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The humiliating defeat of Trinamool Congress in the Assembly polls is seeing the party head for a split. It has also given rise to the role and future position of 29 MPs in the Lok Sabha. Senior TMC MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar triggered speculations when she wrote on X that “Do you think a four-time MP from a political family, who has stood beside Mamata Banerjee and fought against authoritarian systems for four decades, would think only of personal interests? This is actually a verdict against the failure of policy and governance.” Dastidar did not mention any individual or issue directly but her message was loud and clear. Dastidar, an influential figure within the Trinamool, has been a close associate of Mamata Banerjee. Until recently, she served as the party’s Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha. However, she was replaced in that role by Kalyan Banerjee, a development that many political analysts believe marked the beginning of growing distance between her and the party leadership. Subsequently, Dastidar publicly criticised political consultancy firm I-PAC, alleging that its activities had harmed the party. She later resigned from various organizational posts within the TMC. Political speculation intensified further when the Union government enhanced her security cover shortly after her resignations. According to sources, around 20 Trinamool MPs may hold a crucial meeting in the coming days. Reports suggest that a letter could subsequently be submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker seeking changes in the parliamentary party leadership. Speculation is rife that Dastidar’s name could be proposed as an alternative to current parliamentary leader Abhishek Banerjee.
The election to the Maharashtra Legislative Council is becoming more and more intriguing with one sensational disclosure after another by rival political parties. As expected, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut lobbed the first salvo. He alleged that Rs 150 crore had been spent by the ruling Mahayuti alliance comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit). It was his angry reaction to the humiliating show put out by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), of which his leader Uddhav Thackeray is a major policy maker. Raut was immediately ridiculed since Uddhav’s confidant Bal Mane had withdrawn his nomination without giving a faintest hint to his leader. Moreover, Mane has returned to the BJP, which he had left some years ago. In all, the Congress and Sena (UBT) have been finding it most embarrassing as the Mahayuti is set to win almost each of the 17 seats for which election is being held. Developments in some legislative council constituencies have made the opposition leadership speechless since those withdrawing nominations did not even bother to formally convey their decisions. In most cases, the leaders learnt from TV channels of their candidates running away from the contest. Interestingly, Raut has been challenged by the BJP to announce why he failed to field a candidate of his party from Nasik, the district of which the MP is party’s organizational in charge. Has Raut accepted money for not contesting, the BJP has asked. More skeletons are expected to tumble out of the cupboard over the next few days.
Veteran leader Sharad Pawar gave his consent and NCP (Ajit) candidate for the legislative council, Vikram Kakade’s election for the upper house became a mere formality. The reason stated to be instrumental was a telephone call Vikram’s father Sanjay, former BJP MP, had made to Pawar, urging him to clear the path for his son. Although from the rival faction, Pawar graciously gave a nod. Sanjay, it is learnt, had obliged Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party nearly 15 years ago in a local election. As Pawar is blessed with an elephant’s memory, he paid back the obligation by ensuring Vikram’s election unopposed. But there is one more connection with the Pawar family and this election. Vikram had ‘advanced’ Rs.10 crore to Parth Pawar, son of deceased deputy CM Ajit Pawar and Sunetra Pawar, who is occupying the deputy CM’s post now. Vikram has clarified that the payment was against the purchase of a plot of land, which was in the name of Ajit Pawar. In faraway Vidarbha, the BJP’s candidate Arun Lakhani was elected unopposed to the upper house since Maha Vikas Aghadi failed to challenge him. A successful businessman and an ardent RSS worker, Lakhani’s son is slated to marry NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule’s daughter. The would-be couple and their parents recently called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to formally invite him for the wedding, the date for which is yet to be announced. While political party workers keep fighting on roads, no such bitter sentiment is seen in the upper echelons.
So far, Vedanta’s operations in Odisha remain completely unaffected by recent ongoing investigations, scrutiny with regard to FEMA probe, ED raid, search operations on the group’s founder Anil Agarwal after his conflict with Adani over the Jaypee deal. The Odisha state government in dealing with Anil Agarwal has kept its slate clear with regard to Vedanta’s local violations. Vedanta, it may be recalled, was penalized Rs 233.11 crore and Rs 71.16 crore for illegal water extraction and unauthorised hazardous fly ash dumping in Odisha state. Political observers say, “At the moment, Odisha government’s singular focus is ensuring Vedanta’s timely project completion of the project amidst continuous tribal complaints for encroaching on forest reserves. It may be recalled that Vedanta Group did throw a hat in the ring to acquire the debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates. But the lenders ultimately favoured a lower bid from Adani Enterprises. Anil Agarwal tweeted about this development. This is why political analysts interpret the recent FEMA and ED probe as a veiled warning to Anil Agarwal not to cross swords with Adani Group. Vedanta Group is a global natural resources and technology conglomerate. Over the last four decades, founder-chairman Anil Agarwal transformed a small, failing scrap-metal business into one of the world’s leading diversified mining, metals, and hydrocarbons corporations.
Maharashtra’s ongoing scrutiny of beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (CM’s My Favorite Sister Scheme) reportedly identified nearly 80 lakh ineligible women who enjoyed monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 since the scheme’s launch in 2024. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ruled out recovering payouts already made to them. The government’s lenient approach towards women beneficiaries, however, will not extend to the 14,000 men who allegedly secured benefits under the women-centric welfare scheme through fraudulent declarations. Officials involved in the verification exercise indicated that these beneficiaries would face recovery proceedings and could also be exposed to criminal action. At Rs 1,500 per month, the payments made to the male beneficiaries are estimated at Rs 50 crore. Preliminary findings suggest that several applications contained discrepancies in Aadhaar-linked records, while some beneficiaries were identified as ‘male’ during KYC verification despite having submitted details portraying themselves as eligible women. The scrutiny process also reportedly uncovered over five lakh women government employees who availed the benefit despite their annual incomes exceeding the scheme’s eligibility threshold of Rs 2.5 lakh. A senior official associated with the verification drive recalled that in an earlier instance, an individual was jailed for submitting multiple applications and claiming financial assistance under government schemes despite being ineligible. Similar recommendations for recovery and punitive action are expected in cases involving deliberate misrepresentation by men. Political observers believe the decision not to recover funds from the 80 lakh ineligible women reflects both economic and electoral considerations. With rural Maharashtra continuing to experience financial stress, the government appears reluctant to reclaim benefits already disbursed, including non-deserving women, a move that...
The Congress has nominated party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party spokesperson Pawan Khera who was known for taking on Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma from Karnataka. The party opted to give the sole Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh to Meenakshi Natrajan. A committed no-nonsense Congress leader, she had impressed Rahul Gandhi with her simple lifestyle. Party sources said most of the Rajya Sabha picks were personally cleared by Rahul Gandhi. Former CM Digvijay Singh who retired as MP refused to seek another term and made it possible for Meenakshi Natrajan. The Congress has just three sitting MPs who are retiring and if the elections goes as per party strength, the party is likely to get seven lawmakers, provided the JMM offers the second seat which the I.N.D.I.A Bloc can win to Congress in Jharkhand. Besides, Pawan Khera, another person who handles media for the Congress, Pranav Jha is also being nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand. The party also nominated Mansoor Ali Khan, son of former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Rahman Khan from Karnataka. Meanwhile in the BJP, there was a bloodbath of sorts as incumbent Union ministers George Kurian and Ravneet Singh Bittu did not find their names in the list from Madhya Pradesh. While Bittu may still be contesting the forthcoming Punjab assembly elections, tears are not being shed for Kurian as he had lost in Kerala assembly elections. An old BJP hand, he was apparently seen as not endearing himself or the party to the community. Kurian was not liked very much by the community even though he handled minority affairs.
Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai may have the satisfaction of dominating national media discussions for a day about his possible exit from the BJP. However, after camping in Delhi for three days and even spending his birthday (June 4) by holding out a resignation threat, one hears he has still not put in his resignation. His media antics were not well-received in the PMO. In fact, as news channels obsessed about his meetings with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief Nitin Nabin, eyebrows were raised at the highest level at the kind of level a malcontent from South was allowed to manage media coverage in Delhi. It is precisely for this reason that the former IPS officer failed to secure even a birthday wish from PM Modi or Shah. When Annamalai explained his need to float new forum to mobilise youth in Tamil Nadu, Shah told him that there was no need for it. He was told that the party would always stand with him. It is being felt Annamalai’s talk of a separate morcha to take on the TVK under Vijay could all be an idea that is being pushed probably by the DMK. The DMK needs a credible, clean face to mobilise youth against CM Vijay. It is here that Annamalai fits the bill. Annamalai had extended his stay hoping to meet with PM Modi who was tied up with the visit of Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez. It is learnt the BJP did not bargain with Annamalai. A section of the RSS suggested that talks be held with him which is why Amit Shah and Nitin Nabin met with him. Meanwhile, BJP TN president Nainar Nagendran had fixed up a meeting with Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Nainar’s visit to Delhi was portrayed as if he was being summoned by party bosses at Annamalai’s behest.
