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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 Raut was immediately ridiculed since Uddhav’s confidant Bal Mane had withdrawn his nomination without giving a faintest hint to his leader.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 the BJP government firmly in place in Odisha, the key question in everybody’s mind: “Is it the end of Biju Janata Dal”? “Not really…the political drama has just begun,” says a clued-in political analyst from Utkal University. Yes, BJD’s supremo Naveen Patnaik is not giving up the fight. Patnaik is aiming to be a formidable opposition force to BJP. He wants to stay relevant and aims to bounce back at the right time. Immediate plan of action is to keep the party united, regroup rank and file and prepare strategies for the future. Observers say, this makes sense as Naveen is still loved by four-crore plus Odias. He is likely to take over as leader of opposition in the Odisha Assembly. Rumours are BJD MLA Prasanna Acharya is now batting to be Naveen’s deputy in the Assembly. Naveen babu’s future success will depend on four factors, one, what “mantra ” he has which will enable him to keep his numbers intact, two, having ears to the ground addressing rank and file concerns, three, quickly creating second rung leaders and four grooming a successor. After being in power for over two decades, Naveen babu for the first time is an opposition leader. So how he converts this into a political opportunity will have to be seen. Right now he is playing cards close to his chest.
During the late J Jayalalithaa’s governance, Chennai’s Poes Garden was literally the epicentre of power. Nothing moved unless the diktat came from the iconic residence of the late CM, ably assisted by her confidante VK Sasikala Natarajan, a power centre in her own right. Sasikala, in near oblivion after her jail term has again surfaced and hit the headlines. She held a press meet at her imposing residence just across JJ’s home. Without much preamble, the lady announced “I have decided to get back my place and my party in electoral politics”. MGR and Jayalalithaa gave everything to build the AIADMK as the country’s third largest political party. But it has been sadly led into the worst setback by people with no vision, only greed and selfishness. She further added that she watched this debacle silently, and patiently like how “MGR taught me”. Both my leaders never used caste as the cornerstone…I too profess no caste. Making Edappadi CM when she was sent to jail was the beginning of the party’s downfall. She is determined to “free TN from the monstrous clutches of the DMK, unite AIADMK and bring back the glory. The rumbles and muttered exchanges are now growing louder. As also speculation was the message from the BJP high command to Sasikala to use her special talent to bring the broken bits together? For BJP her rise will be akin to killing two birds with a stone —EPS and DMK.
The Nationalist Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar is presently buffeted by successive jolts. The latest are the suspense surrounding senior OBC minister Chhagan Bhujbal and the demand by sections in the BJP and the Shiv Sena (Shinde) to distance the NCP(A) in view of the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Intricately linked with this development, Bhujbal’s next step will impact the state politics since he is the focus of the Maratha-OBC conflict over the demand for reservations for the dominant caste. Bhujbal has been under pressure by his supporters to take a ‘decisive step’ about staying on with the NDA. Feelers are circulating that he could stage a homecoming – by returning to the Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray. He had left the Sena in 1992 to join the Congress and later switched over to the NCP floated by Sharad Pawar in 1999. His decision to go behind Ajit Pawar had astounded even his close supporters. Bhujbal can command a substantial OBC vote bank. If this is not enough for the NCP(A), some elements in the BJP and the Sena (Shinde) have started complaining that the NDA candidates in their areas did not receive the expected support from Ajit’s party. The anger has been heightened due to Ajit’s decision to send his wife Sunetra to the Rajya Sabha despite her defeat in the Lok Sabha election. The next week will prove testing for the three-party ruling alliance for several other reasons, too.
The internal rift within the Bengal BJP is deepening as prominent leaders continue to point fingers at Opposition Leader Suvendu Adhikari for the party’s disappointing performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections. The political discord is escalating, with senior leader and former state president Dilip Ghosh indirectly accusing Adhikari of orchestrating the candidate selection process that led to the party’s downfall. Ghosh has suggested that his own transfer from the Medinipur constituency to the Bardhaman-Durgapur constituency was part of a deliberate strategy to undermine his chances. Under Ghosh’s leadership, the BJP achieved its best-ever results in Bengal, winning 18 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and securing 77 seats in the 2021 State Assembly polls, making the party the principal opposition force. In response to the criticisms, Adhikari has maintained that his role was limited to campaigning for the party and not interfering in organizational decisions. He has refrained from engaging in public debates about internal party issues. The unrest has spurred some party members to call for Ghosh’s reinstatement as state president, especially since the current president Sukanta Majumder has been made a minister at the Centre. Supporters of Adhikari argue that he remains a potent force against the Trinamool Congress (TMC), citing his significant victory over TMC leader Mamata Banerjee in Nandigram during the 2021 elections. Adhikari’s recent absence from a critical state party meeting on June 15, opting instead to be in Cooch Behar to support victims of post-election political violence, has added fuel to the internal controversies.
After the much talked about high voltage dressing down in public of BJP leader Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan by home minister Amit Shah during Chandrababu Naidu’s swearing-in ceremony, the whole clip going viral saw BJP doing damage control. Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai went to her residence to pay his respects and the media was peppered with the optics of this Akka-Thambi (sister-brother) closeness. Memes about the Tamil hit Shivaji Ganesan- Savitri film Pasa Malar flew thick and fast. Dr Soundararajan is from a staunch Congress family…father Kumari Ananthan and her late cousin Vijay Vasanth expressed their shock when she joined the BJP. But a patch up took place when she married Dr Soundararajan in the presence of the two tallest Dravidian leaders –MGR and Kalaignar, underscoring her debut as a young leader. Her unique hairstyle and bright sarees have been mocked sometimes cruelly after her defeat by suave and sophisticated Tamizhacchi Thangapandian. Many opposition leaders used to tease her Tamilisai “Parattai” (unkempt sloppy hairdo) they called her. Unfazed she would shoot back… I may be, but at least my hair is original, not a wig master, Ouch! Stalin. With over 25 years of public life, walking out of two Governorships, this 62-year old former TN BJP chief post is relevant in her own right. An election loss and the public exposure, however anti-party, all stemmed from stress. Will Congress welcome her after Amit Shah publicly ticked her off? Tamilisai’s predicament is aptly described by the 17th century poet John Milton in Paradise Lost where he says “Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.”
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar is now at the receiving end for varying reasons. On the heels of the criticism published in the RSS mouthpiece ‘Organiser’ against the BJP’s decision to take him along, the NCP led by him decided to field his wife Sunetra for the lone Rajya Sabha vacancy from the state. As her’s is the only nomination, she will be elected unopposed. The disapproval of the decision emanates from the fact that Sunetra was defeated in the Lok Sabha election by Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule. Despite this, Ajit has prevailed upon his party leaders to grant the seat to her. The absence of chief minister Eknath Shinde and DCM Devendra Fadanvis at the time of filing of the nomination by Sunetra has added to the political speculation against Ajit. His clarification that he had not invited anyone for the filing, which was attended by only NCP(A) leaders, is seen as a lame defence. Ajit also did not respond to the ‘Organiser’ criticism, which had observed that the BJP had lessened its brand value by including Ajit in the state government. He said different people expressed their opinions after elections and they had a full right to do so. “I have concentrated on development. We have to face the coming assembly election with fresh vigour,” he said, declining to be drawn in a new controversy.
In a surprise move, Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai dropped by Chennai South candidate Tamilisai Soundarajan’s house in Chennai and briefly chatted up with her. The interaction follows furore in the social media over home minister Amit Shah publicly censuring her for her comments against lack of alliance between AIADMK and BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls; Tamilisai blamed Annamalai for severing ties with the AIADMK. Tamilisai, who belongs to the influential Nadar community, had resigned as Telangana Governor, as she was hoping to get elected as MP and become a central minister. She was aware of the effort made by Annamalai to build the BJP in the state and was hoping to capitalise on the goodwill created by him. She had polled as much as 2 lakh votes, which is sizable. However her remarks against Annamalai were not liked by the BJP top brass as it was the AIADMK which had walked out of the NDA fearing loss of minority votes in September 2023. It was Annamalai’s effort that had helped the BJP increase its vote share to 11.24 %. Meanwhile, Annamalai also hit back at DMK’s K Kanimozhi after she mocked him for not winning any seat in Tamil Nadu. The NDA, which comprised 7 parties besides the BJP, could not win any seat even though its vote share went up. Kanimozhi said Annamalai’s loss in Coimbatore showed that there was no place for the BJP in TN. She also said that Annamalai’s continuation as BJP’s Tamil Nadu chief was not good. Responding to Kanimozhi’s remarks, Annamalai said: “If my father was Karunanidhi, I too would have won all elections easily in Tamil Nadu. My father’s name is Kuppuswamy. He is a farmer and nobody in my family has got any smell of politics.”
