishek’s photo noticeably larger, prompting the leadership to recall it. February’s rally this year also showed only Mamata’s image. Incidentally, Mamata has repeatedly asserted in party meetings that she is the final authority in both government and organisation, even declaring that she will continue leading the party for the next 10 years. Significantly, Sudip also highlighted the importance of this year’s rally, which is being viewed as a precursor to the 2026 Assembly elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s presence at the Yogi government event on June 15 is considered significant, say UP watchers. The presence of Shah at the Lucknow event to distribute appointment letters to the newly recruited 60,244 police constables is more than a symbolic value. When CM Yogi Adityanath met Shah in Delhi on June 9, the pictures of the meeting went viral, becoming a hot topic of discussion in political circles. Although it was officially termed a ‘courtesy visit’, sources said that Yogi called on Shah to extend an invitation to be the chief guest at the ceremony for the distribution of letters to police constables recruited recently. It must be pointed out that there were a lot of misgivings between the two leaders after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections had not gone exactly the way the BJP had planned. For a party that had won 71 seats out of 80 seats from UP in 2014 when PM Modi first entered the national scene and 62 in 2019, it was quite tough when it crashed to 33 in 2024. Apparently, it was differences in perception about choice of candidates between Shah and Yogi that had affected the outcome. Now, a year later, it looks like both the leaders were being directed by PM Modi to bury the hatchet. The result was there for all to see in Lucknow. Shah was seen showering praise on Yogi Govt for improving law and order in the state. He said after the BJP government was formed in the state in 2017 and Yogi Adityanath became the CM, Uttar Pradesh Police had moved towards achieving new heights. That is because the Yogi government had recruited 2.15 lakh police personnel in the last eight years.
Well, when National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on June 10 evening at his official residence in Mumbai, Fadnavis shared a picture with the ace sleuth on his X handle. Though the CM did not share details of his discussions, the meeting has set off speculation in Delhi political circles that Doval, who is 80 years old and has been the NSA since 2014, could be considered for a gubernatorial role. It is being said Doval could be moved to Raj Bhavan in view of his advancing years and somewhat indifferent health. Since he has done tremendous work in revamping the security set-up under the Modi regime, PM Modi is not keen to let go of him. It is being said Modi would like to accommodate him as Governor and Maharashtra Raj Bhavan could be an ideal place. BJP sources said governors reshuffle/appointment would be first in the series of changes in the Modi government that would come before the Monsoon Session of the Parliament. With the Governors’ appointments, changes will happen in the Union Cabinet and eventually in the election of BJP chief. Lot of administrative changes and changes in the party set up have been delayed because of a series of unfortunate events. As far as Doval is concerned what is working for him is that he is a much decorated IPS officer of the Kerala cadre (1968 batch ) who hails from Uttarakhand who has been overseeing sensitive security operations of the Modi Government in the past decade. In June 2019, when he was reappointed NSA he became the first NSA to get a Cabinet rank. In 2024, he got a 3-year extension as NSA.
The meeting of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis with Raj Thackeray was a clear indicator that the Thackeray brothers are not fighting the local body elections together. It practically nipped in the bud all speculations of the reunion of Thackeray brothers that would have led to the consolidation of the Marathi vote bank particularly in the urban belts of Maharashtra like Mumbai, Thane and Nashik where Raj Thackeray’s party holds some influence. Currently, the loyalties of the traditional Marathi vote bank are split into three between the Thackerays and Eknath Shinde, who has thrown in his weight behind the BJP. Shinde’s key aides like Uday Samant have played a crucial role in getting Raj Thackeray to go with the ruling Mahayuti alliance. While the speculation of the reunion of the Thackeray brothers was received with much warmth and support from the cadres on either side, clearly the consolidation of the Marathi vote bank would not have suited all parties. Definitely not the BJP which is looking to decimate the Shiv Sena particularly the Uddhav Thackeray wing in Mumbai and would not have wanted him strengthened. The Raj-Fadnavis meeting, coming as it did in the wake of heavy speculation and lobbying from Shiv Sena’s vocal spokesperson Sanjay Raut left no doubt about Fadnavis emerging as the boss in Maharashtra politics. The entry of Raj Thackeray in the BJP-alliance could also prove to be a counterweight against Shinde, whom the BJP is not keen to let him grow stronger in Mumbai post the BMC polls.
Rain or shine, criticism of the government by certain Opposition leaders does not cease. The tragic air crash in Ahmedabad is no exception. This trait was seen after the suburban train accident in Mumbra (outskirts of Mumbai) a few days ago. Although it is known that aviation is a complex subject, these leaders do not hold back. They don’t stop even when it is the question of India’s defence, not caring that the military should be kept away from such wrangling. For instance, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has given sage advice that no politics should be made of the air tragedy. In the same breath, he has criticised the government by raising some questions. If this government can’t avert an air crash, train accidents or attacks like at Pahalgam, what can it prevent, he asked? In this connection, he has attacked Union home minister Amit Shah. NCP(SP) leader Jayant Patil, too, has made some comments. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray has posed several queries. Frankly admitting that he does not possess any technical knowledge, he has pointed out that many leading newspapers around the world have asked pointed questions. He has also expressed apprehensions about the continuous use of the Dreamliner Boeing aircraft. Shiv Sena (Shinde) MLA Dilip Lande has warned the government that countless lives can be lost if such a mishap takes place in Mumbai since the international airport is surrounded by slums on all sides.
Veteran leader Sharad Pawar and nephew Ajit Pawar will clash once more on their home ground. But for a different reason. Both have entered the fray to elect a new board of directors of the famous Malegaon Cooperative Sugar Mill in their backyard in Baramati. The factory has been the focal point in that wealthy sugar belt for several decades and every election for its control is marked by a battle between the Pawar family and its opponents. The election is fought without any party labels. The anti-Pawar forces unite under the leadership of Chandrarao Taware, a staunch foe of the elder Pawar. In the past, the Taware panel has wrested the factory’s control a couple of times though both Pawars were in power. This time, the suspense was heightened since Sharad Pawar had kept his signal to enter the election in abeyance. Now that he has asked his followers to file nominations, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has become extra cautious since his power base can be threatened if the factory’s reins are snatched by his opponents in Pune district. Sharad Pawar’s decision to take on his nephew has once again jolted his clan since talks of merger of both factions of the National Congress Party are said to be in an advanced stage. Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule has given such vague indications, especially after her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few days ago. All in all, another twist to the politics in Maharashtra will be witnessed soon.
In a rare and increasingly confrontational political climate within the West Bengal Assembly, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari has set an extraordinary record with multiple suspensions and breach of privilege motions against him over the past four years. From chief minister Mamata Banerjee labelling him as a “limitless opposition leader”, the Assembly passed yet another breach of privilege motion against BJP leader Adhikari, the eighth since 2021. Reminding that he had defeated the CM in Nandigram, Adhikari has already faced suspension from the Assembly four times over the past four years and maintains that the government would not be able to take any effective action against him as he had never claimed any medical bills since 2006 and had not drawn his salary during suspension periods. He argues that these motions are attempts to silence his voice. Dismissing the claim, TMC Chief Whip Nirmal Ghosh and senior cabinet minister Chandrima Bhattacharya explained that the party had repeatedly approached the Speaker due to various statements made publicly by the LoP. Assembly records show that no previous LoP since 1957 has faced as many disciplinary actions as Adhikari. Former opposition leaders such as CPI(M)’s Surjya Kanta Mishra and Congress leader Abdul Mannan also faced privilege motions during Didi’s tenure but not to this extent. Veteran leaders noted that even former CM and CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu, who served as Opposition Leader from 1957–67 and again from 1971–72, did not face such a record. Congress leader Abdul Mannan viewed that the situation was unprecedented adding that while strong opposition is important, lawmakers must remain mindful of their language.
Former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani was among the 240 who died in the Air India flight crash in Ahmedabad on June 12. The plane was headed to Gatwick airport, UK when it crashed in a civilian area near the airport. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner which departed from Ahmedabad at 1338 hrs carrying 242 passengers and crew members on board crashed within 32 seconds after its take off. One passenger – 40-year old British national Vishwash Kumar Ramesh — survived the crash while rest of the passengers including 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 1 Canadian national and 7 Portuguese nationals died. Rupani, the 16th CM of Gujarat (Aug 2016 –Sep 2021) was on the ill-fated aircraft. Known for his composed demeanour and firm administrative style, he steered Gujarat through a critical phase of post-Covid recovery. He was traveling to London to meet his daughter. He stepped down from the CM’s post in September 2021, making way for Bhupendra Patel. He was close to Home Minister Amit Shah. Which is why the incident has completely shaken the government, got Shah to rush to Ahmedabad as he is a local MP. Until then in the past few days Shah has been busy showcasing PM Modi’s 11 years’ in office to the national media. Meanwhile, a lot of theories are already floating about what may have led to the aircraft crash. There were speculations about engine failure. Aircraft engines are made by Rolls Royce or GE or Prat Whitney. While bird hit is quite possible at the height from which the aircraft fell, these planes are designed to fly with one engine when the other engine shuts off. But it is impossible for both engines ingesting birds separately. The other theory was that incorrect flap settings contributed to the Air India Flight AI171 crash.