Contrary to speculation, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the new political party led by actor Vijay that has just come to power in Tamil Nadu, apparently is not bothered about getting a foothold in Delhi. That is why the party did not hesitate in allotting Rajya Sabha seat from TN to its coalition partner, the Congress party, ahead of the biennial elections scheduled for June 18. In a statement, the TVK announced that the seat – vacated by AIADMK leader C V Shanmugam that is set to be filled through the Rajya Sabha election has been allocated to the Congress as part of the seat-sharing arrangement. AICC Tamil Nadu In-charge Girish Chodankar had met CM Joseph Vijay earlier in the day. “I met the chief minister, and requested him that this seat should be allocated to us by them and then it will also help us in the Rajya Sabha,” he said. Chodankar feels the Congress has every reason to feel thrilled with TVK’s gesture as it will now have three Rajya Sabha MPs from the state. At present the Congress has former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Christopher Tilak (AICC secretary) who was elected to the Rajya Sabha in March 2026 with the support of the DMK. Praveen Chakravarty, a close Rahul Gandhi aide, who TN CM Vijay publicly addressed as a friend for batting for TVK-Cong alliance, will be the other PC, who is most likely to get elected from the state. “Apparently, the basis for the Congress joining the TVK Govt was the scope for improving its presence in Parliament,” says a Congress source.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has made the big splash in Twenty20 cricket, but the corridors of power in the BCCI feel that the time has arrived to groom the left hander from Bihar and Rajasthan Royals for the 50-over World Cup and the World Twenty20. The 15-year-old put to sword some of the top notch fast bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Jofra Archer, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the recent Tata-IPL-19. He is yet to get a call for the national Twenty20 team — it’s an event that will happen imminently. Maybe during India’s white ball series in Ireland and England in June-July. India will play two Twenty20 matches at Belfast and then five Twenty20 and three ODIs in England. He has not been picked in the team that will play the three home ODIs against Afghanistan, but vacancy could arise should Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya do not clear the fitness test. Sooryavanshi has not played in the UK where auditions could happen for the Men in Blue team’s preparation for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027. The ICC would be happy to see Sooryavanshi being promoted as a big brand for the next two events — the 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia and the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia-New Zealand. With so much uncertainty about Suryakumar Yadav to last till 2028, there is a possibility of Sooryavanshi’s career receiving a big push in both white-ball formats. The rationale for the left-hander’s inclusion is based on the big question of whether such a fantastic talent can be wrapped in a cotton wool for a long time. India’s Twenty20 openers are Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson and it’s Rohit and Shubman Gill in ODI’s …but things could clear up soon for Sooryavanshi in both formats.
Political turbulence within the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has intensified in the aftermath of the West Bengal Assembly election results, with the party expelling two legislators amid a controversy over alleged forged signatures and growing speculation of internal dissent. MLAs Ritabrata Bandyopadhyay and Sandipan Saha were expelled after reports emerged that they had lodged a police complaint over an alleged signature forgery incident. Their expulsion has reduced the TMC’s strength in the West Bengal Assembly from 80 to 78 MLAs. Since the election results, several senior leaders have publicly expressed differences. Some of the party leaders including Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Kalyan Banerjee had to face the ire of public anger; they were booed, heckled and names called. Now, speculations are rife about a possible split of the party. It is learnt that a significant number of legislators could leave the party and form a new outfit led by expelled MLAs, including Bandyopadhyay and Saha. Speculation intensified after a meeting convened by Didi reportedly had attendance from only 20 of the party’s 80 MLAs, leading to its cancellation. Observers believe any large-scale defection could alter the balance of power in the Assembly and challenge the TMC’s position as the principal opposition party. Comparisons are being drawn with Maharashtra, where the split in the Nationalist Congress Party saw the founder Sharad Pawar losing control. Likewise, a rebellion within Shiv Sena resulted in Uddhav Thackeray losing control of the party organisation and election symbols. Expelled TMC leader Bandyopadhyay says he is prepared to provide authorities with information regarding alleged corruption within the party and government. Addressing supporters through a Facebook Live session, Mamata accused the BJP of attempting to engineer defections.
With BJP making every effort to topple his government, the Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, like a grandmaster, is always several moves ahead. But, unfortunately for him, his health care plan — considered a masterstroke — may not give him the expected political mileage, if the registration deadline of January 16, 2024 is not extended. An average Odia is not too familiar with online registration to avail of cashless free treatment for critical ailments at the private hospitals. The healthcare scheme branded as BSKY Nabin Card is facing too many technical glitches as a result people have to literally go from pillar to post to fill in their forms. Sometimes the ‘Add Family member’ button stops working, and the interface ‘freezes’ after adding two members. Sources say there is a gap in the awareness drive and competency level to address glitches both at schools, panchayats, SHG and social media level. Fed up with repeated technical glitches and short deadlines many people in sheer frustration have given up on BSKY Nabin cards. There is a chorus to extend the registration deadline date. Is the Patnaik government listening?
The BJP, which is yet to open its account in Kerala, is eyeing the state’s cultural capital, Thrissur to deliver its first Member of Parliament. The electorate of Kerala’s cultural capital, Thrissur, which has amidst it the Vadakkuumnathan Shiva Temple and the World famous Guruvayur Krishna Temple, is being wooed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, himself. After holding an impressive road show at Thrissur on January 3, 2024, Modi is returning to Thrissur on January 16, this time in the garb of attending the marriage of film star – Suresh Gopi’s daughter at Guruvayur Temple. Gopi, a former Rajya Sabha member, was the BJP candidate from Thrissur in the 2019 elections where he came third behind the UDF and LDF. The only silver-lining in the election was the BJP vote share increasing from 11.5 % in 2014 to 28.2 % in 2019. The increased vote share plus the constituency’s demographics — 58% Hindus, 24 % Christians and 17 % Muslims — has made the Thrissur seat BJP’s best bet. Also, BJP’s Christian outreach programme which seems to have received a favourable response in Kerala despite the issues in Manipur, has spurred BJP and Modi to have a second road show in neighbouring Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala on January 17. After assembly election losses in Karnataka, Telangana and losing their Tamil Nadu partner, AIADMK, BJP is pulling out all the stops to woo the South Indian electorate.
Walking the same path of the CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bengal BJP, has created a new cell, ‘Cultural Promotion’ within the Election Management Committee to promote its ideologies and visions. It may be noted that CPI(M)’s Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), the cultural wing, has always been used in election campaigns. Ditto TMC. Incidentally, BJP’s Cultural Promotional Wing will be having two divisions namely ‘Loksanskrit Dal’ and ‘Path Natak’ to be handled by actors Papiya Adhikary and Rudranil Ghosh respectively. Papiya’s association with films and commercial theatres (jatras) will be catering to BJP’s needs. Moreover her dance group ‘Mukti’ mainly stages programmes which will help BJP to spread its political messages. However, Papiya refused to give any details about the arrangement but admitted to having been present during the recent BJP’s election management committee meeting. Even Rudranil unwilling to speak about the development, but is learnt that he directed the theme song that the state BJP made ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s meeting in Kolkata. BJP sources said that this time, the BJP wants him to set up small street drama groups all over the state and stage dramas as part of Lok Sabha election campaign. It may be recalled that both Papiya and Rudranil joined the BJP before the last assembly elections where Papiya contested from Uluberia South in Howrah and Rudranil from Bhabanipur constituency in Kolkata, which neither could win.
AIADMK staying away from the BJP for the Lok Sabha polls is part of a master strategy worked out by the party’s head honcho Edappadi K Palaniswami and Amit Shah. The secret pact, arrived at as a Tamil-English interpreter from Karnataka was the only other person present at the one-on-one meet, was to enable the taking away of minority votes from the DMK by presenting an alternative in an independent AIADMK that is back to where J Jayalalithaa had kept it. There is no doubt that the DMK has suffered quite a few image hits recently, with the first conviction of a minister for graft and another sitting in jail as a minister without portfolio. The heavy rains of the monsoon in 9 districts around Chennai and the extreme south also led to undermining of the ruling party’s dominant political stature. So much so, there is an opinion shared by some Congressmen that it is time the party broke its DMK ties and accepted more seats that the AIADMK would offer it. One of those who is leading this campaign is currently being disciplined for suggesting PM Modi is more popular than the party’s scion Rahul Gandhi. DMK is planning on cutting the Congress seats down to just six to give itself a better chance to get the number of seats that would give it much bargaining power in any post-poll scenario.
Speculations are rife that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Odisha possibly in the third week of January, just before the Ram Lala consecration ceremony. BJP sources say senior leaders like JP Nadda and Amit Shah will be accompanying the PM. However, the PMO is yet to make a formal announcement of the PM’s scheduled visit. Modi visited Odisha last year to take stock of the worst train accident in Balasore. This time speculation is, Modi is visiting Berhampur as part of election agenda. He may address gatherings at Gopalpur, sources say. Why is the PM visiting Odisha? Sources say Modi is determined to correct the bonhomie image of him and chief minister Naveen Patnaik. He is keen that BJP make inroads in Odisha and its possible only if he takes Patnaik head on at his home turf Ganjam. Also, it has been proved that the BJP’s state unit on its own is not in a position to give tough fight to well entrenched BJD juggernaut. Opposition BJP chief whip Pavan Majhi in the Odisha Assembly said “Our focus is on increasing the party’s strength and forming the government in Odisha.” For BJP ruling Odisha has been a pipe dream, except western Odisha they have little penetration elsewhere. The state’s five time CM Patnaik remains confident that he will continue to remain in the driver’s seat.