The untimely passing away of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) President Amol Kale, 47, following a cardiac arrest — hours after he saw the India-Pakistan ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup clash at the Nassau County ground in New York – could see heavyweights across parties come into play in a big way. Kale, a family friend of the Maharashtra State Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, defeated the 1983 World Cup star Sandeep Patil by 25 votes to become the MCA President in 2022. Right from the time of Seshrao Wankhede — who is credited with MCA breaking the umbilical cord with the Cricket Club of India (CCI) and bringing up its own stadium at `D’ Road, Churchgate fifty years ago — politicians like Shiv Sena’s Manohar Joshi, NCP’s Sharad Pawar, Congress’s Vilasrao Deshmukh and BJP’s Ashish Shelar have called the shots as MCA President. The trend of politicians occupying the top post was broken by Vijay Patil, whose father was aligned with the NCP, and Kale, a friend of Fadnavis from his younger days in Nagpur. Kale would have completed two three-year terms as vice president and president next year, but his sudden demise has caused a vacancy to be filled for 15 months. Vice-President Sanjay Naik will fill in as chair at official meetings for 45 days, by which time the MCA members, as per their Constitution, will have to elect a new President. Two years ago, the State government successfully pushed for the election of Kale. The million-dollar question now is: Will the BJP-Shiv Sena take a plunge into the high-stakes election scene or hand it on a platter to UBT Shiv Sena’s Milind Narvekar — an Apex Council member now — who is said to have good equations with one and all.
Ever since he was picked as Minister of State (MoS) by PM Narendra Modi to be in his team 3.0, Suresh Gopi the BJP’s first leader to be elected from Thrissur Lok Sabha, Kerala has been battling a series of denials. First it was speculated that he wanted to be relieved of his ministerial responsibilities. He was not too happy that he had been designated only as MoS and not given Cabinet rank. He was upset that he should be given the same rank as one bestowed on a party veteran — George Kurian who had served Kerala BJP for 4 decades. Besides, as an actor, Gopi wanted to complete his film assignments. “My films are definitely one of my priorities. I think I will be given the space…My PM and Home Minister will find a method by which I will not ditch my passion,” he reiterated his commitment even as he took charge of the Ministry of Tourism. A junior minister also in the Ministry of Petroleum, Gopi was caught giving heartburns to party workers in Thrissur. High on his victory when he won against CPI’s VS Sunil Kumar by a margin of 74,686 votes. Gopi had spoken about fielding female film stars for the state assembly elections from his Lok Sabha constituency. “If an MP starts speaking like this we will finish our party workers,” pointed out a worried BJP Kerala leader. Meanwhile, BJP veteran George Kurian who took charge as MoS in the Minority Affairs Ministry and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Ministry, may have felt rewarded for all the quiet work he put for Kerala BJP all these years.
Thirty nine year old Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai proves yet again that he is an enigma, hard to decode and dogged in his efforts, untiring and unbeatable. Stepping into the BJP in 2019, and getting leadership in 2021, his mercurial rise within the party is astounding. Within four years he proved his mettle of building the BJP presence from around 4% to 11.26 % vote share in the just concluded Lok Sabha election. His detractors and rivals were happy when he was summoned to the swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi and his team. His defeat in Coimbatore must have been a big sting. Happy that he would be put to pasture in a cabinet berth and vacate TN’s hot seat as the leader. The three aspirants, Tamilisai Soundararajan, Vanathi Srinivasan and Nayinar Nagendran were already drumming up support to move into Annamalai’s post. Even as he sat in the last row when the PM gave his motivational sermon his strong opponents DMK and AIADMK leaders were trying to read his body language. Surprise and shock was writ large on his party colleagues, his antagonists and cadres when he flew back to TN thereby signalling that he had high command’s full backing. It was not surprising as Annamalai has single-handedly cobbled a BJP presence in TN, worked 24/7, walked padayatra, taken on the ruling party on many issues and remained politically significant. Above all, in a Dravidam state alternating between the DMK and AIADMK, he brought relevance to Hindutva and the BJP. He may have ruffled many feathers both within his party and opposition but he is here to stay for a long haul.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde has started mending fences immediately after the formation of the Union cabinet. His confidant Naresh Mhaske, the new Shiv Sena (Shinde) MP, has called on MNS leader Raj Thackeray ‘to thank and seek his blessings’ for the public meeting held by the latter in Thane in support of Shinde’s son Shrikant and Mhaske. The MNS is unhappy with the BJP bigwigs for not inviting Raj for the swearing-in ceremony of the Modi cabinet on 9 June. Senior BJP minister Sudhir Mungantiwar’s explanation that this may have happened due to some oversight on the part of the officials preparing the list has not gone down well. Though thousands of invitees attended, how come the MNS chief was forgotten, his rank and file have started asking. Raj will express his feelings about this lapse at the party rally to be held in Mumbai on June 12. The CM’s close associate, health minister Tanaji Sawant, visited Raj’s Shivaji Park residence to assuage his feelings. Raj’s open support came handy for BJP’s Narayan Rane in Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg and for Mhaske in Thane. In fact, Shinde had made it a prestige issue to claim the Thane seat despite the BJP’s stiff resistance. Mhaske’s and Shrikant victory has augmented the Sena (Shinde) presence in the district.
The sigh of relief in the DMK may have been loud enough as the results in the Lok Sabha polls restored the national balance somewhat. When opposing the BJP tooth and nail in the state and broadcasting their aversion to the party nationally in cutting speeches by CM Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi, the DMK understood that a BJP back in power and in full control of Parliament may have tried to play tricks. The unspoken fears were about the Centre beginning to needle the top brass of the party by using the federal investigating agencies further after their efforts to break Senthil Balaji as a key money maker and funds mover in both Dravidian parties (he was earlier with AIADMK) have not succeeded. DMK’s strategy to counter the BJP where it hurt was to ensure that the state chief K Annamalai was beaten. It can be revealed that the ruling party was unusually generous with purse strings to bring about a favourable result in Coimbatore. Had Annamalai succeeded he would have stood a good chance of being drafted into the Union ministry where, with a post in the Finance Ministry, he could have aimed for settling scores with the DMK brass. Of course, the mood may have altered slightly after the results, and it is unlikely that the top leaders will become subjects of interest to financial investigations any time soon.
Suspense is building up who will be BJP’s Odisha chief minister after strong contenders like Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram’s induction into Modi 3.0 Cabinet. The party high command seems to be unsure who should be its CM pick. To zero in on the right candidate the high command has deputed two senior party leaders Rajnath Singh and Bhupender Yadav to Odisha as central observers. Meanwhile, more names are doing the rounds. Sixty-four year old Suresh Pujari, former MP who won the Brajrajnagar assembly seat in 2024 is emerging as one of the serious contenders along with BJP state unit President Manmohan Samal, KV Singh Deo, Mohan Majhi and others. There seems to be some thinking that the high command may opt for the formula of one CM and two deputy chief ministers to maintain checks and balances. The dark horse in this race for the CM’s post could well be the retired IAS officer Girish Chandra Murmu who hails from Betnoti, Mayurbhanj district in Odisha. Sixty-four year old Murmu was the former Comptroller General of India and ex-J&K Lieutenant Governor. He was Principal Secretary to Modi during his CM days in Gujarat and also worked closely with home secretary as joint secretary. But, Modi is always known to spring surprises like he did with India’s first tribal President Droupadi Murmu who hails from Mayurbhanj, Odisha.
