All
Politics
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Celebrities
It may have looked like magic when the Congress rushed its support to the TVK to form the government in Tamil Nadu but allies weren’t happy. In fact, TVK president C Joseph Vijay met Governor Rajendra Arlekar at the Lok Bhavan in Chennai and staked a claim to form the next government only after receiving a letter of support from the Congress. Yet the letter of support of five Congress MLAs was not enough to convince the Governor that Vijay will be able to provide a stable government with support of113 MLAs– five short of the majority figure of 118. Vijay was hoping other secular parties — the CPI, CPI(M) and VCK – part of the DMK alliance who had two seats each would back him. That did not happen. TVK needed 11 seats to reach the majority. The Left parties and the Indian Union Muslim League ruled out their support. TVK had also sought VCK’s support, sources said, even as he destroyed its support base among Dalit Christians. Interestingly top CPI leadership rued the Congress decision to support to Vijay without “even bothering to consult us.” For the Congress somehow joining TVK government was correcting the mistake of not going with Vijay before the TN assembly polls. All that the Congress bothered was to see that AIADMK, allied with the NDA, didn’t join TVK government. Tremendous pressure was exerted on Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge via his son Priyank Kharge, to back alliance with DMK. This even after Rahul Gandhi and his close aide Praveen Chakravarty were both rooting for a tie-up with Vijay’s TVK. “If only Congress had a pre-poll tie-up with TVK, Vijay would have easily won 140-148 seats…,” says a TN Congress leader. Interestingly, another superstar Rajnikanth, who was also contemplating to enter politics, chose to call on M K Stalin. Will Vijay’s era in TN be the beginning of the coalition era of Tamil politics?
HDFC Bank MD & CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan has been vindicated for his steadfast refusal to bow to pressure. Despite facing serious allegations of financial impropriety, Jagdishan maintained his silence and his stance, even when advised to address the media. His faith in the judicial system was rewarded on May 5, 2026, when the Bombay High Court quashed the FIR filed against him. The controversy began in June 2025 when the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust—the body managing Mumbai’s iconic Lilavati Hospital—filed a FIR against Jagdishan. The trust alleged that Jagdishan accepted a Rs 2.05 crore bribe to assist specific trustees in maintaining control and interfering in the trust’s internal management. HDFC Bank dismissed the claims as “malicious and baseless,” asserting that the FIR was a retaliatory tactic designed to stall the recovery of over Rs 14.74 crore in outstanding loans from the trust’s affiliates. A division bench of Justices M S Karnik and N R Borkar allowed Jagdishan’s plea, effectively setting aside a previous magistrate court order from May 29 that had called for a police investigation. The High Court observed that the FIR appeared to be a product of “personal vendetta” and a misuse of the legal process. Throughout the ordeal, Jagdishan reportedly declined suggestions to hold a Press Conference to “clear the air,” choosing instead to let the legal process take its course. While the trust requested the case be transferred to the CBI, the High Court dismissed the notion as premature, finding no prima facie evidence of a criminal offense.
In a historic shift for West Bengal, the BJP has ended the 15-year rule of the Trinamool Congress, securing 207 out of 294 seats. The TMC was reduced to just 80 seats. As the dust settles on this landslide victory, intense speculation has turned toward who will be the state’s next Chief Minister. Among the contenders, Suvendu Adhikari has emerged as the clear frontrunner. Adhikari pulled off a remarkable feat by winning both the Bhabanipur and Nandigram constituencies. Notably, he defeated Mamata Banerjee in Bhabanipur by a margin of over 15,000 votes—repeating his 2021 success against her in Nandigram. Currently the Leader of the Opposition, Adhikari’s vast organizational reach and “insider knowledge” from his former tenure in the TMC are seen as major assets. However, some analysts point to his relatively recent entry into the BJP and limited proximity to the RSS as potential hurdles. Other key contenders Include: Samik Bhattacharya: The State President is credited with steering the party’s organizational surge. A long-time member of the Sangh Parivar, he is viewed as an articulate leader with high internal acceptability, though he is often perceived to trail Adhikari in terms of mass mobilization. Dilip Ghosh: Retained his Kharagpur Sadar seat with a victory margin of over 9,000 votes. Roopa Ganguly: The former TV star secured a decisive win in Sonarpur Dakshin by more than 35,000 votes. Agnimitra Paul: Delivered a massive performance in Asansol Dakshin, winning by over 40,000 votes. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for May 9, coinciding with the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend. Party insiders suggest that preliminary internal consultations show overwhelming support for Adhikari among both newly elected MLAs and grassroots workers.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee has asserted her continued commitment to national opposition politics despite a crushing defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections, signalling her intent to remain an active player within the I.N.D.I.A. Bloc. A day after results saw the TMC reduced to just 80 seats—a sharp fall from its dominant 213 in 2021—Banerjee dismissed speculation about her political future. Describing herself as a “free bird,” she vowed to continue working alongside her alliance partners. Her remarks come amid mounting questions regarding her relevance within the Opposition grouping following this significant electoral setback. The outgoing Chief Minister also reiterated allegations of “vote looting,” accusing the Election Commission of acting under pressure from the BJP to engineer her party’s defeat. In this context, she confirmed receiving a call from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who reportedly reached out to discuss the concerns raised by the TMC. The defeat marks a stark reversal for Banerjee, who had projected the state polls as a stepping stone to challenging the BJP at the Centre. During her campaign, she frequently declared that the time had come to take the fight to Delhi and “break” the ruling party’s dominance. However, the 2026 results have dealt a blow not only to her state leadership but also to her immediate national ambitions. In a notable development, Rahul Gandhi reportedly cautioned Congress leaders against celebrating the TMC’s loss, emphasizing the need for Opposition unity despite past campaign clashes. Several key I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders—including Sonia Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Uddhav Thackeray, Akhilesh Yadav, and Hemant Soren—have reportedly reached out to express their solidarity.
Rise of the BJP in West Bengal in 2026 was fulfilment of a long-cherished wish of the national party. Consolidation of Hindu votes in favour of the BJP to oust Trinamool Congress (TMC) for 15 years of its misrule was something that was waiting to happen. Though it is not clear what is the immediate trigger to push Mamata Banerjee government out, everyone agreed that cut money was getting a bit too much to bear. It was affecting even the common man. Little wonder that Mamata got defeated even in her own Bhabanipur constituency to arch rival Suvendu Adhikari of BJP. A senior Congress leader says, “Everyone had become so sick and tired of the corrupt TMC set-up that they wanted to get rid of its misrule. They wanted to give the BJP a chance.” It was also felt only PM Modi was capable of overcoming the minority veto power as he had managed to do so in UP, Bihar and Assam — three states that have sizable Muslim populations. “Since 2014, Modi had managed to unite Hindus and make Muslim vote not determine election outcome. He seemed to have a way of uniting Hindus for a common cause. That is what he had achieved in Bengal. It is in this context that BJP victory in Bengal is important,” pointed out a Sangh ideologue. He referred to provocation of a Bangladeshi lawmaker Akhtar Hossain warning of a potential refugee crisis if the BJP came to power in West Bengal. He had aired his concerns in the Bangladesh Parliament about repatriation of illegal Bangladeshis residing in India if BJP came to power in Bengal. But then why did women in Bengal choose to trust PM Modi, even if he had not fulfilled all the promises made to the Matuas in the CAA? Is it because BJP still seemed a decent bet? Possibly.
Sun Pharmaceutical’s ambitious $11.75 billion acquisition of U.S.-based Organon & Co has effectively reset the benchmarks for the Indian pharma sector. As the largest outbound acquisition in the industry’s history, the Dilip Shanghvi-founded company has solidified its global footprint across Europe, China, Canada, Brazil, and the U.S. through the newly formed Sun Pharma America Inc. Beyond doubling revenue and enhancing EBITDA margins, the deal is a strategic play to position Sun Pharma as a top-three global leader in women’s health and a top-ten player in biosimilars. This shift significantly diversifies Sun’s revenue stream, reducing its dependence on the domestic Indian market, with U.S. revenues projected to rise by $1.4 billion. Industry insiders note that the “easy win” era of small molecules and standard generics has ended. To remain competitive, the sector is pivoting toward heavy investment in complex generics, specialty medicines, and branded products. Analysts predict Sun’s move will trigger a wave of reactionary M&A activity as other Indian giants eye their own global acquisitions.
There’s a fear of post-poll violence in West Bengal! That is why around 50,000 central forces will remain in the state till counting day on May 4. Yet home ministry mandarins acknowledge that their deployment will remain a constitutional challenge without the state government requisition as law and order are state subjects. The CAPF’s operational powers will be legally limited, creating federal tension. Under Article 324, the ECI requisitions central forces to ensure free and fair polling. But once the ballot boxes are unsealed and votes counted that authority begins to fade. The BJP is confident of winning Bengal but fears post-verdict violence, which Amit Shah wants to prevent. A party source said the Union Home Minister who is likely to arrive in Bengal after the election results are announced on May 4, would monitor the situation to avoid a replay of 2021. Shah has already announced that the central forces would remain in Bengal for two months after the election results to prevent post-poll violence. He has sent his deputy and Union minister of state, Nityananda Rai to Bengal even before the exit poll results were announced. BJP Bengal poll manager and Union minister Bhupender Yadav will reach Kolkata by May 2. Apart from administrative vigilance, Shah asked party workers and leaders to refrain from violence during victory celebrations. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said, “We want to ensure that what happened to our workers and supporters in 2021 does not happen to anyone this time. We are afraid that TMC workers will attack their own party workers once the BJP wins.,” Both the BJP and Trinamool have issued warnings to each other’s alleged goons over what might happen after the results are declared on May 4. Shah has warned that Trinamool goons will be “hung upside down and straightened out”.
