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Olympian Wrestler Vinesh Phogat joined the Congress and is all set to contest Haryana assembly elections from Julana seat. Famous for missing the silver medal by 100 gm in the Paris Olympics as she had breached the category in which she entered the contest, Vinesh had received a hero’s welcome as soon as she returned to India. She was given a grand welcome at Delhi airport by the Haryana Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his son, Deepinder. Her name was finalised as soon as she formally became a member. While wrestler Bajrang Punia has been appointed as working president of All India Kisan Congress. Entry of the wrestling icons, who are both Jats, means consolidation of Jat votes behind the Congress. Former CM Hooda is determined to make a comeback with Jat vote power after 10-year BJP rule in Haryana. Phogat termed her political innings as a new chapter and said that she will continue to work for the rights of other athletes. Referring to the ongoing sexual harassment case against former WFI chief and BJP leader Brij Bhushan Singh, she made it clear that only the Congress had understood “our tears”. “I will work for other athletes so that they don’t have to go through what we went through,” Phogat said. “I could have quit wrestling at Jantar Mantar because the BJP’s IT cell was publicising that we were spent forces. They said I did not want to play in the nationals but I did; they said I did not want to do trials, I did that… They said I could not go to the Olympics but I did… Unfortunately, it was not God’s will,” she said.
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s latest allegation against NCP MP Supriya Sule has enraged her supporters. Supriya herself has vehemently refuted the charges and challenged him to produce the evidence to substantiate it. A staunch follower of BJP heavyweights Nitin Gadkari and Devendra Fadnavis, the BJP leader has stunned the state polity with his so-called disclosure. According to Bawankule, she had said, “If Fadnavis comes back to power, we will be nowhere and this will be the last election for Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray.” Different versions of Supriya’s directions to her party’s spokespersons regarding the coming elections are floating around. The general tenor of the reports is that she has indicated to them to go soft on chief minister Eknath Shinde and avoid any statement on Maratha leader Manoj Jarange but zero in on Fadnavis. Referring to these news stories, Bawankule has attacked Supriya while making his allegation. Taking him to task over his remarks, Supriya has challenged Bawankule to produce proof that she had asked her party spokespersons to hit only Fadnavis. “Show me a video making such a statement,” she has said. Fadnavis and Supriya are the two names which are repeatedly making rounds of the political grapevine as the next CM choice. Hence Bawankule’s advocacy of Fadnavis is hardly surprising. Other major parties in the state have so far kept away from this slanging match.
In the backdrop of the Modi government releasing a Rs 100 coin to mark birth centenary of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi on August 18 and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hailing him as “titan” of Indian politics, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has always been anxious to assure his allies in the secular INDIA Bloc that he is not inching close to the BJP. Away in the U.S. since the end of last month along with his wife Durga to pitch for foreign investment in his state, Stalin has been making it a point to enjoy ordinary things like working out at a gym in San Francisco or a bike ride near Lake Michigan in Chicago. His post on X, “Evening’s calm sets the stage for new dreams”, somehow caught the attention of Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi who replied to Stalin’s post with a playful comment, “Brother, when are we cycling together in Chennai?”. Responding to Gandhi, Stalin proposed a leisurely ride to explore the heart of Chennai. “Dear brother @Rahul Gandhi, whenever you’re free, let’s ride and explore the heart of Chennai together! A box of sweets is still pending from my side. After our cycling, let’s enjoy a delicious South Indian lunch with sweets at my home.” Incidentally, Rahul will also be briefly in the U.S. — September 8-10 — to interact with the Indian diaspora as well as key business and academic figures. This will be his first visit to the U.S. since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, after the Congress made significant gains. His visit precedes PM Modi’s planned appearance at the UN General Assembly later in the month. Gandhi will visit Dallas and Washington DC during his time in the U.S.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar’s choice for the next Maharashtra CM will not be Uddhav Thackeray. This sensational claim made by DCM Devendra Fadnavis has further dented the campaign started by the Shiv Sena leader’s followers to project him as the future chief minister. Pawar and state Congress president Nana Patole have publicly negated Uddhav’s demand to declare the name of the next Maha Vikas Aghadi CM in advance. Both have reiterated that a decision in this regard will be taken at an appropriate time. The Sena (UBT) has maintained a stoic silence ever since on this issue, unlike its practice to react to any development, big or small, instantly. Using the opportunity of his interview taken by a private news channel, Fadnavis ridiculed the efforts being made to project Uddhav as the unanimous MVA leader in Maharashtra. Fadnavis did not mention any other name in this connection but left his remark hanging, so that enough suspense pervades the opposition camp. Pawar himself has added to the guessing game. Though he had claimed that his party would not be in the race for the post, he has now added another rider by stating that the party with the largest number of MLAs will stand the chance. Fadnavis rubbed Uddhav the wrong way by remarking that the three-day recent visit of the Sena leader to Delhi had failed to obtain Sonia Gandhi’s backing to his name for chief ministership. Uddhav’s backlash is awaited.
Six decades have gone by since it was incorporated in 1959 as a company with charitable objects under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (now Section 8, Companies Act, 2013). Ostensibly, it was set up with the object to promote the spread of knowledge across assorted areas – such as politics, culture, art, history, sports and the like – and disseminate news to the general public both about Indian and foreign affairs. United News Of India (UNI) is a multilingual news agency. Once upon a time, it was one of the largest news agencies in India with several hundred subscribers across the length and breadth of the country. Today, it is a shadow of its past. Struggling to survive, UNI has now come under the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) resolution process. A process to invite resolution was initiated in August last year. However, based on a decision taken by the Committee of Creditors, a “Round 2” of the entire Resolution Process for inviting EOI (Expression of Interest) for submission of Plans has been now initiated. With just about 175 employees and revenue of less than Rs 7 crore, this once iconic news agency is on the verge of extinction. With the whole media industry going through tough times, UNI is hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel. Will the resolution process throw up a Good Samaritan? Fingers are crossed, indeed.
Amid a series of electoral failures, including a hat-trick of zero wins in major elections, the CPI(M) in Bengal is facing growing internal pressure to reconsider its approach and hire an external political strategist. Alimuddin Street, party’s headquarters, has received feedback that the organization’s current state is “disgraceful” and it must consider “alternatives.” Most political parties – BJP, Cong, TMC, AAP and DMK — have from time to time roped in political strategists/consultants. For instance, the Trinamool Congress’s 2021 victory was largely credited to IPAC, led by Prashant Kishor. Likewise Congress party has benefited from strategic insights provided by Sunil Kanugolu. CPI(M) State Secretary Mohammad Salim stated that though the party cannot afford to hire a professional agency, professionalism must be increased. The party had hoped that its alliance with Congress for the Lok Sabha polls would increase its vote share. Leaders had predicted a three-way contest between Trinamool, BJP, and the Left-Congress combine. However, the reality was a two-way fight between Trinamool and BJP, leaving CPI(M) without a seat, and Congress lost key constituencies like Baharampur, where five-time MP Adhir Chowdhury was defeated by TMC’s Yusuf Pathan. Party insiders have highlighted organizational failures, including an inability to deploy agents in polling stations. Again, in the RG Kar incident relating to rape-murder of doctor, where the CPI(M) youth wing DYFI, led protests in Kolkata, the party failed to mobilize at the district levels. Also, it has alienated women voters in the state by terming the Lakshmi Bhandar scheme as “alms”.
Vishwajeet Kadam, who jolted the MVA alliance in the recent Parliamentary polls, is set to ruffle feathers again in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections. Kadam, who backed Congress rebel Vishal Patil to victory over the MVA’s official Sena nominee, now seems to have the backing of the Congress high command this time too. The message was sent loud and clear when Rahul Gandhi flew down on September 5 to unveil his father –Patangrao Kadam’s statue in the presence of the entire top brass of Congress and even NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar. The prominent positioning of rebel Vishal Patil MP on the dais at the event, between the state Congress and NCP chief — Nana Patole and Jayant Patil — signalled Vishwajeet’s insistence to have things work his way. The high-profile event estimated to cost over Rs 50 crore, with over 1.5 lakh people housed in a Rs 8 crore canopy spread over 20 acres, was also meant to pitch Vishwajeet for the top slot in state politics. The absence of Uddhav Thackeray from the event clearly signalled that the friction between the Congress and Sena, is here to stay. Currently, of the eight legislative assemblies in Sangli, only two are held with Congress. Another two seats are held with the BJP, which is keen to wrest control of the prosperous sugar belt. The Congress, which has sensed victory in Maharashtra, after emerging with the highest tally among MVA partners in the recent LS polls, is in no mood to relent to their coalition partners’ demands. The NCP has been tamed while the recalcitrant Uddhav is being ignored. The Congress which wants to play the big brother could give Vishwajeet a free hand to chart party’s revival in the state.
