Veteran leader Sharad Pawar’s 85th birthday celebrations have refreshed speculation about his future moves. Showing clear signs of ageing, Pawar will retire from the Rajya Sabha in 2026. His parliamentary career began in 1967 when he won the Baramati assembly seat in Pune district. And for the last 58 years, he has been a member of either the state legislature or parliament. However, the assembly election last year has decimated his faction of the Nationalist Congress Party to such an extent that he will have to secure support from some other party to be re-elected to the Upper House of Parliament. While the BJP is unlikely to help him, Pawar will have to depend upon either his nephew Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction or the Shiv Sena splinter led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. As both are with the BJP through the thick and thin so far, Pawar will have to weave his strategy. But he is a master in such political manipulations and can re-enter Parliament, if he wishes, his supporters are confident. However, there is a third possibility. The President of India can nominate Pawar to the Rajya Sabha, in view of his long career in public life. And none will object since Pawar is on friendly terms with all political parties and prominent industrial magnates. The presence of Gautam Adani at Pawar’s Delhi residence to join the celebratory dinner is quite eloquent, it is felt. All said and done, Pawar has once again shown that he is still active.

Five days at the Maharashtra State Legislature in session were distinct for the dynamic political recalibrations being constantly at work. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who lilted to the sound of Indian music for over two hours the previous night, displayed his best confident self on day three while attending to matters of the state – Supplementary demands. On the other hand, deputy CM Ajit Pawar wore a worried countenance very apparently on his face and remained distracted in thought pensively while adeptly attending to his legislative affairs. His son, Parth Pawar, possibly weighed heavily on his mind regarding the ongoing enquiry in the latter’s realty transaction in Pune. His Shiv Sena counterpart, Eknath Shinde, continued to exude happiness notwithstanding spending limitations his state departments were dealt with by Pawar at the instance of CM Fadnavis. Shinde’s recent visit to New Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah over coalition wrangles – the BJP poaching on his son Dr Shrikant Shinde’s parliamentary constituency – was preceded by one when he met PM Narendra Modi to thank him that time. Dr Shrikant Shinde’s political trajectory was personally handcrafted by the PM projecting him as an international statesman who travelled the globe pitching India’s Operation Sindhoor to the world. His parliamentary skills were not only brushed up by Modi with whispers abounding of how the PM even suggested the issues Dr Shinde must raise in Parliament and so, deputy CM Shinde’s thank you was duly in order. Within Maharashtra, however, the Nagpur chill has translated into frosty relations within the Mahayuti alliance of the state threatening to turn icy cold going ahead.

The Bengal BJP is recalibrating from its earlier hardline Hindutva stance to adopt a more measured political tone, even as chief minister Mamata Banerjee intensifies her charge that the party is anti-Bengali, communal, and attempting to bring the NRC into the state through indirect means. The shift became most evident when Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari softened his long-held claim that the BJP neither expects nor needs minority votes. After months of asserting that minorities never support the BJP and that a 5-6% rise in Hindu votes would be enough to form government, he has now reinterpreted his stance, saying the party simply does not receive minority votes rather than rejecting them. There is no indication that the BJP’s central leadership has instructed the state unit to soften its tone, and even central leaders acknowledge that polarisation has helped the party perform better in rural regions. Trinamool Congress leaders argue that Adhikari has realised Hindutva alone will not secure victory for the party. Party insiders see the shift as a strategic effort to weaken the strong perception that a BJP government would threaten minorities and instead minority votes may fragment rather than consolidate behind the Trinamool. Adhikari has recently suggested that AIMIM and ISF could draw minority support and predicted that the Trinamool may not win any seat in Malda, with the BJP securing a significant share. The BJP’s choice of Shamik Bhattacharya, viewed as a moderate, as state president was aimed at appealing to the liberal urban middle-class Bengali electorate that is harder to draw with hardline rhetoric.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is proud that Maharashtra has become the first state in India to equip its police force with an AI-powered platform to accelerate cybercrime investigations. “MahaCrimeOS AI” is developed by CyberEye in partnership with Microsoft India Development Center and Maharashtra’s Special Purpose Vehicle, MARVEL. Unveiled at the Microsoft AI Tour in Mumbai, Microsoft Chairman & CEO Satya Nadella announced that the platform allows ‘instant case creation, multilingual data extraction, contextual legal assistance and automated workflows.’ Integrating India’s criminal laws and open-source intelligence, the AI platform will help officers link cases, analyse digital evidence and respond to threats more effectively, reducing manual effort. “MahaCrimeOS AI is designed to augment police officers with AI tools, enabling faster, more efficient investigations,” according to Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India & South Asia. This initiative is not just about technology—it’s about building trust, protecting citizens, and setting a new benchmark for digital safety in India. MahaCrimeOS AI is a pioneering platform, powered by AI and Azure, developed by CyberEye. The innovation in cutting-edge technologies leads Maharashtra in maintaining law and order machinery. The announcement was made by Nadella, who also met Fadnavis to discuss the future of digital safety and AI-driven governance in the state. Currently live in 23 Nagpur police stations, MahaCrimeOS AI will be expanded to all 1100 police stations across Maharashtra, Fadnavis said.

