by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the wall

Why S Jaishankar Is Flying High

It may sound strange, but it is true. Ever since Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister, the Ministry of External Affairs has occupied a somewhat higher pedestal than most other ministries. Modi has routinely held high-level review meetings with ministers and secretaries of various ministries, grilling them on performance, targets and timelines. The MEA, however, has largely remained outside this collective review arena.

This is not because foreign policy is any less important. Quite the contrary. It reflects the Prime Minister’s preference for maintaining a more direct and closely held oversight of external affairs.

Foreign policy is executed on a day-to-day basis by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and career diplomats, including Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. But Modi himself keeps a close watch through formal mechanisms as well as direct communication.

Those familiar with the functioning of the government say Modi and Jaishankar remain in frequent touch, often speaking several times a day on matters of immediate concern. The Foreign Secretary is also regularly brought into the loop.

The MEA does, of course, come under sharper scrutiny when issues involving infrastructure, connectivity and national security arise. Take Chabahar Port. While the Ports and Shipping Ministry handles the operational side, negotiations and strategic engagement with Iran inevitably bring the MEA into the picture.

Secondly, the MEA is a crucial component of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Modi, which deals with major strategic, foreign-policy and national-security issues.

Jaishankar’s importance, therefore, goes beyond the conventional role of an External Affairs Minister. He is virtually a 24x7 minister, with one foot in Delhi and the other constantly on foreign soil.

A former diplomat, Jaishankar is tough, straight-talking and distinctly no-nonsense. He may have come from the diplomatic establishment, but he is hardly restrained when plain speaking is required. That combination of professional expertise, political confidence and the Prime Minister’s evident trust explains why S Jaishankar continues to fly high.

Amit Shah’s Big-Bang Return

Just a few weeks ago, the political chatter was all about one question: Where was Amit Shah? The Home Minister’s visible political activity had seemingly gone quiet. If he was busy pulling strings behind the scenes, few outside the inner circle appeared to know. But suddenly, the shutters are up and Shah is everywhere — Delhi, Noida, UP, Maharashtra, Punjab and all over the country. And he is not merely attending routine government functions. Shah is increasingly occupying the central political space.

His big-bang return came with his two-day Maharashtra visit last month, followed by a relentless round of public engagements. After Modi’s birthday celebrations in Vadnagar on September 17, Shah’s political footprint has only grown.

In Delhi, he inaugurated projects worth over ₹1,900 crore, including the Barapullah Road project linking eastern and southern Delhi with Noida. The Delhi government advertisement was quite revealing too. A few photographs showed Shah walking onto the newly opened road, waved to the crowds and soaked up the moment.

Noida followed. Shah inaugurated the Uttar Pradesh International Trade Show, praised Yogi Adityanath and confidently spoke of victory in the next election. This was particularly notable after weeks of speculation about Shah’s rumoured distance from UP and reports of friction with the Chief Minister.

Then came Punjab. On September 30, Shah landed in Jalandhar for a major BJP rally, with the party claiming a turnout of one lakh people. The Lovely Professional University controversy took some shine off the event, but Shah’s presence itself carried a message. Modi had visited the region only days earlier. Shah visited multiple states including Meghalaya, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh and the itinerary is full for the month.

Insiders say that the journey has just begun. Shah is not just back on the political stage but occupying the centre stage. Shah's hectic programs show that he is filling the void as the new BJP chief Nitin Nabin is unable to make an impact and the party is lagging behind.

Why is Gyanesh smiling !

A comprehensive but "confidential dossier" about Chief Election Commissioner Gynanesh Kumar suddenly appeared from nowhere before the Congress top brass meeting in the Capital. It gave details of how the Kerala cadre IAS bureaucrat was involved in corrupt deals in the state and how he rode to the top post of the CEC. The irony was the state was ruled either by the Congress or the Left parties. But to the surprise of many, the state Chief Minister V D Satheesan came prepared at the Congress Working Committee with a note on the stint of Gyanesh Kumar in the state. Satheesan reeled out a list of Kumar’s questionable actions. He also gave details of his activities when he was District Magistrate of his district Ernakulam 20 years ago. Eyebrows were raised with many wondering silently why the Congress governments in the state didn't act against him.

But who could have named A K Antony who was the unquestioned king of the state in Congress. Gyanesh Kumar was brought as Joint Secretary, handling areas like Naval Systems and defense production to the Centre between 2007 to 2012. Antony was Defence Minister and it is said that he brought Gyanesh Kumar at the Centre when he was facing rough weather in the state. Now Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has ordered a vigilance department probe against Gyanesh Kumar over a road project in which the state had suffered a loss and a Malaysian contractor committed suicide in 2006. Why the state woke up after 20 years? Congress needs to answer and more so Rahul Gandhi's political Guru – A K Antony whose son is in the BJP now.

RBI's “Politically Exposed Person”

Politicians may command crowds, win elections and wield considerable influence. But when they walk into a bank, the Reserve Bank of India has a rather different lens: “Politically Exposed Person” (PEP).

