In a surprise pick the BJP-led NDA announced Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the Vice-Presidential election to be held next month. He would be the second leader from Tamil Nadu after President R Venkataraman to preside over the Rajya Sabha as its chairman. His elevation would be significant as it would come on the eve of Tamil Nadu assembly elections next year.  Radhakrishnan belongs to the dominant Gounder community just as AIADMK chief Edapadi K Palaniswami and former TN BJP chief K Annamalai. The candidate choice could pose a problem for the DMK which has 29 Lok Sabha MPs and 10 Rajya Sabha MPs. It surely can’t be seen voting against a Tamil candidate and may have to back the NDA choice. After all, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had voted for President Droupadi Murmu in 2022 because she was the first tribal candidate for presidency even though she was NDA’s choice. Radhakrishan’s announcement was made at the end of the BJP parliamentary board meeting, which was attended by top party leaders, including PM Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah. Radhakrishnan’s choice for the high office is interesting as it comes a year after he was sworn in as Maharashtra Governor on July 31, 2024. Before serving as Maharashtra Governor, he served as the Governor of Jharkhand for nearly one and a half years. Born on October 20, 1957, in Tiruppur in TN, the Maharashtra Governor has been a member of the RSS and served as the State Executive Committee Member of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1974.

The BJP has zeroed in on the rightly suitable candidate to serve India’s next Vice Presidentship, scheduled meeting of NDA allies for consensus come Monday. Erstwhile V-P Jagdeep Dhankhar’s bitter experience ensures Modi won’t repeat same mistake, leading to selection of a hardcore BJP loyalist this time round, just like President Draupadi Murmu’s candidature for the Indian Presidency was finalized. Gujarat governor Acharya Devvrat was called to New Delhi on August 16 highlighting his name as the most likely choice of PM Modi. However, Lt Governors of Delhi – Vinai Kumar Saxena – Jammu & Kashmir – Manoj Sinha – also find serious consideration, according to BJP sources. Devvrat held governorship since 2019 in his current post, also served as Arya Samaj Pracharak and principal of Gurukul in Haryana till 2015, before his first appointment as governor of Himachal Pradesh, de facto Chancellor of Universities in the state and then in 2019, in Gujarat as well. Saxena was appointed Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor in 2022 becoming the first corporate sector honcho appointed to the gubernatorial post. His three decades of corporate experience include chair of Khadi & Village Industries Commission between 2015 and 2022. Lt Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Manoj Sinha, is in zone of consideration for elevation considering his able tenure in erstwhile terror infested state unbundled into Union territories alongside repeal of article 370 from the forehead state of India. While the next V-P being a hardcore BJP loyalist is near certainty, PM Modi is known to keep his cards close to his chest.

PM Narendra Modi, RSS Pracharak himself, commemorated the organization’s centenary year during his Independence Day speech from Red Fort even as 80-year-old former RSS Pracharak Prakash Pathak returned the freedom fighter certificate issued in June 2025 in disgust over rampant corruption in Maharashtra. The certificate signed by CM Devendra Fadnavis was given to him for 18 months imprisonment during the “Emergency”. Pathak had eschewed celibacy, become householder, participated in public life as elected municipal councillor in Latur municipal council and then corporation. When BJP assumed power in 2014, Fadnavis installed as CM, he thought justice would be done with the corrupt booked for pillaging Latur’s public funds. Associated with ABVP, he repeatedly cited Latur’s goings to Fadnavis through 50 communications and last year brought to notice non-recovery of Rs 350 crore from errant contractors, civic officials. Says he, “Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office forwarded my communication seeking SIT to probe gross irregularities to Maharashtra CM who ignores repeatedly reiterated state government auditors’ reports.” Last year Pathak threatened self-immolation just like a ABVP woman student did in Orissa just recently. Says Pathak, “I returned the certificate issued to me in June 2025 bearing the signature of CM Fadnavis. I am not broken by the failure of the executive and legislature as the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court on August 1 admitted my PIL proving that one pillar of democracy is still alive and kicking.” Justices Manish Pitale and YG Khobragade of HC’s Aurangabad bench directed Pathak to deposit Rs 5 lakh by September 2, 2025, to register the PIL.