Vikrant Massey who bagged the Filmfare Critics Award winner for 12th Fail, and after his lead role in the sensitive political film The Sabarmati Report, had declared in December 2024 that he would retire from films. He said he would probably do just one film a year, and he would focus on his family life, spend time with his young child and recalibrate himself. Recently, Vikrant and his wife Sheetal visited Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s International Art of Living Ashram in Benguluru. Reason: he is playing the role of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in an international thriller titled White. So the visit to Bengaluru must be both to seek Gurudev’s blessings and closely observe him. The film White which is based on the real-life story of spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, will be a largely untold chapter of modern peace-building that will show how Sri Sri helped end Colombia’s 52-year-long civil war, and how ancient Indian wisdom played a pivotal role in resolving one of history’s longest-running conflicts. The film shooting is scheduled to begin in August 2025 and is expected to release in 2026. The makers intend to bring in an international cast and crew from Los Angeles to depict the true story of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s life. Directed by Siddharth Anand and produced by Mahaveer Jain, the film aims to bring a lesser-known story of peace and humanity to the big screen. The film will be produced in Hindi, English and Spanish.
Sunil Gavaskar has hit the nail on its head saying that performances in the BCCI’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 tournament should count a lot for the IPL franchises’ talent scouts to look at than the Twenty20 Leagues run by the States. The former India batting maestro and commentator for around four decades shared his thoughts in a Sunday Column for Midday on the basis of some players’ performances in the Tata-IPl-18. His visit to the Wankhede Stadium during the T20 Mumbai League (TML) enthused the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) officials, but the Champion association of domestic cricket may do well to energise its multi-day tournament structure. Revived after a long gap of six years, the rain-marred TML may have served its purpose to the extent of keeping the local talent busy and happy too because of the financial compensation they received, but what good hope is there for a 38-year-old replacement medium pacer Rohan Raje who became the first to pinch a 5-ver in the league! The big haul cheered him up; he spoke happily at the press conference sitting by the side of his captain Siddhesh Lad of the Mumbai South Central Maratha Royals that would vie for the title with the Shreyas Iyer led SoBo Mumbai Falcons. The TML lost Mumbai and CSK’s new kid on the block Ayush Mhatre because, as batter and captain, he has to focus on the India under-19 tour to England. Mhatre was a talent that flourished in the Ranji Trophy and so the MCA could mull over a meaningful multi-day league to run parallel with the Ranji Trophy tournament of which it’s the winner 42 times. As an idea, the TML is good, but an MCA multi-day professional league is the need of the hour.
Newly elected Lok Sabha member Nilesh Lanke will like the public to believe that he accepted felicitation and refreshments from an unknown individual without knowing that the person was a dreaded gangster. “I realised what had happened only the next morning,” was Lanke’s explanation after his pictures with recently released don Gajanan Marne in Pune became viral. The clarification is laced with scorn and suspense since it is difficult to accept that a MP can be stopped by any unfamiliar person anywhere along any road and that he responds to such an invite with his presence without asking any questions. Interestingly, Lanke was with the NCP of Ajit Pawar till the eve of the Lok Sabha election. He switched over to the NCP under Sharad Pawar at the last moment and was fielded promptly against Sujay Vikhe Patil, a scion of the powerful sugar baron family. The feud between Sharad Pawar and the Vikhe family is well-known. Lanke has been elected by a comfortable margin. His unplanned visit to Gajanan, known as Gaja, raises many eyebrows. Gaja leads a gang which has about two dozen serious offences registered against it. Only recently, he was in Yerawada jail. The suspense has been created since Ajit Pawar’s son Parth, too, had met Gaja last year and the resultant furore had seen Ajit disapproving this meeting. All eyes are now on what Sharad Pawar says about Lanke’s explanation.
In a surprise move, Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai dropped by Chennai South candidate Tamilisai Soundarajan’s house in Chennai and briefly chatted up with her. The interaction follows furore in the social media over home minister Amit Shah publicly censuring her for her comments against lack of alliance between AIADMK and BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls; Tamilisai blamed Annamalai for severing ties with the AIADMK. Tamilisai, who belongs to the influential Nadar community, had resigned as Telangana Governor, as she was hoping to get elected as MP and become a central minister. She was aware of the effort made by Annamalai to build the BJP in the state and was hoping to capitalise on the goodwill created by him. She had polled as much as 2 lakh votes, which is sizable. However her remarks against Annamalai were not liked by the BJP top brass as it was the AIADMK which had walked out of the NDA fearing loss of minority votes in September 2023. It was Annamalai’s effort that had helped the BJP increase its vote share to 11.24 %. Meanwhile, Annamalai also hit back at DMK’s K Kanimozhi after she mocked him for not winning any seat in Tamil Nadu. The NDA, which comprised 7 parties besides the BJP, could not win any seat even though its vote share went up. Kanimozhi said Annamalai’s loss in Coimbatore showed that there was no place for the BJP in TN. She also said that Annamalai’s continuation as BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief was not good. Responding to Kanimozhi’s remarks, Annamalai said: “If my father was Karunanidhi, I too would have won all elections easily in Tamil Nadu. My father’s name is Kuppuswamy. He is a farmer and nobody in my family has got any smell of politics.”
Even an in form batter – Virat Kohli- has been unable to find his feet in the ongoing ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup. The leading run-getter in the Twenty20 internationals before the start of the competition amassed 741 runs in 15 innings of the Tata-IPL_17, all as an opener, but in the three innings of the preliminary stage in New York, Kohli has been off-colour, making one run off five balls against Ireland, four off three balls against Pakistan and 0 off one ball against the USA. So he goes into the fourth match of the tournament – against Canada at Florida — facing a mere 10 balls and eager to get going before the start of the Super 8 stage phase of the World Cup in the West Indies. He has hit one boundary shot at the 34000-capacity Nassau County Stadium that’s dismantled after India’s third straight match there. The team’s think tank’s call to pair Rohit Sharma and Kohli as openers – to find balance in the playing XI — has not worked well so far. The champion batter has scored 405 runs as an opener (from 12 innings, including the three at Nassau) with one century and two fifties, but 3076 runs at No 3 with 32 fifties at No 3. He has also batted at numbers 4,5 and 6, but one-drop is his most productive position. His single-digit scores in the World Cup are the fourth in a row, dismissed as he was for 0 by Afghanistan in Bengaluru in January 2024. Kohli has disappointed New York, and the Pakistan captain Babar Azam has dislodged him from the top spot in the game’s shortest form.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing the entire environment upside down. Globally, AI has created a big dent in sectors, especially involving people. The AI-led disruption is bound to have reverberations across the industrial canvass. Given this, the coalition government led by PM Narendra Modi has an onerous task on hand. The MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) is already at the edge in the wake of technological advancements caused by AI and the like. With the proverbial sword hanging over the heads of job-goers, a sense of uncertainty is fast spreading among the working class. Given this, the expectations are that the Modi government will give priority to MSMEs to boost jobs. Given the fast-evolving AI-led scene, a lop-sided focus on the service sector will do no good to the employment ecosystem in the country. Coming as it did against this backdrop, the allocation of the MSME portfolio Jitan Ram Manjhi, 79, has come as a big surprise. Top sources in MSMEs aren’t quite sure of the way ahead for them. What MSMEs require at the moment is a fresh mind, new vigour and right incentive to prevent them from slipping into the pages of history. An existential crisis of serious nature caused by metamorphosis in tech space is worrying the MSMEs. Is New Delhi listening?
At a time when Trinamool Congress is celebrating its second best Lok Sabha poll results there is a manifestation of simmering discontent within the party’s top leadership. The trigger seems to be a tweet by the party’s national general secretary and second-in-command Abhishek Banerjee about taking a short break from politics. The timing seems to have given grist to the rumour mills about the real reason for this break. Abhishek stated that he is going for medical reasons. But, a section of party insiders say Abhishek is unhappy on several fronts. First, with the functioning of the state government as it fails to deliver the promises made by the party to the people. Second, he has expressed his displeasure over the names of the candidates nominated for the bypoll elections for four Assembly seats. One of the high profile seats of Maniktala is going to be contested by the former state minister Sadhan Pandey’s widow Supti Pandey. Since this does not meet his approval, he is likely to keep away from canvassing for her. Third, he seems miffed that his selected candidate Shahnawaz Ali Raihan, an Oxford scholar lost Malda south seat. He blames this loss on party workers not doing their best. Fourth, there is a continuous undercurrent between old vs new guard. For instance, Didi’s close aide Firhad Hakim has been sent to Siliguri to look into reasons for the poll defeat of North Bengal which was overseen by Abhishek. Finally, despite the fact young candidates selected by Abhishek won the elections, the party Supremo has once again reposed her faith in Sudip Banerjee and Kalyan Banerjee by making them chief whips of the party in the Parliament.
Forty-six year old Vijay Sethupathi, who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, is an actor who never fails his fans. This director’s delight, bankable hero has none of that “chikna charm” of a stereotype film hero — brawn, Greek God profile, towering personality and a deejay’s baritone. But he comes alive on screen as a wholesome, dependable artist who carries off the entire film with his performance. Those who have seen his debut movie Thenmerku Paruvakaatru in 2010 remember his goatherd character to this day. Sethupathi has crossed many milestones and is confident that his 50th movie, Maharaja will get acclaimed just like his earlier hits Vikram Vedha, Sundarapandian, Pizza, 96 to name a few. His calm and controlled nature rarely kicks up cinematic storms…though recently he refused to co-star with Krithi Shetty for DSP. Reason: “In an earlier movie Krithi acted as my daughter. I made her feel really secure…even told her to think I am your real father. So I am not going to act with her as my female lead,” he said. In the film 96, which was a hit, he was paired with Trisha and critics did talk about a winsome youthful Trisha teaming up with an overweight Sethupathi as a classmate. His Vikram Vedha with Madhavan and Naanum Rowdy Dhaan with the lady superstar Nayanthara zoomed up the charts. Sethupathi has none of that ham handed heaviness in his portrayals. Fifty films old Vijay Sethupathi is as genuine as American Apple pie or South Indian Filter Coffee …no glamour but guarantee.