Raja Randhir Singh may have triggered a fresh debate on whether administrators’ maximum tenure of 12 years is good for developing sport in India. India’s National Sports Development Code (NSDC) 2011 specifies terms, tenures, age, and cooling-off rules for sports federations. A five-time Olympian, several-time Asian Games participant in the Trap and Skeet shooting event, a gold and bronze medal winner has been an administrator for around four decades at the national and international sports bodies and is all set to become the 44th President of the Olympic Council of Asia wef September 8. In recent interactions, the 77-year-old former member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that Yoga will become a medal sport from the 2030 Asian Games, but more significantly, he touched upon an essential aspect of the governance structure and strict rules. He believes more than 12 years is needed for administrators at the sports bodies. While the NSC stipulates a 12-year time restriction for national sports federations, the Justice Lodha Committee report that the Supreme Court has endorsed stipulates a maximum period of nine years together at the State and BCCI and with a cooling off period after six years that was initially three years. Being an experienced hand, Raja Randhir may have a point that will only get full support from the BCCI, but the Apex Council of the country believes that sports federations cannot be a fiefdom for an individual or group of people. The BCCI has been lucky to get relief from the Supreme Court on the cooling-off period restriction, but they may hope for further ease in restrictions. Given a chance, both the BCCI and the sports federations would like the cooling-off period and tenure restrictions, junked!
Now that N Srinivasan-headed India Cements has changed hands, the focus is clearly on what will happen to Chennai Super Kings Ltd. Once a division of India Cements, CSK was spun off into an independent entity following the conflict of interest issue. Post-India Cements sale, the focus obviously has turned to CSK. Where is it heading? Well, Srinivasan and his family have now consolidated their holding in CSK. They have increased their stake in CSK to nearly 42% from just above 28% in March 2023. The promoters now hold 158,016,303 shares. They had 86,726,373 shares in March 2023. The equity share has a face value of Rs 0.10 (ten paise). CSK Ltd. is the owner of the Chennai franchise of the IPL (Indian Premier League) T-20 cricket team. With the player auction for the upcoming IPL season coming up soon, the consolidation of holdings by the Srinivasan family in CSK reflects the commitment and passion of the promoter group to the cause of cricket. Not surprisingly, the board of CSK has decided to elevate K Viswanathan, popularly known as Kasi, a close loyalist of Srinivasan, as the managing director for a three-year term. Well, the context may have changed following the sale of India Cements. Srinivasan and Co, nevertheless, is focussed like a blinkered-horse on furthering the cause of cricket.
Caste dynamics has political formations of India in a tizzy for the imminent Haryana state assembly elections with the BJP set to also launch a new poll strategy to dampen the Congress dream of a clean sweep in the Nuh belt of the state along with others where the minority vote plays a dominant role. The AAP and Congress vowed to fight solo after the zero-voter verdict their alliance evoked in Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha constituencies, then kissed and yet, to make up. While AAP wants 10 seats, Congress is willing to part with only seven. The SP too wants seats to field candidates in Muslim proliferated constituencies. Congress believes minority votes will accrue to itself, particularly in three assembly constituencies in Nuh region dominated Muslim voters. Only former Congress CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda appears worried over his political future. The BJP too, worried over anti-incumbency, wants to buck the political tide and announced 16 OBC candidates, 13 from Jat community with 17 reserved SC seats. Though the OBC community is the majority voter segment in Haryana, Jat community always holds sway over political affairs be it the Lal clan troika (Bansi Lal, Devi Lal) or the Chautala clan among dominant segments of farmer leaders. The BJP elevated another community leader Kiran Choudhary to the Rajya Sabha and will also accommodate her daughter for state assemblies. Similarly, late Jat leader Ajit Singh’s son Jayant Choudhary was inducted into the NDA alliance for the Haryana assembly. The BJP has topped up its poll plans by clearing a slew of farmer packages in the state before the elections were notified in the state to include most of the crops sown in Haryana under the ambit of its MSP protection.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Principal Advisor PK Sinha, who resigned on March 16 citing personal reasons, is tipped to be the next Puducherry Lieutenant-Governor (L-G). The position is lying vacant ever since L-G Kiran Bedi was called back by the Centre because of constant face offs between her and V Narayanasamy, who eventually stepped down as Chief Minister after the Congress government lost majority. Tamilisai Soundararajan, current Governor of Telangana, has been given additional charge of Puducherry. The official announcement is expected to be made after May 2 when the Puducherry assembly election results will be declared. Sinha, who is from 1977 batch, is the only IAS officer to get three extensions as Cabinet Secretary. It is learnt that Modi is keen that Sinha, his trusted advisor, can be a guide and friend sitting in the Raj Bhavan unlike his predecessor’s constant tug-of-war with the Chief Minister. The Madras High Court last year amid widening rift between Bedi and Narayanasamy had ruled that a government is “a trustee for the little man who should not have a perception that the running of the government is a gigantic conspiracy.” It held that the role of Puducherry’s L-G and that of an elected government in the Union Territory were intertwined as per law, and therefore they were expected to act in unison and not in division. Against this backdrop, the BJP insiders point out that Sinha is the best choice.
The much-awaited Glenmark Life Sciences’ initial public offer (IPO) might get bigger. It is reliably learnt that the parent firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is likely to raise around Rs 2,000 crore and they plan to file the prospectus before the SEBI sometime in April or May with a float likely in June 2021. Reportedly, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals had tried to sell minority stake in its API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) business a while ago but due to depressed market conditions those off-market deals never progressed beyond a point. Glenmark Pharma’s CMD Glenn Saldanha has a clear vision of unlocking value of its API business. In keeping up with this vision, the parent firm Glenmark Pharma had transferred its API business to Glenmark Lifesciences in December 2018. Today, Glenmark Lifesciences partners the world’s top 20 generic companies to supply over 130 APIs produced at its five state-of-the-art plants in the country. It has more than 700 customers across 65 countries. All these are visible in the company’s third quarter FY21 topline. It has posted consolidated revenue of Rs 501 crore as against Rs 409 crore previous year, a growth of 22.35%. Given its strong parentage, the retail investors will be keenly waiting for this IPO.
The BJP fights every election — be it Taluka Panchayat or the Lok Sabha election — with a spirit to win and establish its rule. Even though the party’s plan went haywire with superstar Rajinikant bowing out of politics, it has not given up hopes. It is going whole hog with its ally AIADMK and other smaller parties to ensure the AIADMK-led government retains power. Towards this, all their senior leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi are vigorously campaigning in Tamil Nadu. Very much aware that the BJP may not make big gains in Tamil Nadu, it is doing everything within its means to make its presence felt in Dravidian politics. BJP’s strategy received a major push after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Karuppa Palaniswami announced a 10% quota to Vanniyar community from the Most Backward Class category. This move was to checkmate DMK which enjoys sizable support. What is interesting is that the Vanniyar community has a strong presence in at least 40 of the total 234 seats where it can really change the political equations. Further, PMK, which had garnered 5.36% vote share in the 2016 elections, and has been demanding a quota for the Vanniyar community, is the AIADMK-BJP alliance partner. This quota politics has also raked up an issue of caste-based census. Looks like the BJP is spreading its wings in yet another southern state by riding piggyback on AIADMK.
Prakash Adhav, 54, received copious accolades from the England captain, Jos Buttler, and the Man of the Series, Jonathan Bairstow, for preparing three pitches that delivered 1,892 runs in six ODI innings at the MCA international Stadium at Gahunje, Pune. Indian captain, Virat Kohli, also had good words to say about the pitch after winning the series 2-1 on Sunday, March 28. Adhav is the West Zone representative in the BCCI Elite Panel of curators. He is a BSC Agriculture from the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, and he has been maintaining flowers and landscaping at the Cricket Club of India for over 20 years now. “Prakash is a good curator,” said Prof Ratnakar Shetty, former GM, Game Development of BCCI. Adhav, with assistance from local curator, Ramesh Borde and the MCA ground staff, scarified the pitches, kept 6-mm grass, watered it, and used the medium and heavy roller straight, diagonally and cross-wise to prepare a batting beauty. The match officials were delighted and so also the England coach, Chris Silverwood, who appreciated his work and said: “It’s a good pitch for ODIs.” Adhav was a neutral and additional curator before being inducted into the BCCI elite panel.
