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Last week, as Congress leaders protested against Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s so-called “anti-Ambedkar” remark in Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi joined his party MPs in a blue T-shirt, giving up his trademark white polo T-shirt. His sister Priyanka also twinned with him wearing a blue sari. Clearly the Gandhi siblings opted to go for a very visual protest against Shah’s remarks. The choice of the colour of clothes of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) — usually spotted donning plain white T-shirts raised eyebrows. The colour blue has been associated with Dalit politics since 1942, when Dr BR Ambedkar established the Scheduled Castes Federation to campaign for the rights of the Dalit community. The body adopted a blue flag featuring Ashok Chakra. The flag was later retained by the Republican Party of India (RPI), founded by Ambedkar in 1956. Over time, blue became very closely associated with Dalit identity and activism. Even political parties like the Bahujan Samaj Party and the ASP, which champions Dalit welfare, embraced blue colour in their branding. As the Gandhi siblings lead the protest, it was the choice of colour of their clothes that caught everyone’s attention!
The Winter Session which saw a two-day discussion on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution and introduction of One Nation One Election (ONOE) Bill has come to a close. It brought out sharp divisions over discussions and bills at least in two political parties — the Congress and DMK. In the Congress, if a first term MP Priyanka Vadra was seen opening the discussion on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha, for some reason senior leader and eminent lawyer P Chidambaram did not get an opportunity to have his say about the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha. In the DMK, there was a clear division of views between the DMK parliamentary party leader TR Baalu and deputy leader Kanimozhi. While Baalu endorsed the government’s offer to refer the Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee, Kanimozhi seemed completely surprised by his stand and insisted that her party was opposed to the Bill and demanded its withdrawal.”DMK has consistently opposed the entire Bill. We do not accept that there can be ONOE because it is against the Constitution. It is against federal rights and it is against the will of the people. People choose state governments for 5 years, I don’t think you can take that right away from the people and give it to the EC to decide how many years governments can last or not. So, this is completely against the state, against federalism” said Kanimozhi. While her stand reflects TN assembly resolution passed in February against ONOE Bill this year, the media is awash with reports about how her late father Kalaignar M Karunanidhi had highlighted the benefits of simultaneous polls in his autobiography Nenjuku Neethi. Incidentally, Karunanidhi had advanced state polls to 1971 to coincide with LS polls.
The Thursday (Dec 19) visit of BJP and Shiv Sena (Shinde) MLAs to the RSS headquarters in Nagpur has become a hot political topic though there are other reasons, too, for intense politicking. Firstly, the MLAs belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar did not join the event. Secondly, those disgruntled due to their non-inclusion in the council of ministers have started expressing their anger openly. Like earlier two occasions, Ajit Pawar and most of his followers distanced themselves from the visit organized by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The presence of former CM Eknath Shinde and his MLAs proved to be another highlight. However, the discontent brewing within Mahayuti on other counts is now becoming more vocal. Political heavyweight Chhagan Bhujbal was the first to articulate it. His open criticism of Ajit Pawar surprised many since he had stayed by the side of Pawar all through. Now, there are reports that some of Bhujbal’s supporters want him to join the BJP to end his political wilderness. So far, Bhujbal has maintained that he is with the NCP (Ajit). The other notable leader to become the subject of political speculation is the legislative council’s deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe. Her detractors, mainly the recent Sena (UBT) entrant Sushama Andhare, have started hinting at Gorhe’s plans to go with the BJP. Gorhe, too, has not reacted to the talk. Ajit’s sudden disappearance for two days from the winter session only added grist to the grapevine. His explanation that he was down with a throat infection is hardly swallowed. More murmurs are expected to be heard once Fadnavis announces the allocation of the portfolios.
The Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has started preparing for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, expected to take place early next year. This will be the fight for political survival for Thackeray because the Sena has been in power in India’s richest civic body since 1985. Taking stock of the situation, other political parties, too, have begun their planning. The picture this time will be fundamentally different since the BJP has emerged as the largest party in the state after the assembly election. Its estrangement with the Sena (UBT), which split in 2022 owing to Eknath Shinde’s decision to walk out of it, will be a major factor in the coming election in which the Congress will be an insignificant player, given its lacklustre performance in Mumbai and the state as a whole. Equally exasperating is the condition of the state Congress committee as its president Nana Patole is perceived as an ineffective leader by the rank and file. The BMC’s last election saw the Sena winning 84 seats in the 227-member house while the BJP had captured 82. Owing to the alliance ethics, the BJP had made no effort to bag the mayoralty of the financial capital of India. However, the BJP is not prepared to take any chance this time and a decision about its Mumbai president is likely to be taken soon. Sitting chief Ashish Shelar is among the hopefuls though his inclusion in the council of ministers could be a decisive factor in the final choice.
This was to happen one day or the other with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) putting its foot down saying it will not send its national teams to India for any signature event of the ICC, like the World Cups in the two formats in men, women and the juniors. This was the PCB’s riposte to the long-standing BCCI position — citing security concerns — that it will not send its team across the border for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and that it will play only at a neutral venue. For three World Test Championship (WTC) the two nations have taken themselves off the Future Tours Programme (FTP). The cricketers of the two countries may enjoy good relationships when they lock horns in neutral country venues and have fans across the border, but the Indian government has been steadfast in denying permission to the BCCI. The latest communication from the ICC has confirmed that in the 2024-2027 cycle all ICC events given to India and Pakistan, the matches featuring the two countries will be held at a neutral country chosen by the host country; in the Champions Trophy case the PCB is the host. What all this means is the elimination of high security arrangements that India had to do when Pakistan played last year’s World Cup matches in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata. It took hard bargaining by the PCB with the ICC — with Jay Shah in Chair since December 1, 2024 — for it to agree to a hybrid model in order to ensure that it remains the host in a neutral country venue as well and where India will play and this country is said to be the United Arab Emirates.
The massive success of Pushpa 2, has reignited the debate over screen allocation in West Bengal’s single-screen theatres. While the blockbuster continues to dominate the box office, its stronghold has created challenges for four Bengali films— Khadaan, Shontaan, Chaalchitro, and 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane—which targeted Christmas Day for their releases. The overlap has sparked a heated controversy over securing adequate slots in single-screen theatres, which remain a key audience base for Bengali cinema. Single-screen theatres across Bengal are grappling with the balancing act of accommodating these films while catering to the massive demand for Pushpa 2. Tollywood’s Christmas lineup has been significantly impacted, with producer-actor Dev expressing frustration on social media. He alleged that Khadan’s shows and advance bookings were disrupted due to the overwhelming presence of Pushpa 2. Arijit Dutta, owner of Priya Theatre, reported dividing slots among the films: Khadaan (two shows), Chaalchitro (one), 5 No. Swapnamoy Lane (one), and Pushpa 2 (one). However, veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty’s Shontaan was left out entirely, sparking outrage from its director Raj Chakraborty, who criticized the lack of consistent support for Bengali cinema. A distributor, speaking anonymously, blamed the simultaneous release of multiple Bengali films during the festive season, suggesting a lack of coordination among producers. He pointed to Bollywood’s strategy of staggering releases as a model Tollywood could emulate. Star Theatre owner Joydeep Mukherjee called for better planning within the Bengali film industry to avoid internal competition. Interestingly, allegations have resurfaced about Shontaan‘s producer, pressuring hall owners to prioritize its films. This history has led some distributors to side with independent producers in the current clash.
Sunday’s swearing in of 33 (16:9:8 ratio for BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP respectively) mostly young cabinet ministers in CM Devendra Fadnavis’ 3.0 government was not followed up by expected portfolio allocations even late Thursday (Dec 19). The unrelenting clamour for one specific portfolio by a senior BJP minister-in-waiting (in apparent conflict of interest), aspiration to improve upon earlier performance in power sector by another are in the open awaiting the Maha Chanakya to coolly decide upon. Scribes housed at the state government ‘Suyog’ facility within the Family court premises near Vidhan Bhavan enjoy the Nagpur chill over familial evenings at ‘Sneh Bojans’ hosted by these as-yet ‘Anamika’ ministers. DCM Eknath Shinde’s camp brews hostility from left out veteran MLAs and cherry-picking ministers-in-waiting who threaten boiling point anytime soon. This is unlike the chill that has set upon the near deserted NCP office at Vidhan Bhavan sans activity, notwithstanding the bustling beehive of activity right outside and within the state legislature that is hosting its winter session. It is probably the first time in Maharashtra’s political history for such an ongoing legislature session without specifically assigned ministers manning questions on the floor of the state assembly and council while responding to public interest issues of state. For now, all portfolios rest with CM Fadnavis. NCP veteran Chhagan Bhujbal, Sena’s Tanaji Sawant complain vociferously from out in the cold even as some BJP MLAs rue their bad luck despite winning big in Mumbai city where the richest civic body will face the hustings very soon.