As more and more businesses, government offices and projects move to Gujarat from Maharashtra, the ruling BJP-led Eknath Shinde’s government faces much flak from the Opposition. The backlash started after the shift of the Vedanta-Foxconn project from Maharashtra in September 2022. Since then there has been much criticism of over 17 projects that have favoured Gujarat over Maharashtra. This includes Mahanand, the state government co-operatives milk brand being brought under the National Dairy Development Board, which operates from Anand, the home base of the Amul brand. This attracted criticism that unlike the governments in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that came out strongly in support of their own local state milk brands namely Aavin and Nandini over the expansionary tactics of Amul, the Maharashtra government’s milk brand tamely let Mahanand play second fiddle to Amul. The shifting of the diamond market from Mumbai to Surat that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too has caused much concern in Maharashtra over loss of employment, business opportunities and overall downsizing of Maharashtra’s financial significance. The latest grouse is the shift of India’s first submarine tourist project from Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg to Gujarat’s Dwarka. The increasing dominance of Gujarat in many aspects of Maharashtra evokes strong public sentiments here, has now emerged as a strong political issue that the Opposition parties are wasting no opportunity to capitalise on in this election year.
The Tiruchirappalli state visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the airport inaugural did not go well for Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin, who came back to Chennai with eye watering and irritation. His planned opening of the very popular annual Chennai Book Fair was cancelled, even as Udhayanidhi Stalin and minister for education Anbil Mahesh were deputed to take his place. Stalin was headed straight to a well-known Vision Institute for an eye check-up. But this eye problem seemed much less severe to the CM when compared to his mood that had turned visibly irritated at the PM’s event. Just when Stalin started his welcome speech, an excited Mexican Wave with “Modi, Modi” rented the air and Stalin was literally speechless. The PM had to signal for quiet during Stalin’s speech…naturally, the turn of events irritated him. But this kind of rally call is not new to him; just in April, when Modi had come to Chennai with Union minister L Murugan, the DMK cadres meted out the same crowd call….”Stalin, Stalin”, and minister Murugan could not continue his address. Had Modi finally dented the seemingly unconquerable Dravidian Aura? A survey by the DMK top guns revealed that a large section of the front rows were filled with BJP followers who reached the venue by 7 am while DMK cadres trooped in by 8.30 am. This after DMK senior minister KN Nehru and others were tasked with collecting big crowds. Looks like BJP paid DMK with the same coin.
Amid growing differences between the senior bloc and the new bloc of state BJP and several lobbies of the top functionaries of the Bengal unit, the Central BJP unit has decided to work with a private political consulting agency for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Jarvis Technology & Strategy Consulting has been appointed to counter ruling Trinamool Congress’ political strategist the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC), created by Prashant Kishor. Party sources said that there won’t be any conflicts in the functioning of the agency and the BJP state unit. While the party’s state leadership will handle political campaigns and grassroots outreach initiatives, the agency will carry out on-the-ground and backup research to provide information to the state leadership which can enable political tactics for the state unit. Interestingly, State BJP president, Sukanta Majumdar hasn’t acknowledged or refuted the development, though asserting that election strategies are private and internal affairs. Meanwhile, party insiders said that as per initial plans, the consulting agency will operate not only from Kolkata but will set up camp offices in different districts of the state as well. Incidentally, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National President JP Nadda who recently visited Kolkata made it categorical to the state unit that they will have to frame their strategies and policies to target 35 LS seat-win in 2024. Further, they must intensify social media campaigns from now on.
AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palanisami (EPS) seems to have got his calculations all wrong when he broke away from the NDA to Lone Ranger status for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Was it an act of bravado or was his defiance based on ego problems with the BJP? Incidentally, EPS did not attract that overwhelming response from small political parties that cannot face an election alone, but add up to respectable strength as allies. The only party (quite unknown), Puratchi Bharatham led by Poovai Jagannathan has allied with AIADMK. Even as his cadres were focusing on flood relief work in Southern districts, EPS had to attend a “conclave“ of this unknown party in Villupuram. The veteran, better known parties and power stakeholders like PMK and Vijayakanth’s Themu Thika are not making haste to join AIADMK-led coalition. His cadres are lamenting, “What seat sharing with one party”? Are both the breakaways regretting the break-up? According to some sources, the BJP is now firmly in the saddle after the three states election wins. The talk is that the BJP high command have zeroed in on Tamil Manila Congress leader GK Vasan to bring about a face saving rapport. Vasan is perceived as a calm pacifist, capable of convincing stubborn sides and like his late father GK Mooppanar bring prickly issues to the deal making table.
Is the BJP planning to ditch rebels of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Shiv Sena (SS) to contest solo in Maharashtra? This claim by Sharad Pawar supporter Jitendra Awhad has created a flutter and touched a raw nerve among the rebel camps of both Eknath Shinde and the Ajit Pawar. Awhad said that buoyed by the BJP’s recent victory in three North Indian states, the party’s internal surveys and deliberations with RSS had led to this strategy. Awhad also claimed that a BJP survey had found that its old cadres were getting disillusioned with it thanks to its growing proximity to tainted leaders and had wanted those to be kept away. The rebels of SS and NCP, who switched loyalties with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar are now worried about whether the BJP will accommodate their political aspirations. Not only could Shinde and Pawar find it difficult to hold their flock together, these splinter groups could also be asked to merge with the BJP. The appointments of upstarts over seasoned stalwarts for chief ministership in the three states by BJP doesn’t bode well for the likes of strong leaders like Shinde and Ajit Pawar either. The strategy of going solo works well with the larger BJP strategy to wipe out the political significance and electoral value of strong regional outfits and their symbols. Though the splinter NCP and Shiv Sena groups are aligned with the BJP, the party hasn’t forgotten the 2019 Vidhan Sabha polls when it was upstaged out of power in Maharashtra despite BJP getting the highest tally of legislators.
Is Maharashtra heading for simultaneous polls of its state assembly coinciding with general elections of Bharat? Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent statements emphasizing “One nation, one poll” compounded with a dismal political picture painted by internal surveys by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) indicate exactly such a prospect. A well-placed source says, “Results of recent assembly elections in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh enthused BJP tremendously as state level anti-incumbency was effectively neutralized by Modi’s persona bringing rich political dividends even in MP where Congress was dead sure of a win. A similar political situation exists in Maharashtra, where the Shinde led Shiv Sena faction (40 MLAs plus 10 independents), even Ajit Pawar’s NCP grouping may not perform well in the next state assembly elections after the current government’s tenure ends in November 2024. The party was mulling over simultaneous polls for over a year now.” Even the BJP retaining its 2019 figure of 105 MLAs in Maharashtra, that came down from 122 MLAs in the 2014 state assemblies, was a deciding factor. The Prime Minister is also a votary of the two (national) party system of democracy as prevalent in the USA. The I.N.D.I.A coalition of opposition political formations under a single umbrella in 2023 is viewed by the BJP as a step in this direction. The party feels public disenchantment with their current three-party alliance government in Maharashtra can be simply countered by projecting Modi’s face for the twin polls being held simultaneously. Will I.N.D.I.A stay together?
In a major blow to the organisers of the ‘Ek Lokho Konthe Gita Path’ (Gita Chant in Lakh Voices) event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly not attending the Brigade Parade Ground event in Kolkata on December 24 because of a government programme. PM Modi was supposed to recite the Gita with Shankaracharya Sadanand Saraswati. Besides Modi not attending, the organiser has yet to get confirmation from the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath. In a show of strength for the past three months, Bengal BJP went ahead with the plan keeping PM Modi at the forefront. It is learnt that not only the Sanatanis but also BJP workers and functionaries are hugely disappointed with this development. Meanwhile, Assembly Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari and BJP State President Sukanta Majumdar convened an emergency meeting after being informed by the PMO about the PM’s absence. Party sources said that frustration is evident among the workers as the city has witnessed extensive displays of banners and posters featuring the Prime Minister announcing his presence at the programme. It is also learnt that around 3,500 sants (sadhus) will be coming for the event and over 55,000 Bengali translations and 34,000 Hindi copies of the Bhagavad Gita have been sold in the last 10 days.
The Maratha reservation agitation issue has helped chief minister Eknath Shinde get one-up over his deputy and predecessor Devendra Fadnavis. Shinde’s political acumen has helped him win favour with Maratha leader Manoj Jarage Patil, who publicly proclaims that Shinde could be the only person who can make reservations for Marathas possible. Patil though reserves his ire against Fadnavis for creating unrest by ‘poisoning’ the minds of Maratha leaders and has even advised the BJP to expel him from the party and the state. Jarange is upset at Fadnavis for propping up Chhagan Bhujbal for challenging and consolidating the Other Backward Class (OBC) community against him. Jarange and Bhujbal have been involved in a bitter war of words that has stretched to personal lows. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s shift in stance that the Maratha community cannot be granted blanket reservation, has also upset Jarange, who claims that it was an assurance given to get him to withdraw from his 17-day hunger fast on the issue. Police cases against Jarange’s supporters for stone throwing against policemen, has further fuelled anger against Fadnavis, since he holds the home portfolio. While tendering his resignation, state backward class commission member BL Killarikar had claimed that Shinde was ready to conduct a large-scale survey of communities, but was opposed by Fadnavis. The Opposition believes that both the Maratha and OBC agitations are state-sponsored to divert attention from genuine issues affecting the state.
