Operations Lotus: BJP Seeks To Up Lok Sabha Tally, From 240 to 260 MPs

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) , under siege from Sharad Pawar and UBT MPs, MLAs and Opposition political formations across India, is set to increase its numbers in Lok Sabha from 240 to 260 odd soon ending its need for outside support in Parliament for much longer. BJP’s senior functionary told shortpost.in, “Not only Maharashtra (UBT and Sharad Pawar’s party), but also from Congress in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and even south India MPs are doing office rounds of BJP’s senior leadership. Like Maharashtra, they desire to become deserving partners within NDA’s fold.” Meanwhile, Maharashtra politics witnesses a turnaround of BJP’s political gambit that groomed Shiv Sena (DCM) Eknath Shinde as CM for nearly 2.5 years, empowered him to consolidate leadership of Shiv Sena party, unleash slew of development projects in state. Hereon, BJP’s emphasis will be upon Ajit Pawar as politics will revolve around whether the Congress is able to counter him in Western Maharashtra, Marathwada regions of the state. Pawar will be groomed, empowered since he holds no political animosity towards BJP and is keenly interested in big ticket infrastructure projects while possessing requisite political calibre, ability to perform well while keeping Congress in check. While uncle Pawar effectively controlled Congress’ politics based out of Maharashtra, nephew Ajit has no such pre-occupations. Praful Patel will sync in as Union Minister with industry related portfolio, not Sunetra Pawar, while Union government portfolios are up for grabs by newbie incumbent MPs into BJP that seeks to up its own tally. With the senior Pawar set to be 90 before next Maha elections are due, vacant Union portfolios are proving difficult to ignore for his own flock and several more.(By Renni Abraham)

Stop This Chopping And Changing Of Bowlers!

Going by the second day’s play in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Gabba in Brisbane, it can be said that India cannot be seen as a “contender” for the final of the ICC World Test Championship final to be played at the Lord’s in London in the first week of June 2025. After the 3-0 drubbing at the hands of New Zealand in the home series, only the most optimist would have expected a turnaround in fortunes in the five-Test series against Australia. India trounced Australia in the first Test in Perth, but after the return of Rohit Sharma it has been on the downhill, steamrolled in the pink-ball day-night Test in Adelaide. The discerning has the right to ask questions about the team composition for the second and third Tests, especially with Washington Sundar confined to cooling his heels in the dressing room. Sharma justified pacer Harshit Rana’s selection for the second Test, saying that he did nothing wrong in the test. Does the same rationale not apply to Sundar? Sharma fielded the very experienced off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for the second Test, but dumped him for the third Test in Brisbane and chose left-hand spinner Ravindra Jadeja. The chopping and changing did not stop with the spinners; India dropped Rana like a hot potato and replaced him with another pacer Akash Deep, whose confidence must have been dealt a blow by reducing him to a reserve in Perth and Adelaide. The Indian bowling, — barring Jasprit Bumrah — has looked listless, with left-hander Travis Head flaying the Indian bowlers at will. By taking another five-wicket haul in the first innings at the Gabba, Bumrah has further staked his claim for full-time captaincy. (By G Viswanath)

Priyanka Vadra Makes A Mark With Debut Speech

Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s maiden speech in the Lok Sabha, participating as an opening speaker in the 75th anniversary of the Constitution received a strong show of support from her brother and the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the House Rahul Gandhi along with other party leaders.  She spoke right after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who had opened the discussions. When asked about Priyanka’s speech, Rahul Gandhi said his sister’s first Lok Sabha address was better than his maiden speech in the House as a new MP. Rahul Gandhi became an MP for the first time in 2004. Priyanka focused on national unity, women’s empowerment, and the need to safeguard the Constitution of India. Calling the Constitution a ‘Suraksha Kavach’ (protective shield), Priyanka attacked the ruling government and said that in the last 10 years, the Union government has made all attempts to break down the ‘Kavach’ (shield). She carried the campaign of her party against  BJP into the House and charged PM Modi of  not knowing the difference between the Constitution ( Bharat ka samvidhan) and Sangh’s manual (Sangh ka Vidhan). The Gandhi girl got away with attacking PM Modi from the Treasury side as it was her debut speech. TMC MP Shatrughan Sinha described Priyanka Gandhi’s speech in Lok Sabha as a somewhat short speech. “She should have spoken a little more. But it was a really good speech… Priyanka Gandhi spoke in depth, with confidence. She covered all issues.” She also turned up for the second day of the special session on the Constitution, much earlier than the LoP. (By Lakshmi Iyer)

Will It Be A Merry Christmas For Varun Dhawan?