The RBI says being politically exposed does not mean being financially suspect. But they cannot simply wave them through. Banks must take reasonable steps to establish their source of funds and wealth, obtain senior management approval before opening an account and subject it to enhanced, continuous monitoring. There is an interesting twist. If an ordinary customer suddenly becomes a PEP, the bank cannot pretend nothing has changed. And the rules do not stop at politicians themselves. Family members and close associates of PEPs are also covered under this provision.

Yet RBI has drawn a clear line: PEP classification is a risk-assessment tool, not a badge of suspicion. Enhanced due diligence is mandatory, but discrimination is not. The message to banks is simple: keep an extra eye on political power—but don’t treat power itself as a crime. Does this definition help contain mounting NPAs of banks!

Congress' UP Gamble

After nearly 20 years, the Congress is back to playing the same gamble; appointing a woman as its UP unit president after Rita Bahuguna Joshi's experiment miserably failed. Ms Bahuguna headed the UP unit between 2007-2012 and later  joined the BJP after a brief stint with the SP. The Congress had also experimented with Sheila Dikshit briefly to woo Brahmins and women. The party is back with Aradhana Mishra Mona to woo the same constituency.  

But those watching the developments in UP say that the move could make seat-sharing negotiations with the Samajwadi Party comparatively easier now. As long as Ajay Rai remained in charge, this appeared difficult. Rai is a street leader and had given Prime Minister Narendra Modi a tough fight in the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in 2024. 

Aradhana Mishra has been picked up as she is the daughter of senior party leader Pramod Tiwari and may make alliance with SP smoother. Even Rita Bahuguna Joshi was the daughter of late Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna and Sheila Dixit was the daughter-in-law of late Uma Shankar Dixit. Interestingly, Anuradha had met Akhilesh Yadav on August 26 along with her father before her being appointed as PCC Chief.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the wall

Harish Gupta

A Third Warrior from Maharashtra

Delhi has a curious history of being shaken by movements that begin hundreds of kilometers away in Maharashtra.

First came the Maratha armies that marched towards the Mughal capital in the 18th century. Centuries later, Anna Hazare descended on Delhi with the India Against Corruption movement, triggering a political upheaval that eventually altered the country's electoral landscape. Its offshoot, the AAP, is yet to make any significant mark in the national power politics.

Now, social media claims a "third invasion" is underway. Memes and satirical posts have christened youth activist Abhijeet Dipke as the latest Maharashtrian to unsettle Delhi after his Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spearheaded a 37-day agitation over examination scandals. The protest culminated in the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, giving the fledgling movement a symbolic victory that few had anticipated.

The comparison, however, is more internet humour than historical reality. Dipke is not leading an army to Delhi, nor has he announced any plans to storm the corridors of political power. The CJP continues to describe itself as an issue-based citizens' movement that relies on satire, social media and street mobilisation to force governments to answer uncomfortable questions.

Even Dipke's oft-repeated assertion that "bigger thrones will shake" is intended as a warning to the political establishment rather than a declaration of personal ambition. Yet politics has a way of testing every successful movement.

Having forced one minister's exit, Dipke had returned quietly to Maharashtra. Now he has launched Jantar Mantar 0.2 seeking the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and also asking political parties to desist from contesting polls if they think the system is rigged. Political parties have launched their own nation-wide campaigns. The BJP -led governments in Maharashtra and Assam are not giving a free ride to the CJP and tightening the noose around its volunteers. The question Delhi is asking whether history will once again turn an agitator into political oblivion or change the course of history.

Suspense Over Priyanka’s New Role

There is growing buzz in the AICC that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could soon be handed a bigger and more defined role in the Congress organisation. The speculation has gained traction after she recently joined Rahul Gandhi in a series of group discussions with AICC secretaries to review their work and assess the party’s ground-level feedback mechanism.

Normally, such organisational reviews were conducted by Rahul Gandhi along with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Priyanka’s inclusion this time has therefore set tongues wagging within the party. Rahul and Priyanka reportedly sought detailed feedback from the functionaries on key organisational issues, particularly ways to speed up the flow of information from the ground and improve the party’s response mechanism.

Priyanka has been an AICC general secretary for nearly four years, but has remained without a specific portfolio. Her last major organisational assignment was Uttar Pradesh in 2022.

The latest intrigue follows the September 5 reshuffle of AICC general secretaries, under which responsibilities were distributed to all the general secretaries—except Priyanka and Mukul Wasnik who has been retained without a portfolio after losing charge of Gujarat.

The twin vacancies have fueled speculation that something more deliberate may be in the works for Priyanka. She has increasingly operated as a strategist and troubleshooter behind the scenes. Grapevine has it that the long-pending Election Management Department may finally take shape next month, with Priyanka being discussed as its possible head and Wasnik as deputy or convener. If that happens, Priyanka’s “no portfolio” status could prove to have been less a void—and more a waiting room.

Modi Joins the Gen-Z Groove

The BJP appears to have discovered a new political mantra: if you cannot change the times, change the playlist.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appearance at a youth-packed bhajan-clubbing event in Delhi, organised by an RSS outfit to mark Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’s birth anniversary, was more than a devotional outing. Seated among young bhajan enthusiasts, the Prime Minister picked up the jhankar and joined in the singing. The optics were unmistakable—Modi, surrounded not by the usual political entourage but by the generation that has known him only as Prime Minister flanked by oldies and lecturing the nation all the time.