The events outside Parliament House that led to injuries to two BJP MPs was best summed up by FM Nirmala Sitharaman in her X post. She explained how “During the INDI Alliance’s protest inside Parliament premises today, Rahul Gandhi had forcefully pushed an MP, causing a domino effect that injured 2 BJP MPs –Pratap Sarangi (Balasore, Odisha) and Mukesh Rajput (Farrukhabad, UP)” Both the MPs are now hospitalised as they have sustained head injuries. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan was surprised that the Congress had so far not even bothered to say sorry. “I was wondering what was the purpose of Kharge-Rahul Gandhi’s presser, if they can’t say sorry. Our Nagaland MP, a tribal woman leader Phangnon Konyak had voiced discomfort that was caused to her by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.” She has written a letter to the RS Chairman. Adding further he said, “We feel Rahul simply does not deserve to be the LoP. When the Opposition is holding a protest, we usually take another gate. What was the need for Rahul Gandhi to wade into the area where BJP MPs were standing? He should simply quit as LoP.” BJP MPs including Anurag Thakur and Bansuri Swaraj filed a complaint against Rahul Gandhi at the Parliament Street Police station in connection with the scuffle between Opposition and NDA MPs. It is learnt that security forces repeatedly requested the Congress MP to use an alternative path, specifically arranged for a peaceful entry into Parliament. However, Rahul Gandhi declined the request. BJP’s Thakur said “The kind of attitude Rahul Gandhi has, he thinks he is above the law.” Responding to the allegations, Rahul said BJP MPs were trying to stop him and were threatening him “
Home Minister Amit Shah whose intervention in discussions on the 75th anniversary of the Constitution sparked off a row and seemed to have majorly united the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge charged him of insulting Dr BR Ambedkar.. He accused his rivals of being “anti-Ambedkar” and “anti-Constitution”, and “spreading lies”. In his concluding remarks in the Rajya Sabha, Shah sarcastically said, “It has become the fashion to say ‘Ambedkar, Ambedkar, Ambedkar…’ If they (the opposition) took God’s name so many times, they will get a place in heaven.” At a Press Conference, he charged the Congress of distorting his comments in the Rajya Sabha saying the Congress had put out an edited version of his speech. “I come from a party which follows the ideals of Ambedkar,” asserted Shah.” Rebuffing calls for his resignation by Kharge, Shah made it clear that he had no intention of stepping down. “Kharge is asking for my resignation. If that will make him feel happy, then I’ll give it. But the Congress has to sit in the opposition for at least 15 more years. “In an unusual move — perhaps underlining the impact of the Opposition’s attack on this issue — PM Modi and senior ministers rallied behind Shah. “If the Congress and its rotten ecosystem think malicious lies can hide their misdeeds of several years, especially their insult towards Dr Ambedkar, they are gravely mistaken!” said PM Modi. Amidst this, PM Modi and Shah met Rahul Gandhi and Kharge to appoint the next NHRC chief. TMC leader Derek O’Brien has moved a privilege notice against Shah in the Rajya Sabha for his remarks on Dr Ambedkar.
Ravichandran Ashwin was adroit in bowling the carom or knuckle ball or the doosra, but on Wednesday afternoon, Brisbane time, the nonconformist off-spinner of 13 years in the big league of the game deployed the “bombshell” to bring an end to his illustrious career. At the conclusion of the rain-marred third Test at the Gabba, the finger spinner with a few sobriquets, “scientist” being the most used among the media, Ashwin sitting beside his beleaguered captain, Rohit Sharma, matter of fact said: Today (Wednesday, December 18) was his last day as an international cricketer across formats and that he will be seen in action in club cricket, meaning IPL etc. The seasoned campaigner, starting his Test career in November 2011, was capped 106 times, and he missed 25 Tests after his debut; he featured in 61 wins, 47@home and 14 overseas. He read the writing on the wall about him losing the primacy as the No 1 spinner of the team in flannels after Washington Sundar was chosen for the first Test in Perth. Then being dropped to bring in Ravindra Jadeja for the third Test in Brisbane convinced him that his time was up…to hang up his boots. The home series against New Zealand that India lost 3-0 was a bitter pill to swallow for him. His numbers — 765 wickets in the three formats, including 537 wickets in Tests alone speaks of his right to be called a legend. It was a bold, practical call to take a bow while not in the field and that was an unhappy part that Indian cricket could not give one of its icons a fitting farewell. Ashwin has perhaps shown the way for a few more to bid adieu, sooner than later! They are over the hill, indeed.
For some strange reason, news of Union Home Minister Amit Shah reaching out to DMK MP Kanimozhi to greet her on her birthday on January 5 became public only a month later. The Shah-Kanimozhi conversation apparently irked Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, who is her brother. Disclosures about the birthday wishes were confirmed by one section of DMK that is unhappy with the manner Stalin is launching ahead with his succession plans to anoint son Udhayanidhi as heir apparent in the DMK. Udhayanidhi, who heads the DMK youth wing, had also started inducting young women into the party fold to the annoyance of aunt Kanimozhi, since she heads the DMK’s women’s wing and, is deputy parliamentary leader of the party. It is also being said Udhayanidhi won’t allow Kanimozhi to thrive once he takes charge. Besides, both Kanimozhi and A Raja are aware of the pending CBI appeal in the 2 G case and may seek a patch up with Delhi. Senior leaders like TR Baalu does not fancy spending his remaining years in the Lok Sabha – till 2024 – as an opposition MP and has been frequently seeking an appointment with PM Narendra Modi. For its part, the BJP dismissed the Shah-Kanimozhi conversation as a routine courtesy call with no political overtones whatsoever. Only time will tell.
When Congress spokesperson, former Union Minister and, Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari called for a press conference, there was palpable excitement in the media. Would he also quit the party like his colleague Ashwini Kumar did? Manish had nothing nice to say on Kumar’s exit and stated, “Ambition for a Rajya Sabha seat makes people do many things”. So where does this leave Tewari? “I have called the press conference in support of the Congress,” he said. True, he had canvassed for Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in Chamkaur Sahib, that is part of his Lok Sabha constituency. But, he complicated equations with the party high command by rebutting Priyanka Vadra’s remarks, “(PM Modi) Wearing a turban on stage doesn’t make (him) one a Sardar”. Tewari knows the pagari is a sensitive issue in Punjab and sought no politics over it. He also dismissed talk of his quitting the Congress, even after having tweeted “never seen such chaos and anarchy as what is playing out in Punjab Congress today.” He had also lashed out at the Punjab government for non-implementation of the Centre’s move to extend BSF jurisdiction and, also defended his close family ties with Capt Amarinder Singh. Tewari has now asserted he was “elected for five years” and would stay unless, of course, he is pushed out.
Tata Power operations in Odisha is firing on all cylinders for an uninterrupted quality power supply. According to Shenbagam Manthiram, CEO of Tata Power Central Odisha, by 2023, the twin cities of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar will have power quality on Mumbai city standards, thanks to its SCADA technology and LT protection system. This apart, Tata Discoms is putting in place a cyclone resilience disaster network spanning 60 km between the Puri and Konark shoreline to withstand cyclones which annually ravage Odisha, paralysing its power supply. Moreover, it is focusing on a single digit AT&C loss through Capex plans of Rs 1500 crore over the next three years. It will soon launch smart pre-paid self-reading certified HPL 3 phase meters on rental basis at Rs 150 per month and re-charge options. “From February/ March 2022 power purchase in Odisha will go hi-tech, enabling customers with pre-paid meters,” says Manthiram. Initially, covering only 3 phase consumers the scheme will scale up to include others subsequently. The aim is to cover 175,000 customers, improving progressively thereafter. To achieve this goal, Tata Discoms has automated 155 sub-stations linked to SCADA, another 300 will be added this year so that by 2023, 80% of its sub-stations will be unmanned. By 2024 it plans to eradicate low voltage power supply pockets in Odisha and, unveil roof top solar projects in Odisha.
Attention is riveted these days on the Indian women team’s preparatory white-ball series against New Zealand (Silver Ferns) at Queenstown, before the ICC Women’s World Cup in March-April. Led by Harmanpreet Kaur, the famous Punjabi lass, India lost the one-off Twenty20. Thereafter, India led by Mithali Raj, posted good scores batting first in the 50 over ODIs, but it has not been able to defend it in two consecutive matches. In the second ODI, India made 270 and in the third, 279 and lost them by three wickets each. India had lost the first match by 65 runs. The team played the three ODIs without Smriti Mandhana. Apart from the dismal defeats, the poor form of Harmanpreet has hurt the team from racing to formidable match-winning totals. Known for her big hitting prowess, Harmanpreet has been out for cheap scores of 10, 10 and 13 in the three matches and former India captain and a former member of the Committee of Administrators that ran the BCCI for four years, Diana Edulji told this writer: “Now that India has lost the series, Harmanpreet should be promoted to No 3 (if in the playing XI). And some tough calls have to be taken if India has to make a serious bid for the World Cup. The players who are performing should be in the playing XI. Some players need to be pushed to perform.”