Celebrated author-writer-filmmaker Amish Tripathi, Bollywood star Nawazuddin Siddiqui and actor-producer-author Vani Tripathi Tikoo are meeting in London to participate at the Manoj Ladwa-led Indian Global Forum’s Pathways To A Limitless Future to be held between 24-28 June. The 3rd Culture & Creativity Forum at IGF London will draw leading voices from film & TV, fashion, literature, sports, economy and more. What new pathways for growth can creative innovation unlock? How can culture help organizations diversify their reach? How can we revitalize the global creative economy are some of the topics the brightest minds converging in London will debate, discuss and deliberate. It is learnt that Amish Tripathi while in London will use this opportunity to announce his creative tie-up with Lord Jeffrey Archer, a successful novelist who has written scores of best-sellers like Kane And Abel, Only Time Will Tell, The Prodigal Daughter to name a few. Kane and Abel remains one of the best-selling books in the world, with an estimated 34 million copies sold worldwide. All his novels put together have sold more than 320 million copies worldwide. Tripathi’s best kept secret project with Lord Archer will be unveiled on June 24.
The untimely passing away of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) President Amol Kale, 47, following a cardiac arrest — hours after he saw the India-Pakistan ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup clash at the Nassau County ground in New York – could see heavyweights across parties come into play in a big way. Kale, a family friend of the Maharashtra State Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, defeated the 1983 World Cup star Sandeep Patil by 25 votes to become the MCA President in 2022. Right from the time of Seshrao Wankhede — who is credited with MCA breaking the umbilical cord with the Cricket Club of India (CCI) and bringing up its own stadium at `D’ Road, Churchgate fifty years ago — politicians like Shiv Sena’s Manohar Joshi, NCP’s Sharad Pawar, Congress’s Vilasrao Deshmukh and BJP’s Ashish Shelar have called the shots as MCA President. The trend of politicians occupying the top post was broken by Vijay Patil, whose father was aligned with the NCP, and Kale, a friend of Fadnavis from his younger days in Nagpur. Kale would have completed two three-year terms as vice president and president next year, but his sudden demise has caused a vacancy to be filled for 15 months. Vice-President Sanjay Naik will fill in as chair at official meetings for 45 days, by which time the MCA members, as per their Constitution, will have to elect a new President. Two years ago, the State government successfully pushed for the election of Kale. The million-dollar question now is: Will the BJP-Shiv Sena take a plunge into the high-stakes election scene or hand it on a platter to UBT Shiv Sena’s Milind Narvekar — an Apex Council member now — who is said to have good equations with one and all.
Ever since he was picked as Minister of State (MoS) by PM Narendra Modi to be in his team 3.0, Suresh Gopi the BJP’s first leader to be elected from Thrissur Lok Sabha, Kerala has been battling a series of denials. First it was speculated that he wanted to be relieved of his ministerial responsibilities. He was not too happy that he had been designated only as MoS and not given Cabinet rank. He was upset that he should be given the same rank as one bestowed on a party veteran — George Kurian who had served Kerala BJP for 4 decades. Besides, as an actor, Gopi wanted to complete his film assignments. “My films are definitely one of my priorities. I think I will be given the space…My PM and Home Minister will find a method by which I will not ditch my passion,” he reiterated his commitment even as he took charge of the Ministry of Tourism. A junior minister also in the Ministry of Petroleum, Gopi was caught giving heartburns to party workers in Thrissur. High on his victory when he won against CPI’s VS Sunil Kumar by a margin of 74,686 votes. Gopi had spoken about fielding female film stars for the state assembly elections from his Lok Sabha constituency. “If an MP starts speaking like this we will finish our party workers,” pointed out a worried BJP Kerala leader. Meanwhile, BJP veteran George Kurian who took charge as MoS in the Minority Affairs Ministry and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Ministry, may have felt rewarded for all the quiet work he put for Kerala BJP all these years.
Did you know that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was supposed to play Mastani in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani but turned down the offer when she realised Salman Khan would play Bajirao. The reason she had turned the offer –the movie was a box office hit – was her real life romance had turned sour. Salman Khan and Aishwarya who had fallen in love on the sets of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam split and the actress didn’t want to work with him anymore. Bhansali’s next choice was Kareen Kapoor instead he approached Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. The rest is history. The duo who fell in love and got married became Bhansali’s favourite; they worked in three super hit films Ram Leela, Bajirao Mastani and Padmavat. Somebody’s loss is somebody’s gain. Likewise Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor started dating while working on Jab We Met and they broke up by the time the film was completed. Reason: Kareena fell in love with Saif Ali Khan while shooting with him for Tashan. The two did not work until Udta Punjab in which they were cast opposite different actors, not each other. Ranbir Kapoor who was dating Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif finally married Alia Bhatt. Both he and Deepika conducted themselves in a very dignified and professional manner and did not let their personal relationship come in the way of promotion of Tamasha. In the past Raveena Tandon and Shilpa Shetty were dating Akshay Kumar but post their split, they never worked in each other’s films. Likewise Sanjay Dutt and Madhuri Dixit never worked with each other after Dutt went to jail.
Thirty nine year old Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai proves yet again that he is an enigma, hard to decode and dogged in his efforts, untiring and unbeatable. Stepping into the BJP in 2019, and getting leadership in 2021, his mercurial rise within the party is astounding. Within four years he proved his mettle of building the BJP presence from around 4% to 11.26 % vote share in the just concluded Lok Sabha election. His detractors and rivals were happy when he was summoned to the swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi and his team. His defeat in Coimbatore must have been a big sting. Happy that he would be put to pasture in a cabinet berth and vacate TN’s hot seat as the leader. The three aspirants, Tamilisai Soundararajan, Vanathi Srinivasan and Nayinar Nagendran were already drumming up support to move into Annamalai’s post. Even as he sat in the last row when the PM gave his motivational sermon his strong opponents DMK and AIADMK leaders were trying to read his body language. Surprise and shock was writ large on his party colleagues, his antagonists and cadres when he flew back to TN thereby signalling that he had high command’s full backing. It was not surprising as Annamalai has single-handedly cobbled a BJP presence in TN, worked 24/7, walked padayatra, taken on the ruling party on many issues and remained politically significant. Above all, in a Dravidam state alternating between the DMK and AIADMK, he brought relevance to Hindutva and the BJP. He may have ruffled many feathers both within his party and opposition but he is here to stay for a long haul.
Veteran leader Sharad Pawar is now believed to be preparing a strategy to humble his nephew Ajit Pawar in the family home turf of Baramati by fielding Yugendra Pawar, his (Ajit’s) nephew, for the coming legislative assembly election. Ever since Ajit formed the breakaway faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) last year, Pawar has rarely spoken publicly against his erstwhile disciple. But his daughter Supriya has resoundingly defeated Sunetra, wife of Ajit in the Lok Sabha election. Even as Ajit has vowed to restart from scratch to win the coming election, Pawar has unsheathed his next move, it is felt. Defeating Ajit himself in Baramati will effectively end his political career, Pawar knows. Hence, his supporters have demanded that Yugendra should be the NCP(SP) candidate for the October assembly election from Baramati. Yugendra is the son of Pawar’s younger brother Shriniwas. He is an entrepreneur and treasurer of the Vidya Pratishthan, the academic gem in the Pawar fiefdom. Besides, he supervises the affairs of one of the sugar factories under the Pawar umbrella. Shriniwas and Yugendra actively campaigned for Supriya during the LS election. In his typical style, Pawar has asked his followers to wait and watch in response to their clamour for Yugendra. The cards will be opened step by step as the political scene in New Delhi develops, keeping all options open for Pawar.
It’s a peculiar position to be in. It is a resounding win, no doubt. How to convert this into a gainful one for Tamil Nadu? Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin must be pondering over this. The relationship between the DMK government and the BJP isn’t cordial to say the least. The big electoral victory of the DMK-led alliance in the recently-concluded Parliamentary elections is surely a big booster to the Stalin-led DMK. Yet, New Delhi has to be onboard to make Tamil Nadu a trillion dollar economy. Coming as it did against this backdrop, the elevation of Kanimozhi as the leader of the Parliamentary party of DMK appears to be an interesting strategic move by the Stalin party. For one, it sort of signals the transition – rather arrival – of GenNext in the party. For another, it is also speculated as a strategic initiative to build a long-term bridge with the political establishments across the canvass in New Delhi. She seems to have a good equation with Amit Shah. Also, Stalin has to be watchful of TDP’s Chandra Babu Naidu who is a pro-reformist. This time around, he is not so much angling for party representation in the Centre but financial packages and investments to his state. This is where Stalin must be missing the experienced senior Maran (Murasoli Maran), who played a perfect bridge between the party and the rulers in New Delhi. For Stalin who has won single-handedly elections for the government it is almost like running with the hare and hunting with hounds.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has started mending fences immediately after the formation of the Union cabinet. His confidant Naresh Mhaske, the new Shiv Sena (Shinde) MP, has called on MNS leader Raj Thackeray ‘to thank and seek his blessings’ for the public meeting held by the latter in Thane in support of Shinde’s son Shrikant and Mhaske. The MNS is unhappy with the BJP bigwigs for not inviting Raj for the swearing-in ceremony of the Modi cabinet on 9 June. Senior BJP minister Sudhir Mungantiwar’s explanation that this may have happened due to some oversight on the part of the officials preparing the list has not gone down well. Though thousands of invitees attended, how come the MNS chief was forgotten, his rank and file have started asking. Raj will express his feelings about this lapse at the party rally to be held in Mumbai on June 12. The CM’s close associate, health minister Tanaji Sawant, visited Raj’s Shivaji Park residence to assuage his feelings. Raj’s open support came handy for BJP’s Narayan Rane in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg and for Mhaske in Thane. In fact, Shinde had made it a prestige issue to claim the Thane seat despite the BJP’s stiff resistance. Mhaske’s and Shrikant victory has augmented the Sena (Shinde) presence in the district.