And this Gen-Z outreach comes with a soundtrack. At a youth event in Vadodara, Modi had made a dramatic entry with Queen’s We Will Rock You blaring in the background. Clearly, the BJP is experimenting with more than traditional political vocabulary.

BJP president Nitin Nabin has taken the exercise a step further. He recently held a four-hour brainstorming session with 44 young leaders and ministers on how to connect with students and youth. The gathering included BJYM chief Hemang Joshi and former chiefs Tejasvi Surya, Poonam Mahajan and Anurag Thakur, besides Jyotiraditya Scindia and Diya Kumari.

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was seen diligently taking notes to ensure that nothing from the young brigade’s feedback gets lost in translation.

Curiously, one phrase was strictly off the table: Gen Z. The preferred terminology was simply “students” and “youth”. Perhaps even the BJP knows that sometimes, the safest way to woo Gen Z is not to call it Gen Z.

Akhilesh's strange thesis

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is generally regarded as one of the more sensible leaders in Indian politics with a good sense of humour. But over the past few days, he appears to be saying some rather bizarre things. He recently came out with a strange thesis as to why he had given Lok Sabha tickets to five members of his own family saying otherwise the party might have split. He claimed that this had helped keep the party united.

But does having a political family really prevent a party from splitting? His own uncle Shivpal Yadav had broken away from the SP. From the Chautalas to Thackerays to the Pawars, Karunanidhis, Paswans and Badals, it would be difficult to find a major political family that has remained completely united. Yet Akhilesh appears to be justifying “family rule”.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Modi’s Ministers meet Again on Sept 30-Oct 1

From Chintan Shivir to Action Plan -2029

Harish Gupta 

The Modi government is moving from "chintan to action" Now. 

A detailed Plan of Action for Union ministers is set to be rolled out at the second round of the Union Council of Ministers’ Chintan Shivir 2.0 to be held on September 30 and October 1.

The blueprint will draw on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directives issued during the first round of deliberations on September 23-24 at Seva Teerth, along with the mandates carried forward from that exercise.

The message to ministers is clear: move beyond scheme implementation to 100 per cent saturation, prepare strategies for taking around 40-45 key Central welfare schemes to every intended beneficiary.

Each minister has been asked to document governance lessons gathered from colleagues and translate them into actionable measures for his or her own department. Physical field presence has been emphasised to ensure that benefits reach people without getting trapped in administrative red tape.

Ministers have also been told to know facts on the ground and be prepared to counter 'negative narratives'. Youth and women are expected to receive special attention in the delivery architecture.

The broader theme is “Jan Vishwas se Jan Aadhaar”—building public trust through effective governance and delivery.

Modi had constituted eight Groups of Ministers to work on the agenda and formulate a comprehensive action plan for the remaining tenure of the government up to 2029. The first round also examined the roadmap for Viksit Bharat@2047.

Among those involved in the deliberations are senior ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman, besides Piyush Goyal, Hardeep Singh Puri, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The September 30-October 1 session is, therefore, expected to convert the Shivir’s broad prescriptions into department-wise targets, delivery mechanisms and measurable action points.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

Harish Gupta

Modi's 'Kamraj Plan' in Limbo

For those camping outside the doors of the Modi Cabinet, there is a familiar message doing the rounds: “Please wait. The PM is busy.”

The much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle may have to wait a little longer, if signals emanating from the Prime Minister’s "Seva Tirth" are any indication. It transpires that the Prime Minister has been giving final touches to undertake a massive reshuffle of his Cabinet reminiscent of “Kamraj Plan”. The late PM Nehru had removed senior Cabinet Ministers and many chief ministers to work for the party in the early 70s. Modi's plan seems to be in limbo.  His Chintan shivirs with ministers including the latest one are part of this exercise only.    With the “Shraadh period” beginning September 26, the possibility of any reshuffle is ruled out. 

Modi's calendar for October is already bursting at the seams. The BJP’s elaborate Seva Pakhwada will culminate on October 7 marking 25 years in public service since Modi first became Gujarat Chief Minister in 2001.

Then comes another international engagement. Modi is scheduled to travel to Vientiane, Laos, from October 10 for key summits. Navratri begins the following day, Dussehra arrives on October 20 and Diwali follows. A Kamraj Type reshuffle in the middle of the festive season would hardly be the ideal political recipe.

A special session of Parliament, if called, could further upset the apple cart. And waiting in the wings is another political date—the UP Rajya Sabha biennial election for 10 seats as many heavy weights are waiting in the wings to be in. So, for the ministerial aspirants, the suspense continues. The chairs may be vacant, but the auspicious date is awaited.

The Cockroach Effect

What began as a provocative Gen-Z protest has clearly acquired a life of its own. The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) appears to be creating ripples well beyond the streets and social media, putting issues raised by its campaign on the political and administrative radar.

Insiders claim the movement has even affected the BJP’s thinking about the much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle. The buzz is that the Prime Minister wants to send a message to Gen-Z by bringing younger faces and newer ideas into the decision-making system. The RSS, too, is experimenting with ways to connect with the generation, including a recent “Gen-Z Bhajan Sandhya” in Delhi.