The Congress party in Maharashtra has become a laughing stock since it is facing the ignominy of withdrawing from an electoral contest for the third consecutive time in a span of just a couple of months. Senior Congress leaders are feeling embarrassed since the party has been forced to eat its own words without extracting any concrete promise from the Nationalist Congress party (NCP) or the Shiv Sena (UBT) about the forthcoming elections in 2028. The focus of the ridicule is state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal, who has fallen flat on his face after showing bravado every time. So much so that many of his party workers openly ask if he is making such important announcements on his own or without getting the high command’s clearance. Sapkal had to announce withdrawal of his party candidate from the Rajya Sabha fray earlier this year, to make way for unopposed election of NCP boss Sharad Pawar. Soon thereafter, he was compelled to declare that the Congress party will not contest against deputy CM Sunetra Pawar for the Baramati assembly byelection. He was made to change his stand immediately after warning the ruling Mahayuti that no walkover will be given to Sunetra. The latest insult Sapkal has suffered has happened in the biannual Vidhan Parishad election in which Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray unilaterally announced the candidature of his party Ambadas Danve. This caught Sapkal totally unprepared as even his own party leaders distanced themselves from his hasty behaviour. Thus, the Congress that ruled Maharashtra for decades till just a dozen years ago is considered a fringe party now, with Sapkal facing the blame for its decline.
One question that is haunting chattering classes in Delhi is whether Kerala polls will sound the death knell of the Left Parties in India? Will the Left Democratic Front be voted out of its last safe haven from India? After being voted out of Tripura, Bengal, will the Left lose its bastion in Kerala after a successful two-term run under CPI(M) stalwart Pinaryi Vijayan? Or maybe survive to last a third term on a slender margin. Many Communist leaders are worried! In spite of many scandals, Left leaders are hoping that LDF is voted back. As far as the Lok Sabha is concerned, the Left Parties had their best showing in the 2004 election winning over 60 seats. Today, their strength lies less in widespread electoral success and more in isolated strongholds, alliances, and cadre-based networks. If there is one state where the Left still governs with authority, it is Kerala. The state has a long history of communist politics, dating back to 1957 when the world’s first democratically elected Communist government was formed under EMS Namboodiripad. Five exit polls’ results show the United Democratic Front (UDF), a coalition led by the Congress in Kerala, dethroning the LDF government led by Vijayan, who ruled the state for the last 10 years. In fact, Vijayan’s victory in 2021 was an aberration of sorts. Kerala has had the long-standing practice of alternating between voting for the LDF and the UDF. Kerala’s Left has sustained itself through welfare governance, strong public health and education systems, and disciplined party organisation. Even if it loses ground in the assembly election, the CPI(M) still has a chance of returning to power, given the state’s electoral history.
Despite frequent news stories suggesting that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray is inching closer to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, the possibility has been discounted outright by the latter, once again. The CM said in an interview that the Mahayuti led by him already has 235 MLAs in the 288-member state assembly. “Hence, there is no scope to accommodate anymore,” Fadanvis said. As the Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad election concluded on April 29 by electing all nine candidates unopposed, the talk got traction once again that a post-midnight meeting between the two leaders had led to this momentous development. However, Fadnavis said no such meeting had taken place. On the other hand, Uddhav appears to have softened his criticism of Fadnavis in particular and the Mahayuti in general. This is linked with the conflicting policies adopted by the other two Maha Vikas Aghadi parties – the NCP led by Sharad Pawar and the Congress. Over the past several months, no convergence is seen within MVA. Even within the Sena (UBT), discontent is noticed over the candidature of former council LoP Ambadas Danve for another term of the upper house. In fact, Uddhav himself was urged by MVA leaders to contest but he did not. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde was making preparations to field a candidate against him in case Uddhav chose to face the election. After Uddhav declared that Danve will be the candidate, Shinde taunted him by saying, “Some people make others fight.” After the lacklustre performance in the assembly and local body elections in Maharashtra, the Sena (UBT) has witnessed a steady outgoing from its ranks. Uddhav and son Aaditya Thackeray are thus facing the prospect of rebuilding the party organisation, considered an uphill task in the given political frame.
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..
In an usual move, Prof Ram Gopal Yadav, cousin of Samajwadi Party founder, the late Mulayam Singh Yadav, courted controversy when he remarked that the Ayodhya Ram Mandir was ‘bekar’ (useless) and not built according to ‘Vastu’. It may seem odd that the Yadav patriarch should make these comments on the day of polling for third phase — when at least three members of Yadav family including his son Akshay, Akhilesh Yadav’s wife Dimple and Shivpal Yadav’s son Aditya were trying their luck from Firozabad, Mainpuri and Badaun Lok Sabha seats. It was felt SP leaders have always been anti Ram temple as they have been anxious about pandering to their Muslim vote bank. UP CM Yogi Adityanath said “These are the same people who opened fire on Kar Sevaks and even denied the existence of Lord Ram.” However, what added a new dimension to the Ram Mandir debate was a disclosure by former Congress leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi was in favour of revisiting the Ayodhya judgement of the Supreme Court– that is if the Congress were to come to power at the Centre. Rahul wished to overturn the mandir verdict of the apex court just as his father Rajiv Gandhi had nullified Shah Bano order in the 80s. The temple which has proven to be a boon for UP and rejuvenated the state is now being threatened with political action. PM Modi used Krishnam’s disclosures in his campaign to warn people about the SP and the Congress’ evil designs on Ram Mandir. So far the Congress has not contradicted the claim.
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.
Nothing has disappointed Congressmen across the country more so in Uttar Pradesh than the fact that Priyanka Vadra did not figure as a candidate either from Raebareli or Amethi. Instead, her brother Rahul filed his papers from Raebareli, a seat their mother Sonia vacated, moving to a Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan. The Amethi seat which Rahul unsuccessfully contested in 2019 and lost to Smriti Irani was given to an old party hand, KL Sharma. Party sources said for some reason Rahul was not keen that his sister, who has shaped up as a key campaigner, should enter the fray. Maybe he will let her contest the Lok Sabha seat, say Wayanad, in the event he wins. With UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s goal of securing all the 80 Lok Sabha seats and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan also setting similar goals, Rahul may perhaps not get the privilege of making such a choice . That’s why Congress leaders insist keeping Priyanka out of the electoral fray at this stage isn’t a great idea and has impacted at least 25 seats. “Priyanka’s entry would have galvanised the Congress cadre. In fact, the Samajwadi Party was insisting that at least one of the Gandhis should enter the fray from UP. Rahul was not keen on fighting for a second seat. He had to be persuaded,” says an AICC functionary. It is rather odd that Rahul didn’t want to share family turf with his sister. This at a time when party cadre feels more inspired by her. With Women’s Quota becoming an Act, a reality that would be rolled out from 2029, Rahul should know he can have little choice.
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.
Rahul Gandhi’s plans of announcing his intention to contest Amethi after Wayanad elections on April 26 took a hit with Union Minister Smriti Irani going to town about why and how the Congress has not yet declared a candidate for the seat. Neither jija Robert Vadra, who has been openly declaring his interest in Amethi, has been declared nor has Rahul Gandhi, who lost to Irani in 2019. Irani claimed she had ensured more work in the constituency in the last five years than Rahul did representing the Lok Sabha seat for three terms. Amethi goes to polls on May 20. “Jijaji ki nazar hai, saale sahab kya karenge. (brother-in-law is eyeing the seat, what will he (Rahul do?) There was a time when people travelling in buses would leave their handkerchief to mark their seat so that no one sits on it. Rahul Gandhi will also come to mark his seat with a handkerchief because his brother-in-law is eyeing this seat,” she told a gathering in Amethi.”Just 27 days left for election, but Congress has not announced its candidate,” Irani said. Rahul had evaded committing to contesting from Amethi by suggesting he “will do whatever the party orders me.” As for Vadra flaunting his interest in Amethi, Congress sources say he is a non-serious player. “He has been declaring his open interest in Amethi only because he doesn’t want his wife Priyanka to enter the fray at this juncture,” said a source. The Gandhi siblings do not value his opinion. After the clean chit he has got for his Haryana dealings, Vadra wants to be seen on the right side of the government.