The timing was too convenient for it to be a random decision. The moment the polls were over in Western UP where the Samajwadi Party is more popular, all curbs on poll rallies were gone. A BJP insider concedes that it was planned like this so as not to give any ground to SP, which might have been able to gather big crowds at rallies in its stronghold. It would have been bad optics for the ruling BJP if the opposition was seen displaying its popular appeal while the party struggled to get crowds for its star campaigner in Prime Minister Narendra Modi in eastern UP. The moment the vote got over in the first phase of the UP polls on February 10, the Election Commission convinced itself that Covid was no more a threat and that rallies and road shows were allowed in all the five states going to the polls. The BJP, with sufficient pull in the central and eastern parts of UP to be able to match SP in crowd-pulling rallies, was at it again with rallies and meetings taking over from virtual campaigns starring the PM and the UP CM. The party with the biggest funding for elections was back to dominate the scene with a pliant EC back in its comfort zone backing the ruling forces.
In the corporate world, the phrase ‘All is fair in love and war’ has assumed a new meaning. Well, all is fair if rules are observed is now the touted line and reasoning given to explain away an ethically and morally unjustifiable action. Institutional shareholders voted against a resolution but found themselves unable to vote out the resolution in the face of a steamrolling majority held by the promoters. A classic case was when the resolution relating to the reappointment of the Maran couple — Kalanithi and Kavery — sailed through at the annual general body meeting of the Sun TV Network despite a majority of institutional shareholders voting against it. The Maran couple are the highest paid executives in India. They have taken home close to Rs 1,500 crore by way of managerial remunerations over the last decade. The promoter remuneration is now the subject of intense debate. Is it ethical for promoters to vote on a resolution pertaining to their own compensation? The whole issue has made a mockery of the so-called SEBI-ordained tight governance system. Like the RBI does, can’t corporations be told to make public disclosure of detailed minutes of meetings that clear the compensation paid to promoters? At least that will give the minority shareholders a clue about the logic for the high pay packets.
The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA), with a record 41 Ranji Trophy wins, is loath to give a fitting tribute to one of its most outstanding cricketers Ajit Wadekar and, It is puzzling. Belonging to the pantheon of Mumbai cricketers, Wadekar sported MCA’s lion crest from 1958-59 till the 1974-75 Ranji Trophy seasons, was part of the winning team 11 times, four times as captain and, led India to its maiden Test series win in the West Indies and England in 1971. Wadekar’s missing name is the notable one at MCA’s home ground on D Road in Churchgate. As one enters the Wankhede Stadium through the gates named after Polly Umrigar and Vinoo Mankad, cricket fans have the option to watch a match from the stands named after illustrious cricketers — Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Sachin Tendulkar and a stand named after a former president Vithal Divecha. The home and visiting teams occupy the Vijay Manjrekar Dressing Rooms. A long time MCA and BCCI official Prof Ratnakar Shetty has suggested to an MCA official that the Grand Stand above the pavilion be named after Ajit Wadekar. “His name should be visible to the public,” Shetty tells this writer. An icon like Wadekar should be honoured, remembered properly adds Shetty, whose book My Years in BCCI: ON BOARD Test. Trial. Triumph. will be released soon.
Punjab assembly elections are barely a week away and the Congress is quite aware that its house is not in order, though some last-minute fire-fighting is on. Many party MPs have opted to stay away from the field after their wishes were ignored. Khadoor Sahib MP Jasbir Singh Gill tweeted about AICC in charge Harish Chaudhury as “Thug of Barmer” responsible for the mess. Gill had secured his Lok Sabha seat for the Congress after 43 years in 2019 but the party did not give an assembly ticket to his son Gursant or brother Rajan Gill. Instead, it chose to field sons of Jalandar MP Santokh Chaudhury and Fategarh Sahib MP Amar Singh — both Dalit MPs. The Congress was equally tough on Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari, who as part of G-23, was not included among star campaigners. “We are on a hara kiri in Punjab. Why not use Manish in Punjab, he is after all our MP,” rues an old-timer. PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, one-time star campaigner, shunned by party cadre in Amritsar (East) is relying mainly on wife Navjot Kaur and daughter Rabia to campaign for him. With the CMO out of his reach now, Sidhu has completely turned against CM Channi — he refused to speak at a joint rally where Priyanka Vadra was present.
The Congress is not swayed by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s antics — be it the high-pitched offensive against PM Narendra Modi, raising doubts over the surgical strikes or, even his lashing out at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswas Sarma for comments against Rahul Gandhi. Congress leaders dismiss the KCR outreach to the Gandhi family by way of targeting the BJP. They feel it is probably just KCR’s effort to stay ahead of the game and other political parties even as anti- incumbency hits him hard. After all, he is into the end of his second term and has lost two by-elections–Huzurabad in November 2021 and Dubbak in November 2020. Both the elections were won by BJP. The buzz is KCR has plans to advance assembly election dates, just like he did in 2018 and he has hired poll strategist Prashant Kishor. “From what we know KCR is planning an early assembly poll which is due only in December 2023 like he did in 2018. That time he did not want assemblies coinciding with the Lok Sabha polls,” says a senior Telangana Congress leader. Of late, he has been hitting out at the Modi government as he is keen to move to national politics and hand over the reins to his son KT Rama Rao.
Big budget movie 83 on Kapil Dev led India winning the 1983 World Cup cost Rs 270 crore to make but did not do well. The biopic on MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, made with a budget of Rs 106 crore, did much better. 83 did not connect with today’s audience while Dhoni did. Trade pundits say the subject of 83 was overexposed; an old chapter in the history of India’s cricket and whatever was shown in the film was available on YouTube. Dhoni’s biopic, in that sense, was an untold story so had a huge audience connect. Also what worked in the biopic’s favour is Dhoni’s huge fan following coupled with his participation in the film promotion. Dhoni’s movie had romance, portrayed the journey of a small-town boy becoming captain of the Indian cricket team. It was aspirational. 83 was only about cricket which perhaps put off today’s generation despite Ranveer Singh. People who went to see 83 were in the 40-plus bracket, who are fewer in numbers. Also, it was not a family outing as their children were not keen to see 83. It was also impacted by the Omicron wave. Clearly, Sushant Singh film had a bigger draw than a Ranveer Singh film. Incidentally, not all biopics do well. The one on Mohammad Azharuddin played by Emraan Hashmi bombed.
Did BJP leader Amit Shah decline funds offered for UP elections by AIADMK’s Joint Coordinator, Edappadi K Palaniswami? The same Edappadi’s fundraising efforts were praised during the Karnataka, Bihar polls. Why? Five state elections with Tamil Nadu local body polls has exposed the worst in political expediency – the use and throw model. Strangely, poll campaigning in TN is reverberating over happenings in North India. Jothimani Sennimalai, Congress MP from TN, threw the gauntlet and said, “Dissolve AIADMK, Merge it with BJP”, “AIADMK is BJP’s B team”. The BJP, however, won’t piggyback on the TN party anymore. In TN, under state chief K Annamalai BJP has charted a new course. After the Rajinikant fiasco, Annamalai has been given carte blanche by the high command to create an enabling environment for BJP’s entry into TN on its own although Rahul Gandhi proclaimed that, “BJP can never set foot in TN”. Insiders say, the real action will start after election results of the five States are known. Annamalai, it seems, does not hide his contempt for Edappadi and has even advised Amit Shah to eschew AIADMK funding. The BJP distanced itself from the southern state party by not joining issues with AIADMK on the NEET subject. Edappadi and his flock may now pay a price for kowtowing and their BJP compromise.
Kerala is making news, not because of Shashi Tharoor or Arundhati Roy but the effort the State made to eliminate poverty through progressive measures and improving human quality of life. India’s recent first ever Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) of NITI Aayog has revealed that Kottayam District in Kerala has no poor residents. District Magistrate PK Jayasree of Kottayam said “Kerala has eight more districts Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Kannur, Palakkad, Alappuzha, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta which are below 1% poverty line, efforts are on to make it to the level of 0 % poverty in the next financial year.” The District Magistrate is now introducing ISO standardisation at Kottayam Collectorate followed by other government offices in Kottayam’s District Headquarter. Political observers say, “It is a reflection of the Left Government’s unwavering commitment towards social welfare and initiating updated standardisation which makes it stand out against the rest.” Kerala’s national average of poverty index stands at 25.01%, whereas Kerala, Puducherry and Goa have stable poverty levels, while the worst performers today are UP, MP, Jharkhand and Bihar. NITI Aayog’s MPI index has three quality parameters spread between health, education and standards of living conditions which comprise cooking facilities, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, living conditions, assets and bank accounts. India’s MPI measures use globally accepted robust methodology by the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman Shuts Up Tharoor And Maran, Over Sick MTNL/BSNL And Her Rajya Sabha Nomination
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor to task during a budget discussion. Maran had questioned Nirmala’s absence in the Lok Sabha saying she was not ‘elected’ and, Tharoor condescendingly sought a bail out for BSNL and MTNL ‘even if the UPA Government had mishandled them’. Ticking off Maran, Nirmala said a point being “raised that I am just a nominated Member, and how arrogant can I be? Though he is not here to hear my speech, I would like to correct the fact as I am not a nominated Member. I was elected to Rajya Sabha. I want to add that (even) nominated members are dignified members. If that is hurting, let me ask, why they sat in the cabinet of Dr Manmohan Singh, a Rajya Sabha member (himself)?” Sitaraman then exposed how Maran, as telecom minister, made BSNL and MTNL sick. Even as the FM was listing out how the UPA sickened Indian telecom companies, Tharoor countered, “You have been in power for eight years, why don’t you bail them out?” An upset Sitaraman shot back, “Look at his courage. Come on Shashi Tharoorji. This is not done,” she said and pointed out that her Government had decided on a Rs 69,000 crore revival package for BSNL/ MTNL and also allotted 4G to them.