Finally, the Tamil Nadu chief minister taking a leaf out of his father’s strategy decided to appoint his half-sister Kanimozhi, who was elected from the Thoothukudi Lok Sabha constituency, as the DMK’s parliamentary leader. She replaced the Sriperumbudur MP T R Baalu. For now she is happy. It may be known TR Baalu has been running this post for decades and was expecting another go. Even his son, finance minister TRB Rajaa in Stalin’s government, was keen to move to Delhi. Meanwhile Stalin’s wife Durga has made it clear that son Udhayanidhi should be anointed Deputy CM and so that he can prove his mettle in controlling the party and the government in the run up to 2026 assembly elections. Strangely enough Kalaignar Karunanidhi faced the same family mutiny when the UPA was in power. His sons Alagiri and Stalin were at loggerheads over who would head the party and move into Kalaignar’s chair. Wily politician/ tactician that he was, he got Alagiri into the central cabinet of the UPA in 2009 as Minister for Chemicals & Fertilisers, and eased Stalin’s claim to the TN Gaddi. For now Stalin has bought peace on both fronts. Now for the anointment of his son as deputy CM post.
Post the poll debacle, West Bengal CPI-M is wary of its position in the Politburo. It is learnt that at the first Politburo meeting that was held on June 9, to analyse the poll performance of the CPI-M, there was no mention of the Bengal unit in the statement released after the meeting. Incidentally, top leaders from Bengal have expressed serious concerns over this stating that they are somewhat shocked at this and cannot recollect anything similar like this has happened in the past. Interestingly, CPI-M politburo mentioned in the meeting that while BJP has failed to match its tallies of 2014 and 2019, INDIA bloc has performed quite well to stop the BJP. It further stated that although Left parties have managed to improve their tally with eight MPs (CPI-M – 4, CPI -2, CPI-ML-2), it is disappointed with the performance of the Kerala unit. What has surprised the Bengal leaders is that there has been no mention of Bengal’s performance or an analysis of allying with the Congress in the state. Politburo member Nilotpal Basu said that the politburo knew Bengal’s situation was much more unfavorable than in Kerala. The Politburo congratulated Bengal for fighting against these difficult conditions. However, in Bengal speculations are rife that absence of mention of Bengal in the Politburo statement is a sign of loss of importance.” The Politburo has three members from Bengal — Mohammed Salim, Ramachandra Dom and Suryakanta Mishra. As Mishra’s term comes to an end owing to his age, the state CPM leaders fear that the ‘quota’ of Bengal in the Politburo may be reduced with no one replacing Mishra. Bengal CPI-M committee will hold its poll review meeting on June 19-20.
The sigh of relief in the DMK may have been loud enough as the results in the Lok Sabha polls restored the national balance somewhat. When opposing the BJP tooth and nail in the state and broadcasting their aversion to the party nationally in cutting speeches by CM Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi, the DMK understood that a BJP back in power and in full control of Parliament may have tried to play tricks. The unspoken fears were about the Centre beginning to needle the top brass of the party by using the federal investigating agencies further after their efforts to break Senthil Balaji as a key money maker and funds mover in both Dravidian parties (he was earlier with AIADMK) have not succeeded. DMK’s strategy to counter the BJP where it hurt was to ensure that the state chief K Annamalai was beaten. It can be revealed that the ruling party was unusually generous with purse strings to bring about a favourable result in Coimbatore. Had Annamalai succeeded he would have stood a good chance of being drafted into the Union ministry where, with a post in the Finance Ministry, he could have aimed for settling scores with the DMK brass. Of course, the mood may have altered slightly after the results, and it is unlikely that the top leaders will become subjects of interest to financial investigations any time soon.
Suspense is building up who will be BJP’s Odisha chief minister after strong contenders like Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram’s induction into Modi 3.0 Cabinet. The party high command seems to be unsure who should be its CM pick. To zero in on the right candidate the high command has deputed two senior party leaders Rajnath Singh and Bhupender Yadav to Odisha as central observers. Meanwhile, more names are doing the rounds. Sixty-four year old Suresh Pujari, former MP who won the Brajrajnagar assembly seat in 2024 is emerging as one of the serious contenders along with BJP state unit President Manmohan Samal, KV Singh Deo, Mohan Majhi and others. There seems to be some thinking that the high command may opt for the formula of one CM and two deputy chief ministers to maintain checks and balances. The dark horse in this race for the CM’s post could well be the retired IAS officer Girish Chandra Murmu who hails from Betnoti, Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. Sixty-four year old Murmu was the former Comptroller General of India and ex-J&K Lieutenant Governor. He was Principal Secretary to Modi during his CM days in Gujarat and also worked closely with home secretary as joint secretary. But, Modi is always known to spring surprises like he did with India’s first tribal President Droupadi Murmu who hails from Mayurbhanj, Odisha.
As an ambitious Saurabh Netravalkar, who did the star turn (2 for 18 in four overs) for the USA against Pakistan in the ICC Men’s World Twenty20 in Dallas, did the hard yards in the maidans located in Suketu Mehta’s Maximum City; until a point in time in his fledgling career that did not take off! Subsequently, the left-arm fast bowler found his moorings with an Ivy League label at Cornell in New York in the USA. As a tyro, he had big scalps like KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, and Parthiv Patel in India’s domestic cricket. He played for India under-19 in the ICC World Cup, but the temptation to be part of the Ivy League was too overwhelming. As luck would have it, the game of cricket, which the Americans would wonder what it is all about, has put him on centre stage some 10 years after relocating to the USA. The speedster played his part in the World Twenty20 qualifier in Bulawayo in July 2022, but the USA did not advance to the main event in Australia. Two years later, USA was a co-host, and with it came the automatic entry for the main show. He has now taken 102 wickets for the USA in ODI (73) and Twenty20 (29) internationals – the first USA cricketer to go past the 100-wicket mark — and walked into serendipity. After a lovely spell against Pakistan, comes the intriguing test against India’s Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli on June 12.
On hindsight it may seem it was perhaps only well that BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik did not encourage his senior party MP Bhartruhari Mahtab from Cuttack who was well versed with Lok Sabha proceedings to become Deputy Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. The buzz now is the Odisha MP who switched to the BJP and is a 7-term MP could be the BJP’s choice for the post of Lok Sabha Speaker. Mahtab, son of former Odisha chief minister Hare Krushna Mahtab, has the experience, temperament and intellectual gravitas needed for the job. Mahtabh, who is among the 19 BJP MPs who won, had defeated corporate honcho Santrupt Misra, who had declared assets worth Rs 450 crore. Asked to comment on his electoral battle, Mahtab likened it to the electoral battle fought between late BJP leader Ananth Kumar and Infosys founder Nandan Nilekani in 2014 in Bangalore South (Lok Sabha) seat. “Corporate people come with different ideas,” he pointed out. His victory against huge money was a clear indication of the Modi wave in Odisha. But then Nilekani, the techie who gave us Aadhar, had lost the polls in 2014 also because of the first Modi wave that year.
This one is a giant project. It is not just in terms of the capital cost. From the angle of its coverage too it is a mega one. Perhaps it is the first of the gargantuan size projects undertaken at one stretch in India. The Chennai Metro Rail is currently implementing a over Rs 63,000-crore phase II project to lay 116.1 km rail line with 119 stations in one stretch. Once fully functional, this will see the Chennai landscape change for the better and look completely different. Developing public transport of this kind — with underground and overground stations -– poses challenges of assorted kinds ranging from technical to environmental and logistics. Yet, the biggest challenge lies in making it an earning proposition for the Chennai Metro Rail, a joint venture between the Centre and the Tamil Nadu Government. Not surprisingly, Chennai Metro has hit upon an innovative way to explore non-fare revenue. It has joined hands with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation to float a joint venture. This JV will develop commercial properties around metro rail stations, on the lines of those done in some cities around the globe. If there is a will, there is a way. Well, Chennai Metro Rail appears to be on the right track!