After the announcement of the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Tamil Nadu over eight times…more to follow. His stormtroopers Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Amit Shah and L Murugan have literally camped in TN. But why is Rahul Gandhi not sparing his time and attention to this important state, with a history of a heritage relationship with DMK over the years? After much surprise expressed by Congress cadres, Rahul is scheduled to visit TN on April 12, that too an afternoon sortie in Tirunelveli where he campaign for the I.N.D.I.A front candidate, and a cameo role with Stalin at Coimbatore, the current epicenter of the electoral battle in TN. Even his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra too has not bothered to visit TN where so many women candidates are in the fray. Modi’s roadshows and lavish attention garnering campaign meetings in TN has intrigued all political watchers. Of course, it’s a valiant effort by a PM to thunder with a third alternative to the Dravidian Monopoly, and this concentrated focus is already showing optics of a significant rise in the BJP presence. So it is logical that Rahul and Congress go all out to counter the BJP rise. Newly minted TN Congress chief Selva Perundagai claimed that if he had pressurized, both Rahul and Kharge would have camped in TN. “But why waste our efforts, when Stalin has guaranteed that his campaign is more than enough”. Is Rahul over-depending on DMK?
After Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by sister Priyanka, filed his nomination papers for the Wayanad Lok Sabha in Kerala seat on April 5 and asserted that “this election is a fight for the soul of India; it is a fight to preserve our democracy from the forces of hatred, corruption, and injustice that seek to suppress the voice of Bharat Mata,” and vowed to “bring together every citizen from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and from Manipur to Mumbai to strengthen our Union of States.” Congress leaders were convinced that he would not contest from a safe “second” seat. That is at least in the South. Party sources said it was because there was no such safe seat other than Wayanad which had 98% minority voters. Rahul was determined to secure a second term from Wayanad. “We know CM Pinarayi Vijayan is making his efforts to secure all seats from Kerala but we are confident that Rahulji will pull it through,” said a Congress leader. Sources said Rahul could not explore a safe seat in Congress-ruled states like Telangana or Karnataka as the party had already finalised a total 208 candidates. In Telangana, Hyderabad and Khammam were the only seats that remained to be allocated. Does it mean Rahul will not fight a second seat at all? The Gandhi siblings have still not spoken their mind about family turf — Amethi and Rae Bareli. Notwithstanding Robert Vadra’s public claims, it is possible that Amethi could still be fought by someone from the family. So would Rae Bareli. Much of course would depend on which way Wayanad votes on April 26.
When the BJP released its 5th list of candidates and Varun Gandhi did not find his name, he may have not been surprised. What may have surprised him was that his mother Maneka was still fielded from Sultanpur. That is because even before the list was out Varun was preparing to be axed and had wanted to file nomination papers as an independent candidate. He knew he had crossed quite a few red lines to be renominated as an MP candidate. In Pilibhit, the BJP had replaced him with former Congress leader and former Uttar Pradesh minister Jitin Prasada, a constituency represented by Varun twice. While Varun literally invited the wrath of the BJP leadership by attacking the Yogi Adityanath government in UP — license of Amethi’s Sanjay Gandhi Hospital was suspended following death of a patient, the Pilibhit MP also attacked policies of the Modi government in signed opinion pieces in newspapers. Congress sources said Varun had turned a rebel in the BJP only because his cousin Priyanka Vadra had encouraged him to do so. She had wanted Varun to create trouble, leave the BJP and eventually join the Congress. She had even arranged a conciliatory meeting between Varun and Rahul Gandhi. Somehow, Rahul was not open to Varun joining the Congress as of now. With his mother getting a BJP ticket, Varun may not be inclined to contest 2024 polls. Elections are always a season of crazy new endings and beginnings but the one that happened in Kurukshetra, Haryana takes the cake. BJP workers can’t still figure out why party leadership has fielded coal-scam tainted Naveen Jindal. BJP had defeated him in 2014 and 2019. In 2024,”We will not work for him”, says the demoralised cadre.
The Congress leadership made a mega event of its lapses. Yes, its failure to file I-T returns for assessment Year 2018-19. Confronted with a penalty of Rs 135 cr, party’s top leaders decided that they must make full use of the I-T action against its finances and dub it as a vindictive action in the time of elections. Is it going to help? Unlikely. Making a rare appearance along with son Rahul and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi dubbed the I-T action as an attempt to cripple the party financially. She declared freezing Congress bank accounts impacted “our democracy itself most fundamentally”. On his part Rahul Gandhi, highlighted how his party was unable to conduct a normal campaign. He wondered if the “idea of India as a democracy” is a lie. The government’s actions are “being orchestrated to cripple us before the elections.” The Congress narrative was countered by senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad. He pointed out that the Congress lost its appeal at every stage — I-T tribunal and in the Delhi HC. “Rs 135 crore tax plus interest was levied. Delhi High Court rejected their appeal on March 13. The court remarked, “It was a badly handled matter. Somebody from the Congress office went to sleep right from 2021. Now they have gone to SC. The matter is listed on April 1. Rahul Gandhi did not disclose these facts but chose to attack all democratic institutions.” Prasad clarified that political parties do not have to pay income tax but have to file their returns every year. “If you do not file every year, you lose your exemption. What has the BJP got to do with it”.
It was a political storm that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi provoked little realising that it could risk hurting Hindu sentiments. His flippant use of “Shakti”– an evolved stream of worship in sanatana dharma — at a political platform where DMK leaders, who are not sympathetic to the Hindu cause, were present came as a political surprise. It was precisely for this reason that SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, who comes from the Ram Mandir belt, kept away from this “anti-sanatana dharma” forum in Mumbai– he didn’t want to be seen sharing space with “anti- Hindu” Tamil leaders like MK Stalin or VCK leader. Looks like Rahul imagined he could attack Hinduism, and get away with his word play on “shakti”. What he did not realise was that an alert BJP team would pick every word he had uttered against Hindus. The interaction with a Christian pastor in Kanyakumari during his Bharat Jodo Yatra and deprecatory references to Hinduism made two years ago was one such gem .The pastor is heard telling Rahul,”Jesus is the real god, not Shakti” in the clip. It came in handy as PM Modi lambasted Rahul as a person who had scant respect for sanatan dharma. From Jagtial in Telangana to Shimoga in Karnataka, Modi tore into Rahul’s remarks at his rallies and personalised his fight against Shakti. “For me, every daughter, mother, and sister is a personification of Shakti. To those who are raising their voices against Shakti, I accept your challenge. I am willing to sacrifice my life for Shakti,” he added. Modi, who clearly reached out to 49 % women voters through a series of governance steps, has now sharpened the battle for their attention with “shakti”.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s sly reference to him has been ridiculed by former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan. Similarly, the scion’s claim that then finance minister Arun Jaitley had requested him not to speak about the Land Acquisition Act has been questioned by top BJP leaders. In his public rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on March 17, Rahul had described how a senior Congress leader from the state had wept before Sonia Gandhi while admitting that he was joining the BJP lest he would be arrested. Although Rahul did not name the leader, the reference was obviously suggestive and it was identified to be Chavan, who recently joined the BJP and was immediately elected to the Rajya Sabha. Chavan said if Rahul was pointing a finger at him, there was no truth in the allegation. Chavan said his decision to leave the Congress party was not known to anyone. He was busy with the party’s work till the previous evening and nobody had an inkling of his next move. The news broke out when Chavan submitted his legislative assembly membership’s resignation to the speaker. Hence, the claim that he had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi in this connection was utterly laughable and unfounded, Chavan stated emphatically. Rahul’s other assertion that Jaitley had met him has similarly been viewed with mistrust. Let him come out with evidence to substantiate his claim, BJP leaders have challenged Rahul.
Makkal Needhi Mayyam (MNM) party founder and Kollywood’s abiding Ulaganayagan, Kamal Haasan and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin must have heaved a sigh of relief after their electoral deal. Both came out smelling roses. Even as Stalin’s tightrope act for seat sharing with his alliance partners was swinging like a suspension bridge, his deal with Kamal made headlines for all the right views. Imagine having a star campaigner like Kamal doing the rounds for the DMK among a cinema-fixated populace. From 2017, Kamal had posted his political ambitions on Twitter (now X). So when he launched MNM in 2018, fans and followers flocked to him. Kamal oozing self-assurance was happy hosting Bigg Boss and the laurels/money the reality show fetched…striding two worlds, multitasking, a talent many a Kollywood star has mastered. MGR embodied flamboyance, now seen as a Rajinikanth brand. Kamal is a thespian of the Shivaji Ganesan lineage. In 2019, MNM created a loud buzz, with a vote share of 3.7%. But in 2021, Kamal lost to BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan and his party fared poorly. Then came the huge film blockbuster Vikram and Kamal’s swag and self-confidence shot up. Enough to reach out to Rahul Gandhi in his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Is Kamal happy to enter the Parliament via Rajya Sabha? Will he overtake his close friend and cinema rival, who turned back at the starting line? Only time will tell.
