From the India Gate: 'Comrade' Savarakar, KCR Vs KCR and More

SILENCE SPEAKS

Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda had told former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai that the state president and the leader of the opposition will be named after the 'Adhika Masa'.

But the suspense is continuing. BJP sources in Delhi say that reshuffling of the central cabinet will soon take place. The appointment of the Karnataka BJP president, the leader of the opposition and the formation of the core committee will take place along with the Cabinet rejig.

But if you ask "when" all this would happen, the answer is simple: 'Only Modi knows'.

Senior leaders, who spoke off the record, said: The Prime Minister is still upset over the huge defeat in Karnataka. In spite of clear indications, no one briefed Modi about the possible outcome. He was upset that all his plans for the state went haywire. Perhaps, that is why he is remaining silent about the possible date of the announcement.

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& LOUD ACTION

But the PM is using lessons from the Karnataka debacle to strategise the party’s plans in the upcoming elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram.

He had a three-hour meeting recently with party Straps in these states to understand the situation at the grassroots. While the party is projecting Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Madhya Pradesh, it wants to experiment with a "collective" leadership in Chhattisgarh.

But Rajasthan is becoming tricky as the saffron party is still clueless about how to deal with Vasundhara Raje Scindia. BJP may not announce the CM candidate as a strategy.

But BJP is worried about Chhattisgarh and other states as well. With Shivraj Singh Chouhan also facing the heat of anti-incumbency, BJP considers Rajasthan as a safe bet. No wonder that the party has decided to keep all cards close to its chest till polling eve.

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COMRADE SAVARKAR

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was an ultra Left adventurer!! Jaws dropped as the audience gaped in disbelief when the convenor of LDF E P Jayarajan made this claim at a public function.

"Savarkar followed ultra-Left ideology. He fought against the British imbibing these ideals and ended up in the Andaman jail. He knew his fate was sealed," EP threw light on hitherto unheard chapters of Indian history.

"As Savarkar was languishing in Cellular jail, activists of the Hindu Maha Sabha approached him. They advised him to submit a written apology to the British in lieu of a state pardon. Savarkar followed this advice and got himself bailed out,’’ went on EP’s lecture.

Trust EP for giving such interpretations to history. He often gets facts wrong. But even after becoming the butt of a joke many a time, EP continues to make baseless statements much like Don Quixote.

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KCR vs KCR

It’s a battle of acronyms in Telangana as the state prepares for Assembly elections.

K Chandrashekhar Reddy, father-in-law of Pushpa actor Allu Arjun, who has set his eyes on the Nagarjuna Sagar constituency has launched a foundation named KCR  (Kancharla Chandrashekhar Reddy) for initiating social work. But the move is a pun intended as many confuse his foundation with the acronym of BRS's top man and chief minister KCR.

This game of imitation has come at a time when CM K Chandrashekar Rao aka KCR is busy finalising the candidates’ list.  Relying on pre-poll surveys, most of the incumbent members will be fielded again.

But sources said the CM wanted to field a "different" name in Nagarjuna Sagar. The constituency was represented by Nomula Narasimhaiah who won on BRS ticket in 2018. After his death in December 2020, his son Nomula Bhagath won the bypoll.

With rumours hinting that BRS would be replacing Bhagath, K Chandrashekhar Reddy expressed his "desire" to contest from Nagarjuna Sagar. He is flaunting Allu Arjun’s stardom to amplify his possibilities.

The actor also made a public appearance in support of his father-in-law Reddy at the inaugural of a convention centre at Nalgonda. The new foundation named KCR is also seen as an attempt to put pressure on the BRS leadership to field him from Nagarjuna Sagar.

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MUTINY ONBOARD

They say that by merely mentioning the name of this minister, who is considered the second most powerful person in the Rajasthan government, any issue will be resolved.

He was also proud of his clout and power. But this has changed as this minister was heckled by his own party men last week.

He had gone to give a solatium of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of a man who was shot dead on a train. But members of his own party started shouting and demanded that Rs 50 lakh must be paid to the family.

His efforts to pacify the crowd fell on deaf ears. This insult was too much for the minister to digest. He returned from the place with a new lesson learnt. Or is it enlightenment about himself and his karma?

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