There is so much anger in Karnataka BJP over party candidate Lallu Singh for losing the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat under which falls Ayodhya; the seat has been won by Samajwadi Party which fielded a Dalit candidate mocking the Ram Mandir movement. BJP workers from the southern state have been trying to reach Lallu and attempted to give him an earful. He was a two-term MP and had remained inaccessible to his constituency. If one listens to the viral video (https://youtu.be/MOdV377sA3k?si=hiVLX020RMIa4MqM), one will get the sense of how arrogant a BJP leader can be when he is speaking to his own party workers. The workers launch a blistering attack on him for losing Ayodhya. “You should not have contested. After all Yogiji opposed you as a candidate, “Lallu can be heard defending his rout by saying — he wasn’t the only one to lose. Why did Kalyan Singh’s son Rajveer — who contested from Etah lose?” he asks. He is also heard asking the southern party workers about who was Yogi to cancel his ticket. Sources close to Yogi conceded that the UP CM had no role in picking candidates. In fact he had even stayed away from campaigning for most of the candidates As a result some of Shah’s loyalists like Smriti Irani had to bite dust. Ever since the CM was objecting to renomination of most sitting MPs, the BJP fellas were all getting around Yogi’s nod endorsed by home minister Amit Shah. BJP sources said the elephant in the room was subtle competition between Shah and Yogi. In fact at the NDA meeting on June 7, PM Modi sent out a loud message of endorsement of Yogi’s leadership by warmly patting his back at the Central Hall of Parliament.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray’s total silence about the NDA’s rout in the state in Lok Sabha elections was found to be intriguing by those who know him well. The mystery has deepened owing to his decision to withdraw his party’s candidate from the Konkan Graduate Constituency election for one vacancy in the state legislative council. The decision to withdraw Raj’s ardent follower Abhijit Panse, who had entered the fray last week. His candidature had perplexed the NDA partners since it was a unilateral decision. More so because the seat has been with BJP’s Niranjan Davkhare, who is seeking re-election. MNS leader Nitin Sardesai announced that his party decided to withdraw Panse at the express request made by Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to Raj. Some strain had been created due to Panse’s decision to contest and the stoic silence maintained by Raj had only heightened the suspense. All said and done, the withdrawal by Panse has come as a great relief for the BJP, which is still recovering from the LS drubbing. Had there been a triangular fight, the risk of the INDIA candidate benefiting at the cost of the BJP would have loomed large. Fadanvis and Raj have saved the situation but have posed more questions.
With a win of 29 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, party supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee has once again proved that she is a very tough opponent to crack. Beleaguered by the Sandeshkhali controversy, Teachers Recruitment scam, arrest of senior TMC ministers and leaders put Didi on the backfoot. But, her astuteness came to the fore in choosing candidates to stop what seemed a BJP’s juggernaut. She not only chose surprise faces such as former cricketers Kirti Azad and Yusuf Pathan, actress Rachana Banerjee, she even put forward her trusted lieutenants and cabinet ministers such as Partha Bhowmick, Biplab Mitra to contest the seats. Her decision to increase the expenditure for the Lakshmir Bhandar initiative touched the women voters across the state. Sources say that Didi is scheduled to meet her newly elected MPs on June 8 and one could expect a major ‘shuffle’ in the organisation based on the results of the Lok Sabha polls — where the party failed and where the margin dropped. Not only in the party but also at the panchayat and municipal levels, there may be several reshuffles. Sources also said, the evaluation work is going on at all three levels of the Panchayat by the poll strategy body IPAC. Close-aide of Didi have confirmed that the meeting has made it categorical to her nephew Abhishek Banerjee that the party should start preparing for the 2026 assembly polls. Interestingly, 2024 marks Mamata’s 40 years in politics, this covers her journey as a mercurial leader to a Mamata Magic, from unseating CPI(M)’s veteran, late Somnath Chatterjee to joining and leaving hastily both Manmohan Singh and Vajpayee governments to routing CPI(M) citadel in 2011 after 34 years of rule.
Feeling confident of electoral victories hereafter, prominent partners in the INDIA bloc in Maharashtra have started staking their claims in different ways. For instance, state Congress president Nana Patole has been projected as a future chief minister by some of his supporters. Since the Congress party has won the largest number of seats in the state for INDIA, Patole has described it as ‘elder brother’ in the state polity. Reminding the others that the Congress is a national party, he has remarked that the younger brothers should behave accordingly. The small groups which stayed with his party have now grown into political parties, Patole retorted. However, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has not taken lightly to the statement. “There is no elder or younger brother in the state. The Congress has had its symbol and the organisation, whereas we have developed our party by taking various challenges head on and facing many difficulties,” Raut growled. He was referring to the split in the Sena a couple of years ago. The elder position or otherwise will be determined by the number of seats won by respective parties, Raut said, obviously indicating at the seat sharing formula for the coming legislative assembly election later this year. With speculation galore about potential defections across the state’s political spectrum, the tussle even before the match is announced promises to be more and more interesting.
Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil managed to show his political clout in the 18th Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra without putting up even a single candidate in the fray. The impact of the Maratha vote bank led to the almost wipe out of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance particularly from the Marathwada region, where it lost seven of the total eight seats. The Jarange Patil factor is also directly blamed for the defeat of Pankaja Munde, who hails from the Other Backward Class (OBC) community, due to polarisation of the caste factor. Munde’s convoy had to face black flags and even faced entry blockades from various villages due to the Maratha agitation. Bajrang Sonawane, from Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) who defeated Pankaja Munde, rushed to pay his respects to Jarange soon after his victory. Buoyed up by his role, Jarange has now announced that his party will now put up candidates from all communities in all the 288 constituencies in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly polls if the government fails to expand reservation benefits for the Maratha community. He has also threatened to sit on an indefinite fast and rake up heat on the Maratha issue from June 8 onwards in preparation for the forthcoming crucial state polls. The re-emergence of Jarange Patil now threatens to affect the chances of the BJP across the state at a time when it is already facing a drastic slash down in the state from 23 seats to 9 Lok Sabha seats.
The just released Malayalam comedy movie Guruvayoor Ambala Nadayil’ has raked in Rs 50 crore in one week and Rs 85 crore in just 18 days. Of this, it raked Rs 43 crore in Kerala alone. A big percentage of Kerala’s population of nearly 3.46 crore work in the Middle East. For them a movie with Mammootty, Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran is the best treat. The Kerala film industry has done very well albeit with dramatic transformation from “art film, realism and simplistic presentation” Malayalam movies have emerged as entertainment winners. Simultaneously, stars too have hit the sweet spot of success. Prithiviraj Sukumaran, almost super star, producer, script writer and even singer is at the peak of success. In Guruvayoor Ambala Nadayil’ as a comic lead which is a totally divergent role from his recent cult classic Aadujeevitham that garnered Rs 160 crore. Prithvi fans are on a high, but the star himself is careful not to make ripples in the star ecosystem where Mammootty and Mohanlal reign supreme. Prithviraj fell in love with the famed BBC journalist Supriya Menon Aren Mumbai and married her. The couple run a very profitable partnership. Not that he has no challenges in his starscape…Fahad Fasil, Joju George and others are fast catching up. The recent mega hit Manjummel Boys, Falimy (a quirky spell), Padmini and Bro Daddy succeeded though the prevailing crime and police films that dominated for quite some time. OTT has brought realism to the home viewer. Malayalam cinema is the new flavour of entertainment.
Biju Janata Dal Supremo Naveen Patnaik who was once considered invincible seems to have bitten the dust. BJD’s rank and file are angrily pointing fingers towards Patnaik’s Man Friday, VK Pandian for such humiliating defeat for BJD both in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. This “outsider” bureaucrat-turned-politician seems to have rubbed the people on the wrong side not only within his party but state’s Opposition leaders too. It is said, he used to micro-manage, stonewall people from meeting Patnaik and keep crucial information from reaching Patnaik. BJP played the “outsider” card smartly to dethrone Patnaik and his party. Sources say, BJP tom-tommed that Patnaik was a puppet in the hands of Pandian. This apart, the Ratna Bhandar controversy added fuel to the fire as well. Pandian, an IAS officer who hailed from Tamil Nadu, started his journey in 2011 when he joined the CM’s office as Naveen’s private secretary. He impressed CM Naveen with his efficiency and quickly rose to become a key figure in all decision making. He devised electoral strategies for the BJD both in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Essentially he was ‘go to man’ for all BJD leaders. So cocky was he about winning both the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections that he announced he “will quit politics if BJD does not get three-fourth majority”. Now, far from resigning he suddenly seems to have gone missing and rumours are that a look out notice has been put but BJD has clarified he has been sent to Delhi for official work. Patnaik, after a very long time, ‘went alone’ to hand over his resignation to the Governor. For Patnaik who had a glorious rule the end was unceremonious. Perhaps he trusted the wrong guy.
In Tamil Nadu, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) is seen as leading the most routed party that MGR had built as an iconic political behemoth which was lovingly sustained by J Jayalalithaa till her untimely death. His adamant stance to go it alone and not have an alliance with the BJP saw his party AIADMK being nearly wiped out in the Lok Sabha polls. Edappadi claims that he had the 2026 Assembly elections as his pole star and did not want to give up the party’s unique identity. In a tear jerking letter to his cadres he said, “I am addressing this to you all my dear friends …I don’t know how to express my gratitude to you all for working so hard for the election. Our party is a historic institution built by MGR…a temporary eclipse has been cast on us.” He says that the subversion of power, money and fake promises by the winning side is the sole reason why his party lost. In a first, his party’s candidates lost deposits in seven seats. Looking at AIADMK’s vote share of 20.46% vs the DMK’s 26.93%, it seems Edappadi has not lost his way to end up in political oblivion. But with BJP’s surprise showing at 11.24%, it is logical to think that if EPS and BJP had fought the elections together it could have been a win-win situation for both. The ‘wise analysts’ say it’s better for him to mend fences with the old faithful’s of Jayalalithaa –Sasikala, OPS and TTV — and then the scattered factions can rise like the Phoenix. Does Edappadi have the diplomatic elan and charm offensive of the late MGR? Not quite.