It was a much awaited list. Yes, the Congress list of 39 names as candidates for 2024 Lok Sabha elections may have been short but it did have a big message and good news for the party cadre. What really came as a shot in the arm for Congress leaders and workers was the news that KC Venugopal — the all-powerful AICC general secretary had been asked to contest from Alappuzha in Kerala. Considered close to Rahul Gandhi, Venugopal wielded enormous clout in the party. Party seniors and even those close to Rahul felt suffocated because of the clout this one man flaunted. Now that he has been forced to contest, party leaders heaved a sigh of relief. “It is good to see Rahul Gandhi wake up and clip Venugopal’s wings,” remarked a Congress functionary. The Kerala leader, who is a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan, had such clout that he was known to pick and choose from a peon to who should be sent to RS. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge wanted to change him but seemed helpless. Party sources said it was only after the loss of face in Himachal in the RS elections when the Congress’s official candidate lost that Rahul himself began to see reason and decided to move out Venugopal. Rahul has now set a new benchmark; he will now ensure all veterans are involved in the elections — be it Venugopal or former Chattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel. As for Priyanka Vadra contesting from Rae Bareli, a seat now vacated by her mother Sonia Gandhi, party sources said nothing could be ruled out.
Will Rahul Gandhi contest again from Wayanad (Kerala) Lok Sabha, a seat that he had secured by a comfortable margin in 2019? Or will he again look for a safe seat in Karnataka, Telangana or UP? What triggered the buzz was that the CPI announced it was fielding Annie Raja, the wife of the party’s general secretary D Raja, from Wayanad. It was felt it will not “look good” for the I.N.D.I.A front that one of the prominent leader’s wife will be contesting against Rahul Gandhi. Congress leaders from Kerala, however, made it clear that securing the seat wasn’t going to be an issue. “If Rahulji decides to contest from the seat, he will secure it. He is currently abroad (away to the UK for a lecture) and he has to decide. As for who is LDF fielding against Rahulji is not our concern,” said a top AICC functionary. Party sources also made it clear that his second seat, if any, would not be from the South. It could only be from UP now that an alliance with the Samajwadi Party has been stitched. Meanwhile, CPI’s D Raja also made it clear that the Wayanad contest should be purely seen as a UDF versus LDF battle, and not as a clash between Rahul Gandhi and his wife. Congress sources also pointed out that the issue of IUML’s claims over the Wayanad seat — a constituency with Muslim majority voters — had been settled.
The AAP and the Congress are set to jointly contest from Delhi, Haryana, Goa, Chandigarh and Gujarat. As per the pact, AAP will contest four of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, two of the 26 seats in Gujarat, and one of the 10 seats in Haryana, while the Congress will contest the rest of the seats in these states. In Gujarat, the AAP will contest two – Bharuch and Bhavnagar – and in Haryana, it will contest the Kurukshetra seat. Late Congress leader Ahmed Patel’s children — Faisal and Mumtaz — have opposed giving away their home turf Bharuch to AAP. Incidentally the Congress tie-up with AAP comes full circle nearly a decade after the party first came to power in Delhi riding an anti-Congress wave in 2013. Kejriwal with 28 MLAs was propped by the Congress with its 8 MLAs. It is clear that Kejriwal, who had tasted a tough fight during MCD polls to take control of the Delhi civic body in December 2022 is not keen for a repeat in May 2024. He had boasted about limiting BJP to 20 seats in the 250 member MCD. The BJP went on to notch a cool 104. “It is clear both the Opposition parties are too scared to face the Modi juggernaut alone,” said a BJP poll strategist. It also shows that by joining hands with the Congress, Kejriwal has shelved his PM ambitions for now. It is not Kejriwal alone who has seen his limitations. Congress stalwart in Haryana Bhupinder Hooda also knows there is no way he can beat the BJP bulwark in Lok Sabha. By pitting AAP in Kurukshetra — a seat held by state BJP chief — Hooda has tossed an unwinnable seat in AAP’s lap and got an alibi for poor show in 2024.
It was an abuse that shocked everyone in UP and Delhi. Rahul Gandhi who hollered away in Amethi about drunkenness and dancing in Varanasi and had also stretched his aversion for Hindu rituals by deriding those chanting Jai Shri Ram. That too at a time when Ram Mandir at Ayodhya has been drawing huge crowds – upwards of 50 lakh devotees within a month’s since its inauguration. So it was expected that the Gandhi scion would be appropriately trashed. And that’s what happened. PM Modi, who reached Varanasi on a two-day visit, panned Rahul for hurling a pejorative ”nashedi “at Varanasi youth — young men of his Lok Sabha constituency from where he plans to contest for a third term. So it was a protective Modi who came to the fore. “They spent the decade abusing Modi. But now they are taking out their frustration on the people. “Jinke aapne hosh thhikane nahi hai, wo UP ke, mere kashi ke bachcho ko nashedi keh rahe hai,” he said. Strongly condemning Rahul Gandhi’s comment, Modi said “A person who belongs to a dynasty is always threatened by the common youth force. And now they have another reason to not like Uttar Pradesh after Ram Mandir’s inauguration. They do not like the new face of Kashi and Ayodhya. I did not know Congress had so much hatred towards Lord Ram. They can’t see or think beyond their family and vote bank”. He also made it clear that the SP-Congress alliance would make no impact. It is an alliance where they come together before every election and then abuse each other after they get ‘nil battey sannata’.
Decision of the Siddaramaiah Government in Karnataka to disburse Rs 15 lakhs in “compensation” to a deceased individual from Rahul Gandhi’s Wayanad constituency in Kerala, attributing his death to elephant trampling, claiming that the wild animal belonged to Karnataka has raised political storm of sorts in the southern state. Opposition BJP has questioned how could the state government divert funds “amidst severe drought and distress in Karnataka with over 600 farmers ending their own lives”. It wanted to know how the Congress government, facing severe fiscal deficits and resource shortages for vital development, was diverting “taxpayer’s money” to appease Rahul Gandhi. All the tell-tale signs to this controversy was contained in Karnataka’s Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre’s letter to Rahul Gandhi where he acknowledged that as per Rahul Gandhi’s advice to AICC leader KC Venugopal and the phone conversation he had with the Kerala leader, his government had announced compensation to the person killed by the tusker Makna. Khandre admits that Makna was captured near Belur, radio collared and released into Bandipora Tiger reserve in November 2023. “Two months later he was sighted in Wayanad area of Kerala and attacked Mr Ajeesh, leading to his death, which is an unfortunate incident.” Khandre also put on record how his state had the highest number of elephants — 6395 — in the country and declining forest cover was posing threat to the tuskers in the region.
Just as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra entered Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Vadra made a surprise announcement in a social media post saying that though she was “really looking forward to receiving the BJNY in UP today” she wouldn’t be doing so as she was “admitted to hospital”. Party sources were surprised that Priyanka who was seen with her mother Sonia Gandhi only early this week in Jaipur to file Rajya Sabha nomination would not be participating in the UP leg yatra and “report sick” . “It is difficult to accept that Priyankaji will not be on the yatra even in UP. She is being deliberately sidelined in the party. First, Rahul did not allow Priyanka to travel to Manipur for the launch of BJNY. Now he is preventing her from showing up even in UP. For some reason, Rahul fancies he has a good chance to reduce the BJP’s numbers. That’s why he wants to keep Priyanka out of the yatra, so that he gets the credit for demolishing PM Modi,” points out a Priyanka loyalist. Party sources pointed out that Priyanka was being isolated ever since she had goofed up while making some recommendations for appointments to Karnataka corporations and boards. Some names created such an upheaval within the party that the state government had to settle for appointing MLAs to these bodies. Since then Priyanka has been advised to “stay aloof” from party matters. Promising to be in UP once she is “better” , Priyanka signed off wishing all the yatris,”my colleagues in UP who have worked hard towards making arrangements for the yatra and my sweet brother, all success as they reach Chandauli”.
The Congress faced a temporary hurdle after the Income-Tax department froze its main bank accounts over its returns pertaining to 2018-19. It received a temporary relief after the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal granted relief by de-freezing the accounts until a final hearing next week. In his tweet on X Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said the I-T department sent “Two Notices — 1st to AICC bankers, and the 2nd to IYC Bankers; A sum of Rs 135,06,88,984/-…(+ Rs 75, 17, 97, 015/- for IYC bank account) is due from the Indian National Congress”. The Congress party is mandated to ensure that a sum of Rs 115 crore is maintained in its bank accounts. Maken had initially cried foul and tried to dub the I-T action as a vengeful move of the Modi government a day after the Supreme Court had quashed the electoral bonds– some leaders even called for freezing BJP accounts linked to bonds. Maken later conceded that the I-T action had begun long before the Apex Court verdict. The I-T department had raised a demand of Rs210 crore from the party. Maken said they were supposed to file their I-T returns for 2018-19 by December 31, 2019, but the party was late by 40-45 days. Maken said since 2019 was an election year, the party had submitted the receipts of Rs 199 crore spent on the elections. Party sources however feel the I-T returns case is a Ahmed Patel legacy issue — it is something that Patel who remained AICC treasurer till his last breath could have easily sorted out. Maybe it was Patel’s way of getting back at an heir apparent Rahul Gandhi who never cared for him.