In the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah was at his assertive best as he went on to quietly demolish every argument of the Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi against Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls launched by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Worse part was he told the Congress leader that his pet peeve “vote chori” had been unleashed on India thrice — all the 3 times by members of the Gandhi family. “Post-Independence, Sardar Patel was backed by 28 persons, Nehru by two persons; yet Nehru became PM, this was the first vote of chori. Second “vote chori” was by Indira Gandhi, when she granted herself immunity after court set aside her election. Dispute of third “vote chori” has just reached the civil court (in Delhi) on how Sonia Gandhi became a voter before becoming a citizen of India.” Interestingly, while the Congress and the rest of Opposition didn’t protest too much Shah mentioning court issuing a notice to Sonia Gandhi on voting before citizenship, the Congress staged a walk-out as Shah spoke about not allowing infiltrators to vote. While accepting that the NDA had won 3 general elections and 41 state assembly elections, a total of 44, Shah pointed out that the Congress too had “won 30 elections across various state assemblies. BJP has lost more elections than it has won, but we never questioned the ECI or EVMs. Tradition of electoral loss began in 2014 and they (Congress) blamed EVMs, which were brought by Rajiv Gandhi in 1989. More significantly Shah defended RSS activists occupying high office. “There is no law in the country that disallows an RSS activist from holding key positions. Both Modiji and me belong to the RSS.”

Support organisations working with sex workers across Kolkata are coordinating with the Chief Electoral Office (CEO), Bengal to facilitate SIR (Special Intensive Revision) enumeration ahead of a special camp. Rehearsal sessions for filling SIR forms have begun, where groups flagged concerns that widespread messaging around the process has created fear among sex workers. Ratan Dalui, Secretary of Amra Padatik, said various forms of publicity circulating on phones have unsettled many, adding that a viral song from actor-director Anirban Bhattacharya’s musical group ‘Hooliganism’ referencing SIR has contributed to anxiety about possible omission from the voter’s list. Three organisations, including Amra Padatik, had written to CEO Manoj Agarwal highlighting documentation challenges. Sources said the Commission initiated steps to address the issues and informally noted that while states such as Bihar also have red-light districts, no organisation there has taken similar initiatives. Groups in Kolkata’s red-light areas have stepped up outreach, visiting brothels and urging sex workers to attend the special camp. Dedicated screened-off spaces will be set up at the camp to ensure confidential interaction with election officials. Kolkata’s central red-light district has nearly 10,000 sex workers. About 3,000 travel daily for work, while 7,000 live there permanently. Most permanent residents possess voter ID cards, but many cannot provide documents dating back to 2002, required for SIR verification. Organisations estimate that around 1,400 sex workers from this area face documentation hurdles, with over 100 more in Kalighat and Khidderpore.

When it comes to Sachin Tendulkar, it’s always a long innings. Starting as a wonderkid in the mid-1980s, the Mumbai cricketer turned out with phenomenal displays to earn the moniker “master blaster” and brought an end to his international career in the winter of 2013 — that’s around 25 years after playing matches across formats for India and other teams. So, no one was surprised, when he said at the new brand identity (logo) launch of Ageas Federal Life Insurance that he’s going to complete 10 years with the insurance company. During his illustrious career, Tendulkar played 200 Test matches, 463 one-day internationals, 78 IPL matches and one Twenty20 international and scored 18426 runs with 101 centuries.  His numbers are staggering, and he and the insurance company must be hoping for a very long association. As the master blaster said, Brands are important in society; as a cricketer he triggered a big wave for the game — much more than what he achieved with the bat! And that’s been acknowledged by many cricketers for whom he was the role model to emulate. The corporate world was keen and eager to get him on board as Brand Ambassador, and that the insurance company has signed up one of the greatest cricketers in the annals of the sport that will soon cut a milestone of 150 years of Test cricket, is a recognition of the brand value he brings to the table. He is already in the course of a long innings with the company which sponsors quite a few sports events, and not long ago conducted fast bowling camps with the Australian Jeff Thomson. With Tendulkar as its Brand Ambassador, it’s time the company gets into cricket in a big way — for a long innings like Tendulkar!