Trinamool Congress once again managed to derail BJP by winning 29 Lok Sabha seats against BJP’s mere 12 against 18 in 2019. With such good tidings, the party supremo Mamata Banerjee seems to indirectly indicate that her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who made this big win possible, will succeed her. Didi’s magic and Abhishek’s poll strategies made sure that TMC’s win. As for his own win, Abhishek won by a record seven lakh plus votes. Didi announced at the press conference that Abhishek will be her representative at the I.N.D.I.A. front meetings and decision making processes. It was Abhishek’s strategy to give the impression that the BJP intended to halt benefit initiatives by Mamata’s government, if BJP comes to power. Earlier, he had undertaken several protest programmes including a dharna at New Delhi to protest against the Modi government for not releasing MNREGA funds. Despite the youth-senior conflict within TMC, the Opposition’s jabs at ‘corruption’ and ‘nepotism’, Abhishek’s strategy appealed to Bengali voters. He also played an important role in the campaign plan, selection of slogans, and holding meetings with party leadership across the state. According to Trinamool sources, the main slogan of the party in the Lok Sabha elections is the brainchild of Abhishek. Mamata’s remarks at a press conference following the election fuelled further speculations. She said, praising Abhishek’s efforts demonstrated amazing leadership and determination. Although she did not formally designate him as her successor, the endorsement was interpreted that eventually he will step into her shoes.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United (JDU) has shared a cryptic post on X in which he has talked about both Nyay and Vikas — two ideas that are close to the Congress and the BJP. He is all set to play a kingmaker’s role after Lok Sabha 2024 results, it is interesting that he has used both the terms. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar’s JDU performed better than NDA allies as it contested along with the BJP. In fact, he walked out of the RJD tie-up under pressure of MPs and sided with the BJP. His party is leading in 14 and BJP in 11. There are speculations that Nitish Kumar, who has a history of switching sides at key moments, is keeping both options open. Many social media users earlier speculated that the Bihar CM could change sides again and join the I.N.D.I.A bloc if he is offered the PM’s post. In fact there were reports that Nitish initially resisted meeting the Bihar BJP chief. When such reports reached Delhi, BJP’s top leadership had a special emissary sent to him to ensure that he reaches Delhi to attend the NDA meeting on June 5. At least one state CM and I.N.D.I.A leader– Mamata Banerjee– is not very happy about the importance that PM Modi is bestowing on Nitish Kumar. She is getting quite upset about the talk of the deputy PM’s post being offered to him. She had reportedly brushed off performance claims about JDU, considering the TMC has also done well. After all both Nitish and she have been rail ministers in the Vajpayee government. Both the leaders are not known to get along.
One of the biggest surprises of the 2024 Lok Sabha results was that the I.N.D.I.A bloc gave a tough fight to the BJP-led NDA in Uttar Pradesh. While everyone has been lauding Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav for repackaging his party and making a spectacular comeback, BJP sources said the I.N.D.I.A front gained mainly by manufacturing a lie about reservation and how Modi in his third term would do away with it. It was this lie that saw the BJP falling short of a majority on its own in the 543-member parliament. The SP and the Congress deliberately spread panic among dalits and managed to win 42 seats. This means Modi will have a lot of trouble in his third term as he will have to depend on allies to form the government. It will introduce some uncertainty in policy-making as Modi has ruled with a free hand in the last decade. The party has so far won 239 seats compared to the 303 seats it had won in 2019. Besides in UP alone, it appears Ram Mandir has not yielded the party any special dividend. In fact, before the temple was built in 2019, the BJP had bagged 62 of 80 seats in UP, but in the post Ram Mandir era the BJP has been restricted to 38 seats, bringing down the overall BJP tally and weakening PM Modi’s third term. Party sources conceded that the conspiracy theories floated by the Congress and SP weakened Modi’s mandate. Congress leaders twisted the call for a 400 paar mandate as a ploy to undo reservations for the Dalits. “There are 17 reserved seats in UP. Because of this damaging campaign by Congress we have been restricted to three or four reserved seats this time. As a result this time our tally from UP has been hit,”points out a BJP Dalit leader.
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) began the fresh season 2024-2025 with a bang at the MCA’s Indoor Cricket facility at Bandra-Kurla Complex. And it pleased Milind Rege — whose heart and soul has been with Mumbai cricket for six decades as player, administrator, selector and advisor — no end. Sitting alongside the brilliant Mumbai stalwarts in Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shardul Thakur, Abhishek Nayar and Sarfaraz Khan, the former Mumbai all-rounder and captain Rege said the past is history and that he is looking forward to another bright and successful season during which the dressing rooms of different MCA teams — men and women and juniors and seniors — will have the running theme of “Home of the Champions”. Mumbai won the 42nd Ranji title three months ago, a performance that reflected teamwork of all concerned. Rege and Rahane thanked the MCA administration for its wholehearted support, in particular its President Amol Kale and the hands-on Secretary Ajinkya Naik. The season opener assembly — held three months in advance — enabled the cricketers to tell the 400 odd off season campers the importance of maintaining fitness in order to face challenges during the six month long season. The meeting was meant to happily convey to the boys and girls that MCA means serious business about its cricket, but with a great deal of passion. Soon the MCA will celebrate its golden jubilee of the Wankhede Stadium and what it can mull over is putting in place a museum which doesn’t seem to be taking off at all!
The results of the Lok Sabha elections have disappointed the rank and file in the BJP but, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already commenced his third term work to flesh out his 100-day plan for India, including flagship policy amendment for handing over administration of temples across India to the Hindu community. This strategy, even while Modi continues in election mode targeting forthcoming state assembly elections in five states of the Indian union. A closed-door meeting between expected incumbent PM Modi and erstwhile Union Home Minister Amit Shah decided to prioritise the first council of Union Ministers comprising public representatives from states facing imminent assembly polls. Maharashtra’s citizens will elect 288 Members to its state legislative assembly by November 2024 just like Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir. Delhi and Bihar follow suit in 2025 while Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, Kerala, West Bengal state assemblies are scheduled in 2026. PM Modi’s 3.0 political regime will likely include Shivraj Singh Chauhan who relinquished Union Ministership to deliver Madhya Pradesh state assembly to BJP. Maharashtra’s Lok Sabha outcome has dampened and shocked everybody in the BJP coming in the wake of the double sympathy wave attracted by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. Pawar has silenced critics who foretold the end of his political career. There is going to be serious introspection and there may be reshuffle in Maharashtra according to sources. So, parliament ushers in the amendment allowing Hindus to administer their own temples (take it away from respective state governments) bringing the community on par with Muslim and Christian religious trusts.
Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar finally broke his near-silence over the Pune Porsche accident tragedy. His refusal to make any statement immediately after the horrific incident had provided his opponents enough fodder to attack him. Ajit Pawar, president of the Nationalist Congress Party on Saturday (June 1) supported his party MLA Sunil Tingre’s action of rushing to the Yerawada police station following calls from the accused minor’s father, Vishal Agrawal within minutes after the car hit that killed two techies. Defending the MLA, Ajit said it is common for elected representatives to visit after some major incident takes place in their constituency. However, he insisted that the police had done their duty by the book. Ajit listed the actions taken by the police, by the public health department against the two Sassoon Hospital doctors and by the state excise department after the mishap. He pointed out that the four members of the Agrawal family had been arrested. Hence, there was no question of shielding anyone, he thundered. Ajit has been facing criticism from various quarters, he being the guardian minister of Pune district in which the tragedy occurred on 19 May. Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar, too, has maintained that Tingre did come to the police station though the police had acted as per rules and regulations. Ajit has already accepted social activist Anjali Damania’s challenge to undergo a narco test in regard to the whole episode.
Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit) is experiencing some unease at present over the perceived adverse line adopted by its senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal. The latest cause is Bhujbal’s defence of rival NCP (Sharad) leader Jitendera Awhad, who is facing flak for tearing a picture of Dr BR Ambedkar during a protest action. The BJP and NCP (Ajit) have held protest demonstrations to condemn his lapse. Rather than following the Mahayuti line, Bhujbal has supported Awhad by saying that the error happened when he was protesting against Manusmritii. “We will not allow backdoor entry of this retrograde social code,” Bhujbal declared, annoying his own party. When a huge hoarding collapsed in Ghatkopar, Mumbai a couple of weeks ago, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray was attacked by some Mahayuti leaders in connection with the permission granted for erecting the massive billboard. At that time, too, Bhujbal had termed the criticism of Thackeray as wrong. Earlier Bhujbal had been refused the Lok Sabha Nashik candidacy, despite his efforts to obtain blessings from Delhi. During electioneering, he had stated that the response to the rallies of Sharad Pawar and Uddhav was overwhelming. Being a powerful OBC leader, it will be difficult for the NCP (Ajit) to touch Bhujbal. On the other hand, his choices to return to his earlier parties seem limited owing to his various caustic attacks against Sharad Pawar and Uddhav. The lid on the mystery will be lifted soon after the Lok Sabha results are out on 4 June, it is felt.