Repeated stories in www.shortpost.in predicting that Ashok Chavan, former chief minister of Maharashtra will bid adieu to the Congress party are now confirmed, though he has taken his own time to decide. Chavan’s absence from the legislative assembly floor in 2022 when the house was voting on a motion expressing confidence in the government of Eknath Shinde had proved sensational. However, his clarification that he was held up in a traffic jam was accepted by his party. At the time, DCM Devendra Fadnavis had thanked the ‘invisible hands’ supporting the government. On Monday (Feb 12), there was a feeling of déjà vu when Fadnavis said that some bigwigs from the Opposition were expected to join the BJP. Within minutes, Chavan announced his resignation from the Congress and the legislative assembly. Although he has not confirmed his saffron entry, Chavan has not denied the possibility, either. “Wait for a couple of days,” is all that he has said for the time being. Even when Chavan had supervised Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra’s meticulous arrangements in his home constituency Nanded, www.shortpost.in had hinted at his restlessness. However, the news story was not taken seriously. Chavan, too, continued to participate in the party’s activities. Recovering from the shock, Congress leaders in Maharashtra are presently frantically contacting the party legislators since reports are circulating that several of them are preparing to follow Chavan out of the Congress.
Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections the political temperature in Odisha is rising with possible alliance talks going on between various political parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s who was in Odisha recently at a public gathering called Naveen ji as “mitra” openly and this seems to have embarrassed the local BJP unit. It is public knowledge that both Modi and Patnaik have great equations. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi who just finished his last leg of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra campaigning in Odisha seems to be upset with the BJP-BJD informal alliance. With a view to energize Odisha’s Congress cadres, Rahul has cautioned Odia people saying Odisha is a partnership government of Naveen Patnaik and Narendra Modi wherein Patnaik is helping Modi in Delhi, while Modi helps Naveen in Odisha. Adding further he said that if BJP comes to power even Navratna NALCO will be sold off to private players. Former bureaucrat VK Pandian, Patnaik’s right hand man acknowledged through podcast that lot of things have been ironed out between BJP and BJD saying that Patnaik has it made clear long ago that BJD will have constructive cooperation with the Centre reiterating that the chief minister is not here to fight BJP or Congress. What is important according to Pandian is “covering Odisha’s interest”. For BJP it has no option but a tactical alliance considering the fact Patnaik’s popularity continues to rise and BJP overall has not been able to penetrate the state save for Western Odisha.
Is West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s jibe about Congress not in a position to cross 40 Lok Sabha seats in 2024 proving too costly for the Grand Old Party (GOP)? Upset with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra passing through her state, the TMC supremo had challenged the Congress to take on the BJP in the Hindi heartland states. She was upset that the yatra had traversed through Bengal’s six districts and compared it to a “mere photo opportunity” for “migratory birds” as she felt its aim was only to disturb Muslim votes. Citing the challenge posed by an I.N.D.I.A partner like the TMC, PM Narendra Modi — speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Motion of Thanks to the President– decided to play on the number challenge for the Congress. “A challenge has been posed before you from West Bengal that the Congress will not be able to cross 40 seats in Lok Sabha. I pray that you can secure 40,” he said. Modi also referred to Rahul as “yuvraj” saying that he was presented as a “start-up” but turned out to be a “non-starter”. Indulging in some banter with LoP Mallikarjun Kharge, Modi wondered how he had managed to give a long speech in the House.”Then, I realised that the two commandos who are usually here were not present. Kharge ji, after realising there were no umpires or commandos, kept hitting 4s and 6s,” he said referring to the absence of Rahul and Jairam Ramesh in Delhi. Attacking the Congress for being outdated, Modi felt it had also outsourced its work.
Congress and CPI(M) seems to have once again struck a chord with each other after West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee made it categorical that her party will contest the Lok Sabha elections in all constituencies in the state. Interestingly, Congress scion and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi who was in Bengal with his Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra found support from CPI(M) at a time when Didi expressed her displeasure that she remained uninformed about Gandhi’s programme in her state. Senior CPI(M) leaders including state secretary Mohammad Salim, state committee member Sujan Chakraborty met Rahul during his tour in Murshidabad. Significantly, the Left leaders not only joined Rahul but also held a closed-door meeting, where Salim has been categorical in stating that they are in support of Rahul’s programme. Congress sources confirmed that Pradesh Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been behind this meeting since Adhir is known to be a close-aide of Rahul. Following this meeting, the Congress has once again shown its trust in Adhir by appointing him as chairman of the party’s Pradesh Election Committee. The 24-member committee includes ex-MP Pradip Bhattacharya, CWC member Deepa Dasmunsi, DP Roy and others. Further, Bengal Congress chief has not lost a Lok Sabha election since 1999 and will be able to negotiate seat-sharing talks with CPI(M) since the TMC has blamed him for the seat-sharing debacle in the state.
In his last ‘Motion of Thanks’ reply to President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the Parliament, PM Narendra Modi exuded super confidence about returning to office for a third term with at least 370 seats for the BJP and 400 seats for the NDA. He taunted the Opposition for losing “the courage to contest elections”. In an obvious reference to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s plans to shift to the Rajya Sabha, Modi said “Some seats were changed last time too…I have also heard that many people now want to go to Rajya Sabha instead of Lok Sabha.” Sonia Gandhi walked out half way through his speech. He asserted that the “third term of our government is not very far now. Only 100-125 days remain to go.” Modi promised that India would become the third-largest economic power in the world in his third term and expressed confidence that his next term would see some “very big decisions”. Modi was in form as he took the Congress to the cleaners for not finding its mojo in its decade in the Opposition and attacked it for squandering its time in launching-relaunching the same product — a veiled reference to Rahul Gandhi. Quoting a 1959 speech of Jawaharlal Nehru, Modi showed how the first PM felt that the “Indians were lazy”. Showcasing his own government’s work of building 4 crore houses for the poor, Modi said if his government were to work at the speed of Congress “it would have taken 100 years to do this work. Five generations would have passed by then.”
West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee is clearly upset with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra making its way into her state. She is so miffed with the Congress action that she feels the entire yatra is a bid to revive the Left Parties in the state — a battle she had fought hard to eliminate. She feels any softness on the yatra at this stage could allow the Left Parties to make a comeback in Bengal. It is felt that the idea of yatra in Bengal itself was something that CPI(M)boss Sitaram Yechury perhaps worked out with Rahul .That’s perhaps why Didi has given instructions up to the district level not to cooperate with Congress functionaries. Bengal Congress leaders are finding district officials so paranoid that they are finding it difficult to make even basic travel arrangements for Rahul Gandhi. This at a time when the yatra is about to re-enter the state for a second phase on January 31. Interestingly, in the first phase when Rahul Gandhi entered Bengal he was greeted with posters of “Didi for PM”. Mamata, who has announced she will go alone for 2024 is apparently determined to take on the BJP, win on her own at least 40 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats. She also wants to vanquish Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Choudhury from his Berhampore Lok Sabha seat. The only concession for the Congress that she is willing to make is Malda Dakshin seat and that too for the sake of Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury, as he is a kin of the late ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury, an old colleague.
From all indications, it is becoming clear that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi will not be contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Rae Bareli — a seat that she has represented since 2004 for four terms. As such she has not visited her constituency or has been taking any interest in her voters. Perhaps this was one of the reasons that she did not attend the pran pratishtha ceremony. Congress sources say she would prefer to be a Rajya Sabha MP and is actually looking to get elected from Himachal when the vacancy rises early April. It will be a seat vacated by BJP chief JP Nadda. With daughter Priyanka Vadra having a house in Shimla, the Gandhi family feels Himachal is their second home. Sonia has been telling Congress leaders how Himachal has been close to Indira Gandhi. Though she is an outsider, Sonia will not be the first outsider MP for the state. Sources point out that post Emergency there was Mohinder Kaur (1978-84) — mother of now BJP leader and former Punjab CM, Capt Amarinder Singh — who had got elected as RS MP for one term. As for Rae Bareli — a seat once represented by Indira Gandhi and considered to be family turf — there is a buzz that it may go to the next generation. With the Samajwadi Party featuring Rae Bareli among the 11 seats where it is willing to back the Congress, looks like it could soften the electoral battle if either Priyanka Vadra or Rahul Gandhi wish to enter the fray from UP.
So what is driving out leaders like Milind Deora out of the Congress in Maharashtra? Lack of popular mandate? Or short shrift from Rahul Gandhi and his team? Possibly loss of access to Rahul Gandhi. In fact many of Rahul’s close aides were surprised that when Deora exited there were reports that he had no access to Rahul and was actually seeking to reach him through an appointment via Jairam Ramesh. But then, Milind is not alone. It is being said senior Maharashtra leaders like former Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, former CM Prithviraj Chavan have also been getting a raw deal from the former Congress President. Neither Shinde nor Chavan have been able to meet Rahul in the past few years. Reportedly, BJP had reached out to Shinde to switch sides and are also tapping his daughter Praniti Shinde, Maharashtra PCC working president. When the Congress came to know of the BJP’s overtures to the father-daughter duo, it got into damage control mode. While efforts were made to molly-coddle senior Shinde, the AICC ensured Praniti was aboard the special aircraft that carried leaders from Delhi to Imphal to launch Nyay Yatra. Though BJP leaders have denied reaching out to Shinde, Congress sources feel Praniti is being eyed as a fresh face for Solapur Lok Sabha seat. If Shinde joins BJP it would bring closure to controversy over his remarks on Hindu terror that he had made at Congress’ Chintan Shivir in Jaipur in 2013 that RSS and BJP were running terror camps.