The National Sports Governance Bill (NSGB) 2025 has not yet set the cat among the pigeons, but it will, once the supreme National Sports Board (NSB) is put in place by the Central government. Seasoned sports administrators fear that the NSB can play hell with the majority of the national sports federations and individuals. Former Olympian and seasoned administrator (Athletics) Adille Sumariwalla though feels that the age (up to 75) and tenure (three terms of four years each for the top three office bearers (president, secretary and treasurer) with a four-year cooling off after 12 years is a step in the right direction as this will help Indians get elected to World bodies and campaign for international events. Time will tell how the NSB functions, but cricket (BCCI) and its members — governed by the Supreme Court-endorsed Constitution as recommended by Justice Lodha — will need clarity on the amendments its AGM can consider. The BCCI and its members’ Apex Council is set at nine, with two nominees from the ICA and one from the CGI. The NSGB has capped a national federation’s Executive Committee to 15 — with a minimum of four women representatives, and this is where the first of teething problems can start because of the structure of the BCCI, its member units and how its Apex Council is elected. Newbie cricket administrators also point to the eligibility criteria to contest for the top three posts at the national and member units. The present bye-laws allow for a first-generation administrator to contest for the office bearers post, the NSGB appears to block it. A lot of clarity is needed for the BCCI and its member units and other federations, too.

It is now clear why Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was more keen on street protests than keeping his appointment with the Election Commission of India on August 11 to discuss Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar. In its communication to the Congress leader, the EC had said it cannot host more than 30 people. The Congress was asked to send a list of Opposition leaders who would like to interact with the EC. Jairam Ramesh had even confirmed the appointment and EC officials were waiting for details to make arrangements to receive them. However, now one hears Rahul suddenly changed his mind and decided that the Opposition must go en masse, demonstrate its street power rather than go for a sombre interaction with the EC. Rahul’s street move took both the Opposition leaders and EC by surprise. It is learnt that the Congress found it difficult to pick 30 Opposition leaders as there were too many factions in every party. For instance, when the Congress began drawing up the list, each party claimed that they wanted to send in at least 12 leaders as part of a team to meet the EC. For instance factionalism was quite apparent in DMK which has 22 Lok Sabha MPs; half its members owed allegiance to Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi and the other half to TN Deputy CM Udhyanidhi Stalin. It was then that Rahul dropped plans of meeting the EC officials. He was only too happy to hit the streets as it created a media buzz. Also, a dinner hosted by Mallikarjun Kharge in a 5-star hotel saw 300 MPs turn up. His conversation veered around to how the Modi government was now over ! Only the SC verdict banning street dogs in Delhi-NCR clouded the Opposition celebrations!

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has announced a three-member panel to investigate the allegations of corruption against Allahabad High Court Judge Justice Yashwant Verma. The panel includes Supreme Court judge Justice Arvind Kumar, Madras High Court Chief Justice Maninder Mohan Srivastava, and Karnataka High Court senior advocate BV Acharya. Inclusion of Acharya is of particular interest; he was the public prosecutor in Tamil Nadu CM late Jayalalithaa’s corruption case and is credited with taking the case to its logical conclusion. The panel will submit a report on the allegations against Justice Verma soon. Justice Verma has been at the heart of the storm after unaccounted cash was found at his home.  Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla informed the House that he had received a motion for the impeachment of  Justice Verma by BJP MP Ravishankar Prasad as well as leaders of the Opposition and leaders of the alliance of the ruling party on July 21. Former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar had resigned after he made an abortive attempt to take up a Opposition-sponsored motion in the Rajya Sabha to impeach Justice Verma.   

PM Narendra Modi always converts adversity into opportunity! Come December, he will take a shot at converting tariff penalties @50% into penalty corners instead – He along with three countries Brazil and Argentina, all slapped with high tariffs by Trump, will kick off an Indian Football League. Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli will lead teams at Wankhede for this Indian Premier League (IPL). Playing in the league will be the international stars including Lionel Messi, Neymar – representing Argentina, Brazil respectively and, even Europe. The tariff strikes by the U.S. president upon the three nations has birthed this new found sporting spirit between PM Modi, Presidents Javier Milei and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, for trade deals alongside sharp passes of football scaled up to IPL standards based out of India. Cricket boasts a limited number of 20 odd playing nations, the IPL football league will enjoy options from over 155 football playing nations. Modi’s plan to land penalty kicks upon Trump also offers the Latin American nations included in Trump’s foul tariff hit list, massive infrastructure/ stadiums for the football premier league while retaining their national pride. Unlike their football clubs/players being poached by oil rich Middle East nations, the IPL deal offers lucrative contracts for football stars maintaining their  status with millions in contracts, merchandise, telecast rights and more to be made, say sources. Modi will thus provide gainful tournaments on scale for Indian footballers also who would benefit from international exposure in the sport in their own backyards to throw up international Indian stars just like IPL cricket has done. Good money for youth with huge filip to their countries’ economies to boot. Goooooaaaaaaaalllllll! 