There is so much anger in Karnataka BJP over party candidate Lallu Singh for losing the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat under which falls Ayodhya; the seat has been won by Samajwadi Party which fielded a Dalit candidate mocking the Ram Mandir movement. BJP workers from the southern state have been trying to reach Lallu and attempted to give him an earful. He was a two-term MP and had remained inaccessible to his constituency. If one listens to the viral video (https://youtu.be/MOdV377sA3k?si=hiVLX020RMIa4MqM), one will get the sense of how arrogant a BJP leader can be when he is speaking to his own party workers. The workers launch a blistering attack on him for losing Ayodhya. “You should not have contested. After all Yogiji opposed you as a candidate, “Lallu can be heard defending his rout by saying — he wasn’t the only one to lose. Why did Kalyan Singh’s son Rajveer — who contested from Etah lose?” he asks. He is also heard asking the southern party workers about who was Yogi to cancel his ticket. Sources close to Yogi conceded that the UP CM had no role in picking candidates. In fact he had even stayed away from campaigning for most of the candidates As a result some of Shah’s loyalists like Smriti Irani had to bite dust. Ever since the CM was objecting to renomination of most sitting MPs, the BJP fellas were all getting around Yogi’s nod endorsed by home minister Amit Shah. BJP sources said the elephant in the room was subtle competition between Shah and Yogi. In fact at the NDA meeting on June 7, PM Modi sent out a loud message of endorsement of Yogi’s leadership by warmly patting his back at the Central Hall of Parliament.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray’s total silence about the NDA’s rout in the state in Lok Sabha elections was found to be intriguing by those who know him well. The mystery has deepened owing to his decision to withdraw his party’s candidate from the Konkan Graduate Constituency election for one vacancy in the state legislative council. The decision to withdraw Raj’s ardent follower Abhijit Panse, who had entered the fray last week. His candidature had perplexed the NDA partners since it was a unilateral decision. More so because the seat has been with BJP’s Niranjan Davkhare, who is seeking re-election. MNS leader Nitin Sardesai announced that his party decided to withdraw Panse at the express request made by Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to Raj. Some strain had been created due to Panse’s decision to contest and the stoic silence maintained by Raj had only heightened the suspense. All said and done, the withdrawal by Panse has come as a great relief for the BJP, which is still recovering from the LS drubbing. Had there been a triangular fight, the risk of the INDIA candidate benefiting at the cost of the BJP would have loomed large. Fadanvis and Raj have saved the situation but have posed more questions.
With a win of 29 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal, party supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee has once again proved that she is a very tough opponent to crack. Beleaguered by the Sandeshkhali controversy, Teachers Recruitment scam, arrest of senior TMC ministers and leaders put Didi on the backfoot. But, her astuteness came to the fore in choosing candidates to stop what seemed a BJP’s juggernaut. She not only chose surprise faces such as former cricketers Kirti Azad and Yusuf Pathan, actress Rachana Banerjee, she even put forward her trusted lieutenants and cabinet ministers such as Partha Bhowmick, Biplab Mitra to contest the seats. Her decision to increase the expenditure for the Lakshmir Bhandar initiative touched the women voters across the state. Sources say that Didi is scheduled to meet her newly elected MPs on June 8 and one could expect a major ‘shuffle’ in the organisation based on the results of the Lok Sabha polls — where the party failed and where the margin dropped. Not only in the party but also at the panchayat and municipal levels, there may be several reshuffles. Sources also said, the evaluation work is going on at all three levels of the Panchayat by the poll strategy body IPAC. Close-aide of Didi have confirmed that the meeting has made it categorical to her nephew Abhishek Banerjee that the party should start preparing for the 2026 assembly polls. Interestingly, 2024 marks Mamata’s 40 years in politics, this covers her journey as a mercurial leader to a Mamata Magic, from unseating CPI(M)’s veteran, late Somnath Chatterjee to joining and leaving hastily both Manmohan Singh and Vajpayee governments to routing CPI(M) citadel in 2011 after 34 years of rule.
Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil managed to show his political clout in the 18th Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra without putting up even a single candidate in the fray. The impact of the Maratha vote bank led to the almost wipe out of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance particularly from the Marathwada region, where it lost seven of the total eight seats. The Jarange Patil factor is also directly blamed for the defeat of Pankaja Munde, who hails from the Other Backward Class (OBC) community, due to polarisation of the caste factor. Munde’s convoy had to face black flags and even faced entry blockades from various villages due to the Maratha agitation. Bajrang Sonawane, from Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) who defeated Pankaja Munde, rushed to pay his respects to Jarange soon after his victory. Buoyed up by his role, Jarange has now announced that his party will now put up candidates from all communities in all the 288 constituencies in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly polls if the government fails to expand reservation benefits for the Maratha community. He has also threatened to sit on an indefinite fast and rake up heat on the Maratha issue from June 8 onwards in preparation for the forthcoming crucial state polls. The re-emergence of Jarange Patil now threatens to affect the chances of the BJP across the state at a time when it is already facing a drastic slash down in the state from 23 seats to 9 Lok Sabha seats.
Trinamool Congress once again managed to derail BJP by winning 29 Lok Sabha seats against BJP’s mere 12 against 18 in 2019. With such good tidings, the party supremo Mamata Banerjee seems to indirectly indicate that her nephew Abhishek Banerjee, who made this big win possible, will succeed her. Didi’s magic and Abhishek’s poll strategies made sure that TMC’s win. As for his own win, Abhishek won by a record seven lakh plus votes. Didi announced at the press conference that Abhishek will be her representative at the I.N.D.I.A. front meetings and decision making processes. It was Abhishek’s strategy to give the impression that the BJP intended to halt benefit initiatives by Mamata’s government, if BJP comes to power. Earlier, he had undertaken several protest programmes including a dharna at New Delhi to protest against the Modi government for not releasing MNREGA funds. Despite the youth-senior conflict within TMC, the Opposition’s jabs at ‘corruption’ and ‘nepotism’, Abhishek’s strategy appealed to Bengali voters. He also played an important role in the campaign plan, selection of slogans, and holding meetings with party leadership across the state. According to Trinamool sources, the main slogan of the party in the Lok Sabha elections is the brainchild of Abhishek. Mamata’s remarks at a press conference following the election fuelled further speculations. She said, praising Abhishek’s efforts demonstrated amazing leadership and determination. Although she did not formally designate him as her successor, the endorsement was interpreted that eventually he will step into her shoes.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal United (JDU) has shared a cryptic post on X in which he has talked about both Nyay and Vikas — two ideas that are close to the Congress and the BJP. He is all set to play a kingmaker’s role after Lok Sabha 2024 results, it is interesting that he has used both the terms. In Bihar, Nitish Kumar’s JDU performed better than NDA allies as it contested along with the BJP. In fact, he walked out of the RJD tie-up under pressure of MPs and sided with the BJP. His party is leading in 14 and BJP in 11. There are speculations that Nitish Kumar, who has a history of switching sides at key moments, is keeping both options open. Many social media users earlier speculated that the Bihar CM could change sides again and join the I.N.D.I.A bloc if he is offered the PM’s post. In fact there were reports that Nitish initially resisted meeting the Bihar BJP chief. When such reports reached Delhi, BJP’s top leadership had a special emissary sent to him to ensure that he reaches Delhi to attend the NDA meeting on June 5. At least one state CM and I.N.D.I.A leader– Mamata Banerjee– is not very happy about the importance that PM Modi is bestowing on Nitish Kumar. She is getting quite upset about the talk of the deputy PM’s post being offered to him. She had reportedly brushed off performance claims about JDU, considering the TMC has also done well. After all both Nitish and she have been rail ministers in the Vajpayee government. Both the leaders are not known to get along.