Remember childlike, seductive and that infectious smile of Dev Anand with that small gap in his upper left denture that sent women swooning. What became a selling point was actually a bone of contention between Dev Saheb and his director. Well, it’s a ‘painful’ story. Dev Anand got the first break in the movie because of his smile. Baburao Pai, producer of Prabhat Films part of the Pune-based Prabhat Studio (founded by the likes of VG Damle and V Shantaram was), was mesmerized by Dev’s smile and signed him to play a hero’s role. But, when the shooting began director PL Santoshi (father of Rajkumar Santoshi) and the cameraman did not like the gap in Dev’s teeth. It ‘looked odd’, they both felt, in close-up shots. So, it was suggested Dev put cotton buds and fill the gap. After few days of shooting the gum got infected and Dev Saheb could not bear the pain and he complained. Giving to hero’s complaints, the cotton buds were removed and it was status quo ante. The smile took him more than a mile. No wonder he was called the Evergreen Hero till he passed away in 2011 at the age of 88 in London.
By not denying his meeting with NCP Supremo Sharad Pawar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the de facto chief of BJP, has yet again dropped hints that it has not given up on “Operation Lotus’’ in Maharashtra. At the same time, he has created suspicion among Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners about Pawar’s next move. Shah knows that by holding parleys with Pawar, it will make Opposition parties think twice of forming a front under Pawar’s leadership to take on Modi. Political analysts say the idea is to sow the seeds of suspicion that Pawar cannot be trusted. Shah’s timing seems to be perfect. Currently, there is a mistrust between the three MVA partners — Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress — after the Ambani bomb scare conspiracy came to light. This incident has opened the Pandora’s Box with Maratha strongman trying to defend Home Minister Anil Deshmukh over the Rs 100 crore hafta charges levelled against Deshmukh by the former Police Commissioner, Parambir Singh. On another front, the Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis who has rocked the MVA government with his explosive expose is now getting ready to fire more salvos ahead of the BMC elections slated for 2022. BJP has launched MissionMumbai 2022 with a resolve to elect its own party mayor and thereby end Shiv Sena’s dream run. Here it is toying with the idea of entering into an alliance with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena so as to steal Sena’s Marathi Manoos plank and wrest BMC. But, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray seems to be leaving no stones unturned to ensure that BMC, the country’s richest municipal body stays in Sena’s fold.
The stock market is booming with the Sensex currently hovering around 50,000-mark. At this level the market capitalisation works out to around $2.7 trillion. It may be recalled that at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 the Sensex had crashed to 25,638 points. So did the market cap to $1.3 trillion, its lowest since March 2016. Now, there are visible signs that the economy is picking up if one looks at the performance of the sectors like auto, infrastructure, healthcare, IT and FMCG. A number of brokerage houses seem to be bullish; some are predicting that Sensex will touch the 100,000-mark by 2025. Such a bullish outlook is unleashing a buying frenzy among investors. The herd mentality is evident. Nearly 6.3 million demat accounts were added during April-September 2020 to take the total demat accounts to 2.13 crore. Work from home saw people investing in both primary and secondary markets. Thirty companies have already raised around Rs 31,000 crore via IPO in FY-21. But, post-listing, are they all doing well? Not really, says The Hindu Business Line report. “India’s IPO market boom, which began exactly a year ago in March 2020, with the SBI Cards offer, is showing signs of fatigue. Every second stock that posted gains on debut in the last one year has slipped.” So, the opportunity to make a quick kill post listing is clearly waning. Now, some of the fly-by-night operators are recommending below par or penny stocks. With the second wave of pandemic hitting the country, it would be advisable for investors to ignore the conventional market adage “Buy the rumour, sell the news.”
The Indian Express annual list IE 100: The List Of Most Powerful Indians in 2021 is out. There are no surprises in terms of Top 10. Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds on to his #1 position, so does Home Minister Amit Shah at #2 followed by RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat at #3. Bhagwat was ranked #4 in 2019, and this slot has been occupied by the BJP President JP Nadda this year. Reliance CMD Mukesh Ambani holds on to his #5 rank while Adani Group Chairman Gautam has pole-vaulted from 28th position to #10. As always, every year there are new entrants. This year there are five names from the healthcare sector as this sector had to do fire-fighting to manage Covid-19. There are 59 politicians, 17 businessmen, 9 bureaucrats who find a place in the survey. Surprisingly, there are no film stars, spiritual guru or sports personalities save for Virat Kohli. So this brings to fore what was the methodology or criteria used to select these powerful Indians? The prefatory note is silent on that front.
Bollywood camp seems to be divided over some of the winners of the 67th National Film Awards for 2019. Kangana Ranaut, who bagged the National Award for Best Actor for Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, and Panga, is being compared to Priyanka Chopra’s performance in The Sky Is Pink. Similarly, some veteran critics are comparing Sushant Singh Rajput starrer Chhichhore that won the coveted award with their own choices: Section 375, Art 15, Batla House and Uri: The Surgical Strike. The Jury could have selected from one of these four films, the seasoned critics hold, suspecting that the awards are being given to score political brownie points. All awards, be it national or independent ones, attract such endless criticism. This brings to mind the story told to the undersigned by the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner Manoj Kumar aka Mr Bharat. His movie Upkar (1967) was a runaway hit. Mr Bharat got a call from a babu in New Delhi to attend the National Films Awards function at Vigyan Bhavan as his film Upkar was the winner. When the announcement was made, he found much to his dismay that a south Indian film had bagged the award and his film got the Award for the Second-Best Feature Film. Seeing a visibly irritated Manoj Kumar, the babu, in question, quickly whispered into his ears: “Sir, please understand the politics of balancing!” After reluctantly collecting the medal, Manoj Kumar quietly walked out, went to the refugee camp in Delhi where he had grown up (after Partition 1947), and threw the medal into a nullah.
The Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) international stadium, beneath the Ghoradeshwar Hill at Gahunje village in the outskirts of Pune, hosted three high-scoring ODI matches between India and the 2019 ICC World Cup winner England on March 23, 26, and 28. Some of the biggest hitters like Ben Stokes, Jonathan Bairstow, Jason Roy, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, featured in these matches. But the Covid-19 restrictions imposed by the State Government, prevented the spectators from thronging one of the modern venues in India. The MCA officials were disappointed that the local faithful could not be present for the high-profile matches, culminating into the 50th match. The MCA has hosted 38 IPL matches, much of it featuring the Sahara-owned Pune Warriors, Sanjeev Goenka-owned Rising Pune Supergiant, CSK and Kings XI Punjab. The MCA has also hosted seven ODIs, three Twenty20 internationals and two Test matches. After the new stadium was constructed by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the MCA hosted the first Twenty20 match between India and England in December 2012. The MCA Secretary, Riyaz Bagban said: “With paying spectators the revenue from gate receipts would have been Rs 15 crore for three matches, but the MCA has earned around Rs 10 crore by way of in-stadia advertising.”
With technocrat and builder of some of India’s iconic public infrastructure projects, E Sreedharan joining the BJP, the Kerala voters finally have an “optimistic third option.” The state assembly elections have traditionally been marked by a two-horse race to power – and the rotation of power between the LDF and the UDF over the past couple of decades. Two scenarios are available for the voters: BJP backed by the Christian leadership, Church and voters, could get the 72-seat simple majority to form the government (140 seats). The state observers hold that Sreedharan’s clean image, the likelihood of political autonomy that he may command, and a “strategic” election manifesto should nudge the average Kerala voter to back the BJP and allies. In the second scenario, contrary to opinion polls now favouring the Left, the Congress can form the government, mainly backed by allies IUML, SDPI and Welfare Party. However, it will be a plain replay of the past 20-year administration. Though the Anna-Kitex group backed 20:20 party could win the entire eight contested seats, it prefers to sit independent in the opposition and continue with its well-received public welfare goals. For some analysts, with this assembly polls, the NDA and the 20:20 party may get positioned as formidable options in the next 10-15 years in a radically transformed Kerala.