On December 8, the Temple Town of Kancheepuram was steeped in Hindu devotion and VIP arrival. Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin’s wife Durga visited the temple. Dressed in a beautiful Kanjivaram mustard yellow saree, her long hair braided and adorned with Jasmine, she carried herself with much grace …quietly presiding over her role as the First Lady. The initial Camel Pooja …not seen as a droll dromedary today, then the temple Elephant worship with coconut, sugarcane and bananas. Then on to worship at the Manimandapam of the Kanchi Seer, Maha Periyavar where she prayed, transfixed.  A Golden Chariot made of 23 kg of gold had its inaugural run in the precincts of the Ekambareswarar temple in her presence. Of course, the wagging tongues had much to talk about …that a minister close to the First Family had influenced the renovated temple’s Kumbabishekam to coincide with Durga Stalin’s visit. Others floated yet another angle …with elections just around the corner was she compensating for her husband and son’s open defiance of Sanatha Dharma. One wonders …is Durga a strong First Lady who has her own faith and religious beliefs? Or is Stalin the tolerant power centre who allows his wife to practice her faith? Or is it a third dimension…Stalin and son Udhayanidhi trumpet their rejection of Hinduism with an eye on the Dravida vote bank, even as Durga takes her role as mitigator seriously? There is a saying in Hindi “Hathi ke dant khane ke aur, dikhane ke aur”. Translated it means hypocritical people who appear one way but act differently. Will this double optic strategy bring the DMK back to power in 2026?

The BJP took to social media to corner Shiv Sena (UBT) for signing up the anti-Hindu move launched by the DMK to corner a sitting judge of Madras High Court Justice GR Swaminathan who had restored an age-old religious practice of the Hindus. That is of lighting lamps to mark Karthigai Deepam at a spot sacred to the Hindus. Senior BJP functionary BL Santosh in a post on X “SS (UBT) members sign impeachment motion against Madras HC Judge for giving a judgement in favour of lighting Karthigai Deepam. Shame on them who chose vote bank politics & political expediency over their Balasaheb’s legacy”. Among the signatories shared in his post was SS (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant. On December 9, the DMK submitted a notice with 120 signatures to the Speaker seeking impeachment proceedings against Justice GR Swaminathan. DMK parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi, the party’s Lok Sabha leader TR Baalu, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra handed the impeachment notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The DMK was keen to appease their Muslim vote bank. In fact, the DMK even dared to mention the judge’s Brahmin caste as a factor in the impeachment motion and forced many north Indian MPs to sign it without explicitly knowing it. The notice alleged that Justice Swaminathan’s conduct raised questions on judicial impartiality and transparency, accused him of showing undue favour to a senior advocate and lawyers from a particular community–Brahmin — and claimed that verdicts were influenced by political ideology, going against “secular constitutional principles”. The opposition move against Justice Swamination shocked many BJP leaders. BJP leader K Annamalai was heard saying how the judge had passed many adverse orders against him. Tamil Nadu Congress sources are only hoping that Justice Swaminathan is quietly elevated to Supreme Court soon.

It seems the Congress leadership is once again very serious about maintaining its alliance with the DMK as its traditional allies in the North are rethinking its ties with the Congress post Bihar results. With the Samajwadi Party planning to go alone in local body elections in Uttar Pradesh and the ruling JMM in Jharkhand is exploring option of joining the BJP-led NDA, the Congress is now determined not to lose its traditional INDIA bloc partner in the South such as the DMK. With this view, the AICC leadership has completely distanced itself from its functionary Praveen Chakravarty’s meeting with TVK president actor Vijay on December 6. When asked how could Praveen meet the TVK chief for a personal reason, a top AICC functionary dealing with Tamil Nadu said, “It is possible Praveen ji may have dropped in on actor Vijay for a cup of coffee or just have idlis or some other personal work. We are not aware. He was not assigned or authorised by anyone in Delhi.” Praveen, who heads All India Professional Congress, called on the TVK chief three days after the Congress set up a panel to engage with the DMK on seat-sharing talks for 2026 assembly elections. Vijay-Praveen meeting completely unsettled the traditional DMK-Congress equation. Of course, it is quite likely Praveen, a close Rahul Gandhi aide, may not have got an audition with Vijay for a private reason. It may be recalled post Karur stampede Rahul Gandhi had also spoken to Vijay. However, now there is an intense speculation that the Congress party may have to take some punitive step against Praveen to win confidence of the DMK. Yet at the same time Congress leaders dealing with DMK conceded that Arivalayam has been playing tough, factoring in Bihar drubbing. “We wanted to finalise the seat-sharing agreement with the DMK by December 15,” says a top Congress leader.