One of the biggest surprises of the 2024 Lok Sabha results was that the I.N.D.I.A bloc gave a tough fight to the BJP-led NDA in Uttar Pradesh. While everyone has been lauding Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav for repackaging his party and making a spectacular comeback, BJP sources said the I.N.D.I.A front gained mainly by manufacturing a lie about reservation and how Modi in his third term would do away with it. It was this lie that saw the BJP falling short of a majority on its own in the 543-member parliament. The SP and the Congress deliberately spread panic among dalits and managed to win 42 seats. This means Modi will have a lot of trouble in his third term as he will have to depend on allies to form the government. It will introduce some uncertainty in policy-making as Modi has ruled with a free hand in the last decade. The party has so far won 239 seats compared to the 303 seats it had won in 2019. Besides in UP alone, it appears Ram Mandir has not yielded the party any special dividend. In fact, before the temple was built in 2019, the BJP had bagged 62 of 80 seats in UP, but in the post Ram Mandir era the BJP has been restricted to 38 seats, bringing down the overall BJP tally and weakening PM Modi’s third term. Party sources conceded that the conspiracy theories floated by the Congress and SP weakened Modi’s mandate. Congress leaders twisted the call for a 400 paar mandate as a ploy to undo reservations for the Dalits. “There are 17 reserved seats in UP. Because of this damaging campaign by Congress we have been restricted to three or four reserved seats this time. As a result this time our tally from UP has been hit,”points out a BJP Dalit leader.
The results of the Lok Sabha elections have disappointed the rank and file in the BJP but, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already commenced his third term work to flesh out his 100-day plan for India, including flagship policy amendment for handing over administration of temples across India to the Hindu community. This strategy, even while Modi continues in election mode targeting forthcoming state assembly elections in five states of the Indian union. A closed-door meeting between expected incumbent PM Modi and erstwhile Union Home Minister Amit Shah decided to prioritise the first council of Union Ministers comprising public representatives from states facing imminent assembly polls. Maharashtra’s citizens will elect 288 Members to its state legislative assembly by November 2024 just like Haryana, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir. Delhi and Bihar follow suit in 2025 while Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, Kerala, West Bengal state assemblies are scheduled in 2026. PM Modi’s 3.0 political regime will likely include Shivraj Singh Chauhan who relinquished Union Ministership to deliver Madhya Pradesh state assembly to BJP. Maharashtra’s Lok Sabha outcome has dampened and shocked everybody in the BJP coming in the wake of the double sympathy wave attracted by Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar. Pawar has silenced critics who foretold the end of his political career. There is going to be serious introspection and there may be reshuffle in Maharashtra according to sources. So, parliament ushers in the amendment allowing Hindus to administer their own temples (take it away from respective state governments) bringing the community on par with Muslim and Christian religious trusts.
Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit) is experiencing some unease at present over the perceived adverse line adopted by its senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal. The latest cause is Bhujbal’s defence of rival NCP (Sharad) leader Jitendera Awhad, who is facing flak for tearing a picture of Dr BR Ambedkar during a protest action. The BJP and NCP (Ajit) have held protest demonstrations to condemn his lapse. Rather than following the Mahayuti line, Bhujbal has supported Awhad by saying that the error happened when he was protesting against Manusmritii. “We will not allow backdoor entry of this retrograde social code,” Bhujbal declared, annoying his own party. When a huge hoarding collapsed in Ghatkopar, Mumbai a couple of weeks ago, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray was attacked by some Mahayuti leaders in connection with the permission granted for erecting the massive billboard. At that time, too, Bhujbal had termed the criticism of Thackeray as wrong. Earlier Bhujbal had been refused the Lok Sabha Nashik candidacy, despite his efforts to obtain blessings from Delhi. During electioneering, he had stated that the response to the rallies of Sharad Pawar and Uddhav was overwhelming. Being a powerful OBC leader, it will be difficult for the NCP (Ajit) to touch Bhujbal. On the other hand, his choices to return to his earlier parties seem limited owing to his various caustic attacks against Sharad Pawar and Uddhav. The lid on the mystery will be lifted soon after the Lok Sabha results are out on 4 June, it is felt.
The BJP government’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry, mandated to rectify pejorative and false narratives of Hinduism peddled through (mostly Hindi) commercial cinema by Prime Minister Narendra Modi since 2014, has almost finalized its CEO for the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to censor films before release. IRS (customs) officer Kundan Yadav’s appointment file is pending approval of the Election Commission of India. More recently, Yadav was seen poking fun at Sanatana dharma, the Sunder Kand and Maha Mrityunjay Mantra while also taking potshots at Brahmanism and the Manu Smriti texts while using self-composed poetry on a public platform in Jaipur. “Even while drafted for election duty, this JNU product openly denounced the BJP giving speeches regarding his single-minded efforts against the national party. Is it merely enough that he possesses a doctorate (PhD) to be appointed the CBFC CEO? What happened to the 360-degree-SWOT analysis, assessment of his knowledge on the craft of film-making?” asks a senior BJP leader in anguish. Yadav’s stay at JNU was subsidized by his seniors in his first year, when he failed to secure hostel accommodation. Thereafter, this brilliant student, despite needing two terms to complete his HSC board examinations, became a topper of his class, even securing a teaching tenure in the USA on scholarship. One of his JNU professors did pull him up once for not having collected funds allocated to him through yet another scholarship he had been bestowed with for inordinately long. Some guys have all the luck!
Ahead of the last day of polling for the 18th Lok Sabha across 57 seats including Varanasi from where PM Narendra Modi will be contesting for the third time, there is a quiet confidence in the ruling side about the number of seats the BJP will get. Yes there are some numbers to mull ahead of the Exit Poll. Top party bosses are apparently comfortable with reports that the BJP itself would be comfortably placed even as reports indicated that its allies in Maharashtra and Bihar are not able to deliver on candidates and perform just as well. It is being said the BJP is tipped to get 315 seats. Party sources said it may seem the BJP may have wasted its seats on the allies. BJP feels in Maharashtra the NCP (Ajit Pawar) faction does not seem keen on continuing in the NDA for the assembly polls. It is felt Ajit may merge his faction with his uncle Sharad Pawar for the assembly polls. Again, though PM Modi has gone all out backing the breakaway Shiv Sena group headed by Eknath Shinde, the ruling Sena may not come out in the top because of the choice of candidates. Performance of alliance partners could drag BJP in Bihar too. RJD’s pitched campaign against JD(U) for Nitish Kumar’s flip-flop could hit some JD(U) candidates. Chirag Paswan’s skewed candidate selection has hit the NDA image in the state. It is for this reason that BJP leadership has begun to talk about doing very well in West Bengal and Odisha. Of course, PM Modi’s confidence to form the next government has not stopped the Congress leadership from staking claiming to form the government in Delhi. Meanwhile, in a copycat act of the TMC, the DMK also chose to stay away from the I.N.D.I.A bloc meet called on June 1.
At PM Modi’s rally in Mayurbhanj, Odisha while his speech was underway, a journalist fainted. Known for his eye for detail, PM Modi saw him fainting from the stage. He stopped his speech and asked his medical team to attend to him at the earliest. It was ensured that the journo got prompt medical attention and was subsequently shifted to the district hospital. PM Modi who has been speaking to TV journalists from Delhi while campaigning in Varanasi and Kolkata has apparently had a record interaction with a variety of journalists across platforms from all over the country since the Lok Sabha elections were announced. While BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya acknowledges that PM Modi had spoken to “71 different sets of journalists, from editors to beat reporters”, party sources say media interactions could be a record of sorts. Something like upwards of 125. Sources say Modi has been liberal with media interactions this election season. He had even sought out beat journos from media groups who he was familiar with, raising quite a few eyebrows in media houses, like seeking out one or two senior editors he had known. At the same time, Modi has been wary of owners doubling up as editors that he refused to share space with them at the roundtable space along with the beat journos. It is another matter he did generously pose for post-interview pictures with them. On the other hand, Rahul Gandhi, opposition’s Prime Ministerial candidate, didn’t give a single media interview this election. The Congress leader has maintained that the media is biased against him.