Not many would have bet on the Men in Blue after the humiliating rout they suffered in the first Test at Adelaide (Dec 17-19, 2020), scoring 36, their lowest total ever. Even on the final day of the last Test at the Gabba (Jan 15-19, 2021), they were given 1% chance. India ended Australia’s 33-year dominance at the Gabbatoir with Shubhman Gill hitting a mesmerising 91 and Rishabh Pant an audacious 89 to chase down the target of 328 with 18 balls left in the match. Wisden Cricket’s Editor-In-Chief Phil Walker notes: “Seasoned and sober judges are saying it’s perhaps the finest series win away from home by any side ever.” Cricket analyst Robert Craddock wrote in the Daily Telegraph: “Australia got their best squad to throw their best punch – and they got knocked cold.” The incredible turnaround story for the team (that lost all four tosses, their power-hitting captain, and several frontline players through injury) was scripted by the fiery energy of the debutants and the steely spine of the young guns batting at lower order. The same debutant spirit was unleashed after the thrashing England inflicted in the first Test at Chennai. India managed to defend its fortress, securing 13th consecutive Test Series win. The 3-1 series victory over England seals India’s berth in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final, where they will face New Zealand, the team of “scrappers that scraps for win.” Hopefully, India will soon find answers – as Saurav Ganguly (president of the BCCI) and Rahul Dravid (in charge of the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru) sharpen focus on training young talents like Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, and Shubman Gill, among others.
Film stars are in great demand during election time. It is a star parade in West Bengal; some are fighting elections, some canvassing for the TMC or the BJP. Ditto: Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Stars are magnets, drawing the huge crowds. But once elected, are they able to serve their constituencies? A simple analysis shows that 90% of the reel stars fail to play the role of political leaders in the real world. Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra won elections with convincing margins but eventually retreated after failing to make an impact. However, there are a few who successfully occupied centre stage: MGR and Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu; and NTR in Andhra Pradesh had a splendid journey to the top. Vinod Khanna is remembered for being the only Bollywood star to win Lok Sabha polls four times – he won from Gurdaspur in Punjab on the BJP ticket; he also served as a minister. Among the living legends, Dream Girl Hema Malini who was first nominated to the Rajya Sabha won both 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. So did singer Babul Supriyo. Raj Babbar has been active since 1989, having changed three parties. He won the Lok Sabha seat thrice and was also once nominated for the Rajya Sabha. Backed by the Samajwadi Party, Jaya Bachchan is also making her presence felt at the Upper House. Bihari babu Shatrughan Sinha, who won two terms and became a minister, is acknowledged for his fiery debate. Jaya Prada, Khushbu, Manoj Tiwari and Ravi Kishan continue to hog the limelight. In the south, Rajinikanth’s much anticipated political debut didn’t materialise – but Kamal Haasan has taken the plunge.
V-Guard Industries’ Founder Chairman and philanthropist Kochouseph Chittilappilly, in a no holds barred chat with Kerala’s popular Food Vlogger Mrinal Das Vengalat, dropped a bombshell that Yusuff Ali, CMD of the multi-continent Lulu Group, may not be the richest Malayalee of Kerala origin, despite a net worth of $4.8 billion! Chittilappilly, a self-made billionaire, said the combined personal net worth of the UDF and the LDF politicians, who ruled Kerala by “default turns” over the last 20 plus years, could surpass that of Lulu’s Ali. If one were to extrapolate Chittilappilly’s observation to the entire country, then the combined net worth of politicians could well be over billions of dollars, surpassing that of combined networth of top 10 industrialists. The money-spinning arithmetic of politicians only gets eye popping every year, especially in the light of the letter written by the recently transferred Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh. In his letter, he alleged that the Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh had asked the arrested Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze to collect Rs 100 crore every month. And the maths that was allegedly given was: “There are 1,750 bars and restaurants in Mumbai. If you collect Rs 3 lakh on an average that works out to Rs 50 crore. As for the balance amount, there are other avenues.” Is India a land of “mega bucks” for the renegades?
Can an embarrassed and troubled Uddhav Thackeray ask his Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to resign after former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh’s allegation that Deshmukh had asked his officers to extort Rs 100 crore per month for him? Given the tradition in Maharashtra’s coalition government, the Chief Minister is helpless unless the alliance partner NCP agrees to let him go. In this case, it is the NCP which must decide. Had it been a Congress minister, it would have been entirely that party’s call. Should Pawar decide to nominate him for another ministry from those allocated to the NCP, Uddhav would have to allow that. Had it been a Sena minister, Uddhav needn’t ask anyone at all. Technically, it is the CM, who heads the cabinet, but the team members are decided by each partner. When Chhagan Bhujbal was the Deputy Chief Minister to Sushilkumar Shinde, they both got along like a house on fire. But Pawar asked Bhujbal to resign when it was alleged that his supporters had violently attacked a TV station’s offices in 2003. He was replaced by Vijaysinh Mohite Patil while Shinde just had to grin (which he literally does as a habit) and bear it. If Uddhav goes against the delicate alliance arrangement, a serious crisis in the coalition could arise.
Star Sports Kannada is going places! Thanks to its policy of promoting sports, and in particular cricket across the country and among the Indian diaspora scattered all over the world, Star Sports has been able to capture the niche audience in different languages, notably, Bengali, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. This is apart from the two main language broadcasts in English and Hindi. The ongoing England tour is being broadcast in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. For the Kannada language, the broadcaster has a pool of commentators in Gundappa Viswanath, Venkatesh Prasad, Bharath Chipli, Srinivasa Murthy. B Akhil, GK Anil Kumar and Vijay Bharadwaj. Venkatesh Prasad was a skilful operator of the new and old ball, having outsmarted many a top batsman in the world. He says, “Kannada commentary is more like a cricket conversation between friends. We bring the nuances of the game from different perspectives in a simple colloquial language and with very minimal bookish words. It is casual, it is fun and highly informative, meant for viewers aged from 8 to 80. Kannada commentary is Nimminda haagu nimmagagi.”
Like the Texas ranger J.J. McQuade in the Hollywood thriller Lone Wolf McQuade, this 60-year old Parliamentarian NK Premchand too likes to work alone. He is the one-man army who has made his presence felt in the Lok Sabha. A four-time MP from the Kollam district of Kerala, he is the Central Secretariat Member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party. Whether it is debate or raising questions, he is in the forefront. According to PRS.Org, between June 2014 and February 2019, Premchand asked 471 questions (national average: 293), participated in over 300 debates (national average: 67), and had attendance record of 87% compared to the national average of 80%. He introduced a private member bill overturning Sabarimala verdict and it was the first private bill introduced in the 17th Lok Sabha. Everybody from the prime minister to speaker to MPs acknowledge his dedication and commitment. And nothing misses his sight. He raised the question about a Supreme Court-appointed panel issuing an advertisement in a leading newspaper inviting comments on new farm laws. It was “unfortunate” that the Apex Court was encroaching upon the domain of Parliament, he said. If the panel can seek comments on the new laws, “then what is Parliament meant for”. Quite.
Born into an aristocratic family, Himanshu Roy is one of the leading pioneers of the Indian cinema. Bombay Talkies studio, which produced a number of hits and launched several stars, was his brainchild. It was set up in 1934 along with his actress wife Devika Rani. The other partner was Shashdhar Mukherji who roped in his brother-in-law Ashok Kumar Ganguly as a technician. According to a knowledgeable source, Roy in a fit of rage threw the leading hero out of the movie as he suspected him of having an affair with his wife Devika. Now, the whole studio was in a fix as the movie was going on the floor. A desperate hunt began for a new hero and everybody’s eyes fell on Ashok Kumar and he was cast as a hero opposite Devika Rani. Now rose another tricky situation. Since Mukherji was controlling the whole project there was an issue as to how he would address Ashok Kumar who was his wife’s elder brother. His nickname was Moni so Mukherji like a good Bengali added the prefix Dada to Moni and started calling him “Dada Moni”. The rest is history.
Trouble, they say, never comes alone. At least that is what West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may be discovering much to her dismay. Many famous personalities who helped build Trinamool Congress from scratch and were part of her inner circle are quitting the party. Respected and seasoned politicians like Dinesh Trivedi, Adhikari brothers, Rajib Banerjee and film personalities are attributing their quitting to Didi’s temperament; as they are not able to put up with her angry outbursts, insults and uncharitable remarks. Add to this, the phenomenal rise of her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who is rubbing senior party leaders the wrong way. The exodus continues and the latest news wafting from the Writer’s Building, according to reliable sources, is that the current Finance, Commerce & Industries Minister Dr Amit Mitra may relinquish his office after the assembly elections. It is learnt that Dr Mitra is keen to spend more time with family and focus on his health. It may be recalled that Dr Mitra was the familiar face in Delhi when he served as the Secretary General of the FICCI. Born in an illustrious family, economist Dr Mitra joined the All India Trinamool Congress in 2011 and defeated the then Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta belonging to the CPM. Incidentally, Dr Mitra is part of the ministers and MLAs who have been denied party tickets for the current Assembly elections.