The Union government’s sudden move to permit the use of sugarcane juice and B-heavy molasses for ethanol production with a ceiling of 17 lakh tonnes for the current marketing year has hardly surprised sugar barons in Maharashtra and Karnataka since these two major states are the ruling BJP’s strongholds. Together, they produce around 60% of India’s total sugar output. Though Karnataka has voted against the BJP in recent assembly elections, the party is preparing to storm the state for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The same logic applies to Maharashtra. Veteran leader Sharad Pawar’s power base is dependent upon the massive sugar lobby, which now is fractured. Its one section has followed his nephew Ajit Pawar, who has now joined the Shinde-Fadnavis government and started praising PM Narendra Modi as well home minister Amit Shah. Immediately after the Centre’s decision about the ethanol production restriction was announced, there was a wave of anger in Maharashtra. The Opposition cornered the state government and Ajit Pawar had to assure the legislature that he would visit Delhi to plead with the Centre to reconsider the decision. Now that it has happened, the Opposition ranks have been re-planning their strategy. The victorious three-party government, on the other hand, will exploit the political benefit of the revised decision. The Centre’s reassurance that there will be adequate sugar availability in the country in the months to come will assuage the sentiments of the middle class, too, it is felt.
Having stood by expelled Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has left both Pradesh Congress and CPI (M) in a dilemma. In Bengal the party workers from both Cong and CPI (M) have questioned the stand as Trinamool is their rival and feels that the State BJP would be encashing the move. Significantly, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that Mahua will again contest from Krishnanagar seat. According to Pradesh Congress sources, having supported Mahua, will any Opposition candidates have a chance of winning? Moreover, the anti-BJP and minority votes are expected to go in favor of Mahua. It is further added that the party workers are skeptical of how to establish “setting” theory between Trinamool and BJP as claimed by Pradesh Congress President Adhir Chowdhury and CPI (M) State Secretary Mohammad Salim. A section of Congress and CPI (M) leaders feel that this will be giving Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari an upper hand of establishing his claim of Congress-CPI(M) being the B-team of Trinamool. However, Adhir has made it clear that support to Mahua since the beginning was similar to that of Rahul Gandhi where both were targeted for voicing against Adani, which is no way connected to opposing a corrupt Trinamool government in Bengal. Similarly, Salim, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and State member Sujan Chakraborty said that protesting against Mahua’s expulsion was because it was arbitrary, however, the party to continue its protest against both BJP and TMC in Bengal
In a much anticipated move, the BJP picked up a tribal leader and former Union Minister Vishnu Deo Sai as its new chief minister of Chhattisgarh. BJP leader and Union Minister Renuka Singh Saruta, who was in the race described Sai’s selection as “for the first time a party worker from the tribal community belonging to a farmer’s family has been elected”. She underscored the fact that Sai had won the recently concluded assembly polls from Kunkuri in north Chhattisgarh, a region that the BJP had swept picking up all the 14 seats in the region. It was in this region that the BJP managed to defeat the Congress including its deputy chief minister TS Singhdeo from Ambikapur by 94 votes. In the run up to the elections, home minister Amit Shah while addressing a meeting in Sai’s constituency had already indicated that he would get an important assignment if he was elected. Besides, Sai became a natural choice as he is considered close to former CM Raman Singh. Having been a prominent figure in the BJP, Sai has held various positions as he hails from the influential Sahu (Teli) community which has a sizable presence in the Durg, Raipur and Bilaspur divisions. He served as BJP State President from 2020 until 2022. And has also worked with PM Modi in his first cabinet. In fact after being appointed, all that Sai had to say was “I will work to fulfil ‘Modi Ki Guarantee’. Congress leaders conceded that they could never have a tribal CM in the state after late Ajit Jogi — the state’s first CM –got ruled out as an ST in 2019.
After being sidelined since her defeat at the hands of her own cousin Dhanajay Munde in 2019, Pankaja Munde’s political career is steering back into active mode within the BJP, thanks to a sharp consolidation of the OBC vote bank in Maharashtra. The ongoing Maratha agitation to demand reservation under the OBC category, has upset the OBC’s in the state, who have thrown their political weight behind the leadership of Chhagan Bhujbal. Though Bhujbal is currently with the Ajit Pawar faction of NCP, he is fighting the OBC agitation under his own outfit Samata Parishad. Pankaja, who hails from Vanjari caste, commands strong support from the OBC community especially in the Marathwada region, a legacy she inherits from her late father Gopinath Munde, who was responsible for getting the OBC votes for the BJP. Pankaja is now back in the reckoning within the BJP to woo the OBC votes. Her party had earlier refused to let her participate in the joint OBC rally called by Bhujbal at Nashik, deputing others instead. But, shifting equations in state caste politics led Devendra Fadnavis, who blamed her for downswing within BJP, to get the cousins — Pankaja and Dhananjay — to bury the hatchet and work together. A BJP internal survey showing slip in support for BJP among the OBC’s also worked in her favour. It is learnt that the BJP is considering fielding her for Lok Sabha and adjusting her MP sister Preetam Munde in state council.
Former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik continues to be the focal point of Maharashtra politics. Released by court on bail while facing charges like indulging in anti-national activities, Malik’s arrival in Nagpur where the state legislature is in session has kicked off a virtual storm. Unfazed, he spent some time in the legislative assembly for the second consecutive day. The BJP’s opposition to his inclusion in the NCP’s Ajit Pawar faction has been backed by chief minister Eknath Shinde. Thereafter, top NCP leader Praful Patel joined the flurry of activity as the issue continued to reverberate in the second capital of Maharashtra. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has demanded that Malik should not be accepted by the Ajit faction in view of the serious charges against him. Ajit’s close associate Dilip Walse Patil has expressed his party’s unhappiness over the Fadnavis letter reaching the media. To douse the heat, Patel met Fadnavis and made it clear that no political talks have been held with Malik. On the other hand, Malik called on Ajit. Firebrand leader Chhagan Bhujbal, too, joined the discussion. Ajit had announced that he will decide his stand on this issue only after meeting Malik. Hence, attention is now focused on Ajit’s next step as it will determine the direction of the state polity, which is buffeted by caste-based demands for reservations over the past month.
Looks like the Congress has still not come to terms with the results of the Hindi heartland with a section of the party blaming it squarely on the EVMs. In fact the party seemed so split on the issue that former MP Digvijay Singh claimed that “any machine with a chip” could be hacked; he even ignored the fact that the Congress had won Telangana and Karnataka through EVMs. Kamal Nath complained that some candidates did not even get 50 votes in their villages. It is not clear if the Congress leaders actually started believing in the media hype they were winning the four state assembly polls. In contrast, Karti Chidambaram, Lok Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu, came out completely endorsing the EVMs. Digvijay Singh admitted that he had been opposing EVMs ever since they were introduced in the 2003 assembly elections under the Supreme Court orders. The EVMs were first used in 2004 Lok Sabha polls which had brought UPA-1 to power. With the BJP winning 163 seats in the 230-member assembly in MP, Singh appealed to SC and EC to save “democracy”. Of course, if he had only seen the kind of work and effort BJP leadership had put in his state — 40 lakh karyakartas working through the year reaching out to 64,000 polling booths to reach 51 % vote share as part of Amit Shah’s strategy.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar wants four Lok Sabha seats, including Shirur, Satara, Raigad, Baramati won by NCP in 2019 and hopes to get some more. Pawar wants to field son Parth from Shirur, believing he holds sway over his political karmabhoomi of western Maharashtra. Uncle Sharad Pawar issued patronising sound-bites over his nephew’s political plans seeking to undermine him. In 2014 and 2019, the BJP and Shiv Sena fought general elections in alliance but now, will battle each other even as CM Shinde’s Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP seek to adversely impact votes accruing to the (undivided) Shiv Sena and NCP respectively. In 2024, BJP, Shinde led Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP will square up against Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Congress (that has held its flock together). BJP suggested Shinde field new candidates, since only two/three of his Sena MPs may get re-elected, citing internal surveys. Shinde emphasized his responsibility to secure the political future of his MPs and may, on the brink of elections, even ask them to contest as BJP candidates to still keep his word. Uddhav Thackeray may re-launch political touring soon. Few political pundits credited him for political acumen, making stark comparisons with Balasaheb Thackeray, though the former chief minister of Maharashtra got 63 Shiv Sena MLAs elected in 2014 after BJP severed political ties. His late father had publicly lamented his party’s inability to cross the 60 MLAs benchmark in Maharashtra.