PM Narendra Modi’s 3.0 avatar will prioritize judicial, electoral reforms, bolstered in large measure by Amit Shah’s twin criminal laws kicking in come July 1, 2024. Recent judicial trends, including a temporary bail gift to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for indulgence in unfettered propaganda, criminal indulgence against his party’s youngest woman MP, has irked Modi. The proverbial last straw was the Supreme Court mandating 48-hours for full disclosure of voting percentiles pan India. “The ECI will submit to court the minimum 96 hours requirement for professional, fool proofed disclosure of pan India voting percentages considering manual processes involved for collation,” BJP’s senior leader told shortpost.in. Teachers, civic staffers drafted by ECI, for the election process are trained in the run up to polls. These personnel, up by 3 am, reach Lok Sabha polling booths (1500 to 1800 booths per constituency) by 5 am to precede the 7 am public voting. EOD time of last vote (between 8 pm and 10 pm) depending on voters at booths before timely deadline follows voter count data manually maintained by personnel collated like a police panchnama, even as EVMs get transferred to strong rooms. EVM machines at rural centres take longer (3-4 hours). Missing names in voter rosters, recurring concern every general elections, to be resolved through AADHAR synchronization in 3.0, long standing BJP requisition put off by judiciary in India backed by ‘privacy concerns’ prevalent in Western nations. The Collegium system is also set to go, according to those in the know.
In the sixth phase of Lok Sabha polls on May 25, West Bengal is headed for a dramatic showdown in eight seats — Bankura, Jhargram, Purulia, Bishnupur, Medinipur, Tamluk, Kanthi and Ghatal. Significantly, five of these seats are held by BJP and the remaining three — Tamluk, Kanthi and Ghatal are with ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). However, Kanthi and Tamluk were held by Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari’s father Sisir Adhikari and his younger brother Dibyendu Adhikari who have also moved from TMC to BJP. While BJP has fielded Soumendu Adhikari, another brother of Suvendu from Kanthi, the saffron camp has given a surprise ticket to retired judge Abhijit Ganguly. Ganguly has been the fiercest critic of Didi who gave ruling against the TMC government in the Teacher’s Recruitment Scam. Both Kanthi and Tamluk have special attention as former being the hometown of Adhikaris and Tamluk also has Nandigram Assembly segment which is held by the Opposition leader. It may be recalled that Didi was defeated by her former ally Suvendu in the 2021 Assembly election at the Nandigram seat. Meanwhile, BJP is up for Ghatal seat, where TMC’s star candidate and incumbent MP Dev Dipak Adhikari is contesting against BJP’s MLA Hiranmoy Chatterjee. There was a war of words when Adhikari accused Dev of taking money and expensive gifts from a relative of a cattle smuggling accused. Dev, however, denied these allegations stating that he had only taken a loan from a firm for his film production in 2022, which he has repaid, and denied receiving any gifts from third parties. It is clear that this penultimate phase of polling is a matter of survival for Didi while for Suvendu it is all eight wins.
There was excitement in political circles when BJP president JP Nadda first made a statement in a TV interview and later to English daily, The Indian Express that broadly meant that his party had “grown from the time it needed the RSS and was now ‘saksham’ (capable) to run its own affairs”. According to Nadda, BJP’s parent body Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was an “ideological front and does its own work”. Nadda’s assertion coming in the midst of elections made a Congress spokesperson wonder why there was no public debate on the “strained relationship” between the BJP and Sangh. The moot point is that BJP and Sangh have maintained their own separate identity even during Vajpayee era. Sangh leaders have always maintained that the RSS is not a political party but a socio-cultural organisation involved in nation-building. They claim that the RSS does not take part in elections nor its office-bearers are supposed to become office-bearers of any political party. RSS sources said what Nadda said was not off the mark. The BJP has grown and expanded under PM Modi’s leadership in the last decade only with inclusion of several non-RSS leaders in the party.” Take the case of Assam where with inclusion of former Congress leader Himanta Biswas Sarma, who is doing a fantastic job in the spread and growth of the BJP in the North East. Such inclusions are happening across India. In Odisha we have some BJD leaders joining us, “pointed out an RSS leader. Meanwhile Nadda’s tenure as party president was extended till June 2024. Lots of speculations about who will succeed him. Whoever it is, she/he will be PM Modi’s choice tasked to implement delimitation and women’s reservation by 2029.
It was a sort of “Indira is India” moment for the BJP made by the infamous Congress leader DK Barooah during Emergency. Puri Lok Sabha candidate Sambit Patra committed sacrilege when he remarked that Lord Jagannath was a bhakt or devotee of PM Narendra Modi. Dubbing it as a slip of tongue, he announced that he would undertake a penance and fast for three days. Taking a jibe at Patra, BJD leader and close aide of Odisha chief minister, VK Pandian cautioned Patra against fasting in this scorching heat. “I think he should take care, there is too much heat and dust. He should eat properly and take care. Three days before elections, he should not faint. He is a doctor, he should know what to do.” The BJD leader denied it would escalate this issue as it did not believe in doing politics over religion, especially Lord Jagannath who is the symbol of Odisha’s identity. A day earlier, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik denounced Patra’s remark saying it has hurt the sentiments and demeaned the faith of crores of Jagannatha bhaktas and Odias across the world. The BJP candidate clarified that he wanted to mean that PM Modi was an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath. To think the gaffe happened on a day, Modi had campaigned for him in Puri!
As South Bengal gears up for remaining phases of ongoing Lok Sabha elections, a new controversy has emerged with accusations that the BJP is fielding dummy candidates to upset the electoral calculations of Trinamool Congress. Reportedly, the BJP which has no muslim candidates in Bengal’s 42 constituencies, has indirectly fielded Mumtaz Ali, as a ‘dummy’ candidate in the high profile south Kolkata constituency which has dominant muslim votes. BJP’s own candidate is Debasree Chaudhuri. This is a prestige seat for the Trinamool as it is the home turf of the party supremo Mamata Banerjee. She used to contest from here; now it is being contested by her loyalist Mala Roy. Similarly, at the Jadavpur seat, three dummy candidates — Arun Sarkar, Shankar Mandal and Avanikumar Mandal have been fielded by BJP making room for its nominated candidate Anirban Gangopadhyay and dent vote share of TMC’s Saayoni Ghosh. In the same manner, the BJP candidate for Barasat Lok Sabha constituency, Swapan Majumdar, has fielded an experienced BJP worker, Sumay Hira as a dummy candidate against TMC’s veteran and Didi loyalist, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar. However, at Trinamool ‘strongholds’ like Basirhat, Mathurapur, Uluberia, Jayanagar seats names of independent candidates are not being announced by the BJP. BJP leader Abhijit Das (Bobby) who’s contesting against Trinamool scion Abhishek Banerjee at Diamond Harbor seat is not revealing the names of dummy candidates for the fear of he/she may be attacked.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s last Nasik visit had turned into a political slugfest since Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had questioned why the CM needed large suitcases for such a brief visit. “What was in the bags,” he had asked, apparently to imply that they were stuffed with cash. When Shinde landed at Nashik on Thursday (May 16), his luggage was examined by election and police officials. They later declared that the baggage contained only some essentials, including medicines. Shinde then teased his opponents by saying, “Yes, today also I have come with bags.” The Nashik Lok Sabha seat is among prominent fights in the state as Shinde’s loyalist Hemant Godse finally secured the NDA nomination despite local BJP and NCP opposition. He is opposed by rival Shiv Sena’s Rajabhau Waje, picked by Uddhav to wrest the seat. Senior NCP (Ajit) leader Chhagan Bhujbal, too, had thrown his hat in the ring and his name was almost finalized though Godse was asked to go ahead at the last minute. Ever since, the holy town of Nashik has turned into a fierce battlefield, Shinde, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and other top leaders from both sides have been frequently visiting it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s May 15 rally has only highlighted the importance of the constituency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Friday (May 17) will have one more attraction. MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s presence at the crucial campaign meet is expected to benefit the ruling Mahayuti for the polling to be held on 20 May in Mumbai and around. Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule has confirmed the consent of Raj, after calling on him to thank the MNS for its help in Pune and Nashik election campaigning. The six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai as well as those in Thane and Kalyan have become a prestige issue for both sides, the Mahayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi, as the political fates of chief minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray will depend upon the outcome. To ensure the saffron alliance’s victory, PM Modi was urged to give time for the Mumbai rally. His acceptance has boosted the spirits of the Yuti. Raj is expected to lambast cousin Uddhav’s decision to embrace the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, as well as his increasing affinity towards the minorities. CM Shinde and Raj jointly plan to breach the traditional strongholds of the Sena (UBT), especially in Mumbai. The partnership will apply to the legislative assembly election slated in October this year. Considering the potential of this cooperation, Raj has been wooed by the BJP and Shinde. He, too, has responded positively, signalling a long term camaraderie.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeay has become a latest target of the Shiv Sena (UBT) after he pledged his support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Nationalist Democratic Alliance (NDA). Now, Sena leader Sushama Andhare’s attack of Raj in choicest terms after the former had targeted her in a public rally a couple of days ago is repeatedly flashed by Marathi news channels. At the time, Raj had shown an old video clip of Andhare, who had criticised Balasaheb Thackeray about 27 years ago. ‘How could you accept such a person in your party?’ Raj had asked cousin Uddhav, in a bid to embarrass him. An enraged Andhare, who has emerged as a firebrand orator, said Raj is known for his pro-establishment stands taken from time to time. As he has no constructive agenda, he is filled with negativity, Andhare told news channels after the speech of Raj went viral. She said Raj should have respected Balasaheb’s memory by honouring the Sena chief’s appeal to take care of Uddhav and Aaditya, made before his demise. Andhare reminded Raj that his MNS was ridiculed by deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in the past. ‘Now you are campaigning for the BJP,’ she pointed out. Andhare also dug up the sensational Ramesh Kini murder case to hit out at Raj.