There is great news for coffee drinkers, bombarded for years by their brothers and sisters on the other side of the coffee-tea divide and, all they heard was about the health benefits of tea, the cup that cheers but not inebriate. The findings from a large research group of 4.70 lakh people over 11 years suggests that coffee could help you live longer. Scientists not only know how many cups per day of beans to cup coffee are best but have also found out that three cups of ground coffee a day is the best. The findings also suggest that decaffeinated coffee gives almost as much benefit while not so in the case of instant coffee. Moderate coffee drinkers who take up to three cups of ground coffee a day are 12% less likely to die too soon and, 17 to 21% less likely to die from heart disease or stroke, according to a study by the Semmelweis University in Budapest and Queen Mary University, London. The benefits are only partly due to caffeine containing antioxidants while other chemicals play a larger role. The focus of the study was on the effect of coffee on cardiovascular health. But higher coffee intake was also found linked to cause cardiovascular mortality. So, do drink up to three cups a day without guilt.
Chennai’s real estate market is abuzz over news that the TVS Group has put its landmark property on Chennai’s Mount Road on the block. This 2.14 lakh square feet property that houses Sundaram Honda Sales, Madras Auto Service and a clutch of family-run companies, is a bespoke landmark, along with Spencer’s, LIC and Higginbothams. Generations have gawked at these imposing car dealerships. It is learnt that real estate biggies from Bengaluru like Purvankara, Brigade, Prestige and Embassy have thrown their hats into the frenzied bidding ring. Sources say Brigade Group has pocketed the deal with a Rs 550 crore offer. Senior VP of Anarock Property Consultants, Sanjay Chugh, says the sale will set the trend for commercial and retail development on Chennai’s arterial Mount Road and its hinterland. The $ 8.5 billion TVS Group quietly restructured the family holdings while putting an end to the holding company practice. Hereon, each of the four families will completely own the businesses they have grown, following the mega sale monetization of the assets. Corporate analysts say the sale of the Mount Road property could be the starting point of many more future deals. It may be noted that TVS Group owns a big chunk of properties in Chennai’s Poonamallee, Tiruchirappalli and Madurai. Cashing in when the going is good seems to be the motto now.
The contentious issue of the hijab is taking a heavy toll on the Congress in Karnataka. The party stands divided. While former CM Siddaramiah is more worried about alienating Muslims, PCC chief DK Shivkumar is devastated and, feels the issue could botch up Congress prospects of returning to power in the 2023 state assemblies. Common citizens are upset with the aggressive pro-hijab campaign being run by the Campus Front of India (CFI), an arm of the Islamist Popular Front of India. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s faux pas, equating “uniform” and “bikini”, hijab and jeans, has pushed Shivkumar into damage control mode and fighting for the uniform in educational institutions. Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray wisely aired his views; saying students must wear uniforms as prescribed in schools and colleges and, keep political controversies out of the centres of education. On the hijab row, PM Narendra Modi finally opened up in the Muslim-dominated Saharanpur, UP. He said people were inventing ‘new ways to block the rights and development of Muslim women’ in India. “When Muslim women started openly supporting the Modi government, (political) opponents got anxious. But we stand with every Muslim woman.” In a tight slap to the CFI, the Supreme Court declined an urgent listing to hear the Special Leave Petition against Karnataka High Court’s orders regarding the hijab petitions.
Thirty-five-year-old Richa Chadha’s latest web series The Great Indian Murder directed Tigmanshu Dhulia has received mixed reviews. But there is no denying that Richa has arrived in Bollywood. Hailing from an academically-oriented family, Richa entered Bollywood in 2008 with a small role in the comedy Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! In the last 13 years she acted in over 27 films and shot to fame for work in the Fukrey series, her supporting role in Gangs of Wasseypur also won her many awards. Unlike other Bollywood stars, this St Stephen College alumni is headstrong and speaks her mind on raging social issues. She is one of few actresses who protested the attack on JNU students. In the recent Karnataka hijab row Richa, who enjoys over 5 lakh followers tweeted: “Raise your sons better! A bunch of ugly, cowards attacking a lone woman in a pack and feeling proud of it? WHAT LOSERS! Shameful. They’ll be jobless, more frustrated and penniless in a few years. What poor upbringing! No sympathy, no redemption for them (sic).” Little wonder she has signed up for films with strong social issues, subjects or characters who are change agents. Recently, she and her fiancé Ali Fazal set up their own production house, Push Button Production.
Captain of the Indian men in blue (50 over cricket), Rohit Sharma has started with a bang winning the first two matches and the series against West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium at Motera, Ahmedabad. While his team won by six wickets and 44 runs, he had to deal with a tricky situation after the Covid-19 infection hit Shikhar Dhawan. Sharma and Dhawan are the second-highest run getting pair (4978 runs till the third ODI on Friday) for India after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. The Delhi left-hander is close to 38 but Sharma believes Dhawan has a lot more steam left to carry on and deliver for India even in the 2023 World Cup to be hosted by India. Sharma revealed after the second match that he was asked (ostensibly by the national selection committee) to try out different things. As a result, mercurial batter Rishabh Pant was asked to open. In the first match another lefty, Ishan Kishan filled up the void caused by Dhawan’s absence. Pant was not allowed to throw his wrists at everything that the West Indies speedsters sent down but, it was a worthwhile experiment. Sharma is keen on a lefty partner right at the top of the order.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently praised Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, citing him as the best example of cooperative federalism which raised hackles of BJP leaders in Odisha. Why did Modi praise Patnaik even as Panchayat elections are just round the corner? The PM knows BJP won’t make a dent in Odisha where Patnaik has delivered on all fronts. Moreover, he is a dependable ally who stood by Modi on issues like NRC, CAA, the GST bill, Triple Talaq, even walked out of Parliament when a no trust vote was moved against Modi and refused to be a part of the Mahagatbandhan alliance. His sole interest is to take Odisha towards progress by focusing on populist programmes, industrialisation and infrastructure development. Patnaik knows crossing swords with the Centre would stop the free flow of funds needed for his multiple programmes. Patnaik’s relationship with Modi is based on the “live and let live premise” without kow-towing and maintaining his independence respectfully. By doing so, Naveen also avoided the potential Damocles’ sword of the CBI inquiry pertaining to the mining scam following Shah Commission report which has remained frozen over the last eight years. Naveen is invincible today but does not challenge Modi’s leadership as he nurses no national ambitions apart from Odisha’s socio-economic development, which suits Modi quite well.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget announcement of 400 new Vande Bharat trains at a time when only two currently ply in India — Delhi-Varanasi and Delhi-Katra — has set the wheels in motion at high speed. Train 18, as it is called, is a semi-high-speed, intercity EMU train with airplane style rotatable seats designed and manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory at Perambur in Chennai. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishwav says a new version series of these trains has been designed and serial production for the rakes is likely to commence by September. With the focus on safety and comfort, including reduced noise and vibration levels, the Indian Railways and its vendors are working hard to meet these new targets. “We have an order for the front end of 35 trains and are now building them,” says Shekhar Sardessai, Executive Vice Chairman & Managing Director of the Goa-based Kineco Ltd. A pioneer of composites for the manufacture of a wide range of products for rail, road, air and space transport vehicles, Kineco is also understood to have bid to create the complete interiors for the first rollout of the trains. The Railways is also considering the use of aluminium over steel for building the coaches, to make the trains lighter and faster, as well as, improving energy efficiency.