Shishir Hattangadi, a successful opening batsman for Bombay from 1981 to 1992, cracked brave front foot drives off good Australian speedsters Craig McDermott and Bruce Reid and scored 63 in a rare skirmish against international class bowlers at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium, Gwalior in September 1986. He was unlucky not to have played for India with 3,722 runs from 60 first-class matches and with 10 hundreds and 21 fifties. A keen student of the game, Hattangadi, who can be likened to a Bhadralok being born in Kolkata, and also familiar with khem cho world of Gujarat, is perhaps the first first-class player-turned-CEO of the Baroda Cricket Association. He was Director, Cricket with Deccan Chargers and Mumbai Indians. “A lot of it is common even as CEO. It’s policy making, HR and P&L. It’s also creating a strategy to build the Baroda brand. Now you are learning a lot other than cricket. I talk to the coaches and captains of different teams. It’s given me the learning of adaptability. The challenging part is adapting to the elected members,” said Hattangadi, who cut his teeth in the game at St Mary’s School and RA Podar College, Mumbai.
Showman Subhash Ghai, who was the guest of honour at The Indian Idol Show, revealed an interesting story about Jackie Shroff. Ghai was looking for a fresh face for his movie Hero and Jackie Shroff came to meet him with his portfolio. Ghai asked him three questions: Can you sing? Can you dance? Can you act? And Jackie Shroff said NO to all the three questions. Then why have you come to meet me, asked Ghai. Jackie said his friends forced him! Impressed by his innocent honesty, Ghai said: “You are selected to play the hero’s role opposite Meenakshi Seshdari in the movie Hero. Jackie was stunned. After profusely thanking Ghai as he was walking out of the cabin retraced his step and said: “Sir I will tell you one thing truthfully. I have played a role in Dev Anand’s movie in which there is a goonda Shakti Kapoor who has an assistant goonda and I am assistant to assistant goonda. Now, you are casting me as a hero, Sir Aap Fas Jaogey.” Ghai was moved by the hero’s honesty. Even today after tasting phenomenal success Jackie is the most grounded star, says Ghai with a touch of pride. The 64-year old star who has become synonymous with the word Bhidu is also fondly called “Jaggu Dada”.
That’s the billion-rupee question. The late actor Sushant Singh Rajput continues to trend for nine months now. On March 17, the Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who is in the eye of the storm, was trending on Twitter via #IamwithAnilDeshmukh. A few months ago, it was the Mumbai Police Commissioner who was subsequently transferred. The question everybody is asking: Does Deshmukh have the charisma or mass following like his boss Sharad Pawar, the NCP Supremo? Earlier, when the Founder-Editor of Republic TV was arrested by the Mumbai Police he was trending at #1. It was a natural public sympathy; even the Supreme Court made scathing remarks on the illegal arrest. Sure, he had a strong platform to tell his story. Similarly, starlet Rhea Chakraborty was trending both ways; for one group she was a villain whereas for the other group she was a victim. Suddenly you see #CBI Expose Jiah Khan Killers trending. Jiah died in 2013. The last time the whole country, sans social media, came together was during The Emergency in the mid-70s. Likewise, the Anna Hazare movement over corruption became a national movement. So, this trending business raises lots of questions. Who decides the trending patterns and ranking? In whose interest it is to keep issues alive? Is it a perception game? Does judiciary take cognizance of social media numbers?
After the fourth scrap against England on March 18 at the NaMo stadium in Ahmedabad, Suryakumar Yadav talked about butterflies — in the stomach of course. All this after going after England fast bowlers, Jofra Archer and Mark Wood in his first outing with the bat. He had dumped Archer over the square leg picket of the first ball he faced, and former England captain Michael Atherton likened the shot to West Indian Gordon Greenidge like; rocking on his right leg to play the horizontal bat shot. Atherton’s colleague in The Times, UK, Simon Wilde, described the first ball pull shot as Calypso-like. Yadav is 30, has played for Mumbai in the BCCI tournaments for 12 years. After the early promise, he appeared to have lost focus, but suddenly his adrenaline soared to positive levels, seen as he was in thundering form in IPL Season-2018 (512 runs), IPL-2019 (424 runs) and IPL-2020 (480 runs). He was picked in the India Twenty20 squad based on the runs he amassed in the IPL and he was in cracking form in his first hit in the national colours. “The passion for the game has kept me going. I knew my chance would come. And when it came, I grabbed it with both hands,” said Yadav.
In 1984, the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi saw the Congress party win 411 seats out of 542 with her son Rajiv Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister. It was a sympathy wave. A similar situation arose when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated while campaigning during the 1991 elections. In areas where polls were held before the assassination, the Congress fared badly. It was a vote against non-performance. Post Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the Congress did well due to the sympathy wave but could not muster enough seats and had to form a minority government led by PV Narasimha Rao. So this brings to the fore whether West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who met with an accident in Nandigram constituency will romp home on a sympathy wave? Will her campaigning on a wheel-chair optics make the various scams, misrule a non-issue and catapult her party TMC into the winning zone. It may be recalled Chirag Paswan did not gain much from his father Ram Vilas Paswan’s demise but YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, more than benefited when his father and Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash. Likewise, one must see what happens in Tamil Nadu with the demise of two icons — M Karunanidhi of DMK and J Jayalalithaa of AIADMK. Will it be sympathy or performance that will tilt the scale? It is worth mentioning that the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi got two terms on sheer performance indices and so did AAP in Delhi, led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Looks like the electorates have wizened up and optics do not matter.
It is no more signing amount or territory sharing in Bollywood. According to the industry insiders, the top 13 actors today not only charge a fee but also get a share in profits of their films. Thus, by the new model, Aamir Khan earns around Rs 100-300 crore per film. It is also learnt that he takes profits only after the producer has earned his money from the film. Salman Khan earns about Rs 100-150 crore per film; he has been making double of what he earns from a film from the reality show Bigg Boss. Akshay Kumar either co-produces a film or takes an outright price of Rs 90-135 crore for a film. Interestingly, Shah Rukh Khan — the superstar who scored a record number of blockbusters in the 90s — charges Rs 75 crore plus profits per film. Hrithik Roshan charges in the range of Rs 75-100 crore per film plus profits. The actor was offered Rs 100 crore for the web series Night Manager which is yet to go on floors. Ranbir Kapoor earns about Rs 60-75 crore for a film. Ajay Devgn produces most of his films but if he is involved as an actor, he takes Rs 50 crore. In the past, Ajay, Salman, Big B, Jeetendra opted for certain territories. Amitabh took Bombay Circuit, Jeetendra CP Circuit. The newcomers are no different; they have swung into the game by charging fees plus profits. Thus, Ranveer Singh earns about Rs 20-30 crore which includes profits; Shahid Kapoor Rs 35-50 crore plus profits. Tiger Shroff earns Rs 18-20 crore per film. New sensation Kartik Aaryan’s seems to be moving in the big league amazingly fast, having already hit the Rs 15-20 crore mark.
Unlike yesteryear’s stars today’s stars are business-like. They put the money where their mouth is. Alia Bhatt who has turned producer for the movie Darlings will charge Rs 15 crore for her lead role. So, besides acting fees, she will make big numbers if the movie does well at the box-office. Ditto: Deepika Padukone who is a joint producer of 83, a sports drama film that focuses on India’s 1983 World Cup win by Kapil Dev. Directed by Kabir Khan, she plays the role of Kapil Dev’s wife Romi. Deepika, who has already signed on with a couple of big banners, is the highest paid star in the industry, commanding a price of Rs 21 crore, according to the industry insiders. Kangana Ranaut, who has four films in the pipeline, reportedly commands around Rs 11-12 crore per film. Besides, there are four stars who fall in the Rs 7-crore bracket. They are: Shraddha Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. Shraddha Kapoor has Naagin and Luv Ranjan film. Katrina Kaif who has signed Phone Booth launched her own beauty line. Kareena and Anushka consciously signed less films as they were in the family way but managed to keep their cash registers ringing with series of brand endorsements. And the ‘desi girl’, Priyanka Chopra Jonas today commands around Rs 6 crore.