As the voting process now enters into South Bengal beginning from the fourth phase, now it is a straight fight between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Heavyweight candidates from BJP like Dilip Ghosh, SS Ahluwalia, Rajmata Amrita Roy are fighting TMC candidates Kirti Azad, Shatrughan Sinha and Mahua Moitra respectively. It may be noted that Ghosh was shifted from his Midnapore constituency to Bardhaman-Durgapur. The outgoing BJP MP Ahluwalia who is now contesting from Asansol against Shatrughan Sinha, managed to win by slender 3000 votes in 2019. It is likely to be a tough battle for Ghosh since post 2019 Lok Sabha loss TMC has won all assembly seats barring one in 2021. At Asansol seat, TMC MP’s candidate Shatrughan Sinha may have an edge even though it is the home ground of Ahluwalia. Incidentally, on polling day Rajmata’s body language was not that encouraging and she said that “politics is not her cup of tea”. Mahua Moitra is confident of winning by a lakh margin. It is a tough battle for former cricketer Yusuf Pathan fighting on a TMC ticket from Baharampur against Pradesh Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. Meanwhile, all eyes are on Barrackpore, Hooghly, and Serampore Bongaon. Incumbent BJP MP former actor Locket Chatterjee from Hooghly faces her industry colleague Rachana Banerjee. TMC is keen to wrest back the seat. Similarly, both BJP and TMC are going all out to win the Matua community dominated seats of Bongaon and Barrackpore. Bongaon may be tough for TMC with incumbent BJP MP Shantanu Thakur, a representative of Matua Thakurbari, likely to win the Barrackpore seat. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has been tirelessly campaigning for Bongaon candidate Biswajit Das and Barrackpore’s Partha Bhowmick.
On 12th May all roads in Tamil Nadu led to Salem. Naturally. It was the 70th birthday of AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami popularly known as EPS. The road to his lavish residence was thronged with well-wishers, birthday celebrators and other political peeping toms who had come to assess his strength. A hugely confident and commanding Palaniswami stood on his porch and accepted the garlands, fruits, gifts and adulation like a Roman emperor. This crowd, despite his request to stay off coming to Salem as the heat was overpowering. From 8 am to 12 noon he stood valiantly, but had to plead exhaustion and asked for a chair when the greeters line still extended. Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi, senior BJP leaders K Annamalai, Tamilisai Soundararajan , H Raja , Dr Krishnaswami, Tamil film hero Thala Vijay and a host of political who’s who greeted him. Even as Annamalai had predicted that OPS would wean back the AIADMK after the election tie-up with the BJP, even after erstwhile self-styled general secretary Sasikala Natarajan made several efforts to reclaim her “legacy”, even after TTV Dinakaran smugly postured that EPS’s go-it- alone strategy would fall and fail, Edappadi seems to have hit the best option – both for him and the party’s future. Even as the 70 kg cake was being cut, guests were drawn to the Lotus shaped candles that Edappadi lit, and blew. Who knows about the occult significance of the lotus shaped candles? But definitely the DMK could be unnerved by this rallying round Edappadi. 2026 is a big question mark. And the game of thrones goes on.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has reportedly made it clear to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that he must ensure Kanhaiya Kumar, former JNU student leader and Congress candidate for Delhi’s North-East Lok Sabha seat wins. This is the only seat where the BJP has repeated its candidate, Manoj Tiwari, who is considered to be a popular candidate. With Rahul making the extra push and Kejriwal promising to deliver, BJP sources say the contest will get keen in this seat as well as in South Delhi where the party had changed candidates. In 2019, Rahul’s efforts to get Kanhaiya elected from Bihar did not get adequate support from the RJD (he lost to Union Minister Giriraj Singh). After being in jail for 50 days, Kejriwal, the AAP star campaigner, began his poll campaign .Twenty parliamentary seats in Delhi and Punjab – two states where the Kejriwal-led AAP is in power – will go to polls in the fifth and sixth phase on May 25 and June 1. In his first public interaction, he began with making a wild charge that there was no point in voting for PM Modi as he wouldn’t be around to fulfil his guarantee. He charged that since Modi would be turning 75 next year he would perhaps retire and hand over reins to HM Amit Shah. Responding to Modi’s “retirement”, Countering Kejriwal, both Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh clarified that PM Modi will not only complete his 3rd term till 2029 but will also lead the party for “next round of polls”.
Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat under North 24 Parganas has garnered much attention with both Trinamool Congress and BJP pressing their top leaders Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to campaign for their parties’ candidates. While BJP is fighting it out to retain the seat, TMC is desperate to gain it back since a major Assembly chunk under this LS seat belongs to TMC. The battle will be fought between TMC’s minister and Didi’s trusted lieutenant Partha Bhowmick and TMC turncoat Arjun Singh who jumped ship ahead of 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections after being denied ticket by Didi. PM Modi will be holding his rally for Singh in Jagatdal at 11 am on Sunday ( May 12) Didi will hold hers at 2 pm at Shantinagar ground of Palta under Noapara Assembly, home turf of TMC. However, Mamata will be holding another rally on Monday (May 13) at Amdanga, another stronghold of TMC under Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency. Incidentally, Amdanga Assembly seat belongs to TMC and has a majority of minority votes. Interestingly, this LS seat comprises seven Assembly seats of which six were won by TMC in 2021 Assembly polls. According to political analysts, Barrackpore which is a Hindi-speaking belt has an added advantage for Arjun Singh. On the other hand Bhowmick will have to rely majorly on the minority belts of Amdanga and part of Naihati, which he represents as an MLA. It may be noted that PM Modi campaigned for Singh during 2019 elections and latter enjoys a great rapport with Union home minister Amit Shah.
In a scorching campaign, Priyanka Vadra walks, talks and takes the BJP head on, holding her saree pallu in a spitting image of her Dadi, and the UP crowds roar in déjà vu approval. Why didn’t the Congress field both siblings from the family seats – Amethi and Raebareli? The glib explanation that if both stand, who will take care of the campaign? Behind the scenes murmur reveals a plausible gambit. Priyanka has to contend with her husband Robert Vadra’s claim for a seat, an ambition that could queer the pitch for Rahul. Sonia is now on mission mode, Rahul has to win from Raebareli. Priyanka has galvanised over 7000 Congress workers to visit every nook and corner of both the constituencies. Her latest plan is to camp in Raebareli and Amethi till May 18 and cover every stump group she can address. Wait and watch …Priyanka may yet outdo her Dadi…if she lands that slot.
