<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">There is a new fighting spirit in Indian democratic space with the July 18 meeting of Opposition Parties in Bengaluru. The new alliance of Opposition parties, with the acronym INDIA, is bringing back the inclusivity angle to the country’s political debate. On the other side, the ruling BJP is showing signs of agitation by reviving the NDA, even going to the extent of roping in minuscule parties from the North East.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Does this mark a decisive shift from the Modi-centric campaign that has characterised the BJP’s electoral exercises so far?<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The AIDEM discusses these crucial developments in the early run-up to the 2024 General Elections with senior political analysts of the country, Sharath Pradhan, Joy Santhosh Koshi and Venkitesh Ramakrishnan. Interaction anchored by senior journalist Anand Haridas.

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There is a new fighting spirit in Indian democratic space with the July 18 meeting of Opposition Parties in Bengaluru. 

The July 18 Message for Indian Democracy and 2024

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Along with the edited transcription of the The AIDEM’s Interaction with Saeed Naqvi as he analyses the ongoing diplomatic tussle with Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist and points out how the imbroglio could be used as an electoral tool by the BJP in domestic politics.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">text<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Click <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/canada-imbroglios-implications-for-2024-india-elections/">here</a> to watch the full interaction.

Along with the edited transcription of the The AIDEM’s Interaction with Saeed Naqvi as he analyses the ongoing diplomatic tussle with Canada over the killing of a Khalistani separatist and points out how the imbroglio could be used as an electoral tool by the BJP in domestic politics.



Saeed Naqvi-VR Transcript Indian Election

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This is the second part of the series “AYODHYA: The Sordid Timeline to the Consecration of Ram Temple”.

Deceit, Deception and Disinformation: Sangh Parivar’s Triple D in Ayodhya

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Ayodhya ‘Pran Prathishta’ and its Political Import

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Akhilesh Yadav: Man of the Match of 2024 Elections