The immense popularity of new Hindi serial thriller Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein across Uttar Pradesh has given it a new distinction of being a happening state. The dredged imagery of an unwashed, overly populated, poverty stricken, illiterate and exploited state that sends the maximum lawmakers to Indian Parliament is passe now. Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein has jolted out this stereotype. UP’s consciousness has traversed far ahead with regard to permissiveness, modern lifestyles, wealth and power flaunting, organised and unorganised crime. OTT Hindi serials will hitherto be benchmarked against These Black Black Eyes, the early era filmy hit song belted out by Shah Rukh Khan in Baazigar. Omkara is the fictional name given to the state of violent politics and the mafia, chilling terror and awe-inspiring revenge. Season One (eight episodes) unravels the power and terror that political heavyweight Akhiraj Awasthi (played brilliantly by Saurabh Shukla) holds over his family and, the entire state. No one dares take him on even as he is the very embodiment of evil. His daughter Purva (Aanchal Singh will go places) overtakes daddy dear in all things evil and is driven, possessive, passionate with a Zumba toned body. What mesmerises the viewer is the slick editing, lightning change of moods, dizzy action and the fast pace of the unfolding storyline which is pulpy, and hooks you, line and sinker.
Rohit Sharma delved deep into his own mind and said, “(I) don’t believe in a perfect game. You can’t be perfect,” after India won its 1,000th ODI. Then, he repeated his team’s winning streak in the 1001st ODI against the West Indies cricket team. With the ODI series won, Sharma’s debut as full time ODI captain now offers him more space to play a few variations. “I have been asked to do different things,” he said after his bowlers defended the under-par score of 237 runs in the second ODI. “We want(ed) to try a few things, with the long term in mind,” he added. All IPL heroes will get a chance now, as will battle-hardened veterans. The new Indian cricket mantra: Play with maturity, bat and bowl as the team need demands not, as you desire. India prepares for the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup it will host, come October 2023. Virat’s coming back to form is long pending. His ICC knockout scores: 1 (SF WC2019); 5 (Champions Trophy Final 2017); 1 and 3 (SF and QF WC2015); and 9 (SF WC2011) will surely buck up based on the law of averages. Team India requires the high-performance fix that defined the WC 2011 win, when its batting centurions played like gladiators digging deep into positions and, canny wicket takers complemented by scrappy all-rounders.
What holds a business family together? Just about everything. But, when it entails an extended family, then the task become more daunting. One Chennai-based conglomerate discovered the right formula many summers ago, to navigate the business cycles smoothly while also keeping the assorted wings of the larger family well and truly satisfied. The Murugappa group employs a house-keeping entity that has largely been instrumental in fairly compensating male members of the extended Murugappa family. They may all be differently talented but, when it comes to compensation, each of them (read every male heir) is treated on par. This entity came in handy especially when the group established a Murugappa corporate board and went in for a group branding in the ‘90s. The board members and others in the family were largely paid compensation through this unlisted house-keeping entity. A public limited outfit, this house-keeping firm doesn’t include any family members as directors. It was structured in such a way to avoid action under the MRTPC lens. A little birdie tells us that female heirs in the family aren’t fortunate enough to enjoy identical benefits. That may explain the cause for the open rebellion demonstrated by Valli Arunachalam, whose father MV Murugappan, former executive chairman of Murugappa group, expired a few years ago. This family enterprise makes for a fascinating story, all the same.
Just before elections to 108 municipal bodies in February, Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee has gone all out to empower party seniors. Didi’s decision came after protests over the candidates’ list in the Purba Medinpur district. Conscious of emerging differences between Abhishek Banerjee and senior TMC leaders, Mamta decided to act particularly upset over ongoing sparring between TMC chief whip in the Lok Sabha Kalyan Banerjee and her nephew. She announced that party MPs must consult Sudip Bandopadhyay while party MLAs likewise engage with TMC deputy leader Partha Chatterjee and Bengal unit chief Subrata Bakshi. Placing Sudip in charge of the party’s parliamentary formation is a major divergence considering TMC leader in the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’ Brien’s proximity to Abhishek. A miffed Abhishek slipped out of the TMC meeting as Mamata announced the organisational changes and subsequently joined the meeting via Skype from home. The nephew, credited with getting her re-elected for a third term, has allegedly told his aunt that any attempt to undermine him would weaken the party. Mamata is well aware that young Turk MLAs elected in 2021 pledge their loyalty to Abhishek, who has also clearly been pushing Didi to expand TMC voter base beyond Bengal. So far, TMC efforts to capture the Goa assemblies and Tripura civic bodies have failed to yield success.
The next blockbuster that will dominate the Indian cricket scene is the mega players’ auction for the Indian Premier League, the undisputed World No 1 Twenty20 league. This year’s IPL is set to start March 27 with 10 teams in all; the two additions being Lucknow Supergiants, for which the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) will pay Rs 7090 crore for 10 years and, the Ahmedabad team for which Singapore-based private equity firm Irelia Company Capital Private Ltd (whose parent company is CVC Capital Partners) has committed Rs 5625 crore. While the BCCI will be richer by Rs 12,715 crore, it is yet to announce the venue where IPL15 will be held. IPL’s Governing Council Chairman, Brijesh Patel wants the tourney held again in the Gulf nations of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Muscat as these venues successfully managed IPL-13, second half of the IPL-14 and the ICC World Twenty20. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has said he will try his utmost to bring the league back to India. Now, with Covid-19 numbers dropping by the day, Maharashtra is touted as the single State venue for all the league games. The players’ auction is scheduled at Bengaluru on Saturday and Sunday (February 12-13) and franchises will be told about the venue, hopefully well in time, so they can plan and form their team selection strategy.
As the BJP and the Shiv Sena led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) square off for the BMC elections, the latter has announced an unrealistic high Rs 46,000 crore budget for Mumbai, the city that never sleeps. Ironically, in 2017 then BMC Commissioner Ajoy Mehta announced a mere Rs 25,000 crore outlay for Mumbai city and its suburban region, a Rs 12,000 crore reduction from the preceding year’s budget. When asked, Mehta had stated, “It was done to make spending more realistic. Earlier budget figures were much higher than what was actually spent. The capacity to spend was disproportionate to the allocated funds, even to the extent of our revenues (actually) generated. But the realistic budget from Mehta came a year after the BMC elections were held and the administration could politically afford to become realistic but, with elections for the BMC pie only days away now, not only unrealism but also, surrealism appears to be at play now with the whopping Rs 46,000 crore plan outlay that holds the promise of the sky for Mumbaikars and yet, may only fall short in terms of actual expenditure that takes place. A senior civic administrator told shortpost.in, “A lot of window dressing happens in an election year including double paper entries, due to the accounting format followed by the BMC, to make it look larger than life.”
The Congress may have boxed itself into a corner by declaring Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi as its poll face for Punjab. Many in the party couldn’t but agree with PM Narendra Modi who said in the Lok Sabha “I think you (Congress) have made up your mind not to come to power for the next 100 years”. Channi as the CM face is not the first time the Congress has opted for a non-Jat Sikh. Back in 1972, a Ramgarhia Sikh, Giani Zail Singh was its OBC Chief Minister. Channi became the obvious choice for being a Dalit but, the Congress may weaken its strong bonds with the dominant Jat Sikhs and Hindus as a consequence. The party’s Hindu leader Sunil Jakhar announced his withdrawal from active politics in apparent disgust while, Jat Sikh leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who ended Captain Amarinder Singh’s Congress reign, has not opened his cards yet. Sidhu’s gameplan may now only commence after the polls as he was counting on Rahul Gandhi to opt for a clean image candidate as the CM face. The Gandhis stunned Siddhu and settled for sand mining scam tainted Channi instead. Looks like though the ED raids on Honey (Channi’s nephew) established the money trail, it also cemented Channi’s claim to the CM’s post for the Gandhi family.