Tamil film’s ace director S Shankar and Ulaga Nayakan Kamal Haasan are all set to unveil Indian 2 with a big bang music launch event. Indian of 1996 which is still etched in cinephiles memory as a blockbuster was long awaiting a sequel. Kamal instinctively felt box office history could be created, yet again. Though his busy political and cinematic persona clashed and caused some stress to all concerned in his innermost circles, the Indian 2 is ready for a July release. Lyca Productions and Red Giant Movies are expected to hype marketing and media profile, to screen this extravaganza. One factor the audience is sure of is that even if the storyline does not punch at optimum weight, Kamal is sure to grab admiration with his acting as an old man. When Shankar is at the head of the table, one can anticipate extraordinary action and performances from his band of actors….an ensemble cast with Siddharth, Kajal Aggarwal, SJ Surya, Rakul Preet Singh and Bobby Simha. The music director Anirudh and two singles Para and Neelothpal have not disappointed their fans. The music launch at Nehru Stadium, a venue that portends hits, and besotted fans are not about to miss the event. When Kamal, Shankar and Anirudh hit the stage, the sound of music hits the high notes. And the Box office jingles.
The BJP government’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry, mandated to rectify pejorative and false narratives of Hinduism peddled through (mostly Hindi) commercial cinema by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014, has almost finalized its CEO for the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to censor films before release. IRS (customs) officer Kundan Yadav’s appointment file is pending approval of the Election Commission of India. More recently, Yadav was seen poking fun at Sanatana dharma, the Sunder Kand and Maha Mrityunjay Mantra while also taking potshots at Brahmanism and the Manu Smriti texts while using self-composed poetry on a public platform in Jaipur. “Even while drafted for election duty, this JNU product openly denounced the BJP giving speeches regarding his single-minded efforts against the national party. Is it merely enough that he possesses a doctorate (PhD) to be appointed the CBFC CEO? What happened to the 360-degree-SWOT analysis, assessment of his knowledge on the craft of film-making?” asks a senior BJP leader in anguish. Yadav’s stay at JNU was subsidized by his seniors in his first year, when he failed to secure hostel accommodation. Thereafter, this brilliant student, despite needing two terms to complete his HSC board examinations, became a topper of his class, even securing a teaching tenure in the USA on scholarship. One of his JNU professors did pull him up once for not having collected funds allocated to him through yet another scholarship he had been bestowed with for inordinately long. Some guys have all the luck!
The most famous Indian ‘Kul-cha’, not of the tandoor variety, but derived from the first name of left-arm leg-spin-googly practitioner Kuldeep Yadav and the surname of conventional leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, can turn out to be quite handy for teams like Ireland, USA and Canada in the preliminary stage of the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup in the USA. They were India’s top dog pair from September 6, 2017, after the mauling of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja by the Pakistan batters in the Champions Trophy final (50 overs). The Kul-cha pair has taken 28 wickets in 15 innings, sending down 57 overs. Given a short shrift after 2018, Yadav played in nine matches in 2023 and took 14 wickets at 13.14. And Chahal’s 23 scalps in 2022 and nine in 2023 have compelled the decision-makers to plump for him for the ICC’s marquee event. Chahal has been a Twenty20 veteran, taking 98 wickets in eight years with an economy rate of 8.19, and Yadav has a collection of 59 scalps at an economy rate of 6.75. In the 2023 away series in the West Indies, Yadav took six wickets in four matches, and Chahal five wickets in as many matches, and with the Super 8 of the World Cup to be played in the West Indies, the team management took a logical call. They, together, did not feature in the previous four series against Ireland, South Africa, Australia and Afghanistan, adding to 14 matches. Chahal’s 18 wickets in the recent IPL tilted the scales in his favour juxtaposed against Ravi Bishnoi, unlucky to miss the bus, having taken 36 wickets for India in 24 matches since February 2022. Kul-cha will have to compete with another successful Twenty20 practitioner though in left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who has taken 36 wickets from 2022 from 37 matches.
Ahead of the last day of polling for the 18th Lok Sabha across 57 seats including Varanasi from where PM Narendra Modi will be contesting for the third time, there is a quiet confidence in the ruling side about the number of seats the BJP will get. Yes there are some numbers to mull ahead of the Exit Poll. Top party bosses are apparently comfortable with reports that the BJP itself would be comfortably placed even as reports indicated that its allies in Maharashtra and Bihar are not able to deliver on candidates and perform just as well. It is being said the BJP is tipped to get 315 seats. Party sources said it may seem the BJP may have wasted its seats on the allies. BJP feels in Maharashtra the NCP (Ajit Pawar) faction does not seem keen on continuing in the NDA for the assembly polls. It is felt Ajit may merge his faction with his uncle Sharad Pawar for the assembly polls. Again, though PM Modi has gone all out backing the breakaway Shiv Sena group headed by Eknath Shinde, the ruling Sena may not come out in the top because of the choice of candidates. Performance of alliance partners could drag BJP in Bihar too. RJD’s pitched campaign against JD(U) for Nitish Kumar’s flip-flop could hit some JD(U) candidates. Chirag Paswan’s skewed candidate selection has hit the NDA image in the state. It is for this reason that BJP leadership has begun to talk about doing very well in West Bengal and Odisha. Of course, PM Modi’s confidence to form the next government has not stopped the Congress leadership from staking claiming to form the government in Delhi. Meanwhile, in a copycat act of the TMC, the DMK also chose to stay away from the I.N.D.I.A bloc meet called on June 1.
After roasting deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar with various grave allegations, social activist Anjali Damania has now blamed the entire Pawar family “for vitiating the politics of Maharashtra.” Rogue and mafia elements from various parties have joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), she has said without making any distinction in regard to its vertical split. Damania came into the limelight some years ago when she trained her guns against powerful OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal. She turned her attention towards Ajit, the then DCM, around a decade ago. Ever since, Damania has been needling Ajit and the NCP on different counts. Only yesterday, she had demanded Ajit’s narco test in connection with his silence over the Pune car crash tragedy. If the Pune police commissioner was saying that he had not spoken with Ajit but the latter was insisting that they had held a conversation, what was the reality, she had asked and demanded to know the truth. Ajit accepted her challenge but issued an ultimatum of his own. “I am ready for a narco test. But Anjali should retire from public life if nothing comes out of the test.” Damania has accepted the challenge with a rider. She says she will frame the questions for the test. “If Ajit Pawar emerges unscathed, I guarantee that I shall not be seen on any public platform, as demanded by him,” she has dared him. In her attack against the NCP, she says, “If any one party needs to be finished, it is the NCP.”
Aamir Khan’s son Junaid Khan makes his debut with Maharaja that will be released on OTT. Guess what, Junaid already has completed shooting for his second film even before his debut film releases. Clearly, those are the perks of being a star kid. Both the films that Junaid has worked in have been produced by outside banners — Yash Raj Films and Phantom Studio have a good equation with Aamir Khan. Junaid hasn’t really been trolled for being Aamir Khan’s son. Probably because he is well behaved on the sets and with Paps. Reportedly, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s niece Sharmin Segal got trolled for bagging the central part in Heeramandi series. Tongues were wagging that she landed the role because of being Bhansali’s niece. But, the truth is she did go for an audition and screen test. In politics, business or films nepotism is the uncomfortable truth — it happens openly or subtly. Yes, it makes easy entry possible but post that he/she has to prove their mettle. Suhana Khan is all set to make her debut with her father Shah Rukh Khan to be directed by Sujoy Ghosh. Sanjay Kapoor’s daughter, Shanaya Kapoor is a big social media influencer even though she signed her first film. Saif Ali Khan’s son Ibrahim Khan who has two films seems to be throwing his weight if one goes by what Paps have to say. In the case of Rajesh Roshan, niece Pashmina Roshan, a good dancer, makes her debut in Ishk Vishk Rebound. Producer Ramesh Taurani has clarified that he chose Pashmina purely on merit with three other fresh faces. He says Rajesh Roshan, the music composer with whom his relationship goes back in time, did not call to push his niece’s case. Sounds good.
Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray’s London visit has been embroiled in politics after one of his statements that 37 Information Technology (IT) companies have shifted outside Maharashtra has roiled the ruling three-party alliance in the state. Uddhav is known for going abroad, generally to Europe, during summers. He has been away in London this time, too. But his stinging indictment of the current regime over the Pune development has instigated BJP MLA Nitesh Rane. He has challenged Uddhav to repeat the charge by swearing in the name of his (Uddhav) two sons. Rane has hit back that the companies left Maharashtra during Uddhav’s tenure as chief minister. He has alleged that Uddhav had been indulging in falsehood. “Pack up those in London itself who are damaging the image of Maharashtra by sitting in London,” Rane has remarked. Chief minister Eknath Shinde, too, has used the opportunity to take pot shots at his predecessor. When Shinde was at his farm in Satara district, he was quizzed about Uddhav’s London sojourn. He said he preferred to return to his village rather than travelling abroad, without naming his former boss. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs in Pune have blamed the poor and deteriorating infrastructure in Hinjewadi, the IT hub in Pune, for the flight of several companies to other states over the past 10 years. They have demanded immediate attention of the state government to improve the situation.
Even before the 2024 Lok Sabha results are out, the momentum for the 288-legislature strong Maharashtra state elections, scheduled around October, has already started building up. Chhagan Bhujbal has already sounded the bugle by declaring that his Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) should not settle for anything less than 80-90 seats. He feels Ajit Pawar’s party got a raw deal during the Lok Sabha seat-sharing rounds. Bhujbal himself was forced to back out in the Nashik constituency to make way for Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena candidate Hemant Godse. Many parties like Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Bacchu Kadu’s Prahar Janshakti Party, Samajwadi Party, the Peasants and Workers Party of India had not put up candidates in the current Lok Sabha polls lured by better deals in state polls. Besides, a large number of rebel aspirants across the parties during LS elections were also mollycoddled into backing off with promises of their aspirations being adjusted during the state elections. Prominent political scions like Rohini Khadse (daughter of Eknath Khadse), Siddhesh Kadam (son of Ramdas Kadam), Abhijeet Adsul (Son of Anantrao Adsul), Kiran Samant (brother of Uday Samant), who were all denied LS seats, are likely to swing back into action mode. It will also be the real testing ground for leaders like Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Raj Thackeray, who have more at stake here in Maharashtra than at the national level. Besides the local state elections promises to activate and sharpen the divide among various lobbies and factions within the un-split parties. Each of these groups are gearing up to extract maximum seats at the seat-sharing bargaining table.
