Eye on the prize
Bihari politicians of all shades seem to be looking for an excuse to talk about the prime ministerial ambitions of the chief minister, Nitish Kumar. Those in the ruling Grand Alliance make no secret of their opinion that he would make the best PM, while the Opposition, mainly the Bharatiya Janata Party, attacks him for such aspirations. The latest in this series of discussions was a huge banner of the Red Fort put up at an iftaar party hosted by the Janata Dal (United) member of the legislative council, Khalid Anwar. Nitish was the chief guest and when he took his place on a sofa, he was bang in front of the Red Fort on the banner. His bodyguards standing behind him made the situation seem more realistic. The huge poster also sported a slogan which claimed that the country was waiting for Nitish. This sent a clear message even though Nitish denied harbouring any such ambition. Soon, several Grand Alliance partners jumped in and started talking about how suitable Nitish was to head the country. Not to be left behind, BJP leaders, too, started taking potshots at the CM. However, the best comment came from the Rajya Sabha member and former Bihar deputy CM, Sushil Kumar Modi. He made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that Nitish has lost it and took a dig by asking whether he could become the US president by sitting outside the White House. Surprisingly, the JD(U) is yet to respond to it.
Learner’s permit
Social media can be brutal and unsparing. A Twitter user claimed that the Assam CM cannot write a paragraph without copying. In the video accompanying the tweet with the caption, “Copy Paste BJP CM”, Sarma is seen writing something in a visitor’s book while glancing at a piece of paper placed in front of him. “I went to an Assamese-medium school and am trying my best to learn Hindi and English in my own humble way. I must admit that I do not know English and Hindi very well, and I have no hesitation in admitting it,” Sarma responded in a tweet which went viral. But the trolling continued with one user congratulating him for getting his BA, MA and LLB degrees from Gauhati University in Assamese. Another pointed to the opinion pieces he wrote for a leading English publication. Social media can be quite revealing.
Poll problems
The Bangladesh Election Commission is reverting from EVMs to ballot paper after the government cut the funding needed to upgrade the machines. Like India, Bangladesh’s Opposition has also opposed EVMs. The Election Commission of India, on the other hand, has conducted several publicity blitzes to defend the machines. The global scarcity of semiconductors has delayed the ECI’s plans of buying more EVMs before the next Lok Sabha polls.
Saffron son
It is no secret that Anil Antony joining the BJP has come as a huge shock for his father and Congress stalwart, AK Antony. The 82-year-old leader was in tears. But many in Kerala have suddenly woken up to the fact that Antony senior has a second son, Ajith. Ajith came through as a person who could face questions and the camera better than his elder sibling who turned saffron. While both brothers don’t have any experience in grassroots politics, sections in the Congress are already abuzz with talks about taking Ajith into the fold.
In a bind
The Union education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, turned into a hero for Odias. Andhra Pradesh had started claiming the villages under the disputed Kotia panchayat on the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border as its own. On Utkal Divas, the state’s foundation day, Pradhan along with his supporters reached Kotia. Irked by the presence of the Andhra officials at Kotia, Pradhan asked them to leave the site. When the officials claimed that it’s a disputed area and the issue was in court, Pradhan was not in the mood to listen and was heard saying “No Andhra, only Odisha! Why are you all here? The Kotia panchayat belongs to Odisha...Go Back to Andhra.” Andhra’s deputy CM, P Rajanna Dora, has demanded that Pradhan apologise, and warned of serious consequences otherwise.
Poor publicity
A massive rally went largely unreported in mainstream media this week owing to poor publicity by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh rally spilled out of the Ramlila Grounds and extended almost till Ajmeri Gate, with surprisingly large contingents from Bengal and Punjab. Where union organisers succeeded in mobilising support on electricity bill waivers and the dilution of labour laws, the party’s PR machinery failed with a feeble outreach to explain a litany of demands.
Footnote
The popular Kannada actor, Kichcha Sudeep, shocked even his diehard fans by breaking away from his apolitical stand to declare that he would campaign for the CM, Basavaraj Bommai. When his vocal fans pleaded with him to stay away from politics, Sudeep declared that he was not campaigning for the BJP but for Bommai who had helped him tide over some difficulties in life. But the manner in which Bommai presented Sudeep to other BJP leaders raised questions on the actor’s formula of limiting his vote-catching to the CM.