No sooner did the assembly results indicated that the BJP was winning the three states in the Hindi heartland — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, a Congress spokesperson was alert enough to embark on her next important political task. That of insulating both Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka from any blame of losing these polls. She promptly told a national TV, “Can we blame our CMs and our PCC chiefs who were given full freedom, for failing to deliver the states?” She was referring to the leeway and free hand given to outgoing CMs Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and Kamal Nath as PCC chief in Madhya Pradesh. The Congress high command had not interfered at all in election work in these three states, but Gandhis did offer Karnataka-like guarantees. Yet people seem to have opted for PM Modi’s assurance of delivery on governance. The much awaited reality of Ram Mandir being open to people from January 2024 also seems to have worked on the voters. If anything came as a surprise, Congress sources admitted that it was losing Chhattisgarh from its fold. As Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam tersely put it, the party had been sunk by the curse of “sanatan dharma”. As for winning Telangana, the Congress feels it has only the BJP to thank for. If the BJP had not removed Bandi Sanjay Kumar as state chief “We wouldn’t have been voted in. Everyone was sick and tired of KCR and his family,” says a Congress leader.
Firebrand BJP MP from Odisha Aparajita Sarangi is in the news for two reasons. First, for her effort to protect netizens from loan sharks. Second, even though her party is yet to give her the Lok Sabha ticket officially, she has already swung into campaign mode by putting up posters in her constituency in Bhubaneswar which says “One more chance to Aparajita”. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s party Biju Janata Dal is yet to decide who will fight against Aparajita. Meanwhile, it is learnt that former Mumbai’s top cop Arup Patnaik who lost to Aparajita Sarangi in 2019 by a small margin has decided not to contest citing health issues. Her party sources say Aparajita is focussing on battle of ideas, how issues are interpreted, and how she can control the narrative to swing vote bank politics. For instance, she wrote to chief minister seeking his intervention to bring back peace and normalcy in group clash-hit Padmakesharipur village at Patia, Bhubaneswar and release 150 local residents from jail. Aparajita is also urging government actions against money lenders charging exorbitant 20% interest per month which led to the recent community unrest at Patia.
BJP is set to prepare a centre stage at Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of Gita Jayanti Celebration on December 24. It is apparent that the programme is the initiative of various organizations of the Sangh Parivar, yet the official organiser is Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad. Several functionaries of the organisation including central committee member of Vishva Hindu Parishad, Swami Nirgunananda Maharaj met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 17, officially inviting him to attend the programme. Over lakhs of monks across several Sanatan Hindu organisations such as Bharat Sevashram Sangha and others will be chanting Gita Sotras to mark the occasion named ‘Laksh Kante Gitapath’ (Gita Chants by Lakh Voices). The organisers along with BJP Bengal president Sukanta Majumdar presented the PM with the official invite on a silver plaque with Devnagari script written in copper. Manas Bhattacharya, member of the organising committee says that the PM has expressed his desire to chant Gita Sotras along with the monks. Even the President Draupadi Murmu has confirmed her presence. Claiming it to be a non-political event, Bhattacharya informed that they will also invite West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee as the chief guest and other MPs and MLAs of the state across political parties. It may seem a non-political event but BJP will not let lose the opportunity to use the platform to drive home its Hindutva agenda in Bengal ahead of 2024 general elections.
The BJP in Maharashtra is feeling the heat generated by the social media as its president Chandrashekhar Bawankule continues to be lashed by Shiv Sena (Uddhav) MP Sanjay Raut over the former’s family visit to a casino in Macau. Raut on Friday (Nov 24) released a new video clip entitled ‘An Evening in Macau……..’ with a veiled warning that ‘Picture abhi baki hai.’ This is taken as an indication since immediately thereafter, Raut declared that he has 27 photographs and five video clips in this connection. On top of it, Raut taunted the BJP by saying, “If I post this material, the BJP will have to close down its shop. But I will not do it. We are soldiers of Balasaheb Thackeray.” When the first video clip was uploaded by Raut a few days ago, Bawankule had claimed that in Hong Kong – Macau, when you go in any hotel and need to go to another area therein, you have to pass by a casino table.” Bawankule had lamented that he was facing such type of criticism after being in politics for 34 years. He said he had barely visited his home in the last 14 months. Therefore, his daughter and daughter-in-law had secured three days’ time from him for a family outing. As part of this planning, the family was in Macau, he clarified. Raut’s new revelation has rattled the BJP, which is expected to rebound soon.
In several months after some of her prominent party leaders were arrested for their alleged involvement in scams, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee in her first public endorsement not only stood by them but made it categorical that she will also apply the same tactics of arrests against BJP leaders. Reinstating her faith in party’s Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra in the eye of the storm in the “cash-for-query” case, Didi stated that it is the ploy of BJP to “oust Mahua ” from the Parliament. According to her, this would end up boosting the popularity and electoral prospects of the TMC MP, one of the Adani group’s fiercest critics. Interestingly, Didi named four arrested TMC leaders — Partha Chatterjee, Manik Bhattacharya, Anubrata Mondal and Jyotipriyo Mallick – and said they were not-guilty of money laundering in teacher’s recruitment scam, cattle smuggling scam and ration distribution scam. Sending a warning to BJP, Didi vowed to make it a revenge game by arresting eight BJP leaders with cases of criminal offenses. As a much needed step amid increasing allegations of scam against party leaders, TMC’s meeting at Netaji Indoor Stadium was to boost the morale of party members. BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Suvendu Adhikari threatened to lodge an FIR against the chief minister for her comments to arrest “eight BJP leaders” in an act of “tit-for-tat”.
In a recent turn of events, the once powerful former BJP state president and Kharagpur Sadar MP Dilip Ghosh finds himself totally sidelined by his party. Apparently, his room at the party’s headquarters and also the main auditorium were put under locks. A few days back when he visited the party headquarters, he found that AC from his room had been removed. However, state functionaries dismisses these incidents saying it could be because the state party office has been shifted to the Salt Lake Sector V and the IT cell is under renovation. However, Ghosh’s close associates claim that ‘Dilipda’ was never informed of such a change. Party sources say that the state unit was immensely displeased with Ghosh’s decision to hold ‘Vijaya Sammelan’ after Durga Puja without taking permission from the state functionaries. This resulted in the decision that the party office in central Kolkata would not be opened for anyone without the permission of state president Sukanta Majumder. This is the second time Ghosh faces action from the party high command. In July this year he was removed from the position of National Vice President. Ghosh’s sidelining started after his initial attempt to ‘be friends’ with Majumder was thwarted and their statewide tour was mysteriously cancelled. It further worsened due to his regular criticisms of top leaders in the state unit.
The odds are that the undivided Madhya Pradesh in the form of MP and Chhattisgarh that are going to the polls will have voted overwhelmingly for the Congress. It may have been cocky for the son of the CM designate Kamal Nath has already fixed a date for his dad’s coronation, but the anticipation is he might have said so on the strength of various private polls that have been done in the two States. Senior BJP figures know that in these two states they have been fighting a losing battle, despite the divisions in MP between Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh. People have been openly saying that the Prime Minister who is canvassing hard in his criss-cross campaigns is wasting his time because these are Assembly polls and not for the Lok Sabha. The people of MP are angry that the verdict they delivered for the Congress last time out was twisted by defections and the regular ‘Operation Lotus’ that goes on to undermine the majority won by non-BJP governments in the States. Chhattisgarh has been a Congress stronghold for some time now and the closer contests anticipated in MP may not come about because of public anger. So, will MP be another big State that will go Congress way after Karnataka and Chhattisgarh keep faith?
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde extended service hours of the twin Metro lines (2A, 7) to 11 pm daily for Mumbai’s western suburban commuters’ convenience. Shinde was on perpetual poll mode since becoming CM in 2022, with an agenda to blunt political negativity over erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi, led by his former boss Uddhav Thackeray, being ejected from power. The current Maha boss had a clear brief to launch a blitzkrieg of project announcements, big and small, to launch 500 public welfare schemes before polls. After BJP severed political ties (for good) with Uddhav Thackeray, it leveraged Shinde’s grass roots work culture and recently, added NCP leader Ajit Pawar’s political dynamism to counter the groundswell of disenchantment among citizens. Shinde’s efforts are yielding political returns by carving a positive image for his (breakaway) government in Maharashtra where self-body elections to 27 municipalities were kept on hold to tide over negative public sentiment. A BJP leader tells shortpost.in, “Things are looking up now in the 48 Lok Sabha seats from Maharashtra. ‘Worker’ Shinde, backed by ‘Chanakya’ Fadnavis and ‘Dynamic’ (Ajit) Pawar are expected to ensure negative results turn positive in the forthcoming polls. BJP’s fail-safe to ensure Lok Sabha victory is projection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s face under which elections will be fought in Maharashtra, just like in Rajasthan.” Understandably, the ‘Maha Chanakya’ from Maharashtra, Sharad Pawar, is leaving no stone unturned to counter BJP’s strategy of wait-and-watch by precipitating protests over ‘Maratha’ reservations to never-before-seen levels
His resounding victory in the local body elections has brought Ajit Pawar to the centre stage of Maharashtra politics. Two days after Ajit Pawar announced that he would be inaccessible due to dengue, he flummoxed all by holding back to back meetings with Nationalist Congress Party founder Sharad Pawar in Pune and Union home minister Amit Shah at New Delhi the same day. The deputy CM, who has made no bones about his chief ministerial ambitions, is expected to claim his pound of flesh from the BJP having proved his electoral mettle after branching out independently from his uncle’s party. Speculations about change of guard in Maharashtra have also gained currency thanks to talk of Eknath Shinde government set to fall by December 31 as predicted by leaders like Uddhav Thackeray. That is the deadline set by the Supreme Court to decide on disqualification of legislators of the Ekanth Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction. Claims of independent legislator Ravi Rana that Ajit Pawar is trying to convince his uncle to throw in his weight behind the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has only muddied waters further. There had been much talk that the BJP had promised Ajit Pawar the CM’s chair only if he could get his uncle into the BJP alliance. The junior Pawar has been upset at his powers being clipped by the chief minister who reportedly has directed all finance department files to be sent to him. He was also upset at his supporters not being accommodated in ministerial berths and corporations.