There will be no early call on Jasprit Bumrah’s place in Team India in Tests. While the BCCI bigwigs may have been unhappy over his selective approach to playing Tests in the England series, they are loath to take a big decision on individual fast bowler’s workload management. Team India believes intensely in its premier fast bowler even if social media is agog with caustic views of Bumrah’s ‘maybe, maybe not’ approach. A less than 100% match-fit Bumrah was not much use in the third of the Tests that he played, in Manchester. But that was on a belter of a batting pitch when Bumrah was not certain of his match fitness to bowl about 50 overs in five days. Team India will be allowed to decide on the fast bowler’s presence in the two-Test series against the West Indies. But since his workload in home Tests may be far less against such a lowly opponent as the team from the Caribbean, the BCCI will be happy to allow the team to take the call. There will be no central decision on fast bowlers playing or opting out of matches. What Bumrah’s presence in the team can do is too well-known. His 219 Test wickets at 19.82 at an average just under 20 runs per wicket makes him only the only bowler along with Scott Boland -who has 62 wickets at 16.53 from 14 Tests – with a sub-20 economy rate among contemporary bowlers. Sources close to Gautam Gambhir reveal that the chief coach will pick Bumrah for Tests in consultation with the chairman of selectors at an appropriate time in the coming home season. 

Looks like there is going to be a high-profile electoral contest within the “elite” Constitution Club of India, as two senior BJP leaders and former Union ministers, Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Sanjeev Kumar Balyan are facing each other for the post of Secretary. The club which has about 1200 members mainly consisting of MPs and existing ex-MPs is sharply divided on how Rudy has made the club so unaffordable for ordinary MPs. A section of the BJP is backing Jat leader and former Muzaffarnagar MP Sanjeev Balyan as Rudy has revamped the club beyond anyone’s affordability. The general buzz is that it has been made so exclusive that only “the corrupt and commission agents can afford the place”. “We have to replace Rudy and reclaim the Club that was founded in 1947 by President Dr S Radhakrishnan. If MPs cannot afford to step in, why should those who run it be there?”, asked Dr Sonkar Shastri, BJP Dalit leader. He pointed out that the rates charged in the restaurant were simply unaffordable for any retired MP. “On a monthly pension of Rs 31,000, I cannot possibly have a meal of Rs 900. When a meal in the Parliament canteen is Rs 70 or Rs 50 at our BJP office”. Dr Shastri is mobilising support of OBC and Dalit MPs in support of Balyan. So is Godda MP Nishikant Dubey. With voting set on August12, the wager is Rudy is likely to find going tough. A seasoned parliamentarian and trained commercial pilot, Rudy has previously been elected unopposed. On the other hand, Balyan’s connection with western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana leaders seems to be working in his favour. Some MPs are also helping him garner votes from southern states. 

On August 8, 2025, Bollywood witnessed a disheartening chapter for two of its veteran filmmakers, Suneel Darshan and Rajiv Rai, whose latest releases, Andaaz 2 and Zora respectively, met with resounding rejection at the box office. These senior filmmakers, once titans of the Hindi film industry, are struggling to resonate with today’s audience, their latest works exposing a stark disconnect rooted in their adherence to outdated storytelling and production styles. Suneel Darshan, celebrated for launching stars like Priyanka Chopra and delivering hits like Jaanwar (1999) and Andaz (2001), returned with Andaaz 2, a sequel banking on nostalgia. Similarly, Rajiv Rai, known for stylish, music-driven blockbusters like Vishwatma (1992) and Gupt (1997), presented Zora, a murder mystery. Both films crumbled because of poor execution, weak screenplays and ineffective marketing. Andaaz 2 featured music by Nadeem of Nadeem-Shravan fame and lyrics by Sameer, the names synonymous with 90s chartbusters, but the soundtrack failed to evoke the same magic, sounding dated and uninspired. Zora’ suffered from a weak narrative and forgettable music, failing to capture the intrigue expected of a thriller. Both films were dismissed by audiences underscoring a critical truth: nostalgia alone cannot sustain success in today’s dynamic cinematic landscape. Interviews with Suneel Darshan and Rajiv Rai reveal a bitterness toward past collaborators, particularly actors who no longer align with their projects. This resentment, coupled with their reliance on 90s filmmaking tropes —melodramatic narratives, formulaic music, and predictable plots —highlights their struggle to adapt. The failure of Andaaz 2 and Zora mirrors the struggles of other veterans like Subhash Ghai and Ram Gopal Varma. Filmmakers, regardless of past laurels, must shed outdated baggage and embrace modern techniques.