A top class left arm spinner who bagged 109 Test and ODI wickets from 1976 to 1993, Diana Edulji is glad that the Women In Blue are in action in a white-ball series against South Africa at Lucknow. She retired from Western Railway five years ago but has been the torch bearer for women’s cricket right through after bidding adieu to the game. She was the only female member of the Supreme Court appointed Committee of Administrators to oversee the BCCI functioning and she went out of her way to improve the women’s lot. They get almost all benefits now, including an annual contract and enhanced match fee etc. After India’s 1-3 loss, with one more ODI match to go, she wondered why Jhulan Goswami did not play the fourth match (March 14). “Jhulan was taking wickets and her absence was a big blow to the Indian team. The South African team has improved a lot. Our bowling has not clicked at all. We cannot go into a match with one seamer. But I am glad they have started playing international cricket as a preparation for next year’s ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand. They had not played for 15 months,” said Diana.
As Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is busy in settling scores with his political rival and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu, the Andhra Pradesh government is heading for a debt trap. The CM is busy in spending on welfare schemes and social security cover. But what is worrying is the high level of borrowings. Amid Covid-19 stress and downturn, Andhra Pradesh’s borrowings in 2020-21 is estimated at a whopping 142% — a cause of concern for the state’s ruling YSR Congress party government. What has also increased the state government’s worry is the high fiscal deficit, which is put at Rs 68,536 crore, while the revenue deficit crossed Rs 48,809 crore in December 2020. Clearly, the economists and experts say the situation is alarming as they predict a fiscal emergency in the state. It is a crucial time for YSR whether he continues to neglect fiscal impropriety or adhere to fiscal prudence to save the state from a major financial crisis.
Sachin Tendulkar, aka, master blaster of the Indian team has been somewhat subdued in the preliminary rounds of the Unacademy Road Safety World Series Twenty20 for retired cricketers at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in Raipur. Opening the India Legends innings with the Prince of Najafgarh, Virender Sehwag, Sachin struck form against Bangladesh Legends and West Indies Legends, but in these matches Sehwag was in swashbuckling form scoring 80 off 35 balls against Bangladesh and 74 off 57 balls against the West Indies. According to Debashish Dutta, an itinerant cricket correspondent for Bengali Daily Aajkaal, and who is manager of the India Legends, the competition has been stiff and most of the legends are in great nick. He is hoping for Tendulkar to get into the battering ram mood soon. The Legends team of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies, England, Australia, and South Africa have been locking horns in the Chhattisgarh capital. The final is scheduled for March 21. “We are following all bio-secure restrictions at the Mayfair Lake Resort and at the match venue and follow the ICC guidelines. The Australian Kookaburra balls, each costing Rs 15,000 is used,” said Dutta before boarding the team bus with Tendulkar.
One more book on Pakistan’s first woman prime minister Benazir Bhutto hit the book shelves sometimes back. The Bhutto Dynasty, authored by Owen Bennett-Jones, while tracing the turbulent history of the Bhutto dynasty, also reveals about her views on corruption. “Politicians everywhere, the former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto argued, made money. The difference was that while Western politicians did so after they left office, their counterparts in the developing world did not have that option. The U.S. journalist Ron Suskind once put it to her that his high-level sources in the U.S. government had told him that she was making ‘real money’. There was no denial. Rather she said, “Let me explain how it works. In your part of the world Dick Cheney is vice president and then he goes to Haliburton to make his money. In this part of the world, you make your money whilst you are in office. It is not that different.”
The Covid-19 vaccination drive is gathering momentum across India. But the Centre’s decision to cap the vaccine price at Rs 250 at the private hospitals has increased worries of Serum India Institute which has a large inventory of Covishield vaccine. The company is expected to take a big hit in its balance sheet. This has been a serious issue for debate within SII. Cyrus Poonawalla, Chairman of Poonawalla Group, which includes SII, holds that SII should focus on its traditional business of production of the immunobiologicals, which were imported into India at high prices, instead of ramping up of Covishield vaccine which is priced way below their expectations. Poonawalla Senior belongs to the generation that continues to believe in the Old is Gold strategy. Moreover, the Centre is yet to issue guidelines for its exports. However, Poonawalla’s son and SII CEO Adar Poonawalla believes that despite a temporary hit in the balance sheet, the company can still offset the losses once the exports are allowed. He is the CEO of Industry 5.0 generation and wants to chart his path that will be followed by others. So, father and son are now engaged in brainstorming. We will have to wait to see whose strategy finally pays off.
Sandeep Patil, the ’81 Adelaide Hero when he thrashed Dennis Lillee, Len Pascoe and Rodney Hogg to make 174, and the 83 World Cup star, has been busy these days with the canvas, brush and acrylic.. After completing his stint as Chairman of the BCCI selection committee in 2016, Patil, now 64, chose to reside with wife Deepa at their Lavasa Villa and learn to play the guitar. Says the crowd puller of the 1980s and 1990s: “I like to play tunes, from Mackenna’s Gold, Godfather, James Bond films, Clint Eastwood and also Hindi songs, sab, sab, sab.” And he also got back to painting. “I am in a very happy stage of my life now. The Covid-19 gave me the chance to go back to my old hobby. I have drawn 200 paintings on 11x 16 inches canvas with acrylic. I draw on all subjects, but I need a reference. It’s a brilliant hobby. The advantage in acrylic is you make a mistake, and it can be corrected. I have used water colours also. I am an amateur and I am enjoying it,” revealed Patil who has been a player, captain, coach, selector and what not. Patil’s paintings have been applauded by his 1983 World Cup teammates in the Whatsapp Group ‘For Ever Champs’ created by Sunil Gavaskar.
In recent times one has been noticing Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray formally dressed like an office-goer – trousers and tucked-in full-sleeved shirts instead of his traditional kurta-pyjama. Last December he mandated that all the State government employees should refrain from wearing T-shirts, jeans and slippers to work. He is leading from the front. Most politicians are well dressed. The immediate name that comes to mind is that of the Congress leader Shivraj Patil who held important positions in the Union government. He was known for his sartorial taste. At times he used to change his dress several times a day. Likewise, Sonia Gandhi is always elegantly dressed in a well-draped cotton saree. Rajiv Gandhi’s kurta-pyjama was accompanied with Gucci shoes, Rolex watch and Cartier sunglass. Politicians started becoming dress conscious because of two reasons. One, both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha TV channels were telecasting live the daily proceedings. Two, the entry of youngsters, including film stars. I recall BJP leader Pramod Mahajan saying: “Even when disrupting parliament our voters like us to look good!” Narayan Rane as Maharashtra’s chief minister always preferred an odd two-button jacket but never a full suit. Many like Sharad Pawar preferred white trousers and half-sleeved bush shirts. Gopinath Munde preferred kurta-pyjama and a Nehru jacket but never wore trousers. The bandhgala was the favourite of two chief ministers in Maharashtra: Sudhakarrao Naik and his uncle VP Naik.
Ravichandran Ashwin completed the 400 plus wicket mark in the recently concluded four Test series against England. A back-related issue kept him out of the fourth Test against Australia at the ‘Gabba’, Brisbane. But he played all four Tests against England and his 32-wicket haul at a modicum average of 14.72 in the series took his overall tally to 409 in 78 Tests. This is a whistling distance away from Harbhajan Singh’s 417 from 103 Tests, Kapil Dev’s 434 (131 Tests) and Anil Kumble’s 619 (132 Tests). Ishant Sharma has 303 scalps from 101 Tests and Zaheer Khan 311 from 92 matches. The easily excitable off-spinner from Chennai has evolved over the last decade, dismissing 84 openers (1/2), 42 Number #3 or one drop batsmen, 37 #4, 34 #5 and 49 #7 for a grand tally of 246, which says that he’s been successful against proper batsmen. The lower order numbers are: 28 (#7), 28 (#8), 36 (#9), 31 (#10) and 40 (#11, or last man, or tailender) for a total of 163. He averages 5.77 per batting position. His strike rate is 52.60 and he has conceded so far at 2.82 runs an over, which is the lowest among the 300 wicket plus wicket takers for India in Test. Howzat!
