Fly on the wall
VP Poll Twist: Four Blank Ballots Speak Louder
The Vice Presidential election was supposed to be a routine sweep for the NDA. Instead, it has turned into a thriller. Of 767 MPs who voted, 15 ballots were junked. But the real bombshell? Four ballot papers were left completely blank — not a single tick. Silence in ink, but loud in message.
The numbers tell their own story. NDA’s C.P. Radhakrishnan bagged 452 votes — 15 more than expected. The INDIA Bloc was left bleeding, scraping together 300 instead of its claimed 315. Fingers are pointing everywhere: Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar’s NCP are in the dock, though they deny desertion. In Punjab, AAP is rattled, with five MPs — including Swati Maliwal — under suspicion. A Samajwadi Party MP is believed to have jumped ship, while whispers point to one each from the DMK, JMM, and RJD as well. But even as the INDIA Bloc scrambles for answers, unease brews in NDA ranks. The four blank ballots look less like accidents and more like deliberate signals — MPs keeping their powder dry, hinting at deals with “future masters.” The mystery is deepening: who are these invisible players, and what game are they setting up for tomorrow?
Social media had been flooded with rumours that some NDA MPs would betray their own. That didn’t happen. Instead, the betrayal took a different, subtler shape. Blank votes have left both camps guessing, opening up a political whodunit that refuses to die down. For now, nobody is naming names. But in Delhi’s corridors of power, one thing is certain — the blanks are not empty. They are loaded.
Chirpy Dhankhar Back, But Questions Still Hang
Jagdeep Dhankhar looked anything but a man in retreat as he breezed into Rashtrapati Bhavan last week for C.P. Radhakrishnan’s swearing-in. Chirpy, smiling, and chatting away as if nothing had happened, the former Vice-President was the surprise showstopper of the ceremony. Dhankhar had shocked everyone on July 21 by resigning after a full day in the Rajya Sabha, chopping short a term meant to run till August 2027. He claimed “health grounds”, but speculation of political pressure never died down. His 53-day vanishing act only fuelled the mystery, with Kapil Sibal even threatening a Habeas corpus plea.
Now relocated to a south Delhi farmhouse, Dhankhar was back in his element — swapping pleasantries, sipping tea, and sending his aide scurrying to note MPs eager to meet him. The only thing missing? His trademark tongue. On the real reason for quitting, Dhankhar remains zipped. Sources say he is waiting for the allotment of a Type VIII bungalow in the Lutyens' Delhi and settling down. The allotment may come anytime. He will continue to remain in the news.
Faith Bends Left to Ayyappa, TMC Backs Durga
Indian politics is taking a divine detour. The CPI(M), long the flag-bearer of atheism, is now invoking Lord Ayyappa. On December 20, the Pinarayi Vijayan government will host the Global Ayyappa Sammagam at Pamba near Sabarimala — a dramatic U-turn from 2018, when it backed the Supreme Court order allowing young women into the shrine, sparking a massive backlash. With elections looming, the Left is clearly keen to heal wounds and woo devotees.
In Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s TMC is doubling down on Durga. State aid for puja organisers has been raised to ₹1.1 lakh each, a ₹500-crore spend this year, while slogans of “Jai Maa Durga” and “Jai Jagannath” are being rolled out to blunt the BJP’s “Jai Shri Ram” pitch. Even the Left is tiptoeing into pandals, recasting Durga Puja as “culture, not religion.” Even Bengal’s Left leaders have begun visiting Durga Puja pandals, reframing the festival as “culture, not religion.” From Kerala to Kolkata, secular parties are now finding sanctuary in the sacred.
Vajpayee at 75 vs Modi at 75
It’s a rare coincidence in BJP’s journey. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the party’s first Prime Minister, was in office when he turned 75 in 1999. His birthday was celebrated with enthusiasm but largely steered by a handful of party leaders and his family — through blood donation camps, media tributes, and special articles. Now, as Narendra Modi turns 75 on September 17, the scale is far bigger. His birthday is being branded “Sewa Diwas” and observed as a fortnight-long national event, with not just the BJP but central and state governments rolling out schemes, welfare programs, and public outreach.
One common link between the two milestones is Vijay Goel — a trusted organiser who was part of Vajpayee’s birthday committee and now serves as Vice Chairman of Gandhi Darshan under Modi. The Opposition, which had criticised Vajpayee’s celebrations for using official resources, has raised similar objections now, though its voice is noticeably more subdued.
When Vajpayee turned 75, he had to silence speculation about stepping down with his famous remark: ‘I am neither tired nor retired.’ Modi, however, never faced such a dilemma. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat pre-empted the debate, making it clear in Delhi long before the question could even arise.”