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240720_WA_0012_770x470_970911e623.jpg" alt="IMG-20240720-WA0012-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240720_WA_0012_770x470_970911e623.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240720_WA_0012_770x470_970911e623.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240720_WA_0012_770x470_970911e623.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">R. Rajagopal, the Editor at Large of The Telegraph, continues his close observation and analysis of the Indian media space and the manner in which mainstream newspapers covered serious developments such as the tragic fate of Rahim Ali, a resident of Kashimpur village in Assam’s Nalbari district, whose Indian citizenship was recently reinstated by the Supreme Court without knowing that he had died in his village two and a half years ago, in December 2021 at the age of 58. Ali was branded a foreigner and his citizenship was revoked by the Foreigners Tribunal in the State in 2012. In this analysis, Rajagopal also pays a tribute to EP Unny, Chief Political Cartoonist of The Indian Express (IE), highlighting the cartoon he drew on this issue. The IE editorial too is specially mentioned in this important media critique written by one of the tallest newspaper editors of the country. The AIDEM has sourced this from R Rajagopal’s social media posts.<hr>Ruthlessness is the irreplaceable sidearm of cartooning. But every once in a while, the merciless craft drops the snub-nosed weapon and picks up the feather to offer a healing touch. EP Unny does so in The Indian Express, making Calvin pay graceful tribute to Rahim Ali, whose first name means compassion, something that was denied to him in life.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:329px;" id="attachment_29032" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29032"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_20_T173700_4832_300x243_d936ec5b72.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-20T173700.4832-300x243.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_20_T173700_4832_300x243_d936ec5b72.jpeg 193w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-29032">Rahim Ali</figcaption></figure>But Unny does not forget to wield the scalpel, referring to the risk that can be faced by those who, unwittingly or otherwise, showed compassion to Ali. The Express has a strong editorial also. I leave it you to find out which other newspapers followed up one of the most important stories after the general election.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:25.2%;"><img style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240720_WA_0005_195x300_71211f9358.jpg" alt="IMG-20240720-WA0005-195x300.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240720_WA_0005_195x300_71211f9358.jpg 101w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure>The other day, I had told a sceptical friend that this is too big a story to be ignored by the rest of the media. I think I have largely been proved wrong. Calvin’s compassion reminds me of the farewell cartoon to Nehru by Rajinder Puri (which I am attaching below from Unny’s Twitter account). Puri was kind enough to treat me to coffee and scones (I heard the word first from him) and his vision of journalism at the Embassy Hotel (or was it the Ambassador? Delhi overdoses on diplomatic jargon) in Connaught Place when I gatecrashed his idyllic haunt when I was a student.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240720_WA_0008_768x851_3162e7e51a.jpg" alt="IMG-20240720-WA0008-768x851.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240720_WA_0008_768x851_3162e7e51a.jpg 141w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240720_WA_0008_768x851_3162e7e51a.jpg 451w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240720_WA_0008_768x851_3162e7e51a.jpg 677w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure>Unny unfailingly pays tribute with his craft to many people when they pass away or cross milestones. I am particularly touched by his tributes to artist Namboodiri and actor Irrfan Khan. I also recall now a cartoon that made me cry when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. Ungratefully, I cannot recall where I saw it or who drew it. Was it on Sunday magazine? It was a full-page cartoon showing Rajiv, who was a pilot, steering a flight to the skies, with the immortal words of Shakespeare: “Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”If my friend Sumit, who was with Sunday, confirms and clarifies whose cartoon it was, I will let you know. 33 years later, Unny’s cartoon has done to me what I felt in 1991 when the cartoonist I cannot recall borrowed from Hamlet and Horatio. “Good night, Sweet Prince” would also have been the most apt headline I could not think up when Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi died.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:50%;"><img style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240720_WA_0007_768x805_41aca38d07.jpg" alt="IMG-20240720-WA0007-768x805.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240720_WA_0007_768x805_41aca38d07.jpg 149w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240720_WA_0007_768x805_41aca38d07.jpg 477w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240720_WA_0007_768x805_41aca38d07.jpg 716w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure>Deepayan Chatterjee, the wizard with words who passed the baton to me, told Sumit about that unwritten headline later. I was deeply affected by Pataudi’s death although I have been merciless when he was arrested in the hunting case. Technically, only technically, he was my colleague for three years because he was the editor of Sportsworld which was owned by the same management I worked for and located a floor below the newspaper I was with then although I have never met him.The coverage of Pataudi’s death was also one of the first instances that informed my mentors that something is wrong with me — a reckless gene that runs amok once in a while — in the sense that I can get carried away by news events, unlike poker-faced editors who revel in affecting the inscrutable visage.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:361px;" id="attachment_29033" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29033"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_2024_07_20_T174125_041_5399f7bca3.jpeg" alt="images-2024-07-20T174125.041.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_2024_07_20_T174125_041_5399f7bca3.jpeg 104w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_2024_07_20_T174125_041_5399f7bca3.jpeg 334w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-29033">Rajinder Puri</figcaption></figure>Shocked by the display, a journalist I respect the most told me the next day, poker-faced of course and the upper lip as stiff as Modi at that rare media conference: “I thought the Prime Minister died.” It was his polite way of suggesting I went overboard. I leave you with some of the farewell cartoons of Puri and Unny. I still harbour the hope that other newspapers will follow up the Ali story until the executive and judicial leadership takes note and puts in place checks and balances.</div></div>

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Calvin Cares, But Others...