Congress leaders are still wondering whether former PCC chief and ex-CM Kamal Nath is overplaying his confidence of winning Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. Or does he have something up his sleeve? His latest warning to state police and district administration officials, it was felt, betrayed more a sense of bluff and bluster, than real confidence. Imagine a person who was briefly CM saying “No one will be spared, six more days are left, do whatever you want to, but you also have to spend the next five years under a Congress regime.” Party sources conceded that such hollow threats by Nath were bound to be counterproductive in a close contest with the BJP. Attacking the Congress as “Dhamki ki Dukan”, the BJP feels the upcoming assembly election in 2023 for 230 seats is expected to witness largely a closely contested battle between the BJP and the Congress. In addition to these two major parties, the Samajwadi Party and AAP have also nominated their candidates for the polls. The BJP has pledged to offer free ration to the underprivileged for the upcoming five years and provide LPG cylinders to women at a cost of Rs 450. Additionally, the BJP is committed to establishing the Madhya Pradesh Institute of Technology and the Madhya Pradesh Institute of Medical Sciences if it secures victory in the state. Another key promise from the BJP is the provision of 100 units of electricity for Rs 100.
In a bid to revive its fortunes ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has once again decided to fall back on the charisma of its tall Linagyat stalwart BS Yediyurappa in Karnataka by appointing his son BY Vijayendra as the president of state’s BJP unit. Vijayendra, an MLA from the Shikaripur constituency replaces Nalin Kateel. The appointment comes six months after the Congress ousted the BJP government in the Karnataka Assembly polls with a landslide win. Vijayendra will be the 10th Karnataka’s BJP state chief. In the recent assembly elections, Vijayendra won as an MLA from Shikaripura constituency, once represented by his father. The BJP’s top leadership is yet to announce the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the southern state where it lost the mandate in the assembly elections. After quitting electoral politics, BS Yediyurappa had widely campaigned for the BJP across the state during the assembly election to help the saffron party to retain power. Interestingly, there were a lot of central BJP leaders vying to lead the state unit including Shobha Karanadlaje and CT Ravi. However, this time it was decided that the party should not risk ignoring Yediyurappa as it did during assembly polls. That too at a time when the ruling Congress is breaking up into various factions. There is already a talk that Congress minister Satish Jharkhioli has support of 65 MLAs rooting for him as CM.
The three-party coalition ruling in Maharashtra has humbled the NCP founder Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray in the just declared results for the Gram Panchayats in the state. The BJP has emerged as the single largest winner in the public mandate which was tested for the first time after the change of guard last year. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and the two deputy chief ministers, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, have welcomed the outcome with claims that the ruling alliance will win 45 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 elections. Initial reports suggest that out of 2359 Gram Panchayat bodies, the ruling side has won 1354, with the BJP bagging over 743, Shinde’s Sena getting over 240 and Ajit Pawar’s faction 371. On the other hand, the NCP under Sharad Pawar has been able to win 178 bodies while Uddhav’s Sena has come last with 102 victories. The overall perception that the electorate will reject those defecting from the main party has been belied, especially since Ajit’s faction has emerged invincible in Pune district’s politics, which was dominated for decades by his uncle Sharad Pawar. This performance will have a direct impact on the seat sharing between the two sides and since the so-called I.N.D.I.A front has fared poorly.
Maharashtra’s Eknath Shinde government has come in for much flak as the traders from the $ 23 billion big diamond business have started shifting base from Mumbai to Surat Diamond Bourse (SDB). The new diamond market at Surat has attracted attention for indulging in some aggressive marketing, even leveraging their political clout, to coerce Mumbai’s diamond traders to shift there. Even before its scheduled inauguration on December 17, at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mumbai diamond traders were lured with major incentives if they completely shut their shop in Mumbai. All this has not gone well with the Opposition parties in Maharashtra, who view this as part of a conspiracy from the Centre to reduce financial clout of Mumbai and Maharashtra. Maharashtra is already upset at the missed opportunities of Foxconn, Tata Airbus and the bulk drug park projects that moved to Gujarat over Maharashtra. The clear push for industries towards Gujarat over Maharashtra may upset BJP’s dream of wresting 40 out of the 48 Parliamentary seats from Maharashtra. Already, there is much consternation in the ruling alliance as some surveys show that public support is weakening for the BJP despite splitting the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Not surprisingly, the chief minister got the industries minister into damage control mode, who announced India’s biggest diamond cluster hub at Navi Mumbai within a year.
Is reel life influencing 36-year old Kangana Ranaut’s real life? At least that’s what seems on the face of it. A politically savvy and well informed actor, she has been consciously choosing characters that are political heroes or villains. And she has been vocal about it that she is interested in politics and that too Modi kind. Kangana has played the role of modern leaders like Indira Gandhi and J Jayalalithaa. Besides, she has also donned the role of legendary and religious characters in movies like Manikarnika 2, Sita: The Incarnation. In all these films she worked hard to make sure that the film got noticed by the audience. In the case of Thalaivii she chose to focus on how Jayalalithaa was shamed by her male counterpart in the Tamil Nadu assembly. Is she thinking of plunging into politics full time? Her various interviews clearly convey that she is keen on representing Himachal Pradesh but will BJP oblige? She arrived at the new Parliament building to attend the session as a woman invitee. In the film trade people say most of her movies do okay business and so producers are a little shy of signing her. Also, her cinema is becoming more about showcasing herself and her political leanings. For instance, there was no need for her to show Ayodhya being targeted by the terrorist in her latest film Tejas which incidentally did not do well at the box office. Is Kangana Ranaut like many south Indian stars using the movie platform to pursue her political dream?
There is strong buzz in Karnataka’s Congress circles that chief minister Siddaramaiah would like to hand over the reins to one of his trusted cabinet colleagues and Dalit leader Dr G Parameshwar rather than fall into machinations of the JD(S) like HD Kumaraswamy which is trying to bring down his government along with the BJP. He is reportedly reluctant to hand over charge to PCC chief and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar (DKS), who belongs to the dominant Vokkaligga community. The stories of multiple recoveries made by the I-T department have simply shocked those in the government. What kick-started the buzz about leadership change was the dinner hosted by Parameshwar for Siddaramaiah and his loyalists in the Cabinet like Dr HC Mahadevappa and Satish Jharkioli last week. The dinner assumed significance as DKS is apparently pushing for giving South Bengaluru status to Ramanagar district. JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy who made Ramanagar a separate district during his stint as CM feels DKS is perhaps playing into the hands of the builder lobby. The Congress leadership is hugely relying on DKS to manage the assembly elections across states. DKS has become the face of the Karnataka model of freebie governance in Telangana; he even said Telangana freebies are better than Karnataka. That means it is quite clear this deputy CM is no push over.
Looks like BJP firebrand leader and former chief minister of Jharkhand Raghubar Das who was recently appointed as the Governor of Odisha has changed his tack. Das, known for his aggression and cryptic remarks against the Biju Janata Dal government headed by Naveen Patnaik is now singing differently. He is now invoking the spirit of Team India, saying “he is looking forward to working with Patnaik in the land of Lord Jagannath.” He also said he will take the eastern state to new heights in coordination with the Patnaik government. Why this sudden change of heart and platitudes? Maybe in his new role, he cannot be seen using aggression and tactics; he needs to be seen conducting the office of the governor in a very dignified manner. Though there are examples galore of how the Governors appointed by the Union government have been engaged in a ding dong battle with the chief ministers in non BJP states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Also, it has dawned on the BJP leadership that it will not be easy to dislodge Patnaik from his throne. So BJP seems to be applying, “If you can’t beat them, join them strategy”. But, according to sources, Governor Das known for his organisational ability has been sent to Odisha with a purpose. Though for now things seem hunky dory but one will have to wait and watch till the outcome of 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Income-tax raids in Bengaluru which had led to recovery of Rs 80 crore cash from contractors and two major infrastructure companies last week, created a lot of heartburn in Congress circles as the funds were headed for poll-bound Telangana. Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar is in charge of the poll-bound state. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot held a presser in Delhi to charge that the BJP-led Centre was misusing probe agencies to target Opposition leaders even after enforcement of Model Code of Conduct, and urged both PM Modi and the EC to intervene. BJP sources said I-T authorities were most likely tipped off by the contractors who were harassed by the Congress government for bribes to clear their dues. In fact, the contractor whose house was raided was the most prominent face of the allegations of 40% commission against the previous BJP government. While the BJP charged that the builders were being blackmailed to pay bribes, BJP leader and former minister C T Ravi was quoted as saying that there were instances where a prominent infrastructure company, which was also constructing houses, was denied water connection because it refused to pay bribes to the incumbent government. Interestingly, soon after the I-T cash haul the Congress rushed its senior leaders RS Surjewala and KC Venugopal to Bengaluru to gather “resources” for redeployment to election-going Madhya Pradesh. The Karnataka BJP targeted the Congress on corruption and released an ‘ATM Sarkara Collection Tree’ poster.