Then came Rajasthan. In the civic elections, independents won 2,273 seats, emerging as kingmakers in several local bodies. The CJP had repeatedly highlighted the condition of government schools in the state. The CJP’s echo was also heard in the courtroom. After the Supreme Court had ordered that no coercive action be taken against student protesters, an executive magistrate in Greater Noida issued a notice to the student. The UP government subsequently told the Supreme Court that the officer had been suspended.

Perhaps the most intriguing part is Abhijeet Dipke himself. He appears, makes noise, raises an issue—and then disappears from view, leaving the establishment guessing about his next move. The CJP may still be an unconventional political experiment. But one thing is becoming harder to ignore: the cockroach is crawling into places nobody expected.

Shinde’s Vadnagar Moment

The BJP’s NDA allies turned up in force for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday celebrations. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu traveled to Varanasi, Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, to join Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in offering birthday greetings. Chirag Paswan, Anupriya Patel and JD(U) leaders were also prominent participants in these celebrations.

But one appearance set the Delhi grapevine buzzing. Why did Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde travel all the way to Vadnagar in Gujarat and appear alongside Union Home Minister Amit Shah to pray for the Prime Minister’s well-being? The duo launched the month-long Seva Sankalp Abhiyan and flagged off a bike rally. Shinde even opened his speech in Gujarati.

Those familiar with the BJP’s birthday choreography, however, say there was no last-minute intrigue. The PMO and BJP leadership had meticulously planned these celebrations well in advance, leaving little to improvisation.

But Delhi’s political whisper network rarely settles for the official script. Talk is that Shinde has been keen to secure a place for his son, Shrikant Shinde, in the Modi government. With Shinde’s party an important NDA ally, the BJP too has reasons to keep its Maharashtra partner comfortable.

Hence the Vadnagar optics may have generated more heat than substance. In Delhi parlance, it could simply be a storm in a teacup—though a rather carefully staged one.

Raghav Chadha’s Homecoming

The disappearance of Raghav Chadha’s name from Punjab’s electoral rolls triggered a political row, with Chadha and the BJP targeting the Punjab government. Technically, however, the SIR exercise is being conducted by the Election Commission, which has the authority to retain or restore a name if the eligibility conditions are met. That is significant because Chadha is a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab and had been a registered voter there. Following the deletion, however, has chosen to register as a voter in Delhi rather than seek inclusion again in Punjab.

The more intriguing question is why Chadha opted for Delhi. After all, Chadha began his political career in Delhi and was once an MLA from Rajinder Nagar seat. For some time, he was also being projected as an important non-Sikh face for the AAP in Punjab, with speculation that he could play a significant role in the next Assembly election. After he joined the BJP, Chadha had to look for a role in Delhi. The only problem is that the BJP has no shortage of leaders in Delhi unless, of course, he gets a larger role. 

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

Harish Gupta

Putin’s Wave That Turned Heads

It lasted barely a few seconds, but it was enough to make heads turn at the BRICS Summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin, after greeting and embracing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, suddenly stopped, turned towards India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and waved. Doval smiled and waved back.

The small gesture at Bharat Mandapam quickly became one of those fleeting diplomatic moments that said more than a formal handshake. Putin’s warm gesture towards Doval was hardly surprising to those familiar with their equation. Both men have deep roots in the world of intelligence and national security. Putin spent 16 years in the Soviet KGB, eventually retiring as a lieutenant colonel. Doval, meanwhile, served 33 years in India’s Intelligence Bureau, including a long stint handling sensitive operations and went on to become NSA.

Their familiarity goes well beyond protocol. Doval has emerged as one of India’s key interlocutors with Moscow and has held several one-to-one meetings with Putin. He travelled to Russia for direct talks with the Russian President in 2023, 2024 and again in 2025. That background perhaps explains the easy chemistry between the two. Putin, himself a former intelligence officer, is understood to have a particular appreciation for Doval’s strategic understanding and experience.

So, while Modi-Putin diplomacy commanded the spotlight, it was Putin’s spontaneous wave to Doval that supplied the summit with a little extra intrigue—an unscripted moment between two veterans of the shadowy world of intelligence who now operate in the full glare of diplomacy.

A Diya for Modi’s 25 Years

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17, followed by the completion of 25 years in public life on October 7, is set to be celebrated with considerable fanfare. 

But one element of the campaign stands out: beneficiaries of government schemes are being encouraged to light a Diya outside their homes or on their rooftops at 7 pm on September 17 and offer it as an “aashirwad” to Modi. The BJP and its state governments are reaching out to beneficiaries with diyas, oil, wicks and other material.

This is not the first time diyas have figured in Modi-era political outreach. During the Covid pandemic, citizens were asked to light diyas to honour frontline workers. Later, ahead of the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, people were urged to light lamps outside their homes. This time, the appeal is specifically aimed at beneficiaries who are being asked to bless the Prime Minister.

The decision was taken at a BJP meeting chaired by party president Nitin Nabin. The obvious question is: where does this stop? Several non-BJP governments also run cash-transfer and welfare schemes. Jharkhand, Karnataka and Telangana, for instance, have major beneficiary programs. If these governments were to ask beneficiaries to light diyas for their chief ministers on their birthdays, how would the BJP view it?