The poll alliances in Tamil Nadu seem far from settled. Asked about the sealing of seat-sharing arrangements in the I.N.D.I.A bloc, all that the senior DMK minister Duraimurugan would say was that things were moving smoothly. But there are tugs and pulls, with at least one major party in AIADMK trying to change the scenario by offering more seats (12) to the Congress than the DMK (6 or 7) is ready to offer. Also, voices are being heard in I.N.D.I.A bloc from the likes of the AAP that the bloc may be better off without the DMK as the party’s stand on Sanatana Dharma has spoilt the Hindu vote bank for the alliance. But given MK Stalin’s loyalty to members of the Congress first family, it is unlikely that the matter of a few seats would see the alliance come unhinged. Stalin might convince the DMK to allot nine seats to the Congress to keep the front intact. His son has also been told to tone down the anti-Hindu rhetoric till the elections and not to sully the pitch to the electorate, which already has reason to ditch the DMK because of the corruption clouds that are gathering over a few major figures. The Muslim also have reasons to feel cut up as they see the DNK as not having done enough for them, including in the non-release of prisoners.
More than suspension of 141 Opposition MPs, what has taken centre stage is mimicry and humiliation of the Vice President of India and Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankar by suspended members. The issue escalated with PM Modi speaking over phone to Dhankar on December 18 to express “pain” over disrespect shown to his office by suspended Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee who mimicked his style of presiding over the House. Dhankar shared in a post that the PM shared his own experience of being at the receiving end but “the fact that it could happen to a Constitutional office like the Vice President of India …was unfortunate.” The Opposition has also been humiliating the Chair by boycotting meetings called by him. This led him to play Jat card in the House as he made it clear to Congress leader P Chidambaram that Kalyan’s mimicry act videographed by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, had “ravaged” his office and was a personal insult to him. He said, “…I had suffered… Mr Chidambaram, your party put a video on Instagram, which was withdrawn later on. That was a shame to me. You used the official Twitter (now X) handle of the spokesperson to demean me, insult my background as a farmer, my position as a Jat, insult my position as a chairman…these are too serious issues.” President Droupadi Murmu said she was dismayed by the incident. Meanwhile Mamata Banerjee tried to pin the blame on Rahul Gandhi saying “you would not even come to know about this had Rahulji not taken the video.”
The Indian National Congress has started spirited preparations for its 28 December rally in Nagpur where a million party workers and supporters are planned to remain present. Top Congress leaders like Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge as well as various office-bearers will attend the first show of strength after the recent assembly election drubbing the party has suffered. The suspension of most of its MPs from the two houses of Parliament has provided a moral boost for the party to stand up and fight back, several leaders say. To coincide with the party’s Foundation Day, the rally’s venue will be finalised within the next two days. Tentatively, two locations are finding favours. The sprawling grounds at Dabha a few weeks ago housed an AgroVision exhibition and could accommodate a huge turnout. Former minister Satish Chaturvedi’s Lokmanya Tilak Jan Kalyan Sanstha, too, has a large open ground at its Priyadarshini campus. This is in close vicinity of the airport and suitable from various angles. Party leaders have inspected these and some other possible locations. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal is monitoring the preparations. Once a stronghold of the Congress party, Nagpur slipped from its hands in 2014 to elect popular BJP leader Nitin Gadkari to the Lok Sabha. The party is determined to wrest the seat from the BJP at the RSS headquarters this time. The rally will be one step in this direction, the workers will be told and spurred to work.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s decision to embark on the Bharat Jodo Yatra 2.0 sometime in January in the run up to Lok Sabha polls, caught party leaders by surprise. By deciding to embark on a journey from the North East — sometime in January — Rahul had clearly decided to keep away from the nitty-gritty of planning and campaigning for the 2024 elections, party sources said. Either he wants to use the yatra as a face-saver for the 2024 outcome that is expected to go in favour of the BJP. Or he is merely shirking his responsibilities towards the party as its star campaigner. Party leaders are also surprised by the manner in which he has decided to latch on to slogans against “unemployment” and “inflation”– slogans raised by those who breached Parliament security. Why is a senior Congress leader like Rahul Gandhi giving legitimacy to slogans given by two “out of work” young men who trapeze from visitor’s gallery into the Lok Sabha chamber in utter breach of security? Is it because they were echoing Rahul’s charges against the Modi government at a time when it was not finding traction among voters in the North. To make matters worse Rahul even treated security breach in Parliament as a non-issue and wanted the entire focus to be on unemployment instead. In a post, Rahul asked “Where are the jobs? The youths are desperate. We have to focus on this issue and give jobs to the youth.” Party leaders were disappointed that Rahul was in no mood to confront the government on security failure.
The Congress debacle in Hindi heartland in the recently held assembly polls puts it at a disadvantage to negotiate seat sharing for the 2024 general elections. According to sources, the Congress leadership has started preliminary talks with the leaders of several regional parties on seat settlement. Regional parties in I.N.D.I.A are in an ‘advantageous’ position with Congress losing three states. Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar in Bihar have got the opportunity to put Congress ‘under pressure’. Amid allegations of being a dictator in the coalition front, Congress felt the heat after several regional party heads Mamata, Akhilesh, Nitish saying “no” to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s hasty calling of the I.N.D.I.A. meeting. According to Delhi Congress sources, Rahul Gandhi has already held initial discussions with Mamata about seat sharing. It may be noted that Trinamool Congress has agreed to allot three seats out of 42 seats to Congress in the Lok Sabha polls. Two of the three constituencies are Adhir Chowdhury’s Baharampur and Abu Hasem Khan Chowdhury’s Maldah South. The third constituency is the late Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi constituency — Raiganj in North Bengal. The agreement on these three seats is considered to be virtually final. Mamata who will be in Delhi on December 18, will attend the I.N.D.I.A. meeting which is called mainly for the seat sharing agreement between the alliance partners in the state.
The I-T department has seized ‘unaccounted’ cash amounting to upwards of Rs 300 crore in multiple raids across Odisha and Jharkhand reportedly linked to Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu. Even while the department has apparently been still trying to get more counting machines to record its haul, the Congress has been battling to disown any connection with Sahu’s cash hoarding. In fact even before I-T put a final figure to Sahu’s cash stash, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh pontificated about how ”only the MP can and should explain” how the huge amounts of cash that “have been reportedly unearthed by the I-T authorities from his properties”. He clarified that the Congress had nothing to do with Sahu’s business. But then images of cash bundles stock-piled in Dhiraj’s home got BJP leader Amit Malviya to post a video linking Dhiraj with Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, dubbing it a journey to connect “the thieves of India”. Malviya captioned the video “Congress is CorruptionKiDukan”. “Nearly Rs 300 crore recovered from the premises of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Sahu in Jharkhand is a living proof of this.” Meanwhile, Sahu’s colleagues are surprised how he managed so many terms in the Parliament without substantially participating in the proceedings. “He hardly opened his mouth in the House. The raids now reveal his real clout in the party,” recalled an old timer.
Normally a Congress MP’s meeting with party president Mallikarjun Kharge should not be news. However Karti Chidambaram’s meeting with Kharge created a buzz that the Sivaganga MP could be in the reckoning to be the next PCC chief of Tamil Nadu. While Kharge may have no issue promoting a younger leader like Karti, it is not clear if Rahul Gandhi would accept him. For the past few days, Karti was seen toeing the party’s official line. Like he came out completely denouncing the move to expel Mahua Moitra for sharing her login password. Party sources said ahead of Lok Sabha 2024 polls, the Tamil Nadu unit has been looking for a new PCC chief. Incumbent party chief KS Alagiri is originally a P Chidambaram loyalist but he may now find he does not enjoy that sort of support within the state unit. Except perhaps from CWC member and Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore. As AICC functionary, Tagore has apparently been batting for extending Alagiri’s term till the Lok Sabha polls. Sources say Tagore is rooting for this as he is eyeing the post once the polls are over. Karur MP S Jothimani is known to be close to Rahul Gandhi. However, some of her initiatives such as landing up in Manipur uninvited when Rahul was there irked the leadership. She tried to recover the loss of face by launching baseless attacks on TN BJP chief K Annamalai. But nothing seems to be working for her.
Now that the votes have been cast in Rajasthan, Congress election managers are finally letting off their steam against one over-priced star campaigner, Imran Pratapgarhi, who not only called off half a dozen programmes at the last minute but had left the party hugely embarrassed because of his erratic ways. It is being said he played truant in Telangana too. Hugely popular for his shayari, Pratapgarhi has been quite elusive and is known to even charge the party for his efforts. It is precisely for his campaign work that he got elected to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra in 2022 overlooking local claims, and was appointed to head the Minority Department of the AICC. Party sources said Pratapgarhi was taking everyone for granted because he had patronage of Priyanka Gandhi as he hailed from UP. Well if the Congress cadres were putting up with the whims of a Pratapgarhi, they discovered getting Sachin Pilot into a campaign mode had become a logistic hazard. It was all because CM Ashok Gehlot decided not to make any arrangements for his rival. It was finally left to the AICC to make a last-minute arrangement for a chopper to ferry Sachin across constituencies. Even this wasn’t done not because Sachin was close to the Gandhis. It is being said even the Gandhis felt a bit tricked when they found there were different names in Sachin’s candidates’ list that was given to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi for the CEC meeting. Maybe Sachin was trying to get as many names of his candidates cleared.