Finally after months of dilly dallying BJP’s Odisha poster boy Dharmendra Pradhan has put to rest speculations about his political future. Now, it is loud and clear that he is not in the race for Odisha Chief Minister’s post if by chance BJP wins the assembly election. Reportedly, Pradhan has managed to convince the party high command to allow him to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha poll from Dhenkanal his native place or Sambalpur, a BJP’s stronghold. But for Pradhan contesting from Dhenkanal, his home turf is not going to be a cake walk since both the Lok Sabha seat and its seven Assembly seats have been won by BJD. In fact, Dhenkanal Lok Sabha seat has been with BJD from 2004 onward and in 2019 general election BJP found itself no match to BJD’s major swing in assembly election. And in Dhenkanal Lok Sabha election BJD candidate Mahesh Sahoo defeated BJP’s Rudra Narayan Pany by a margin of over 35,000 votes. If BJP decides to allocate Sambalpur seat to Pradhan then it would mean end of the road for the controversial sitting MP Nitish Gangadeb. On the other hand, Sambalpur Lok Sabha and its Assembly constituency seems to be a safer bet since BJP won Lok Sabha and three Assembly seats in 2019. However, what seems to be going against Pradhan is his track record of not having fought a direct election since 2009.
Battling fatigue in Madhya Pradesh where it has been in power for two decades, the BJP moved to a headstart as it released a fourth list containing a list of 57 candidates for the upcoming assembly polls. It did not wait for the auspicious start of the Navaratris or the end of pitru paksh to release the candidates list for MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. It released the lists as soon as the EC announced a month-long poll schedule for five state assemblies. Beginning with voting in Mizoram and Chhattisgarh on November 7, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (2nd phase) on November 17, Rajasthan on November 23, and Telangana on December 30, votes are to be counted on December 3. Ending speculations, MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is contesting from Budhni. Like the MP list which featured Union ministers like Narendra Tomar and Prahlad Patel, the Rajasthan list has as many as seven Lok Sabha MPs. As for the Congress Working Committee which met to decide on assembly polls, sought to make “caste census” a poll strategy. The party pushed for a ‘Caste Census’ in the country. Only last week, the outgoing Ashok Gehlot government issued orders for caste census in Rajasthan. Rahul Gandhi said “I think it is a very progressive step, a very powerful step for the emancipation of the poor people in our country. We will force the BJP to carry out the caste census or make them get out of the way.”
It all began as an innocuous battle of ideas between the Congress and BJP on the X. First, it veered around talking points from PM Modi’s speech that the BJP collated to warn of the perils of ideas of majoritarian politics that is being pushed via caste census. The fight intensified as a poster war with the Congress first sharing in its official X handle a picture of PM Modi and Amit Shah — that looked like a movie poster — with the text “PM Narendra Modi as Jumla Boy” written on it. The party captioned the poster with: “Going to hit the election rally soon.” It followed posters calling Modi the “biggest liar”. Looks like the Congress did not expect a strong counter from the BJP. With festivals of Navaratri and Dussehra round the corner, the BJP came up with a poster that was in line with its battle for Sanatan Dharam; it thought it fit to dub Rahul Gandhi as “new age Ravan”. “He is Evil. Anti-Dharma. Anti-Ram. His aim is to destroy Bharat. Rahul was also dubbed as a George Soros puppet. Realising the potential damage that likeness to Ravan could unleash in heartland states like MP and Rajasthan, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh felt portraying Rahul as Ravan could provoke “violence”. “It is clearly intended to incite and provoke violence against a Congress MP and a former President of the party, whose father and grandmother were assassinated by forces that want to divide India”, he said.
PM Narendra Modi created quite a flutter when he recently claimed how Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) had wanted to join the NDA soon after the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections that were held in December 2020. Modi said he had rejected Rao’s overtures due to his “deeds”. He also said KCR had stopped receiving him at the airport as per protocol. While it may seem natural for the BJP and BRS to target each other in the time of elections, Modi mentioning KCR’s efforts to snuggle up to the BJP after its brilliant showing in Hyderabad naturally set off political fireworks. Telangana Congress leaders however described Modi’s words as an effort to prop up a rapidly declining BRS against the Congress and make the Telangana assembly polls a triangular contest. “The BJP had performed phenomenally well in the civic elections — rising from 3 to 48 councillors; it is this growth that perhaps made KCR take note of the BJP. But thereafter the BJP has only been making mistakes,” pointed out a Congress leader. First, the BJP made the mistake of removing OBC leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar as its Telangana chief and then like the Congress went for a Reddy leader to head it. Now both the leaders are simply unable to reconcile to their new status concedes a BJP manager. The moot point is in these circumstances will Modi’s efforts to boost the BRS’s prospects pay any dividend?
BJP leader Pankaja Munde’s supporters have collected over Rs 11 crore through crowd funding in response to a GST notice for Rs 19 crore arrears against Vaidyanath Cooperative Sugar Mill controlled by her. They have declared that the entire amount would be raised within a few days so that she will be presented with the purse of the fund on the occasion of Dussehra in a public function. Daughter of BJP giant Gopinath Munde, she was a cabinet minister in the last BJP government headed by Devendra Fadnavis. Always eager to indicate her willingness to be the chief minister someday, Pankaja was sidelined in the state after she lost the 2019 assembly election to her cousin Dhananjay Munde, from the family stronghold Parali in Beed district in Marathwada region. Time and again indirectly suggesting that her defeat was engineered from within the BJP, she has been touring Marathwada in a bid to mobilise support for her. The GST notice has provided her with a tool to hit out at her unnamed foes, in the party and outside. Her future had become precarious since Dhananjay is now in the Shinde-Fadnavis cabinet, following his leader Ajit Pawar. In the midst of these developments, Pankaja has received the GST notice which seems godsend as it has enabled her to rouse her supporters from various parts of Maharashtra.
The sacking of party MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik by BJD President Naveen Patnaik followed by EOW raid on his publication Sambad for alleged fraud and forgery on salary slips of 350 employees is Patnaik’s signal to all his partymen — do not criticize party’s decisions publicly. Ranjan says he is being victimised for speaking his mind. Political sources say, Soumya had indeed crossed the partyline when he openly endorsed BJP MP’s Aparijita Sarangi’s point of view criticizing district tours of Patnaik’s Secretary VK Pandian using helicopters which were expensive. The Odisha CM had defended and justified Pandian’s expenses in the State assembly. Soumya is no green horn in politics; he has completed the political circuit beginning with Congress, then joined BJP, flirted with NCP, then returned to Congress only to be expelled in 2012. Post that he set up his own political party ‘Ama Odisha’ and then joined BJD in 2018 and was nominated as Rajya Sabha MP. In the 2019 assembly election he was elected MLA from Khandapada constituency. Here too, his honeymoon was short lived, he was expelled in 2023 for anti-party activities. Now it is learnt that Soumya has met the home minister Amit Shah in Delhi. But, the moot point is will BJP entertain him this time?
Frankly, everyone in the BJP was surprised over Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s decision to release the caste census report as he was seen as someone still trying to retrace his steps back into the NDA fold. Yes, he was spotted attending Pt Deendayal Upadhyay’s birth anniversary organised by the BJP in Patna on September 25. However, the Opposition bluff about the growing demand for caste census was called by PM Narendra Modi. In a perfect counter, Modi cornered the Congress for its new slogan “jitni aabadi utna haq“. Underlining how the latest Bihar census had pointed out that 81% were Hindus and 17 % Muslims, Modi loudly “wondered what Dr Manmohan Singh would be thinking now. He used to say that the minorities have the first right to the country’s resources. So now does the Congress want to decrease the rights of the minorities? So, should the Hindus, who have the largest population, come forward and take all their rights? The Congress is no longer being run by Congress people. Now the Congress has been outsourced.” Interestingly, eminent jurist Abhishek Singhvi tweeted against the perils of majoritarianism and underscored that “equality of opportunity is never the same as equality of outcomes”. Hours later after uproar in Congress he deleted the tweet. Bihar Congress leader Kishore Jha pointed out that the caste census was a flawed one as it had not counted absentee Biharis living far away. “Lalu Prasad has been trying to undermine the strength of Brahmins since 1990 and he has now succeeded.”