Political analysts say asking government-scheme beneficiaries to light a diya for him is certainly an unusual addition to the political calendar.

What's cooking in J&K

When Vinai Kumar Saxena was sent to Ladakh from Delhi, many said it was a punishment posting. Now that he has been given the charge of J&K as present incumbent Manoj Sinha has gone to the USA, eyebrows have been raised in political circles.

Manoj Sinha is currently in the US to address an event organised by former students of the IIT-BHU among other engagements. It is speculated that Manoj Sinha may be given a new role as he has served as LG, J&K for over six years. The BJP circles are agog with reports that Manoj Sinha may be brought to the Rajya Sabha from UP in November and may be inducted into the Union Cabinet soon.

One buzz doing the rounds is that Vinai Kumar Saxena could eventually be given the full-time J&K assignment. Speculation intensified after Saxena recently met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For now, however, Sinha’s US visit has added fresh fuel to the political grapevine.

EC Gives BJP A Breather

Strange are the ways of the Election Commission. It has announced Assembly bypolls and one Lok Sabha bypoll in Assam—but quietly left two other vacant Lok Sabha seats out of the reckoning. Three Lok Sabha constituencies are awaiting bypolls: Basirhat in West Bengal, Nagaon in Assam and Shillong in Meghalaya. Yet, only Nagaon has made the cut.

That is something of a breather for the BJP. The party would have faced a politically loaded test in all three seats, particularly after its recent setbacks in the Bankipur and Datia Assembly bypolls in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. A three-seat Lok Sabha contest could have indicated whether those defeats were merely a blip—or an early warning.

Nagaon has been vacant after Congress MP Pradyut Bordoloi resigned and joined the BJP in March. With the six-month deadline approaching, the EC had little room for manoeuvre.

Basirhat, vacant since September 2024 after TMC MP Haji Nurul Islam’s death, is a far more combustible proposition. The BJP candidate Rekha Patra’s 2024 poll challenge remains before the Calcutta High Court despite the TMC candidate's death. 

Shillong, vacant since February this year following MP Ricky A.J. Syngkon’s death may have to wait as the electoral-roll revision has not been completed. For now, the BJP gets one test—not three.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall

Harish Gupta 

Modi@25: When India Goes Modimay

For 15 days, India is likely to have one subject dominating the political conversation: Narendra Modi@25. The BJP and its governments are leaving little to chance as they prepare an elaborate nationwide celebration of the Prime Minister completing 25 years in constitutional public life.

The occasion will be marked through the annual 'Seva Pakhwada', from September 17 to October 2. This year, it is being planned on a much larger canvas. The exercise will begin on Modi’s birthday and end on Gandhi Jayanti, with the entire fortnight carefully choreographed around his political journey—from becoming Gujarat Chief Minister in 2001 to serving as Prime Minister since 2014.

The planning is extensive. The BJP has drawn up 13 broad service-oriented programs: Blood-donation camps, free health check-ups, tree plantations, cleanliness drives, water schemes and other infrastructure projects.

There will be a parallel intellectual and massive publicity exercise. Seminars, exhibitions and public programs will tell the Modi story through the prism of governance, welfare and development. Jan Dhan, Ujjwala, PM-Kisan, UPI and other flagship initiatives, to reach the last person in the queue, will figure prominently.

The economic scoreboard will not be forgotten either as India's reported 7.8 per cent real GDP growth in the first quarter of 2026-27 is another Modi-era achievement. And the celebration will not stop at India’s borders. Messages and tributes from foreign leaders are expected to add an international dimension. It is a 15-day national showcase—service in the field, achievements on the screen and Modi at the centre of the narrative- the country could well feel a little more “Modimay” - a Modi-fied India.

Smriti Irani for RS Now!

Of the eight general secretaries in BJP Chief Nitin Nabin's team, two are eyeing Rajya Sabha berths in November. The grapevine has it that Smriti Irani and Harish Dwivedi, are keen for nomination when the BJP is set to win 8 of the ten RS seats. Smriti Irani who had lost 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Amethi, had been in political wilderness and rehabilitated as general secretary last month.

Another contender for the RS seat is Harish Dwivedi who also lost his Basti Lok Sabha seat in 2024. The BJP leadership is said to have considerable faith in him. It may be noted that other general secretaries; Vinod Tawde, Biplab Kumar Deb, Satish Poonia, Gajendra Patel and Sanjay Bhatia are Members of Parliament.

Sunil Bansal is the only general secretary who is not interested in becoming an MP. He wants to stay put in the organisation only as he also came from the RSS like B L Santhosh. He was once regarded as one of the most powerful party leaders in Uttar Pradesh. Reports even suggested that he was effectively running the state government. It is said that at least six out of eight may be new faces in the RS biennial polls. Rajya Sabha MP Dinesh Sharma has already been made LG of Andaman and Nicobar.

Gen Alpha Gives BJP Jitters

Schoolchildren are hitting the streets—and governments are suddenly listening. A new wave of Gen Alpha protests is spreading across states, demanding the most basic of rights: teachers in classrooms, toilets, drinking water, benches, etc.

What began as a school-level grievance is fast turning into an accountability movement from state to state. The trigger may have been Abhijeet Dipke’s “School Thik Karo” campaign, launched from a government school in his native Santuk Pimpri village in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district.