When Congress leader Sonia Gandhi shifted to Jaipur as Delhi’s air pollution level spiked last week post Diwali there were a lot of concerns about her health. More than that, many in the party wondered about the real purpose of her visit. Did she really choose Jaipur to recover from horrible Delhi weather or there is more than that meets the eye? Sonia was apparently there to iron out differences between CM Ashok Gehlot and son Rahul. Party sources said it seemed only logical. That’s because whenever she is advised by her doctors to shift to a place where the air is not so polluted as in Delhi, she usually visits Goa; .Jaipur can’t be considered a health resort. Sonia rushed to Jaipur after Rahul had a head-on clash with CM Gehlot over ticket distribution. Party sources said Gehlot was heard asserting how he has been a two-term CM and has the experience to pick and endorse candidates on his list. Sonia decided to have a pep talk with Gehlot and make it easy for Rahul. Clearly, the CM was visibly upset with the way Congress leadership denied tickets to his close aide Mahesh Joshi from his Hawa Mahal constituency in Jaipur. Last year, Joshi along with three other ministers — Shanti Dhariwal, Pratap Khachariyawas and Dharmendra Rathore were served show-cause notices for going against the party whip in 2022. While the high command decided to spare Dhariwal and Khachariyawas, axe fell on Joshi and Rathore.
When Rahul Gandhi pushed off to Kedarnath on a three-day visit in the midst of elections in Hindi heartland states, it was widely believed that the temple visit was more to improve his Hindu credentials than for any spiritual significance. Party sources admitted that Rahul found he was not being welcomed to campaign in Madhya Pradesh as much as his sister Priyanka was in a state that goes to polls on November 17. PCC chief and CM aspirant Kamal Nath was seen trying to maintain a distance from Rahul; it was as if Nath was cold shouldering Rahul. While Kamal Nath was not seen accompanying or sharing the spotlight with the Gandhi scion, he was not even endorsing or referring to Rahul’s programmes in the state — in his X handle. He was only making references to public rallies addressed by Priyanka Vadra. In contrast, former CM Digvijay Singh made it a point to be part of Rahul’s rally in Ashok Nagar, Guna. Sources said it is possible Nath was uncomfortable with Rahul’s utterances about caste census and OBC politics. He probably did not want any controversy with Rahul around. It may be recalled Nath got I.N.D.I.A front to call off its Bhopal rally soon after Sanatan Dharam controversy. Several Congress leaders have also not been comfortable with Rahul’s neo OBC politics and wondered if it would yield desired results. Meanwhile, Rahul is yet to chart out his campaign plans for Rajasthan that goes to polls on November 25.
It is not just the Gandhis who have a fondness for the furry friend. Yes, we have seen Rahul Gandhi traveling all the way to Goa to pick up a pair of Jack Russell pups for his mother Sonia and himself. But we know little about West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s bond with the furried. She recently got two Labradors to join her household – Strong and Smile. They arrived purely for security reasons. Yes, they arrived following several security breaches in her Kalighat residence. According to sources, both of them are well-trained to spot bombs or explosives in the vicinity. ‘Strong’ and ‘Smile’ have spent nearly a year training with Special Forces — the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Post security breach, Mamata, a Z-category protectee got the canines’ for her round-the-clock safety. Since she likes to spend time with the dogs during her spare time, it was she who reportedly gave their names. Security agencies were quite worried about the kind of breaches that were taking place at her residence. There were apparently two serious breaches in her security. Couple of days ago an unknown man breached the security fence and entered her house. In the second instance, a car laden with weapons entered the lane of CM’s residence.
Battling fatigue in Madhya Pradesh where it has been in power for two decades, the BJP moved to a headstart as it released a fourth list containing a list of 57 candidates for the upcoming assembly polls. It did not wait for the auspicious start of the Navaratris or the end of pitru paksh to release the candidates list for MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. It released the lists as soon as the EC announced a month-long poll schedule for five state assemblies. Beginning with voting in Mizoram and Chhattisgarh on November 7, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (2nd phase) on November 17, Rajasthan on November 23, and Telangana on December 30, votes are to be counted on December 3. Ending speculations, MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is contesting from Budhni. Like the MP list which featured Union ministers like Narendra Tomar and Prahlad Patel, the Rajasthan list has as many as seven Lok Sabha MPs. As for the Congress Working Committee which met to decide on assembly polls, sought to make “caste census” a poll strategy. The party pushed for a ‘Caste Census’ in the country. Only last week, the outgoing Ashok Gehlot government issued orders for caste census in Rajasthan. Rahul Gandhi said “I think it is a very progressive step, a very powerful step for the emancipation of the poor people in our country. We will force the BJP to carry out the caste census or make them get out of the way.”
It all began as an innocuous battle of ideas between the Congress and BJP on the X. First, it veered around talking points from PM Modi’s speech that the BJP collated to warn of the perils of ideas of majoritarian politics that is being pushed via caste census. The fight intensified as a poster war with the Congress first sharing in its official X handle a picture of PM Modi and Amit Shah — that looked like a movie poster — with the text “PM Narendra Modi as Jumla Boy” written on it. The party captioned the poster with: “Going to hit the election rally soon.” It followed posters calling Modi the “biggest liar”. Looks like the Congress did not expect a strong counter from the BJP. With festivals of Navaratri and Dussehra round the corner, the BJP came up with a poster that was in line with its battle for Sanatan Dharam; it thought it fit to dub Rahul Gandhi as “new age Ravan”. “He is Evil. Anti-Dharma. Anti-Ram. His aim is to destroy Bharat. Rahul was also dubbed as a George Soros puppet. Realising the potential damage that likeness to Ravan could unleash in heartland states like MP and Rajasthan, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh felt portraying Rahul as Ravan could provoke “violence”. “It is clearly intended to incite and provoke violence against a Congress MP and a former President of the party, whose father and grandmother were assassinated by forces that want to divide India”, he said.
The ruling BJP’s worst nightmare might be round the corner. Rahul Gandhi was not far off the mark in releasing the results of early internal surveys of the mood in the five states going to the polls soon. He said Congress could certainly win three of them –Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana – while Rajasthan could be a tossup, with Mizoram in the northeast likely to also be affected by what is going on in Manipur and hence could turn against the national ruling party. While Chhattisgarh is a given considering it has been a Congress stronghold for a while now, Telangana is where the Congress might put up its most impressive show. The BJP, acutely aware that the party stands little chance in the State given its indistinct local leadership, is banking on KCR to withstand the anti-incumbency wave and keep the State away from the Congress. There is talk in Hyderabad of a deal already struck between BJP and BRS regarding the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls. The Congress is hoping to create a national mood swing with a good showing in four states, including Rajasthan which may see a close-run race. Telangana is the big swing State that might impel the Congress campaign for the big polls in 2024.
Congress leaders from Kerala are quite amused by the publicity and attention that the decision of Kerala unit of the CPI asking Rahul Gandhi not to contest from Wayanad Lok Sabha in 2024. It has triggered speculation whether Rahul would move out of Wayanad and pick a seat in Congress-ruled Karnataka or opt for a safe haven in DMK ruled Tamil Nadu. The CPI’s suggestion has amused the Congress leaders in Kerala who assert that Wayanad has traditionally voted for Congress-led UDF. “What is this peculiar case that the CPI is making? The CPI had contested in Wayanad in 2019 also when Rahul Gandhi had contested and won by a staggering margin of over 4.3 lakh votes. The CPI is free to contest in 2024 also. We want Rahulji to contest again from Wayanad, “said Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala. Party sources said it is important that Rahul contest from here again as he was unseated and it had been restored by the Supreme Court. In all the three previous elections, the Congress candidate has won from the constituency. In 2019, Rahul’s entry into the Lok Sabha from Wayanad had helped the Congress sweep the polls in the state picking 19 of the 20 Lok Sabha seats from the state as it was widely believed that Rahul Gandhi would become the PM. This time round Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan wants to improve the tally of the Left Front in 2024. There is pressure on it to win 4 seats allotted to it. Rahul Gandhi is unlikely to exit Wayanad.