The ruling BJP’s worst nightmare might be round the corner. Rahul Gandhi was not far off the mark in releasing the results of early internal surveys of the mood in the five states going to the polls soon. He said Congress could certainly win three of them –Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana – while Rajasthan could be a tossup, with Mizoram in the northeast likely to also be affected by what is going on in Manipur and hence could turn against the national ruling party. While Chhattisgarh is a given considering it has been a Congress stronghold for a while now, Telangana is where the Congress might put up its most impressive show. The BJP, acutely aware that the party stands little chance in the State given its indistinct local leadership, is banking on KCR to withstand the anti-incumbency wave and keep the State away from the Congress. There is talk in Hyderabad of a deal already struck between BJP and BRS regarding the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. The Congress is hoping to create a national mood swing with a good showing in four states, including Rajasthan which may see a close-run race. Telangana is the big swing State that might impel the Congress campaign for the big polls in 2024.
There is a sense of apprehension within top leadership of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) about the number of seats they may win in the 2024 general elections. This fear follows a setback for TMC in 2019 general elections even after winning the 2018 Panchayat elections hands down. TMC lost several seats in North Bengal; it won 22 Lok Sabha which was a decline from its 2014 record of 34 seats. Incidentally, in the 2023 Panchayat elections too, TMC recorded a landslide victory. The bone of contention it seems is that most of its candidates won unopposed in 2023 — a similar thing happened in 2018. But the public did not take it lightly, it was angry that TMC did not allow opposition candidates to file their nominations vis a vis contest the elections. Result, their anger manifested in terms of BJP winning a record number of 18 LS seats in 2019 from its previous record of two seats. In the words of a state leader of the ruling party, “No level of public representation should be opposed, as it indicates lack of transparency and this gives an extra edge to the Opposition, especially the BJP.” However, a section of TMC leaders like Alipurduar District Trinamool President Prakash Chik Baraik and Purulia District Trinamool President Soumen Belthoria feel that it’s Didi’s pro-people policy in North Bengal that the party gained grounds in Panchayat elections.
Politics makes strange bedfellows. The strangest of them may even come together after the big break up that occurred in Tamil Nadu where Dravidian major AIADMK severed its links with the BJP and NDA. It is learnt that long before the alliance was off, Edapaddi Palaniswami (EPS) was in touch with Mallikarjun Kharge about AIADMK seeking admission into the I.N.D.I.A bloc. Apparently, Sonia Gandhi was not for confusing the picture for their supporters and voters by allowing such an alliance. Yet EPS was told to first break free from the BJP and that any offer to join the alliance might be considered in a post-poll scenario. Keeping all his options, EPS is looking to first win a few seats that may be useful post the verdict and then play his cards accordingly. The break from the NDA is final, so far as EPS is concerned. The undisputed leader of AIADMK might even see his hold on the party challenged in the top court by O Panneerselvem who is now looking to confirm his entry into the NDA once he forms his own party that could be named Puratchi Thalaivi Amma DMK. Annoyed by the Big Brother attitude and BJP’s propensity to dictate who all from the former undivided AIADMK may be in the NDA, EPS walked out and created a stir in national politics.
After listening to various charges levelled against his private secretary for months, the Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik finally decided to give it back to the state BJP and Congress leaders during the monsoon session. The Opposition leaders have constantly been raising the issue of how come an IAS officer VK Pandian is using the state machinery – helicopter — to travel across the state to meet the general public and understand their grievances. This should be done by BJD’s elected leaders, they said. Patnaik, who generally maintains a low profile, finally spoke his mind in the House stating that Pandian was going across the state meeting people door-to-door as he headed the CM’s Grievance Cell. He said as per his direction, during the last six months officers from the CMO visited all the districts covering over 190 locations and in the process collected 57,442 petitions. Of this, 43,536 petitions have been resolved or disposed of. Naveen clarified “this is one of the biggest and most effective peoples’ grievances redressal exercise undertaken by any government in the country thereby justifying extensive use of helicopter service by Pandian and his men. It would have taken one and half years to do the same exercise by road. The Odisha chief minister further clarified that his government was paying the usual market rate Rs 1-1.5 crore a month for hiring helicopters.
Odisha’s Leader of Opposition Jayanarayan Mishra says if his party (BJP) is voted to power in the state then there is a chance that Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik and his secretary VK Pandian will face jail term. It is indeed a sweeping statement and a reckless one feel seasoned political observers. Patnaik’s track record has been impeccable and he has indeed transformed the state. But what is getting Opposition leaders’ goat is the unbridled power enjoyed by Patnaik’s private secretary Pandian, who many say rides roughshod. Mishra says, IAS Secretary Pandian who hails from a poor family from Tamil Nadu has amassed huge wealth in Odisha. He also charged him favouring Tamil Nadu contractors over the state’s local contractors. Mishra dropped a bombshell saying the killing of BJD’s minister Naba Das was a state sponsored murder. Going further, he even made a more provocative statement stating that “If BJP is voted to power in 2024 both chief minister Patnaik and his private secretary Pandian may face jail term.” Political watchers say given Naveen babu’s bonhomie with Modi these kinds of threats are kite flying, merely to boost the morale of local BJP cadres. Meanwhile, Patnaik is unfazed saying “double engine doesn’t matter, good governance wins” thereby justifying why Odias vote for his party BJD again and again.
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule has once again put his foot in his mouth by exhorting party functionaries to ‘look after’ local media so that nothing adverse for the party is highlighted. After an expected furore, the former energy minister has tried to cover up by claiming that all he meant was to tell the party workers to understand the media, behave with it respectfully. However, nobody is buying his argument. Bawankule had told a party meeting in Ahmednagar on Sunday, “Take the local press people to the nearby dhaba. Serve tea to them. You must have realized what I mean by tea. In case some assistance is required, the local MP will be available to help.” The print and electronic media are infuriated with him. The BJP has launched the ‘Maha Vijay 2024’ campaign for the coming Lok Sabha election. Under the plan, one Super Warrior has been appointed to take care of four election booths. The campaign in Maharashtra has started from Ahmednagar South LS constituency. It is presently represented by Dr Sujay Vikhe, a scion of the powerful sugar baron family. The meeting was not open for the media but Bawankule’s priceless advice somehow found its way to the social media and provided ammunition to the opposition. The BJP leaders in the state were so embarrassed that it asked Bawankule to use the standard political excuse by saying that his statement has been misinterpreted.
The BJP is preparing to give a surprise gift in some Lok Sabha constituencies in the state. Thespian Madhuri Dixit, ace prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, former police boss Pratap Dighavkar and RSS strategist Sunil Deodhar are among the names reportedly discussed between Union home minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis as likely BJP candidates for the coming Lok Sabha election. During their 30-minute tete a tete in Mumbai, the two leaders have discussed some urgent political matters, including the fate of the present Shinde-Fadnavis government in the state. Madhuri and BJP leaders enjoy a close association. Several top saffron functionaries have been meeting Madhuri over the years. Her name was considered for a Mumbai LS seat while Nikam, who successfully appeared for the government in the Mumbai attacks cases, was assessed for Jalgaon in north Maharashtra. A retired top cop, Dighavkar had consented to join the BJP on the condition that he would be fielded by the party from Dhule, adjacent to Jalgaon. Deodhar had structured a winning formula for the Tripura assembly election. In all probability, he will be tested for Pune. Shah was busy performing pooja at various famous Ganesh mandals during his Mumbai visit. After spending time with governor Ramesh Bais at Raj Bhavan and with chief minister Eknath Shinde at his official residence Varsha, he made it a point to bow before Lalbaugcha Raja.
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Editor’s Note: Short Post Is Here To Stay…
Time, they say, flies—and how true that is. Here we are celebrating our 5th Anniversary. Five years ago, when Covid-19 was wreaking havoc across the globe, I took a leap of faith and launched Short Post, India’s first website for Authentic Gossip. That was on January 31, 2021. I was convinced there was a clear gap in the market for gossip that was credible, sharp, and impactful—especially if told in just 250 words.
In this, I was fortunate. Scores of senior editors across diverse verticals bought into the idea and, in the process, gave wings to my dream. Quite honestly, Short Post could not have crossed these milestones without the unflinching support of its contributing editors. Like all start-ups, we have seen our share of ups and downs, but these editors have stood by us like a rock. I take this opportunity to doff my hat to them.
Thanks to their commitment, we have published close to 5,000 stories spanning politics, business, entertainment, and sports. I say this with pride: we made our mark as people who matter read us. “Small packs, big impact” truly captures the essence of Short Post.
We all know that Covid-19 has reset businesses worldwide, and the media sector is no exception. In the post-Covid era, investors have become more cautious and selective—and advertisers too. To compound matters, the entry of AI has disrupted the media landscape in equal measure. So far, we have managed to hold our ground, hopeful that some angel investors will take a shine to us.
What gives me confidence is this: AI cannot smell news—especially the gossipy kind. In other words, AI cannot churn out Short Post-type stories, no matter the prompt. That puts us in a safe zone. As someone rightly said, “AI is a co-pilot, not a pilot.”