All of a sudden, the Chennai corporate landscape is buzzing with action. It is witnessing some significant transformation. Indeed, coming events are casting their shadows before them (read SEBI ruling on splitting the CMD post). For the first time perhaps in its annals, a TVS group company will have a non-family member as chairman. Come April 1, TVS Motor Company will see non-executive director Prof Sir Ralf Dieter Speth becoming its Chairman. Promoter Venu Srinivasan will then be designated as Chairman Emeritus. Several summers ago when the TVS group chose to dilute its majority holding in its then joint venture, TVS Whirlpool, Suresh Krishna voluntarily gave up his position as the Chairman of the joint venture. Well, much water has flown under the bridge since then. Venu Srinivasan’s son, Sudarshan, in the meanwhile, has been inducted into the board of Coromandel International, a Murugappa group company. Sudarshan has joined the board of Coromandel International as an Independent Director. In an equally significant development, Srinivas Acharya, former managing director of Sundaram Home Finance, a subsidiary of Sundaram Finance, is being roped in to join the board of Hindujas’ housing arm. An able hand with enormous experience in the field of housing finance, Acharya can provide the Hinduja housing arm with deeper insights. Indeed, the Chennai corporate world is undergoing a churn
The power of the player lords over cricket. It destroyed the coaching career of Justin Langer right after the team, under his charge, had won the T20 World Cup as well as the Ashes. Pat Cummins’ team won in double quick time and in the third Test, were only a wicket away from imposing another whitewash over England. Cricket Australia was bowing down to player power when it virtually forced Langer to resign. In England, Captain Joe Root kept his job despite the poor Test record but head coach Chris Silverwood, who held sway in all selection matters, got the sack. So too did the director of England men’s cricket, Ashley Giles. The opposite may hold true in Indian cricket when Virat Kohli was forced to throw in the captaincy but, then again, the force behind his ouster was former player Sourav Ganguly, now the influential head of the all too powerful BCCI administration. It may be recalled that Anil Kumble was sacked, on the wishes of the captain and players (just like Langer was), for being too intense with his coaching style. Player power is at an apogee in modern day cricket and signals the complete shift from the old days, when the administration could sack anyone at will. Whether that is good or bad, only time will tell.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Hyderabad, on February 5, to inaugurate the ‘Statue of Equality’ commemorating 11th-century Vaishnavaite Saint Sri Ramanujacharya, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao skipped his airport reception, deputing his Minister Srinivas Yadav to stand-in for him. KCR only emulated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who started the trend a few months back and was copied by Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, more recently. Political analysts say KCR lost out in terms of sheer optics the historic event could generate. So why? Regional parties say Modi single-mindedly seeks to expand the BJP footprint across India. And for this, he goes all out especially, during election campaigning; even name calling political opponents and ridiculing them. Modi’s style was evident even during the West Bengal polls and, during the Delhi assemblies. Few can forget his “Didi O Didi” jibe at Mamta. Additionally, Governors in non-BJP ruled States are prone to political interference and both Didi and Stalin found out the hard way after their legislative bills were kept pending by their respective heads of state. Non BJP CMs in India desperately hold on to the federal structure refusing to be bulldozed by the Centre. The proposal to repatriate IAS and IPS officers from States to the Centre at will that is currently the flashpoint between states and the Centre.
Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a very special bond. In 2013 when Modi was Gujarat’s Chief Minister, Lata Didi invited him to inaugurate a super-speciality hospital built in memory of her father Deenanath Mangeshkar in Pune. During the event, Lata Didi had said: “I pray to God that we see Narendra bhai as PM (someday).” She repeated her wish even before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. In fact, on every Raksha Bandhan day Lata Didi unfailingly sent a Rakhi and her wishes to PM Modi and was anguished when unable to send her sisterly tie of Rakhi due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions in 2020. In June 2019, shortly after Modi’s thumping win in the general elections and second consecutive term as Prime Minister, Lata Didi wrote a letter in Gujarati to Heeraben, Modi’s mother, congratulating her son and and “my brother” for becoming Prime Minister for the second time in a row. The Gujarat Government has now shared this letter. Two years back a recording of Modi’s Maan ki Baat, also featured his conversation with Lata, wishing her on her birthday. In that conversation, Lata praised Modi, saying, “Modiji, you do not know what you are. You are doing so much for India.” Modi recalled that she also told him that her late mother Shevanti too was a Gujarati.
Marriages are made in heaven and, in politics it makes for a certain winning combination. However, this round of States assemblies has witnessed married political couples being given the shaft by both, the BJP and the Congress. UP minister Swati Singh and husband Daya Shankar Singh were both vying for the Sarojini Nagar assembly constituency. The BJP leadership instead fielded Rajeshwar Singh, IPS and former joint director in the Enforcement Directorate from the seat. The Congress in turn, punished a husband for his wife’s rebellion. Former Rae Bareli MLA Aditi Singh quit the party to join the BJP and, discovered her husband Angad Saini, sitting MLA in Punjab denied a Congress ticket. Furious, Aditi Singh alleged harassment by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and said, “Bin baap ki beti ko pareshan kar rahi hai Priyanka Gandhi.” (Priyanka Gandhi is harassing a fatherless daughter). She took a further jibe at Congress’s slogan ‘ladki hun lad sakti hun’, saying “I am a girl and will fight on.” Her husband Angad also alleged that Congress was treating him like “a criminal” for marrying Aditi and, filed his papers as an independent candidate from the Nawanshahr assembly constituency. The only state where couples had their way is Goa where the BJP gave tickets to Vishwajit Rane and wife Divya. The party also accommodated Atanasio Monserratte and his wife Jennifer.
Award winning and yet, controversial filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali has found a new muse in Alia Bhatt, who featured in his latest film Gangubai Kathiawadi, a biographical crime film based on a chapter from Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens Of Mumbai. Bhansali, insiders say, has already decided to cast Alia in his next ambitious project Baiju Bawra, originally planned with Mastani Deepika Padukone in mind. But Bhansali’s erstwhile muse, who saw him as her mentor sought more money, which did not go down well with Bhansali. Deepika essayed key roles in two of his movies Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat but, may be out of the new big banner project even as many wonder whether the two will ever work together again? Alia is definitely a part of his next film though. Of course, Ranveer Singh who also owes it all to Bhansali will most likely play the title role of Baiju Bawra. Bhansali, with over 18 films, follows a pattern of working with his film stars in at least two films. Aishwarya Rai was his all-time favourite while Manisha Koirala acted in 1942: A Love Story and, is back with Heera Mandi. It is quite common for filmmakers to cast their favourite stars in all their movies, David Dhawan-Govinda, Karan Johar-Shah Rukh Khan and, of course, MF Husain whose forever muse was Madhuri Dixit.
Did you know that billionaire banker Uday Kotak fondly remembers the udad ni dal, ring na olo and chokha na dashmi his mother made?A new book brings back a host of recipes used by the mothers of Kotak and half a dozen other big business leaders. These, as well as a couple of dozen other celebrities across films and sports like Aamir Khan, Vidya Balan, Irfan Pathan, Mithali Raj, Mary Kom, and author Amish Tripathi and commentator Harsha Bhogle, share precious family recipes.The ‘food memoir’, as business journalist-turned-author Sudha Menon describes her seventh book Recipes for Life, is a collection of interviews, anecdotes and stories about her subjects growing up with their mother’s food. Menon, who is also an actor and motivational speaker, says she started writing this one after her mother-in-law’s death, with dementia having wiped out her legacy of hundreds of family recipes that she had mastered over decades. “The same heart-breaking situation is replaying with my mother now – she too was a brilliant, passionate cook, but has slowly lost her memory over the last year or so.” The book, she adds, is a documentation of family recipes that come down the generations through word of mouth and “a celebration of the bonds we forge with our mothers and those who cook for us with love”.
Some fresh, fascinating insights into the mind and heart of BCCI’s Selection Think Tank have been laid bare by Harbhajan Singh, the legendary offspinner with 417 Test wickets – and a proud member of the World Cup winning Indian team. “If we were good enough to win the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011, why didn’t we play even a single match together after that? Was that team good enough just to win the World Cup and became kharaab after that?” he questioned in a YouTube show Backstage with Boria. “Were 31-year-old Harbhajan Singh, 30-year-old Yuvraj Singh, 32-year-old Virender Sehwag, 29-year-old Gautam Gambhir who played in 2011, not good enough to play in the World Cup team of 2015? Why were we removed from the team one by one? Why were we treated like a kind of Use and Throw?” There are no easy answers to the Turbanator’s probing questions. So staggering is India’s bench strength that it’s equally tough for the bowlers and batters to be counted in. Take the case of Karun Nair (KL Rahul’s teenage cricketing buddy), the only Indian with a triple ton other than Sehwag. Nair’s unbeaten 303 helped India score a record 759 against touring England in Chennai Test in 2016 and wrap up an innings win to take the series 4-0. He has turned 30 now, not recalled since 2017.
Notwithstanding the arrest of his nephew Bhupendra Singh Honey by the Enforcement Directorate in a sand mining case, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is all set to be reiterated as the Chief Ministerial face of the Congress party on February 6. He apparently aced the opinion poll conducted by his party via phone calls. It is ironic that the Congress, stridently critical of the AAP that picked Bhagwant Singh Mann as its CM face via phone calls, should emulate the rival party’s newfound strategy. It was not immediately clear whether AAP’s method was copied as it is surging ahead in Punjab’s political arena? What did PCC chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who played a crucial role in ousting Captain Amarinder Singh as CM, get for his efforts? Last seen, he visited the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu seeking divine intervention, not to be installed as CM but, for legal relief even as an old road rage case of 1988 in Patiala has caught up with him before the Supreme Court. The family of the deceased person has pursued the matter through a review petition. Meanwhile, in Amritsar (East) the contest will be most watched as Sidhu’s bete noire Bikram Majithia of the Akali Dal has entered the fray to defeat him; a common goal Captain Sahib also shares.