Global and local media did not need a GPS to descend en masse on Kanniyakumari, Indian peninsula’s land’s end, to the majestic Vivekananda Rock, a standing sentinel, guarding this spiritual and ancient civilisation. The Opposition cried hoarse over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 45-hour meditation. The numerous panel debates could as well mean it was “deceitful, surreptitious, covert, duplicitous, artful, guileful.” Modi planned like Chanakya, some say better, to decimate his detractors by undertaking this high voltage event in saffron garb. No one could have replicated the powerful message…a PM praying for his country and people. With leaders like Rishi Sunak, Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Benjamin Netanyahu lurching from crisis to crisis to hold on to their perch, Modi brings back an ancient Hindu spiritual state to keep a strong hold over his party, country and ideology. Many questions have been raised, even asking EC to stop this “drama“. Dushyant Sridhar, once a powerful corporate and now at the height of popularity for his spiritual discourses says “Why object to Modi’s choice of the Vivekananda Rock for meditation? Who prevented Rahul and others from picking on their own modes for reaching their electorates? There are those who are literally having heartburn that a PM is “campaigning” at State expense. Tamil Nadu police, tasked with the PM’s security are said to have deployed a 2000 strong contingent for his protection, including a team of professional divers. A Teflon coated PM seems totally inured to all this mud-slinging. Modi’s meditation could well pan out to be one the greatest spiritual impact events in the world.
The Pune car crash tragedy is haunting Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar with a demand for his narco test and examination of his mobile phone. The demand made by social activist Anjali Damania has rattled his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), prompting its spokesman to remark that Damania operates on ‘recharge,’ thereby meaning that she repeats the allegations made by someone else. Suraj Chavan, a NCP spokesman, has asked for her narco test, in retaliation. The silence of Ajit after the Pune tragedy of 19 May had generated much speculation. Though he is guardian minister of Pune district, Ajit has kept himself away from the case lest some allegations could follow. State Congress president Nana Patole has added another twist by indicating that one of the four occupants of the ill-fated Porsche car was the son of a MLA. Though he has not disclosed any name or produced any evidence, the gravity of the charge has made the picture murkier. The latest angle in this sordid chain has been added by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushama Andhare. “Ensure safety of Dr Ajay Taware’s life,” she has said, in reference to his threat that he will spill the beans and not spare anyone. Dr Taware and his colleague Dr Shrihari Halnor are under arrest for switching the blood sample of the accused minor. If the blood sample can be faked, anything can happen, she has cautioned. She, too, has not pointed a finger at any individual. But her apprehensions have been ridiculed by Sena (Shinde) spokesman Sanjay Shirsat.
At PM Modi’s rally in Mayurbhanj, Odisha while his speech was underway, a journalist fainted. Known for his eye for detail, PM Modi saw him fainting from the stage. He stopped his speech and asked his medical team to attend to him at the earliest. It was ensured that the journo got prompt medical attention and was subsequently shifted to the district hospital. PM Modi who has been speaking to TV journalists from Delhi while campaigning in Varanasi and Kolkata has apparently had a record interaction with a variety of journalists across platforms from all over the country since the Lok Sabha elections were announced. While BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya acknowledges that PM Modi had spoken to “71 different sets of journalists, from editors to beat reporters”, party sources say media interactions could be a record of sorts. Something like upwards of 125. Sources say Modi has been liberal with media interactions this election season. He had even sought out beat journos from media groups who he was familiar with, raising quite a few eyebrows in media houses, like seeking out one or two senior editors he had known. At the same time, Modi has been wary of owners doubling up as editors that he refused to share space with them at the roundtable space along with the beat journos. It is another matter he did generously pose for post-interview pictures with them. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi, opposition’s Prime Ministerial candidate, didn’t give a single media interview this election. The Congress leader has maintained that the media is biased against him.
Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar’s trusted lieutenant Sonia Duhan has decided to walk out of the party. Known for her daredevil acts when the party was facing crises, Sonia has blamed her mentor’s daughter Supriya Sule, for the decision which is bound to wound the already depleting party. Sonia hit the headlines last year when she brought back four NCP MLAs to Pawar from Ajit Pawar camp, who had parted ways with his uncle. Sonia’s role during the Shiv Sena split was noticed as well. Hailing from Hisar in Haryana, Sonia was then publicly lauded and her proximity with the veteran was discussed. However, the honeymoon seems to be over. Sonia and Dheeraj Sharma, two leading north Indian soldiers of Pawar, will cease their association with the NCP, which Sonia had joined in 2021. While announcing her decision, she said none from the NCP (Sharad) had approached her nor asked for the reason for her resignation. Sonia is extremely bitter about Supriya. She said, “Supriya called me up on 23 May and used such language that has forced me to quit.” Sonia has no immediate plans to join any other party, especially not the NCP under Ajit Pawar. She commented that a political party can’t run on social media. Sonia said the party affairs were well till Sharad Pawar headed it. But when Supriya took over, things began going wrong. “Supriya is the party president but not a party leader,” Sonia retorted.
The year 1997, an exotic pairing of Kajol, the creole beauty and Prabhudeva, India’s undisputed King of contemporary dance took the audience to a new level of entertainment. The film, Minsara Kanavu ( Electric Dreams) directed by Rajiv Menon, with music by AR Rahman danced away with four national awards — Best Music Director, Best Singers both male and female and Best Dance Director. Arvind Swami added histrionic weight to the narrative. The film not only entertained but inspired a comic slogan to the Tamilians (talented word crafters) who suffered frequent power cuts. They came up with the taunt “Minsarame Kanavu ( for us electricity is itself a dream ).This exotic pair are now coming together after 27 years for a Telugu film, directed by CharanRaj Upplipatt, with able support by Naseeruddin Shah and Samyukta Menon. The production house has announced that the first phase of this thriller filming is complete and the teaser is to be out soon. The song Vennilave Vennilave Vinnai thandi varuvaya is still remembered. Will Kajol and Prabhudeva electrify the audience yet again?
On the face of it, the Ireland hurdle in the first group match of the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup in New York should not cause much anxiety to the Indian team. Yet, India has to make a bright start and get the winning points against a competitor from the British Isles. England and Scotland are not in the group India is in. Ireland has played 166 Twenty20 internationals in 16 years and has won 72 and lost 86 with the other eight matches being tied (1) abandoned (3) or not producing a result (4). It has never got the better of India in seven outings from 2009. The most recent clash between the two teams happened in August 2023 that actually marked Jasprit Bumrah’s return to mainstream cricket after a long injury related break. In fact Bumrah was the captain of the team that won by two runs (adjusted target in a rain affected match) and 33 runs. Prasidh Krishna, Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar were part of the bowling attack then, apart from Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dubey. Ireland has beaten Bangladesh and Pakistan and hence are capable of causing an upset. Whatever may be the conditions in New York on June 5, Rohit Sharma’s team has to win two points before the big clash against Pakistan on June 9. India’s other two matches are against USA and Canada.
PM Narendra Modi’s 3.0 avatar will prioritize judicial, electoral reforms, bolstered in large measure by Amit Shah’s twin criminal laws kicking in come July 1, 2024. Recent judicial trends, including a temporary bail gift to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for indulgence in unfettered propaganda, criminal indulgence against his party’s youngest woman MP, has irked Modi. The proverbial last straw was the Supreme Court mandating 48-hours for full disclosure of voting percentiles pan India. “The ECI will submit to court the minimum 96 hours requirement for professional, fool proofed disclosure of pan India voting percentages considering manual processes involved for collation,” BJP’s senior leader told shortpost.in. Teachers, civic staffers drafted by ECI, for the election process are trained in the run up to polls. These personnel, up by 3 am, reach Lok Sabha polling booths (1500 to 1800 booths per constituency) by 5 am to precede the 7 am public voting. EOD time of last vote (between 8 pm and 10 pm) depending on voters at booths before timely deadline follows voter count data manually maintained by personnel collated like a police panchnama, even as EVMs get transferred to strong rooms. EVM machines at rural centres take longer (3-4 hours). Missing names in voter rosters, recurring concern every general elections, to be resolved through AADHAR synchronization in 3.0, long standing BJP requisition put off by judiciary in India backed by ‘privacy concerns’ prevalent in Western nations. The Collegium system is also set to go, according to those in the know.
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Noticed By People Who Matter
Four years have zipped by and we are crossing another milestone on 31st January 2025 – it’s our 4th Anniversary. It feels good.
Looking back at the 1460 days, I must say Short Post has made its mark with people who matter via 4000 stories published in the areas of politics, business, entertainment and sports. All made possible by the unflinching commitment and dedication of our senior editors, most of whom have been part of this journey from Day One.
Small pack, big impact is in essence the story of Short Post which was launched at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. It shows our conviction. In all humility, I can say, we have created a new niche in the news segment space like Hindustan Unilever which created a new segment, when it launched CloseUp Gel.
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