In an unexpected twist, PM Modi picked on Rahul Gandhi’s accusation of crony capitalism by asking “why Shehzada had suddenly stopped talking of Ambani and Adani in this elections all of sudden? He wanted to know if he had been “compromised” into silence by the big business houses. Addressing an election rally in Telagnana’s Warangal, Modi shared how for years after he lost the Rafale battle in the courts, “Congress ke shehzade din raat ek mala japte the…’5 industrialists’, ‘Ambani’, ‘Adani’.., but since the elections are declared, they have stopped abusing Ambani, Adani…” He said, “I wish to ask the Shehzade of the Congress, how much black money have they received from Adani, Ambani? How much the Congress has ‘received’ from those industrialists for the elections?” PM Modi’s questions are interesting considering at least two former CMs — Ashok Gehlot for Amethi and Bhupesh Bhagel for Rae Bareli — have been deployed to manage the elections for the UP seats. The former CMs with resources have been deployed to “salvage” the prestige seat for Gandhis. Initially it was Priyanka Vadra who rushed to her brother’s defence while campaigning in Rae Bareli and attacked Modi for being nervous about his nexus with Adani and Ambani. Later, Rahul shared a video on X where he seemed very happy that PM Modi had for the first time named Adani and Ambani publicly. Taking a swipe at PM for suggesting that he may have cut deals with the top business honchos, Rahul wanted to know if Modi was speaking from his personal experience about transporting cash in tempos. He even suggested sending ED, CBI to the business groups..
Once known for its archaic outlook, CPI-M is going all out using an AI-generated video of ailing former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya to usage of AI-generated news anchor and whistleblowing Bollywood dialogues to revive the Left Front’s fortunes in West Bengal in this Lok Sabha Election. But, can it counter Trinamool Congress and BJP’s political binary in the state? CPI-M recently created buzz with a teaser post “aei bhabe-o phire asha jay” (this way can also be returned) before releasing Bhattacharjee’s message urging voters to vote for the Left and secular forces. The video shows the former CM addressing a spectrum of concerns spanning from Sandeshkhali to unemployment and accusations of corruption in West Bengal, criticising the ruling TMC. The video also scrutinised the BJP-led Centre on demonetization, electoral bonds, and inflation by saying “Who is Narendra Modi? Who is Mamata Banerjee? Don’t give them a chance to ruin our country, our state.” Incidentally, questions have been raised about missing star campaigners. Countering it, Srijan Bhattacharya from Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency has garnered significant attention with his inverse statement of the famous SRK dialogue from Jawan — Bete ko haath lagane se pehle baap se baat kar to Baap ko haat lagane se pehle bete se baat karna parega. It may be noted that CPI-M since 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 State Assembly polls has failed to open any accounts. Though candidates such Bhattacharya, Saira Shah Halim from Kolkata South and Dipsita Dhar from Serampore are trying to revive the Left Front’s fortunes in Bengal. But, it certainly seems like an uphill task.
It’s now certain that the bonhomie situation between BJD-BJP is over at the highest level. It’s a war like situation between hopeful BJP and well entrenched BJD in Odisha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his electioneering visit to Odisha said “BJD’s expiry date is June 4, the day the Assembly election result will be announced”. Modi also invited Odisha netizens to the swearing-in ceremony of BJP CM on June 10, saying BJP will make Odisha No 1 in five years. Modi in his election speech compared BJD to the setting sun and Congress is already past, while BJP has come with the hope of a new dawn in Odisha” he said. Modi said, the BJP CM in Odisha will be someone who deeply understands and takes pride in Odia culture. Political watchers are asking a couple of questions: Is this Modi’s ploy to intimidate BJD, setting the election tone? Is Modi’s statement based on the feedback given by Odisha BJP leaders? Those who know Modi’s penchant for political spin, say this is Modi’s way for positive thinking just like his famous election promise of “achhe din“. After PM’s expiry day remark Patnaik’s protege VK Pandian said “Naveen Patnaik will take oath as Odisha CM for 6th time on June 9.” On his part, Patnaik said “It has been a long time BJP is daydreaming.” Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh took a jibe at BJP Modi saying “Odisha has suffered gross neglect in the hands of Modi sarkar. He sighted CAG reports saying central transfers as percentage of revenue receipt has decreased from 57% in 2017-18 to 38% in 2021-2022.”
The contest is keen as it is set to take place between BJP’s Dr Sambit Patra and Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) Arup Patnaik with the regional party replacing its candidate and sitting MP Pinaki Misra. The wager this time round is that Dr Patra could have an edge as he narrowly lost the 2019 polls to Pinaki Misra by 11,714 votes. Legal eagle Misra who has contested and won from Puri a record six times since 1996 did not wish to contest again. The BJD replaced Misra with Arup Patnaik, a former Mumbai top cop. The buzz about Patnaik is that he is too aloof as a candidate; he apparently doesn’t even get off his vehicle to interact with voters. He merely asks people if they know who he is. Sources sympathetic to Patnaik say he has some health issues and is not strong on communication. Yet, BJD sources insist that the key to winning Puri would depend on the kind of candidates selected and deployed in the assembly seats as state polls are being held with Lok Sabha polls . That is why Arup Patnaik still could be home and dry, if the right candidates have been picked as MLAs. “It all depends on what Bobby Das, our BJD General Secretary, who is contesting Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat against Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, has planned for Puri,”says a BJD veteran. All indications are BJP’s Dr Patra is having it easy at the assembly level too. Meanwhile, the Congress refused to let its candidate Sucharita Mohanty drop out due to lack of support. Senior leader KC Venugopal said that the party was replacing Sucharita with another candidate. Polling in Puri will take place in the sixth phase on May 25, along with assembly polls. In 2019, the BJP won a total of 8 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, BJD grabbed 12 and one seat went to Congress.
The Calcutta High Court judgement of nullifying the appointments of 25,000 teachers in the Teachers’ Recruitment Scam seems to have impacted the fortunes of the political parties particularly the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. It has dealt a severe blow to the credibility of TMC supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee-led government. Not only has it tarnished the image of the Trinamool government but raised questions about its commitment to transparency and meritocracy. The party is now grappling with the fallout from the scam. The cancellation of such a large number of teaching jobs has not only sparked outrage among the affected candidates but has also fueled discontent among voters in Bengal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his rallies in Bengal on May 3, reassured the youth of Bengal that those responsible for their distress would face severe consequences. He encouraged the BJP Bengal to set up both a legal cell and a social media platform to support the victims of the scam. Incidentally, several people blamed the CPI-M’s Rajya Sabha MP and senior leader Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya as well as BJP for the verdict as their main aim was to gain power and not think about common people. The verdict’s implications extend beyond the immediate loss of jobs for thousands of aspiring teachers; it has become a focal point in the broader political contest for power and legitimacy.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections have turned into a battle of survival for India’s regional parties, with centralisation of political power emphasized by the only two national political formations – BJP and Congress. The centralisation of power has also witnessed a new phenomenon: Remote controlled state governance from Delhi. While BJP was known to have done so in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka (erstwhile government), Congress has also unofficially appointed president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son Priyank, known for his strident anti-Hindutva, as Karnataka’s de-facto CM after placating CM Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar through an equitable state control. Meanwhile, regional fault-lines have erupted replacing coalition dharma across India that hitherto accommodated regional concerns of allies. The NDA witnessed soft murmurs of protest among regional partners over inadequate representation for general elections although things did not come to a head. The I.N.D.I.A front, however, witnessed sharp differences and varied responses from regional players apparently taking the Congress head on despite the alliance. CPI in Kerala pitted Annie Raja’s candidature against Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad. Similarly, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav quickly announced his daughter’s candidature to contest against Pappu Yadav (Rajesh Ranjan), a day after the latter merged his standalone Jan Adhikar Party with Congress for general elections 2024. Similarly, in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party/Congress bonhomie evaporated after Congress’ manifesto reiterated reservations not only for caste but also minorities (read Muslims). Akhilesh Yadav has taken note of the Congress outreach to the minority vote-bank and now additionally worries about outsider AIMIM party’s full-fledged foray into UP that threatens to upstage his own Lok Sabha fortunes.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde is perceived as the main gainer in the Lok Sabha seat distribution among the three partners of the ruling Mahayuti alliance. While the BJP has the largest share of the seats, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) under deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has had to satisfy with just four the undivided NCP had won in 2019. Hence, Ajit’s political future is a matter of discussion now since his adversaries have started painting him as a loser. The Shiv Sena under Shinde has obtained 15 seats, leaving the remaining 28 for the BJP. The NCP (Ajit) will thus fight in Raigad, Dharashiv, Shirur and Baramati constituencies. On the other hand, Shinde has been able to secure Kalyan, Thane and Nashik LS seats, which will witness a close fight. Incidentally, the BJP was trying to obtain these three seats as it was under pressure from its local leaders. Sensing the possible criticism, Ajit had explained that the NCP (undivided) had won four seats in 2019 and would recontest them this time, too. Additionally, he wanted his party to get the prestigious Satara seat won by it the last time, but dropped its claim since a scion of the family of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was selected to stand there. Ajit and Shinde have the assembly as the focus of their future politics. Hence, the present arrangement is viewed as an adjustment for the long term strategy to decimate the Congress and Sharad Pawar from the state political scene.