BJD MP Pinaki Mishra gave some anxious moments to the treasury benches by referring to the violent conduct of a tribal Minister/ MP in Mayurbhanj, Odisha in the Lok Sabha. Even as alert BJP members warned Mishra against naming the MP without due notice, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahalad Joshi said the name may be invoked after due process was initiated, meaning, Odisha was free to act on the incident. For his part, the tactful Supreme Court lawyer did not mention the BJP minister’s name but picked up a line from the President’s address to Parliament while narrating how two district officials in Odisha were beaten up. Mishra pointed out how the minister had brutally assaulted district director planning and his assistant during a meeting to discuss MPLAD issues last month. While highlighting the incident, he also showered encomiums on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The Prime Minister is unfailingly courteous; he is unfailingly polite with everybody he meets. I think the Prime Minister must take a very serious view of these things. These things should not be easily countenanced.” The goodwill that Modi enjoys with Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik has reportedly spared the heat on Bishweshwar Tudu, who was inducted as Union Minister of State in July 2021.
Hardik Pandya’s international career is at the crossroads. He has not turned out in a single match, in blue or whites, after the country’s dismal performance against Pakistan and New Zealand in the World Twenty20 in the UAE, after which India played against New Zealand and South Africa. Hardik is not in the ODI or Twenty20 team for the forthcoming series against the West Indies. The BCCI’s national selection committee has every reason to feel they were taken for a ride about his fitness for the World Twenty20. Chairman Chetan Sharma at a press conference had said that Hardik will bowl his quota of four overs in every Super 12 match in the UAE. Hardik did not send down a ball against Pakistan, Scotland and Namibia and bowled two overs each against New Zealand and Afghanistan, conceding 40 runs without a wicket. Recently he said he was “not supposed to bowl” when he bowled against New Zealand at the World Twenty20. Fast tracked into international cricket because of the hitting ability he demonstrated to the then India ‘A’ coach Rahul Dravid in Australia a few years ago, Hardik is unlikely to get the nod from the selectors at any time soon. He has shown the stomach for a fight in the past, but can his weak back mend itself fully? Hardik has to really bend his back to bowl at full tilt?
Leader of opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Edappadi K Palaniswami has found his political voice and enthusiasm to tear into TN Chief Minister MK Stalin over his pan India plan to lead a combined opposition, come 2024 general elections. Stalin wrote to 37 political leaders, including Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi, inviting them to be a part of the All India Federation for Social Justice assuring ‘Everything for Everyone.’ Stalin aimed to bring all leaders on a single platform along with members of civil society and like-minded individuals and organisations towards “achieving the principles of federalism and social justice at the national level.” This has given Palanisami his political voice, lost after his party AIADMK lost the TN assemblies. Says Palanisami “For 10 months, Stalin and ilk only worked on serial flops. Where is TN lacking in social justice? For 17 years, (either) as part of the Congress group looting or, under HD Deve Gowda, then Atal Bihari Vajpayee and finally, Dr Manmohan Singh the DMK enjoyed undiluted power taking the (Karunanidhi) family to mind blogging heights of prosperity.” He added that AIADMK fought for 50% reservations, though Stalin flaunts 27% as his own accomplishment. DMK is known for corruption, commission, and collection, he said. Staging a Social Justice platform and, fishing for all India support, how many of the 37 leaders have even responded? Only time will tell.
Forty-six-year-old Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami is not an incumbent his political opponents would envy. The picturesque state, home to the most revered Hindu Dhams, also suffers an electoral curse. No party has won consecutive terms, with anti-incumbency always playing spoiler. Dhami has been CM for barely six months, though he piloted BJP to victory in 2017. Will 2022 rid the state of the anti-incumbency curse? Yes, says Hyderabad-based psephologist JVC Sreeram. Uttarakhand has 70 seats and the winner must pocket 36. Congress leaders themselves acknowledge that Dhami has blunted the anti-incumbency factor for BJP. Another stark reason is that Harish Rawat, a mass leader of the Congress, was treated shabbily by the Gandhis and; made to change his seat though daughter Anupama was already accommodated. He is not being actively promoted, unlike in the past when ND Tiwari held sway in the state. The entry of AAP, the spoiler, usurping the Bahujan Samaj Party’s popularity has cut into the windfall edge Congress had six months ago. The BJP denied tickets to 23 sitting MLAs and is not worried about a possible revolt factor. According to Sreeram, “If Uttarakhand is lost, and Punjab too, Congress will face an existential crisis.” That’s when the party will implode. Is the G-23 ready for the tailspin?
Tata Power took over four Odisha government-owned power distribution companies in early 2021, confident of turning these around in three years despite pressure from media Moghul and, ruling party MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik over the sought tariff hikes. Patnaik filed objection with the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) over the Tata Power Discoms and Odisha government-owned GRIDCO’s Aggregate Revenue Requirement recommendations to hike power tariffs from the current Rs 296.20 per unit to Rs 385.21, for the financial year 2022-23. The OERC is currently headless after its chairperson and former IAS officer, UN Behera’s tenure ended January 15, 2022. Unless his successor is appointed, the existing quasi-judicial two-member commission is expected to conduct public hearings and pass power tariff orders for the next fiscal. Sources suggest that the OERC members are not in favour of a tariff hike. However, Tata Power’s business plan has worked out a detailed mapping of the high technical loss areas along with the investment required to reduce the same. Sanjay Banga, President of Tata Power says “magic will happen within the three-year time-frame by when, Odisha will emerge as the best performing discom (towering) over rest of India.”
The Tamil Nadu political landscape will wear a different look from now on with staunch allies of the post-Jayalalithaa era – AIADMK and BJP – going it alone. The break did not seem momentous because it occurred just before the urban local body polls but its implications are wide-ranging. The cadres of both parties wanted the split to happen with AIADMK party members wishing to test the theory that they would have done far better had they stood alone in the Assembly polls of April 2021 and the BJP cadre believing that they have greater support in certain urban areas that can be brought out only if they stood independent of AIADMK. An insider suggests that the ties will remain politically but will not stretch to elections anymore. This was the Jaya doctrine by which she chose to steer clear of the national BJP in 2016 despite her friendship with Narendra Modi. Her successors had no way of showing such independence as the party bigwigs needed New Delhi’s support to keep clear of any probes into their finances and the BJP needed all the votes they could garner in the Rajya Sabha where they don’t command a majority. The results of the local body polls this month will show where the AIADMK and the BJP stand in the minds of voters.
Having fulfilled his dream to carve out a separate state, founder of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), now Chief Minister, Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao is keen to don a national political role. KCR, as he is popularly known, seeks to leave Telangana affairs to son KT Rama Rao as his successor, even as he forays into India’s national political domain. He has launched attacks upon the BJP-led government and wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the recent proposal to repatriate IAS and IPS officers from states to the Centre at will. Similarly, he was scathingly critical of the Union Budget for 2022. Then comes news that KCR is pushing for a United Front of regional political parties to checkmate the BJP in the 2024 elections. KCR has launched into a bonhomie drive to woo Chief Ministers including Uddhav Thackeray, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, MK Stalin and Akhilesh Yadav. He has also surprisingly mellowed down towards arch political rival K Jagan Mohan Reddy, CM of Andhra Pradesh. Whether Didi or Kejriwal will give KCR the foothold he seeks in national politics remains to be seen, in the context of 17 Lok Sabha seats from down south that he brings to the united political table? KCR knows his limitations too but is taking a calculated gamble to simply increase his visibility.
Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come, said Victor Hugo a long time ago. I felt likewise. So instead of waiting endlessly for the Covid-19 tide to ebb, I decided to take the plunge and launch www.shortpost.in on January 28, 2021. This website, the first of its kind in the country, focuses only on short ‘Authentic Gossip’. Clearly, content is king more so if it is short & crisp (225 words), as a large section of our society is steadily shifting to digital and mobile space. To achieve this, I was fortunate to muster editorial support of some of the most senior and respected journalists in the country to bring out credible content that involves, stimulates and entertains our highly discerning readers — from across continents. We have so far uploaded close to 1,000 posts covering areas like Business, Politics, Sports, and Entertainment. Yes, today we have crossed an important milestone in our journey – #ShortPostFirstAnniversary — and we are confident many more will follow in keeping with our stated vision – to become a one stop site for authentic gossip. So, what next? With the third wave showing signs of slowing down things can only look better. So as the year rolls by we promise to pack in more punches. Before I sign off I would like to thank our advertiser IDFC FIRST Bank, angel investors Anuradha Verma, Ashish Kakkar and you readers for making this journey possible.
Currently, IPO subscription in India is skewed to favour the leveraged HNI and subject to a very high degree of money power. Come April 1, 2022, this is set to undergo a major change with the RBI directing that no individual can be lent more than Rs 1 crore to apply for shares in an IPO. The immediate ramifications will be huge. Firstly, the number of times the HNI portion is subscribed will fall sharply from the present 100-800 times to maybe 5-10 times. The present grey market premiums which decide the subscription level will no longer exist at these levels as the subscription will not match. The reverse math will not allow such premiums to remain. The pricing of issues will go through a downward pressure as merchant bankers, promoters and PE Investors will no longer have the luxury to depend on leveraged HNI to back them. The standard practice of every issue opening at a premium of 20-30% of the issue price will simply stop. What would the new scenario look like? Probably more subdued and balanced. IPO price band would be realistic and listing gains of 10% would be a great number. HNI subscription being in single digit would be the new norm as SEBI would also have notified the new norms of splitting the HNI bucket into two. For retail investors it is a welcome move.