The OTT Entertainment industry doesn’t know what hit them. First came the Allahabad High Court’s massive observations on the streaming of Tandav – seen by many as an indictment of the rapidly growing, unregulated platform. Next followed the remarks of the venerable Supreme Court’s bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy that concluded that the new guidelines governing social media (SM) and OTT (over the top) platforms have ‘no teeth’. Swiftly pouncing at the SC-sent opportunity, Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar promised that the government would soon issue guidelines for the regulation of OTT platforms. Replying at the floor of the Rajya Sabha, the soft-spoken minister said that the new guidelines would address the issues of sensitive content, adding that a lot of suggestions on the regulation of OTTs have been received. The new development comes as a sharp contrast to the Minister’s earlier espousal of Self-Regulation for the industry. While meeting the OTT honchos, he tried dispelling misrepresentations around the digital media guidelines, assuring that the self-regulatory bodies would not have any member appointed by the government. Well, the fiery tussle between the key protagonists – including the FoE advocates – is far from over. What’s urgently needed is clarity in guidelines to draw more investments in the sector with about 40 OTT platforms.
As you drive from SEEPZ to L&T complex in Mumbai’s Andheri east, you cannot miss on your left a huge film studio complex – Kamalistan — named after Pakeezah fame writer-director-producer Kamaal Amrohi. He was also the husband of Meena Kumari, the tragedy queen of Bollywood. Hailing from eastern UP’s Amroha, he landed in Mumbai to seek his fortune as a writer. As is known nobody entertained him. One day he managed to enter the office of the great film maker of Minerva Movietone fame Sohrab Modi. As he broke into conversation, Modi who was busy reading a script, did not even look at him and said “I am busy, I cannot meet anybody.” Then as he lifted his head he saw this lean thin man in Achkan, a topi with a walking-stick. Seeing his physical appearance, Modi broke into a loud laugh. Quick-thinking Kamaal cashed in on the situation and said, “I am not a person to be seen; I am to be heard.” Modi sat down, heard what he had to narrate. His command over Urdu writing skills landed him a job with Modi and he quickly became a famous writer and director.
The world’s largest cricketing stadium opened to a deluge of media headlines. And also, to one of the globe’s wealthiest: Lakshmi N Mittal, Chairman & CEO of the $53.3-billion ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel and mining company. Mittal was spotted at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad along with BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, and Congress Leader Rajiv Shukla, enjoying the fourth test match between India and England. According to the Gujarat government’s official version, Mittal visited the Statue Of Unity at Kevadia, less than 200 kms from Ahmedabad. But the corporate observers are attributing the timing of the visit to more than that. They are connecting dots. It may be mentioned that during the same time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Kevadia to address the concluding session of the annual conference of top officers of India’s Armed Forces. It is speculated that Mittal met Modi and Chief Minister Vijay Rupani before the PM’s address and after that watched the cricket match.
Once bitten twice shy. After a poor show in the Bihar elections and being publicly insulted by the RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav for spoiling the alliance prospects as Cong could win only 19 seats against 70 contested, the Congress party seems to have gone soft in its seat-sharing talks with the DMK Supremo MK Stalin in Tamil Nadu. Against its original demand for 54 seats, the Congress has quietly settled for 25 legislative seats. And for the by-elections, the party is pleased to get the Kanyakumari Lok Sabha seat. It is learnt that Rahul Gandhi does not mind playing second fiddle as his only objective is to counter the BJP-AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. Rahul, who has visited Tamil Nadu twice in recent times, enjoys a good equation with Stalin who is very confident of the DMK-Congress win this time. Even poll-strategist Prashant Kishor is talking of DMK winning. What makes the fight interesting is the BJP’s Hindutva appeal while in Tamil Nadu it has always been the Dravidian plank for all parties. Fearing backlash, it is learnt that the BJP’s alliance partner AIADMK has advised it not to push the Hindutva agenda. Rahul is likely to campaign extensively in Tamil Nadu, sharing dais with Stalin and address crucial joint meetings. For Rahul, the idea of playing second fiddle is also to revive Congress in Tamil Nadu. Will his bet pay off? Only time will tell.
Virat Kohli’s team could do well to spend some time with Yajurvindra Singh in order to pick up hard, but useful lessons on leg-trap fielding and catching. Also, known as ‘Sunny’, Yajurvindra belonged to the royal family of Bilkha in Junagadh, and he played for Saurashtra and Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy. In the corporate world, he worked for Mahindra & Mahindra, Wisden India and Tata Consultancy Services. But Yajurvindra’s claim to global fame happened on his Test debut against England at Bengaluru. Positioned in the leg trap (forward and backward short leg) he snapped up seven catches (5 in the first innings and 2 in the second innings) and created a world record in January 1977. The leg trap came into the picture in the recent series against Australia and England and most fielders were found wanting. Yajurvindra who watched both the series said: “What is happening is both the players who are standing in the trap, they don’t regularly field there. Even at silly point. If you have not fielded there right through your career, suddenly you cannot develop skills that are required to field there. Remember it’s a scary position. One can get hit on the head and killed there instantly.”
Just when Rhea Chakraborty thought the nightmare was behind her and that she could focus on her acting career comes the news that her name figures in the Narcotics Control Bureau chargesheet linked to the Sushant Singh Rajput case. Trouble, they say, never comes alone. Earlier, she found to her dismay that her name was missing from the credit list of the mystery thriller Chehre directed by Rumi Jaffery. Yet, this 28-year-old starlet did not lose hope. She, according to sources, flew to Hyderabad to meet a producer and almost bagged the film. One does not know if Jaffrey will ever revive the film he had planned with Rhea and Sushant. But some film makers have decided to give her a second chance. However, those who know her say that Rhea is treading cautiously; not signing films till there is clarity in her case. Nikhil Dwivedi has already announced that he is open to working with her. People from Bollywood are asking why she shouldn’t get a second chance when Sanjay Dutt has got more than three chances. In fact, she recently met Salman Khan’s former talent manager Reshma Shetty who helped Salman resurrect his career after two big court cases. Looks like Rhea is working towards a gameplan!
One of the weakest points of the current NDA government at the Centre has been the lack of leaders who could communicate the economic policies and decisions of the government in the right perspective and that too effectively. The untimely demise of two BJP stalwarts Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj depleted this capability further. While the other side of the story may be that you don’t need anybody else to do this when you have such a strong orator in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nevertheless, the need was felt to find ways to improve government communication, and the report of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on government communication, which is the talk of the town currently, has captured the wide gamut of issues. Several journalists, industry leaders and ideologues participated in the GoM’s deliberations. The Opposition parties have labelled the exercise as another effort to control media while the government obviously is portraying this as an exercise to help find the ways to deal with intentional negative narrative and make the policy messages reach people in the right way. An interesting point to ponder here is whether the industry leaders and journalists would do better by being critical of the government policies or by becoming a tool in the hands of the government in promoting the policies — a job that should primarily rest with the government spokespersons.
Harmanpreet Kaur is all set to play her 100th one-day international at Lucknow’s Bharat Ratna Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana International Stadium on March 7. The match will be against the Rainbow Nation, South Africa. The pandemic has delayed this memorable milestone in her ODI career that began in Bowral in a Women’s World Cup match against Pakistan in March 7, 2009. The 31-year old girl from Punjab will become the 44th woman cricketer in the world and the fifth Indian — the others being Mithali Raj (209 matches), Jhulan Goswami (182), Anjum Chopra (127) and Anjali Sharma (119) — to achieve this feat. While Harmanpreet is excited about the important event in her career, Head Coach of the Indian Women’s team W V Raman told shortpost.in: “It’s a momentous occasion for any cricketer. It is also a milestone or reward for all the hard work and performances over a period of time. The thing about Harman is that she has been an impact player who has played some blinders in major tournaments. Like Sehwag did, she redefined batting in the Indian women’s circuit with her ability to dominate attacks. As a captain she has been great with the girls with whom she shares her experiences. All her positivity has made the other girls fearless. She is a top person to have in any team.”
With election fever rising, poll strategist Prashant Kishor seems to be the man of the moment. Already three major political parties -– Trinamool in West Bengal, DMK in Tamil Nadu, and Congress in Punjab have signed him up. Looks like political parties woo him before they woo the voters. This is the first time Kishor has three states on his worktable. And he has already given his verdict: DMK led by MK Stalin would return to power in TN and Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal. More. He has dared to stick his neck out by saying BJP would not cross 100 seats in W Bengal. So one has to wait till May 2 for the final result. But in the past he has had a good strike rate. He shot into the limelight by ensuring Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat for the third time. Post that he worked closely with the BJP for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. His string of success includes the unprecedented victory of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi for the second time; the YCR Congress win in Andhra Pradesh, and Nitin Kumar’s JDU in Bihar. But, he miserably failed his client –the Congress in Uttar Pradesh’s Assembly poll in 2017. It won only 7 seats against BJP’s 300 plus. Be that as it may, the Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has accorded him a cabinet rank. A lot is indeed riding on him. The moot point is with such diverse clients does it make him ideologically neutral or is he nursing a political ambition? It may be recalled he did take a political plunge when he joined the JDU in Bihar but it proved to be a short-lived honeymoon.