This video of Varun Dhawan’s interaction with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Aaj Tak Agenda 2024 event has gone viral wherein he respectfully said people call Amit Shah “Chanakaya in politics but I would like to call the Hanuman of country as he serves the nation selflessly.” Loud clap and applause followed and this is what the 37-year old actor is hoping that his Christmas release movie Baby John too will get at the theatres. For Varun the movie holds immense significance, marking a pivotal moment in his career. The Christmas season release is a prestigious window for Bollywood which historically has been graced by all Khans — Aamir (Dangal, PK, Dhoom 3), Salman (Dabangg 2, Dabangg 3) and Shah Rukh Khan (Don 2, Dilwale). Varun who entered Bollywood in 2012 with Karan Johar’s Student Of The Year was lucky to have 11 consecutive box-office successes between 2012 and 2018.  Post that he has faced numerous challenges. Despite his commendable cameos in films like Stree 2 and Munjya, his recent projects — such as Bhediya, Bawal and Jugjugg Jeeyo have struggled to make a significant impact at the box office. With a few flops like October and Sui Dhaaga in his filmography, it’s clear that he has not experienced a major hit since the successes of Badrinath Ki Dulhania and Judwaa 2. This makes the Christmas release of Baby John not just another film for Varun, but potentially a game-changing opportunity that could redefine his standing in the industry. (By Our Entertainment Editor)

New Maharashtra Cabinet Has Many Interesting Facets

The swearing-in ceremony of the council of ministers of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis held in Nagpur on Sunday (Dec 15) will be remembered for various interesting features. While such a ceremony has taken place in the second capital of Maharashtra after a gap of 33 years, the focal point of that time, Chhagan Bhujbal in 1991, was conspicuous by his absence since his name was not in the list of the ministers of the second Mahayuti government. Similarly, prominent names like Sudhir Mungantiwar of the BJP and Dilip Walse Patil of the NCP (Ajit) were found missing though Walse, the former assembly speaker, was seen in the front row of the invitees. As announced by deputy CM Ajit Pawar, the term of all the ministers will be of two and a half years. Each has signed an undertaking accepting the condition. This, too, has happened for the first time. The rationale behind the stipulation is that since there are many hopefuls to become minister, some of the present will be asked to work for the organisation so that certain new faces can be accommodate at that future date. Barring a minister or two, all of them took oath in the name of God. Senior minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha was the lone inductee to take oath in Sanskrit. The Fadnavis team has four women, a sort of record since the outgoing government had only Aditi Tatkare, as a minister of state. Hence, the much talked-about ‘Laadki Bahin’ Scheme had been identified with her, making her victory in the assembly election easier. (By Dilip Chaware)

DMK Plans In Place For A Shot At Keeping Power

In Tamil Nadu the DMK’s succession plan is working extremely well with Udhayanidhi Stalin slipping into his role as Deputy CM and moving up in his rating to chair No 3 behind his dad and senior Durai Murugan in the Assembly. That may have freed up family anxieties over control of the party at a time when chief minister MK Stalin was not in the best of health. There has been good news for the family on that front too with the patriarch now in far better shape after the U.S. visit where he tended to his health as well as attract investments for the state. With Senthil Balaji back to his key role as funds handler who has the Electricity ministry as well as liquor – two lucrative money raisers in politics – even if it is to the chagrin of the top court that frowns upon such titles for someone who is out on bail, the ruling party and its first family are in total control of things.  The principal political task they are now aiming at is to keep the Opposition disunited. They do not wish to see actor Vijay and his fledgling political party joining hands with any of the majors to present a poll percentage challenge to DMK’s reelection in 2026. The DMK knows that in a 3-way or 4-way contest its basic cadre vote will see it through, but the task could get harder if Vijay were to enter an alliance with the principal rival AIADMK. (By Tamil Raja)

Uddhav And Raj Thackeray Attend A Family Function, What Will Entail?