When NS Raghavan, one of the seven co-founders of Infosys, was inducted as the Chairman of the Chennai-based Murugappa group, it took the entire corporate world by surprise. It was hailed as a path-breaking initiative by a family-owned group. Subsequently, the group set up a Murugappa Corporate Board. The ostensible reason for setting it up was to let the myriad group firms be run professionally. In 2020, the corporate board was dismantled. That has also taken many by surprise. Has the wheel come full circle? Tongues have, in fact, started wagging. Why was the two-decade old group corporate board dismantled after being in existence for two decades? Well, much water appears to have flown under the bridge since its formation many summers ago. The group itself has seen GenNext coming to the fore. Also, the group is under public glare with the daughters of late MV Murugappan alleging discrimination and seeking legal recourse for justice. Though the group comprises four families, there isn’t any complicated cross-holding structure in group firms. If grapevine is to be believed, there seems to be an informal demarcation of business among the varied families within. And, these sources suggest that each of them enjoys operational leeway with little cross-participation of family members in different group boards. Is Murugappa following the TVS model?
In the course of a momentous year we broke the story that the former cricket head honcho N Srinivasan was prepared to give up control over Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) as he had other battles to fight. Soon, his daughter resigned as President citing other commitments and it confirmed our story that Srinivasan had given the TNCA reins to DMK for a quid pro quo. In what is a done deal, it is up to TN Chief Minister MK Stalin to decide who will head TNCA – his son-in-law Sabareesh or the young gun in his party who is already in TNCA. In a battle with the corporate raider Radhakishan Damani, Srinivasan would need the help of the ruling party to ensure it is not a hostile takeover of India Cements. What he needs most is the Chennai Super Kings, the billion-dollar baby he always knew would bring him plenty of trouble in cricket because of a conflict of interests and he would like his daughter Rupa to be the honcho there. What makes India Cements ripe for a corporate raid is the cross-ownership of CSK through a shareholders’ trust. There are complications like some residences of top honchos or parts of them in the Tony Boat Club area in Chennai being in ICL’s name. Will the raider not be interested in the exposure CSK would bring him than cement factories? There are interesting times ahead when this story unravels.
For all the bluff and bluster about rebuffing BJP’s overtures to him Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Jayant Chaudhury is seriously considering the offer. Prior to his Mathura visit, Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached out to Jat leaders from Western UP on January 26. The region will vote in the first phase of assembly elections on February 10. Shah met them in Delhi to explain the futility of the SP-RLD alliance. The alliance, he said, would not help Jayant Chaudhary but allow Azam Khan to rule, a message Jats in the area also concur with. Shah’s overtures to Jayant has unnerved Akhilesh Yadav after he got a number of Muslim candidates contesting on RLD tickets from Muslim dominated areas. This left Jats with little alternative than abandoning their preferred party and shifting their vote as they were wary of Muslims since the 2013 Muzzaffarnagar riots. Shah assured Jat leaders over their demands for reservation and promised a Bharat Ratna for their leader Chaudhary Charan Singh. He emphasised the economic advantages if BJP returns to power in UP, for the completion of the Jewar airport in NCR. Summing up the mood of the Jats, Muzzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan said “Jats will still vote for BJP as they cannot see Akhilesh Yadav as CM. Jats know that BJP respects them.”
An upset Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is on attack mode and, has thrown the gauntlet at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Emerging out of his medically proscribed limitations on offline work, Thackeray was on a signing spree for 10 days with advisor Sitaram Kunte to clear all pending files literally. Parallelly, he launched a broadside against BJP antagonists Narayan Rane and son Nitesh Rane, Amit Satam (one the Tipu Sultan naming controversy) and, Kirit Somaiya (booked for unauthorized photography in the state secretariat). More importantly, Thackeray signaled to BJP that he is the boss by clearing a file allowing the auction of the land in BKC, earmarked by the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis government for the ambitious Bullet Train project. This was followed up by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar demanding an extension of two years for the GST regime in respect of compensation for state governments for deficit revenue collections. Pawar pleaded Covid conditions to justify his demand for extending the tenure of compensation for states by a further two years. The Union Government is unlikely to concede, according to a source in the GST department. He told shortpost.in, that “While the two year extension of compensation for states was accorded by GOI by consensus two years ago, the state governments were found wanting in the implementation of revenue enhancing measures as was mandated by the Central Government. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
In the season of biopics, the latest one taking shape is based on the life of Biscuit King, Rajan Pillai. Bankrolled by Saregama India’s film arm, Yoodle Films, Biscuit King will feature Malayalam super star, Prithviraj Sukumaran, directing and essaying the title role. Rajan Pillai got fame when Nabisco, the US biscuit and cookies maker was bought over by KKR in 1989 in one of the biggest leveraged buyouts for $ 31.4 billion. KKR after the buyout, started asset stripping the company and selling most of Nabisco’s business the world over, barring US. Rajan emerged as the biggest bidder for Nabisco’s Asia business along with his former boss Ross Johnson. After Nabisco’s acquisition came Britannia Industries in India. Rajan Pillai’s emergence at Britannia led to one of the biggest corporate wars between him and industrialist Nusli Wadia. Rajan paid for it with his life, ending up at Tihar Jail and dying a horrible death. Ironically, Rajan who escaped from Singapore was arrested for a crime he never committed in India. Tihar jail officials mercilessly beat him. The question being asked in corporate circles is whether Biscuit King will portray Rajan’s wife Nina Pillai’s version of the saga or Nusli Wadia and Sunil Alagh’s viewpoint. Whichever the version, this movie on the rise, fall and gruesome death of Biscuit King Rajan Pillai will attract huge eyeballs.
Fictitious character names turned household favourites, more popular than their real-life identities, like Tulsi (Smriti Irani – Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi), Mihir (Amar Upadhyay & Ronit Roy — Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi), Parvati Bhabhi (Sakshi Tanwar—Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki) and Jassi (Mona Singh – Jassi Jaisi Kohi Nahin). None of these tele superstars struck it big in Bollywood like Shah Rukh Khan who similarly started his journey with the TV series Circus and Fauji. Another actor who carved a niche in Bollywood was the late Sushant Singh Rajput who shed his Pavitra Rishta image. Smriti Irani leveraged her popularity to launch into Indian politics. Balaji girl Sakshi Tanwar, hosts a cooking show on Epic TV and, will play one of two main leads in Tahira Kashyap’s film Sharmaji Ki Beti. Ronit Roy worked a security services business alongside doing TV serials and, focusses on the OTT sector. Amar, the original Mihir, continues struggling as actor and, after Bob Biswas features in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. Mona, screened in 3 Idiots and, will be seen in Laal Singh Chadda. Arun ‘Ram’ Govil and Dipika ‘Sita’ Chikhlia of Ramayan fame, and Nitin ‘Krishna’ Bhardwaj of Mahabharat fame did not strike big in Bollywood post their memorable roles. Does this mean these TV actors are trapped in their character as the audience are not able to accept them in the distinctly different roles enacted for the film industry’s reel world?
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Big Punch In Small Pack
It is the Third Anniversary of Short Post and as a news media startup launched during the Covid-19 pandemic it certainly feels better than good to find ourselves where we are today. Here, I must cite the unstinted support of our seasoned contributors, all senior editors in the country, who brought a great degree of maturity and sagacity to the Short Post newsroom. But for them, our tagline “Authentic Gossip”, an Oxymoron, would not have matured viably. Our user numbers may be small but our stories have created the desired impact among people who matter — decision makers and influencers. We offer a big punch in a small pack and Short Post with its 225-word stories has been punching above its weight category. Having posted close to 3,000 stories in the last 36 months, Short Post, I feel, is an idea whose time has come.
And this is vindicated by our two marquee advertisers – IDFC FIRST Bank and ICICI Lombard. Both believed in our story and have supported us from Day one. A big thank you to both.
If you look at the media landscape – print, TV and digital — it is a mixed bag. There are job losses as some outfits have closed down while a lucky few were bailed out by large corporate houses. Yes, there is a lot of action in the digital space. However, the entry of corporate houses has raised the question of independence of news media outfits. Sadly, there are just a handful of independent media outfits in the country that are highly respected for their neutrality. At Short Post, our credo is not to take sides, prejudge issues or be biased but, informing readers of behind-the-scenes happenings. In essence, Short Post strives to be a neutral editorial platform — neither anti-establishment nor pro-establishment.
As I said last year, disruptions in the media world are moving at a fast and furious pace. Technology is playing a very big role in how content is generated and consumed. But, we are neither alarmed nor perturbed as it is all a part of the evolution process. What gives us comfort is that AI is unable to create original gossipy content. And that is the news arena where we have achieved a distinction.