BJP leaders are quite perplexed by Congress efforts to drag PM Narendra Modi into outright sexual misconduct of JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, just because he campaigned for the Hassan candidate. Clearly upset with the BJP-JD(S) alliance that is having an edge in the LS polls, it is being said deputy chief minister DK Shiv Kumar(DKS) had reportedly zeroed in on Prajwal’s shortcomings just to undermine the alliance and had unleashed a digital campaign to dent the JD(S) image days before the April 26 voting. DKS, worried about the fate of his own brother DK Suresh losing to former PM HD Devegowda’s son-in-law Dr Manjunath that he resurrected an old video and circulated it in the constituency. BJP sources are surprised that the Congress which was too scared to speak up for women of Sandeshkhali, was now speaking for “exploited” women of Hassan. Home Minister Amit Shah shut-up the Congress by saying it was now up to Karnataka to probe the matter. As for Prajwal, he has been suspended from the JD(S).The video clips, allegedly involving Prajwal surfaced on social media a day after his constituency went to polls. On reports of Prajwal leaving the country pending a probe, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara has asserted that Prajwal will be asked to return to India by the SIT. BJP Leader Devaraje Gowda said he had written to then BJP state president BY Vijayendra in December 2023, flagging “grave allegations” against the HD Deve Gowda family, including Prajwal Revanna. He claimed that he had received a pen drive containing 2,976 explicit videos of women which were then being used to blackmail them into continuing to engage in sexual activities. Meanwhile, the buzz is JD(S) Chief HD Kumaraswamy feels when his son Nikhil lost Ramanagara Assembly it had a lot to do with elder brother HD Revanna sabotaging it.
Union home minister Amit Shah who is on a whistle-stop tour across the country was in Odisha recently where both the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to boost the morale of his voters and win the confidence of the voters. He told the cadres and leaders, BJP will form the Odisha government in 2024. As for the electorate he told them that BJP will make Odisha No1 state in the country if given an opportunity. He dropped the succession plan bombshell of Biju Janata Dal. He publicly said that chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s confidant VK Pandian may be a possible successor. This statement seems to have unnerved seasoned BJD leaders. But, there is no denying the fact that just like Modi who is admired across the country, so too is Patnaik across the state. He is the undisputed king; nobody can ease him out of the throne in this lifetime. The general feeling is that Patnaik will be sworn in as the CM for the sixth consecutive time in 2024. Yes, what goes against Patnaik is his age (77-year) and health but not lack of development of the state per se. Pandian emerging as eventual successor seems to have sown seeds of discord among senior BJD leaders. After Patnaik, they feel the party will disintegrate as nobody would want to be led by an outsider like Pandian. Against this backdrop, BJP seems to have the field wide open for it.
BJP, it seems, is leaving no stones unturned to ensure that the Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra who was expelled from the Parliament in a cash-for-query case loses her Krishnanagar Lok Sabha seat. According to BJP sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to hold a rally at Krishnanagar on May 3 in favour of BJP candidate Amrita Roy, daughter-in-law from Krishnanagar Royal Family. Mahua Moitra who came into public glare for her fiery speeches and strong political stance has been a strong critic of the BJP-led Central government. She has been going hammer and tongs over the Adani issue. When she was expelled from the Parliament, her future seemed a question mark but TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee went all out to back her by renominating her. Before Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was scheduled to address a gathering in Krishnanagar on April 30 but the meeting got canceled at the last moment. Interestingly, this constituency has several religious places like Shantipur, Nabadwip and Mayapur and it is easy for BJP to mobilise Hindu voters for public gathering. Besides, BJP is banking on the Matua and Namasudra community votes. Local BJP leaders admitted that there is a panic in these areas over NRC and if the PM can clear the doubts on this front in his speech it will help. Modi’s decision to personally campaign for the BJP candidate in Krishnanagar underscores the party’s determination to clinch victory and also an opportunity to embarrass Mahua vis a vis Didi. If Mahua wins and returns to Parliament then it could be a face loss for BJP. But June 4 will decide which way the wind is blowing.
Post April 19, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin had an onerous task of getting voting feedback from every constituency, in keeping with his clarion call — 40 on 40 for DMK and its allies. Satisfied about the outcome, Stalin then set off on April 29 with wife Durga and family to cool off in Kodaikanal, the hill resort de rigueur for the angrez. But this powerful and wealthy family could have chosen any ritzy global getaway, so why Kodai? Wags and watchers are busy with superstition theories. Post 2021 Assembly polls, Stalin sought this same hill station even as the DMK supremacy news wafted in. Whatever the rationalist ideology, agnostic posture, superstition is rife among most Indians — especially politicians who reach out to vaastu experts, numerologists and astrologers surreptitiously. It is recalled that family pointsman son-in-law V Sabareesan predicted a huge victory margin in 2021. This election, his ministers have concerns of a different kind; Stalin has warned that any plunge in vote share would directly hit the minister in charge of that constituency. So they are speculating that the CM could be planning axing some names, after feedback from the oracles. Stalin is busy assuring his coterie that no such exigency may arise as he expects DMK to sweep the polls this time too. So where does this leave the BJP? Psephologists have different stories to say. The day of reckoning is June 4.
The BJP that was seriously considering the rehabilitation of its former spokesperson Nupur Sharma, relegated to political silence in the wake of her controversial comments over the Gyanvapi temple issue, may likely elevate her to parliament through the Rajya Sabha. Sources close to the development told shortpost.in, “Sharma’s rehabilitation was under active consideration for over two months now. Originally, BJP intended to field her from one of the seven parliamentary constituencies in Delhi. However, issues of security, with a fatwa of sur-tun-se-juda (decapitation threat) issued against her by Islamic fundamentalists, resulted in her candidature not being confirmed as it would lead to security challenges as she would have to publicly canvas for the general elections.” The source added that the BJP is still to finalize her exact mode of political elevation with the Raebareli and Amethi Lok Sabha seats also being considered as options if Rahul Gandhi’s second parliamentary candidature or Priyanka Vadra’s nomination respectively are announced from either of the two seats. “The BJP is keen to serve out a double drubbing to the Gandhi family from their traditional parliamentary bastions in Uttar Pradesh. On Hanuman Jayanti, which was celebrated on April 23, Nupur Sharma was seen distributing food to people. Coincidentally, Lord Bajrangbali’s birthday and Sharma’s fell on the same day.” Nupur, who insists that her comments were in response to pejorative statements against Lord Shiva’s Jyotirlinga at Gyanvapi, being referred to as a mere water fountain by Muslim panelists on the televised show, may thus benefit from divine intervention to kickstart her political career once again.
India is witnessing two mega events this summer. As the people of the country are making a beeline for polling booths to elect a new Parliament, a cricket fever of an exciting kind has also gripped the masses with yet another edition of the popular Indian Premier League (IPL) truly under way. Is it possible to co-run national elections and the IPL? Why not? That seems to be the view of the political masters in New Delhi. This view is entirely opposite to the one held by Congress-led the UPA government earlier. Several seasons ago, the annual IPL was moved to South Africa since the then regime did not want that to clash with the national elections. With the Modi Government making a strong pitch for Make-in-India, shifting IPL out of the country could not even be considered by the political masters in New Delhi, lest it should send wrong — rather negative — signals to people at large. Moreover, the IPL has, over the years, become a money spinner with a huge multiplier effect on the national economy. They can’t afford to lose huge revenue by shifting IPL out of India during the national election. Well, the people aren’t complaining about the double dhamaka!
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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.
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