And this is not the conventional student movement. There are no student unions, political leaders or established intermediaries to negotiate with. There is simply a generation discovering the power of the street. At a time when the BJP governs much of the country, Gen Alpha’s anger is landing disproportionately at its doorstep.

The anxiety at the top is visible. At a recent Cabinet meeting, ministers were reportedly handed envelopes ranking them on the traction generated by their social-media content across platforms—a revealing sign of how seriously the political establishment is taking the new generation and its digital habits. The PM is walking an extra mile to connect with them frequently these days. The BJP leadership has also set up a high-level committee to engage with the increasingly restive youngsters. But the reported delay of seven hours in registering a simple FIR in the pellet-gun case and other such incidents in the national Capital only exposed the gap.

Gen Alpha has discovered the one thing governments cannot afford to ignore: the power to make noise. Rajasthan rolled out a Rs 12500 crores school re-building fund and UP has started Kaya Kalp for school massive funds.

Rahul’s Punjab Bus Finally Ready!

Rahul Gandhi’s much-awaited Punjab yatra may finally be getting on the road. The Congress has replaced Bhupesh Baghel with Sachin Pilot as AICC in-charge of Punjab, signaling a fresh attempt to put the state unit in order before Feb-March 2027 polls. Baghel apparently failed to deliver—and paid the political price. Pilot now faces the tougher test: bringing warring Punjab Congress factions onto one platform.

Rahul Gandhi had planned to kick-start his poll campaign with a bus yatra, but the program has been repeatedly pushed back. The continuing feud between state chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi shows little sign of cooling.

Pilot’s first job, therefore, is not merely to prepare the Congress for battle with the AAP. He has to ensure that the Congress bus actually moves—and that nobody inside the party tries to pull it in opposite directions.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the wall

Harish Gupta

Rahul’s New Weapon: The Letter Bomb

From Modi to Fadnavis and Soren, the LoP is firing off letters — and governments are beginning to take notice.  Rahul Gandhi may have found a new weapon in his armoury — the letter.

The Leader of Opposition is increasingly using his office to write directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief ministers, putting contentious issues on record and demanding action. Rahul Gandhi's latest missive to the Prime Minister seeking an an FIR under the SC/ST Act against those involved in the “shuddikaran” or purification of the Ramlila ground in Haldwani after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, a Dalit, addressed a public meeting there, is yet to see any result. But Rahul camp followers are hopeful of a win on the issue. Alternatively, he may sit on a dharna at a key place and force the government's hands as happened in the pellet gun case.

On August 25, Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge jointly wrote to Modi demanding that the government scrap the open-ended questionnaire proposed for the upcoming caste census. A day earlier, Rahul had written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the grievances of protesting tribal students. That letter appears to have packed some punch.

Rahul wanted the 30-year age cap for tribal hostel admissions for female students to be revoked. The Maharashtra government scrapped the 30-year age limit for tribal hostel admissions. Rahul’s latest letter-writing campaign began with his ally, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren over student protests. 

For Rahul, the message seems clear: if Parliament is one battlefield, the letterhead is becoming another. Rahul may not be knocking on doors anymore. He is putting the doors on notice.

Governors reshuffle on the anvil

The shake-up in the ruling BJP may be followed by another exercise—this time in the Lok Bhavans. Despite a round of gubernatorial appointments and transfers as recently as March, indications are that another reshuffle is already being worked out.

New Governors and Lieutenant Governors are expected to be appointed in about half a dozen states and Union Territories. At least seven Governors and LGs have completed their five-year term and are due for a change, making the Lok Bhavans the next likely destination for some veterans.

Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka are emerging as the key theatres. UP Governor Anandiben Patel has been in office since July 2019, while Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat has also completed a long stint. The BJP is reportedly weighing a Brahmin face for the Uttar Pradesh Lok Bhavan—an appointment that could carry considerable political significance in the state.

Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd), a former Deputy Chief of Army Staff, has considerable familiarity and following in Punjab which is heading for Assembly elections next year.

Karnataka, too, could see a change of guard. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot is reportedly in line for replacement, with Assembly elections due in 2028 as the BJP may prefer a more politically active face.

Madhya Pradesh Governor Mangubhai C. Patel has also completed five years. In addition, four Union Territory LGs have crossed the five-year mark, making a wider reshuffle possible. Tamil Nadu could also figure in the exercise as Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar has been holding additional charge of Tamil Nadu.

Women Welfare: BJP's Delhi Model

The BJP swept to power in Delhi in February 2025 with a promise that struck a powerful electoral chord — Rs 2,500 every month to women under its Mahila Samman scheme.

Delhi had 71.73 lakh women registered voters in February 2025, and the BJP clearly reaped the political harvest of its promise. The number has risen to 74 lakh now. The scheme, billed as a measure of women’s honour, is turning into something of an eligibility obstacle course, imposing as many as 10 conditions. Now, the Delhi government’s own estimate brings the number of beneficiaries down to around 17 lakh. That is where the irony begins.

Applicants are required to submit as many as ten documents. Most contentious is the requirement for a recommendation letter from the local MLA or MP — effectively making an elected representative the gatekeeper to a government entitlement.