On the day the new ministerial team was being sworn in at Nagpur, another important development was unfolding in Mumbai on Sunday (Dec 15). The two Thackeray cousins, Uddhav and Raj, attended a family function at a five-star hotel in the suburbs though it is not said that they did not hold a conversation, or even shook hands. The event was a function related to the wedding of Shaunak Patankar, a nephew of Rashmi Thackeray. She made it a point to welcome brother in law Raj, who has estranged from the family since 2006.

Shaunak’s father Shridhar is Rashmi’s brother. Although supporters of both leaders maintain that not much should be read in the development, many of them have been insisting in private that the two Thackeray cousins should join hands to create a strong pro-Marathi force again. However, there are many ifs and buts. Uddhav’s animosity towards the BJP and Raj’s reiteration that he will follow the saffron line in the future will be the two decisive points. The last time they met was when Uddhav was hospitalised and Raj had driven him for the treatment. Barring this meeting, they have avoided each other in public. However, as nothing is impossible in politics, both leaders will be under a scanner from both sides, the Maha Vikas Aghadi and the Mahayuti. (By Dilip Chaware)

Central Leadership Slams Bengal BJP For Failing To Enrol 1 Crore New Members

The Bengal unit of BJP is under fire for its repeated failures to meet membership targets. The latest membership drive, aimed at enrolling 1 crore new members in the state, has fallen drastically short, leading to severe reprimands from party heavyweights, including Amit Shah. It may be recalled that in the 2021 Assembly elections, the party had set an ambitious goal of winning 200 seats but won only 77. Subsequently, seven MPs crossed over to Trinamool Congress thereby reducing their numbers to 70. Recently, the party suffered a loss in the Madarihat bypoll, further dampening its prospects in the state. The current membership drive, which had a November 30 deadline, was a critical initiative to strengthen the party’s grassroots. However, Bengal BJP MPs and MLAs have failed to make significant progress, prompting the leadership to extend the deadline to December 31. At an emergency meeting in Delhi, Sunil Bansal, BJP’s central general secretary and in-charge of West Bengal, pulled up several Bengal MPs, including Shantanu Thakur, Jayant Roy, and Soumitra Khan. Reports suggest that none of them could enrol more than 50,000 new members, far below the 1-1.5 lakh target set for each MP. Bansal, a close ally of Amit Shah and a frontrunner for the position of BJP’s national president, has been tasked with rejuvenating the Bengal unit after the debacle in the 2021 elections. Internal assessments by the BJP indicate that the party’s organisational structure in Bengal is in disarray, with North Bengal—a former stronghold—facing significant challenges. (By Tanya Bagchi)

In Odisha, Assam Chief Minister Sets Cat Among Pigeons

In Odisha, war of words is on full display between the ruling BJP and Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) headed by former chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The trigger is Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s visit to Odisha last week and publicly saying that BJD has lost its relevance… and that BJP will rule Odisha for the next 50 years. Sarma was in Odisha to inaugurate the newly built Badminton High Performance Centre at Kalinga stadium, Bhubaneswar. It seems Sarma’s accidental utterances to enthuse BJP’s rank and file has now backfired. Seasoned political watchers are saying it’s about time Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi delivers and not resort to rhetoric. The general public is asking why the BJP government has not taken any action against VK Pandian’s massive helicopter tour expenditures, chit fund and mining scams till date after shouting from rooftop during Assembly election campaign. Much to BJP’s recent embarrassment, BJD MLA Ranendra Pratap Swain has openly challenged if BJP has the guts to open files to take actions on BJD. Viewed against this backdrop, Assam CM’s statement seems like a bravado.(By Sangram Mohanty)

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