While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi may have extolled the virtues of the new Parliament building in the course of his speech on the Women’s Reservation Bill about how “it is quite a nice building, nice peacocks, nice peacock feathers on the ground, nice peacock feathers in the chair… it’s a nice tasteful building” and NCP MP Praful Patel tweeting a picture of himself with Sharad Pawar hailed it as a “marvel”, not many MPs are happy about the new Parliament complex. “It is more like a convention centre than a Parliament and the corridors are too narrow. Even those leading up to the ministers’ chambers are narrow. There is just one entry/ exit point to this building and it gets pretty crowded,” cribbed a healthy MP from Punjab. With long winding corridors leading to the chambers, it is proving to be a long trek for members. MPs are having a problem finding a way out to reach for their transport. Some male MPs found even the swank toilets too small for use. As for the swish cafeteria that has been built to hold 80/ 90 people, it simply failed to supply even tea when the discussion on Women’s Reservation Bill in the Rajya Sabha was going on up to 11 pm. “The cafeteria is not like the Central Hall canteen that could cater to all 543 Lok Sabha MPs…This can at best be called Modi ka maqbara,” says a Congress leader. This means PM Modi’s favourite architect Bimal Patel could be receiving some flak.
The 128th Constitution Amendment Bill providing for women’s reservations was passed by the Lok Sabha with bipartisan support of 454 MPs. Yet oddly the Gandhis – both Sonia and Rahul — were missing from the House when the historic bill was passed with a thumping majority. Rahul in his speech made one of the weirdest points about OBC reservation and was duly fact checked by the law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. He raked up the issue of near non-existence of OBCs among secretaries to the Government of India; he said there were only 3 OBCs among the 90 secretaries to GOI today. Rahul charged that “The moment the Opposition raises the issue of caste census, the BJP tries to create a new distraction, a new sudden event so that the OBC community and the people of India look the other way.” Law Minister, a former Dalit IAS Officer, replied that OBC quota came in UPSC only post Mandal in 1992. Congress sources admitted that Rahul was clearly misguided by his advisors as it takes an officer nearly three decades to make the grade of GOI Secretary. As for the Bill, Meghwal made it clear that the bill had factored in implementation only post-delimitation in 2026 as the Government did not want the law to be “challenged” in courts. Sonia Gandhi in her speech said there should be OBC quota in the bill. Countering her, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey asked why the 1993 law providing for women quota in local bodies had not provided for OBC quota.
Alarmed by the unrelenting stance of DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin on his utterances about sanatana dharma, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reportedly called up his aunt and Thoothukkudi Lok Sabha MP K Kanimozhi to get her nephew to tone down. Rahul communicated with Kani before he left on his Europe tour this week. Initial efforts to get Udhayanidhi to pipe down were made via senior DMK leader TR Baalu by several Congress leaders. It was explained to him how junior Stalin’s utterances could wreck prospects of the Congress in the upcoming elections in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath made it clear to Rahul how Udhayanidhi’s open threat to vanquish believing Hindus like malaria/dengue had already upset a winning electoral game for the Congress in MP. It was only then that Rahul decided to dial Kanimozhi, so that she may persuade her brother and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin. Unfortunately, Udhayanidhi seemed too reluctant to backtrack. I.N D.I.A .front allies like the TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and Shiv Sena UBT were upset with his utterances against Hindus. In a desperate attempt to win back support of I.N.D.I.A for his son, Stalin pits him against PM Modi and hopelessly drags in Modi’s directions to his ministers that Udhayanidhi’s remarks against sanatana dharma should be strongly countered. He said it was unfair for PM Modi to make “comments” without knowing what his son spoke. Fed up with DMK’s obstinacy, Congress has distanced itself from the Stalins.
As the BJP continued its onslaught on DMK minister Udhayanidhi Stalin for his “sanatana dharma must be eradicated” remark and dubbed it as an attack on all Hindus of the country, the Congress seemed hopelessly incoherent on how to respond to it. Not only did it shy away from denouncing statements of its powerful Tamil Nadu ally, but it also preferred to toe a middle line stating that “every political party has the freedom to (express) their views”. It was as if the Congress had no stake in the battle for Hindi heartland where sanatana dharma is synonymous with Hinduism; it was as if the Congress wasn’t bothered about winning the upcoming three state assembly polls. The tragedy for the Congress was that its top brass – AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary KC Venugopal — belonged to the South and decided to play safe. The party did depend on DMK for securing Lok Sabha seats. That is why someone like Karti Chidambaram openly backed the DMK idea. And it was left to Kamal Nath to ringfence the party in Madhya Pradesh from disastrous consequences of Udhayanidhi‘s utterances. Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge, son of AICC chief, too backed Udhayanidhi. Incidentally, the Kharges are neo Buddhists. The moot point is why did Udhayanidhi choose to sabre-rattle against sanatana dharma now? Was he trying to settle a score with Guv Ravi who has been talking about it everywhere in TN?
Looks like I.N.D.I.A front of Opposition leaders is being betrayed from those within. At a time when it seemed a good beginning had been made with the setting up of coordination committees and working groups, no one expected it would be filled with lightweights — barring Sharad Pawar. There was a suggestion from TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to involve CMs — at least in the election strategy group. For some reason it was scuttled by RJD leader Lalu Prasad who didn’t want Nitish Kumar on the panel. Didi who wanted to host the next I.N.D.I.A event in Kolkata found no takers as it was shot down by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury as he explained that Left could not be seen in a function hosted by the TMC. Rejection of Kolkata as venue was enough to irk Mamata. She found it odd that Communist leaders had no problem in rubbing shoulders with the TMC or the Congress in Delhi or Bengaluru but not in the home turf of Bengal or Kerala. Mamata also did not approve of the unilateral manner in which Rahul Gandhi raked up the Adani issue at the Opposition event without consulting other parties. The TMC chief had initially pointed to the Congress about the Left and Congress virulently campaigning against TMC for the September 5 Dhupguri assembly by-poll. In fact, Mamata had specially sent her nephew Abhishek to Delhi to complain to Rahul about the tone and tenor of the Left-Congress campaign.
The role of the Indian National Congress leadership in taking a backseat in the I.N.D.I.A coalition has emerged as one of the key factors that has kept the front together. Had the Congress taken up leadership positions, it would have put off some anti-Congress parties that are part of the coalition,” according to a political analyst. Also, being the dominant partner, the I.N.D.I.A coalition would have earned the tag of a Congress-led initiative, another deterrent factor. Analysts believe that this playing down strategy reflects political maturity on the part of the grand old party. “They are aware of the fact that there are a few parties within the I.N.D.I.A coalition that have won elections on an anti-Congress plank and these parties need to be reassured about their place,” felt Bhalchandra Kango, member of the national secretariat of the Communist Party of India. If Nitish Kumar had got the parties together in the I.N.D.I.A coalition, we must work to keep all the parties together, Rahul Gandhi is believed to have stated in one of the internal meetings. With this, the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls now promises a straight fight between the 28-party India alliance and the 38-parties BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
The 28-party I.N.D.I.A front has decided to side step the contentious issue of finalising the prime ministerial face to forge ahead in the alliance. The alliance has decided to stay face-less in its fight against prime minister Narendra Modi to diffuse tensions in I.N.D.I.A with multiple claimants throwing hats in the ring. With 11 chief ministers like Nitish Kumar, Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal in the fray, the leadership of I.N.D.I.A is a delicate issue that could destabilize the alliance at any point of time. Though the Congress wanted to push Rahul Gandhi for leadership position, it wisely seems to have given up. Though a similar anti-BJP front had emerged in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, it had failed to work due to lack of unity. Hence, it has been decided to instead let the PM candidate emerge post-election depending on how the parties fare in the Lok Sabha polls. Another contentious issue, that of seat sharing is also likely to be delegated to various state-level committees to diffuse tensions. With parties in West Bengal, Punjab, Delhi and Kerala being at loggerheads in Delhi, the emphasis will be on the ability to win seats to determine seat sharing allocations. Similarly, key responsibilities will be décentralised and delegated to coordination committee and sub-committees rather than a single convenor to avoid focus on a single party or leader.
TRENDS & VIEWS
Editor’s Note: Short Post Is Here To Stay…
Time, they say, flies—and how true that is. Here we are celebrating our 5th Anniversary. Five years ago, when Covid-19 was wreaking havoc across the globe, I took a leap of faith and launched Short Post, India’s first website for Authentic Gossip. That was on January 31, 2021. I was convinced there was a clear gap in the market for gossip that was credible, sharp, and impactful—especially if told in just 250 words.
In this, I was fortunate. Scores of senior editors across diverse verticals bought into the idea and, in the process, gave wings to my dream. Quite honestly, Short Post could not have crossed these milestones without the unflinching support of its contributing editors. Like all start-ups, we have seen our share of ups and downs, but these editors have stood by us like a rock. I take this opportunity to doff my hat to them.
Thanks to their commitment, we have published close to 5,000 stories spanning politics, business, entertainment, and sports. I say this with pride: we made our mark as people who matter read us. “Small packs, big impact” truly captures the essence of Short Post.
We all know that Covid-19 has reset businesses worldwide, and the media sector is no exception. In the post-Covid era, investors have become more cautious and selective—and advertisers too. To compound matters, the entry of AI has disrupted the media landscape in equal measure. So far, we have managed to hold our ground, hopeful that some angel investors will take a shine to us.
What gives me confidence is this: AI cannot smell news—especially the gossipy kind. In other words, AI cannot churn out Short Post-type stories, no matter the prompt. That puts us in a safe zone. As someone rightly said, “AI is a co-pilot, not a pilot.”