Then comes the 10-year Delhi residency rule. This could leave out women who moved to the capital after marriage or for employment, even if they possess Aadhaar cards and valid voter IDs. There is more. Women with more than three children are excluded, potentially cutting out 15% of them. Families earning above ₹2.5 lakh annually are out. So are families with four-wheelers or electricity consumption above 2,400 units a year. Government employees, pensioners and those already receiving certain government benefits are obviously excluded. And there is one more twist: only one woman per family — the eldest eligible female member — can receive the benefit. The latest rider is that eligible women will get Rs 1000 cash and remaining Rs 1500 will go as long-term Fix-Deposit.

So, after eighteen months of waiting, the Delhi model may well end up teaching a new lesson in welfare politics. A role model, perhaps, for other states.

Why a Cabinet Minister cried

The delayed Cabinet reshuffle's shocks are visible. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram has accused fellow party leaders of plotting to tarnish his image and engineer his exit. The six-time Rourkela MP cried after his political associate Rakesh Paswan was arrested in Bihar for allegedly sheltering armed criminals at Rourkela’s government Circuit House. Oram alleges that rivals are running a campaign to defame him, hoping to grab his Cabinet berth. His remarks were aimed at newly elected Rajya Sabha member Dilip Ray, also from Rourkela who is lobbying for a berth. Oram is fighting to stay put.

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the Wall 

Harish Gupta 

BJP Shakes, Govt Wait Grows Longer

Fifty-one of the 65 faces in BJP president Nitin Nabin’s new organisational team are newcomers. Months of political churn, consultations and calculations have finally produced the much-awaited team. Yet, political watchers are struggling to decide whether it is a grand makeover or simply “choo-choo ka murabba”—a curious hodgepodge of mismatched ingredients thrown into one bowl.

Beyond the rehabilitation of Smriti Irani and Ram Madhav and Vindo Tawde's big promotion, there is little that can be described as a political earthquake. The real reshuffle, insiders insist, is still waiting in the wings. The biggest giveaway? Several ministers who were expected to move from the government to the organisation have stayed put. The BJP Parliamentary Board is yet to be reconstituted. So is the Central Election Committee. In other words, the organisational surgery is far from complete.

And then there is the government. Ministers—and political birds perched hopefully on the power tree—have been waiting for months for the second act. The Cabinet reshuffle, whenever it comes, could be far more dramatic. At least two dozen ministers are believed to be vulnerable to either the axe or a portfolio swap. Some prominent leaders who missed Nabin’s organisational bus could get a ministerial berth instead.

The urgency is obvious. Several ministers are already juggling three portfolios, making the government look less like a well-oiled machine and more like a one-man-three-ministry circus. So, what has just happened? Perhaps nothing more than Part One of the BJP shake-up. Part Two is still loading.

The Importance of Being Vinod Tawde

After years in the political wilderness following his exit from Maharashtra state politics in 2019, Vinod Tawde has staged a remarkable comeback. The prominent OBC leader is no longer a peripheral figure in the BJP’s power structure; he is increasingly being treated as a frontline troubleshooter.

Tawde was a BJP general secretary and had handled Bihar as well. Yet, much of the credit for the 2025 Bihar Assembly victory went to then Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who was the state election in-charge. Now, Tawde has been handed the BJP’s most politically consequential assignment: Uttar Pradesh.

His elevation is revealing. Tawde figures at the top of the BJP’s eight general secretaries in the organisational pecking order, with Smriti Irani placed fourth. Party insiders say the high command specifically asked Tawde whether he preferred to serve the organisation or join the government. He chose the party—and was rewarded with the UP assignment, widely regarded as the BJP’s political Waterloo in 2027 Assembly polls.

The stakes could hardly be higher. The “Chanda Chori” controversy surrounding the Ayodhya Ram temple and the emergence of Gen-G in the form of the CJP have added to the BJP’s anxieties. The BJP won a staggering 312 of 403 seats in 2017, but slipped to 255 in 2022. Tawde’s mandate is blunt: stop the slide and deliver a stronger tally in 2027.

Sonia’s Memoir: A First in the Dynasty

When Sonia Gandhi’s memoir hits the shelves in November, it will mark a curious first for India’s most famous political family.  The former Congress president will become the first member of the Nehru-Gandhi family since Independence to publish a memoir in her own voice—despite the dynasty having produced three Prime Ministers.
Jawaharlal Nehru got there first, but well before Independence. His An Autobiography, also published as Toward Freedom, appeared in 1936, eleven years before he became Independent India's first Prime Minister.

Indira Gandhi never wrote a conventional autobiography. Her closest equivalent was My Truth, published in 1980 and based on extensive personal interviews and reflections. The book offered glimpses into her childhood in Allahabad, her relationship with her father, her education and, inevitably, her political worldview. It appeared at a particularly dramatic moment—when she was briefly out of power.

Rajiv Gandhi, too, left no autobiography or memoir of his own. His life has instead been chronicled by family members, colleagues, historians and biographers. 
Interestingly, Sonia Gandhi herself provided one of the more intimate windows into Rajiv’s life. In 1992, she compiled and introduced Rajiv’s World: Photographs by Rajiv Gandhi, a collection of his own photographs spanning four decades.