Like Alice In Wonderland, the Tamil Nadu politics seems to be getting curiouser and curiouser. It all started with Superstar Rajnikant throwing in the towel thereby dashing BJP’s hopes of making significant impact in the upcoming Assembly polls. For MK Stalin of DMK, this announcement was music to ears. But the news of VK Sasikala or ‘Chinamma’, confidante of the late J Jayalalithaa, former Chief Minister, saw both the ruling party AIADMK and the DMK pull a long face. She came out of Bangalore jail after serving four-year term, and entered the fray .So much so, Chinamma was prevented by the very people who prostrated before her from going anywhere near Jayalalithaa’s Samadhi at Marina Beach. At the same time, to keep her in good humour mediators have been holding talks with her nephew TTV Dinakaran to work out a possible merger of his party AMMK with the AIADMK so that they can fight the common enemy DMK. But in a new political twist, Chinamma dropped a bomb, announcing to stay away from politics. The DMK and the Congress spokespersons on the TV channels are saying she must have been pressurized by the BJP! Apparently, local BJP leaders have welcomed the move. In the fast changing political contours, is it advantage AIADMK? Does DMK stand a better chance minus Chinamma? And where does Kamal Hasaan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam figure?
In the mid-eighties and early nineties, the Indian promoters literally made hay in the absence of a market regulator, according to the Mumbai-based brokerage firm Altina Securities. The modus operandi was simple: raise money via private placement. To illustrate, if Company X had a post-issue capital of Rs 100 lakh, the break-up was: promoters Rs 40 lakh and public Rs 60 lakh. Many promoters – just before the IPO – privately placed nearly 75% of their holdings. Thus, Post IPO, the Rs 100 lakh equity base would be: Promoters Rs10 lakh, Private Placement Rs 30 lakh & Public Rs 60 lakh. There have been instances where the fly-by-night promoters received kickbacks for the project. This effectively reduced their skin in the game. Little wonder many companies which resorted to this route have vanished, leaving the small investors high and dry. Some of the vanishing companies are: Bonanza Pharma, Atash Industries, Amrut Industries, UCL Plastics, Rasik Plast, Indiana Diary. Senthur Shoes, Printed Circuit Board, Alsa Marine and Premier Housing.
It appears that no death — be it that of Mahatma Gandhi, John F Kennedy, John Lennon or Lady Diana — has been as hysterically covered that too non-stop for over 100 days by the Indian media as that of Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput who died under mysterious circumstance on June 14, 2020. The CBI has been on the job but their findings are yet to be made public. The glimmer of hope came in December 2020 when the CBI, in response to a letter written by the BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Dr Subramanian Swamy to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “The CBI is conducting investigation in a thorough and professional manner using latest scientific techniques. During investigation, all aspects are being looked at and no aspect has been ruled out as on date,” Dr Swamy was informed. Meanwhile, the diehard fans of Sushant are keeping the issue alive by posting relentlessly on Twitter: it was trending at #7 with 129,000 tweets on 3 March 2021.
Popularly known as “Murgers”, the Dubai-based Brian Murgatroyd has been with the touring England side from the second Test in Chennai. The 53-year-old British national has been with cricket boards of Australia and England as media officer of their respective teams. He has also served the International Cricket Council for a number of years. “This is my second stint with the England cricket team. I think the final Test of the India-England series in Ahmedabad is the 199th I have attended in a working capacity in 31 years,” said Murgatroyd who, when in Mumbai, likes to have a good fill of Sitafal ice cream (Custard Apple) at Rustomji’s on Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate. Murgatroyd has been a broadcaster, writer and media manager of England and also Australia in the era of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. He has also written six books. “It’s been a wonderful experience, making friends in the sport that have endured and given me memories that will last for the rest of my life.” For the BCCI and Indian cricket teams, the media work is being carried out efficiently by Moulin Parikh and Anand Subramanian.
Post retirement there is a tendency among most bureaucrats to pen a book of their years in the government job. The latest to join the writers’ hall of fame is Shakti Sinha, an IAS officer who served as private secretary to the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His book Vajpayee: The Years That Changed India provides an insider’s account of Vajpayee days as prime minister. He says whenever there were any crisis or controversies, Vajpayee never blamed the Opposition. People do not know how difficult it was for him to form a government in 1998 and run it. Vajpayee held the post of the prime minister for three non-consecutive terms in 1996, 1998-99, and from 1999-2004. Despite numerous political difficulties, he took important decisions like going nuclear and, paradoxically, extending a hand of friendship to Pakistan. The book highlights how resolutely Vajpayee defended India when the Kargil war broke out. And yet how his government was denied a second term.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi receiving his first dose of vaccine, not only the inoculation drive against Covid-19 — but also the nation’s recovery prospects got a fresh shot in the arm. The investors now foresee acceleration in the drive to subdue the virus – which should free up all critical sectors. Moody’s has revised India’s GDP projections for FY22 upwards to 13.7% (from 10.8% estimated earlier) while the IMF has projected 11.5% (up from 8.8%). Despite Covid-19 stress, the GST collections for past five consecutive months have exceeded over Rs 1 lakh crore – including Rs 1.13 lakh crore in Feb 2021, up 7% versus Feb 2020. The state-wise GST growth is led by big states – Gujarat (up 14%), Tamil Nadu 9%, Maharashtra 2%, and Karnataka 2%. The recovery is attributed to a resilient farm economy as well as an impressive manufacturing performance with the Purchasing Managers’ Index hitting 57.5% in Feb. With vaccination drive in full swing, the services sector and the MSMEs should also bounce back. Meanwhile, the Central and the state governments should focus on reforms and relief on four fronts: 1) Employment generation; 2) an empowered antitrust watchdog to track corporate dominance in key businesses, including farming; 3) better industrial relations amid Kolar violence (at Apple iPhone plant); and 4) better outcomes from the Bad Bank (with the creditors identifying corporate loans of over Rs 1.45 lakh crore).
Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari does not hide his frustration with obstructionist bureaucrats. He is vocal and open about it. From time to time, he has been using various fora to drive home his point. He is furious at the slow pace with which the files move from the desk of a director-level officer to a joint secretary, additional secretary and secretary. He has warned the bureaucrats that “dead assets in government, who neither take decisions nor allow others to work, would be shown the door.” But, bureaucrats on their part seem indifferent to his threat and insult. Result, Gadkari seems to have given up on them. At a web-based event, he threw his hands up and said: “After my six years’ experience I have found that in this system people won’t change. I am coming to the conclusion that it is very difficult to change them. I have given up on these people.” And now, a few months back while speaking at the inauguration of the eight-floor NHAI building, Gadkari said: “The project was decided in 2008. Twelve years, two governments and eight NHAI chairmen came and went before this building could be completed. I am ashamed.” So how do we bring accountability and responsibility among bureaucrats? If a minister cannot fix this problem who can? Can the judiciary (saddled with lakhs of pending cases) play a role here? There are more questions than answers.
The Khushboo Gujarat Ki campaign run by the Gujarat Tourism since 2010 has been very effective, giving a massive boost to the number of in-bound tourists. But our Short Post Team discovered a shocking case of tourist alienation – with two Mumbai-based businessmen confiding in about a horrendous experience. It was a different khushboo when they drove down to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan from Mumbai. On return, their car bearing Maharashtra number plate was stopped by the Gujarat police at four different checkpoints. And from the word go it was mindless harassment and heaps of insult. At the first check-post, they were questioned whether they carried drugs, guns or alcohol and then asked to turn their bags upside down. At the second check-post they were asked why they did not cover the top portion of the headlights with yellow scotch tape? At the third check-post, they were fined for not wearing their mask properly inside their car. But, their real nightmare began at the fourth check-post. The cops once again rummaged through their bag and separated an empty liquor bottle. Immediately, they shouted with glee “Milee Gayo”, “Milee Gayo” (got it). Their reactions shocked these two businessmen. The cops forced one of them to sit in the driver’s seat and clicked pictures with an empty bottle on his lap. Then, they were told that now an FIR would be filed; and that they would have to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh or else they would be jailed. Physically and mentally exhausted because of this senseless extortion the businessmen decided to loosen their purse strings and after which they were allowed to go.
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.