Now Sonia is turning the lens on herself. And that makes her memoir more than another political autobiography. For a family that has spent generations being written about, this time, a Nehru-Gandhi will be writing the story.

Tailpiece: The Cabinet reshuffle may have become less a political exercise and more a search for the perfect Muhurat. With speculation refusing to die down, political circles are now focusing on just one possible date in August or wait until the Navratras. According to the pundits, there is no auspicious window for such a major political exercise until November 20. That leaves Modi with an unusual dilemma: reshuffle now, or wait for the stars to cooper

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Fly on the wall

Harish Gupta

Modi Follows Manmohan Singh, For a Change

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent a decade bitterly attacking Manmohan Singh’s government and rode to power in 2014 on a promise to undo the legacy of the UPA. But when it comes to counting caste, Modi appears to be walking a path already taken by his predecessor.

The irony is hard to miss: the NDA and UPA governments seem to be on the same page when it comes to counting caste. The 2011 population Census did not include a general caste enumeration. The Manmohan Singh government subsequently ordered a separate Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) in 2011 to collect caste names in a dis- aggregated manner.

Instead of producing a manageable list of castes, the exercise reportedly threw up around 46 lakh caste names, against just 4,147 caste entries in government records. For example the Social Justice and Empowerment ministry has a list of 2479 recognised OBC castes. But the Rohini Commission pegged this list at 2633. Then there are separate lists of states that differ from the central list. For example, the Central List of Maharashtra contains 256 OBC caste entries. But the state's official reservation list includes approximately 550 recognized backward castes.

This happened because during 2011 SECC counting, respondents were allowed to state their caste themselves. The enumerators did not keep the central and state list of castes. Therefore, the people recorded sub-castes, gotras and other variations, turning the exercise into a 46 lakhs plus statistical nightmare. It was largely due to this reason that the caste data was never officially released.

Now comes the Census 2027. There is a striking similarity with the earlier Caste count exercise. The enumerators' questionnaire will reportedly not carry a predefined list of castes. Enumerators will record the respondent’s answer verbatim rather than classify it into an officially prescribed category.

That raises an uncomfortable question: could Census 2027 produce an even bigger statistical maze? If respondents again freely identify their caste, gotra, varna or sub-caste, officials could potentially end up with more than 46 lakhs caste entries. The Modi government seems to be borrowing a page from Manmohan Singh’s playbook on caste counting.

Who Will Be the ‘Big Brother’?

Before they parted ways six years ago, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was the BJP’s “big brother” in Punjab. The BJP was the junior partner, contesting just 23 of the 117 Assembly seats. The Modi-Sukhbir Badal meeting recently has revived speculation about an Akali-BJP reunion. But there is one big question: who will be the big brother this time?

Much has changed since 2020. The BJP has spent six years building its own organisation and has fought the 2022 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections independently. Its electoral record may have been disappointing, but the party is clearly in no mood to return as the junior partner. It wants a substantially larger share of the seats.

The Akalis, meanwhile, are unlikely to accept a subordinate role either. Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon welcomed the Modi-Badal meeting but insisted that the BJP was preparing to contest all 117 seats. Privately, however, BJP leaders concede that any renewed understanding with the SAD would look very different from the old arrangement that collapsed over the farm laws.

A formal alliance may not be on the cards. Instead, an informal seat-sharing understanding could see the BJP contesting around 60-65 seats and the Akalis about 75, with “friendly fights” in several constituencies. The irony is that both parties need each other, yet neither wants to admit it. The BJP drew a blank in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls despite an 18.56% vote share, while in 2022 it won just two Assembly seats with 6.6% votes. The Akalis fared no better. So, necessity may bring the estranged partners together—but the battle over who wears the bigger brother’s crown could be just as fierce as the election itself.

NDA Allies Step Out of Line

A new unease appears to be stirring within the NDA, with allies showing signs that they may no longer be content playing second fiddle to the BJP. The latest signal came from NCPI leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appoint an NDA convenor. The demand has surprised political circles because no such proposal has been publicly made by any of the allies since Modi came to power in 2014. Bandyopadhyay argued that a dedicated coordinator would improve communication and alliance management, particularly when Parliament is not in session.

Significantly, neither the BJP nor major allies such as the TDP and JD(U) has chosen to comment. The NCPI, which has 20 Lok Sabha MPs who came from the TMC, is increasingly being seen as part of a wider bloc of allies seeking a greater say. The signs are visible elsewhere too. The JD(U) has begun drawing its own red lines in Bihar. Its objection to the Samrat Chaudhary government's decision to turn more than 550 schools into model institutions, rename them Saraswati Vidya Niketan and paint them saffron, was carefully worded but unmistakable. “Education has only one colour,” JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said, signaling discomfort with the politicization of education.

The TDP's Chandrababu Naidu, meanwhile, remains the quintessential back-seat operator—quietly negotiating and getting results. It was due to BJP's allies that the FCRA Bill was sent to a Joint Parliamentary Committee. Individually, these may look like routine alliance politics. Collectively, they suggest something bigger: NDA allies are beginning to assert themselves—and the BJP is being quietly put on notice.