<img class="image_resized" style="aspect-ratio:undefined/undefined;width:75%;" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/haryana_02_17225006352_0c0cbaa195.jpg" alt="haryana-02-17225006352.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_haryana_02_17225006352_0c0cbaa195.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_haryana_02_17225006352_0c0cbaa195.jpg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">Multiple factors are at play in the Haryana assembly elections, scheduled to be held in one phase on October 5, 2024, but one of the most striking aspects of the campaign scenario this time is the conspicuous disappearance of the Modi factor. Ground reports from across the State underscore that in a large majority of the 90 constituencies in Haryana,the Modi factor is not a matter of debate among the electorate. Some campaigners of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) do refer to the Modi factor occasionally, but that too without the verve or intensity that they had displayed in past elections.This is markedly different from the election scenario in the last two assembly polls in the State held in 2014 and 2019. In both these elections the personality of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the social, political and economic aspirations he seemed to represent had dominated the campaign and related developments. In the 2014 assembly polls, held barely six months after the Lok Sabha elections in which Modi swept to power at the centre with a single party majority for the BJP, Modi’s name and image as the new beacon of hope and developmental paradigms was the central narrative in the saffron party’s campaign.Five years later, in the 2019 assembly polls too, the BJP State unit depended essentially on Modi’s popularity and his image as a Prime Minister who had returned to power with an enhanced majority in the Lok Sabha polls some months ago. But the campaign on the personality cult of Modi has practically become a thing of the past in Haryana.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1024px;" id="attachment_30109" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30109"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/newindianexpress_2024_09_29_q1d8uw8l_BJP_changes_tactics_b6902602ea.jpg" alt="newindianexpress_2024-09-29_q1d8uw8l_BJP-changes-tactics.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_newindianexpress_2024_09_29_q1d8uw8l_BJP_changes_tactics_b6902602ea.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_newindianexpress_2024_09_29_q1d8uw8l_BJP_changes_tactics_b6902602ea.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_newindianexpress_2024_09_29_q1d8uw8l_BJP_changes_tactics_b6902602ea.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_newindianexpress_2024_09_29_q1d8uw8l_BJP_changes_tactics_b6902602ea.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-30109">Amit Shah at an election campaign event in Haryana</figcaption></figure>Commenting on this significant turnaround in the campaign stream, retired senior army officer Major General Ram Phool Sian, who is also a keen political observer belonging to Rohtak, told The AIDEM that this marks a sort of historic diminution in the political influence and reach of the Modi factor.Major General Sian further explained the historical dimensions of this turnaround as follows. “It was very much in Haryana that the emergence of the Modi factor was cemented in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. His first rally as Prime Minister designate of the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls was held at Rewari in Haryana, where he held forth on the so-called Gujarat model of development and its relevance for India as a whole. The people of Haryana hailed it as a new era in Indian politics and that acceptance reverberated across North India. The dominance of that image seems to be turning a full circle in the Haryana assembly polls ten years later.” – Sian told The AIDEM.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:2560px;" id="attachment_30108" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30108"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/prime_minister_shri_narendra_modi_launching_bjp_election_campaign_in_haryana_addresses_massive_election_rally_in_karnal_on_october_4_2014_20141004_1961281673_1024x684_5ee1a435c9.avif" alt="prime-minister-shri-narendra-modi-launching-bjp-election-campaign-in-haryana-addresses-massive-election-rally-in-karnal-on-october-4-2014-20141004-1961281673-1024x684.avif" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-30108">Narendra Modi launching BJP Election Campaign in Haryana (Image from 2014)</figcaption></figure>But it is not as though the Haryana assembly polls this time around is completely bereft of personality cult related factors. There is a personality cult around senior Congress leader and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, which is steadily developing with the projection as the next Chief Minister of the State. This cult is dominant in the so called Jat belt of the State consisting of the districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Jind, Panipat and Bhiwani. The narrative around him is such that The AIDEM could hear several voices from the ground in many of these districts, which placed the current polls as one between Hooda and BJP.Indeed, one of the central pillars of the Congress campaign is the overwhelming support the party is drawing from the dominant Jat community of the State. However, it is also significant that other communities, including Dalits and sections of upper castes have also rallied around the Congress. This is in contrast to their positions in the last two assembly polls. In 2014, the near-total consolidation of non-Jat communities, especially those belonging to Dalit and Other Backward Caste (OBC) communities, had resulted in the BJP getting power on its own with 47 out of 90 seats. In 2019, the party was reduced to 40 seats and had to depend on alliance with Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) led by Dushyant Chautala- which had won 10 seats – and seven independent MLAs.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:799px;" id="attachment_30105" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30105"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/conghyrs_4aa6cf9a0b.jpeg" alt="conghyrs.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_conghyrs_4aa6cf9a0b.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_conghyrs_4aa6cf9a0b.jpeg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_conghyrs_4aa6cf9a0b.jpeg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-30105">Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka and Bhupinder Hooda at an election rally in Haryana on September 30, 2024. Source: X/Congress</figcaption></figure>That the BJP is on the back foot essentially on account of his governance track record of the past ten years is evident from the fact that Manohar Lal Khattar, the party’s Chief Minister for 9 years of its tenure, is steadfastly kept away from the campaign. While Khattar is practically removed from the campaign scene his successor Nayab Singh Saini has also not been able to make a significant impact on the public. Party insiders admit that the very removal of Khattar, who was considered to be close to Prime Minister Modi, after a 9 year tenure is an admission about poor governance.However, many BJP leaders claim that despite all the problems in governance, the government has done a lot of women oriented welfare programmes and that this would help the party garner a huge majority of women votes, which would tilt the results in its favour. It remains to be seen how far this claim proves correct in the polls.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1280px;" id="attachment_30107" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30107"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20241002_WA_0037_1024x579_62b0b957e9.jpg" alt="IMG-20241002-WA0037-1024x579.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20241002_WA_0037_1024x579_62b0b957e9.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20241002_WA_0037_1024x579_62b0b957e9.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20241002_WA_0037_1024x579_62b0b957e9.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_IMG_20241002_WA_0037_1024x579_62b0b957e9.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-30107">Yogendra Yadav in conversation with Venkitesh Ramakrishnan (Screenshot from <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://theaidem.com/interactions-yogendra-yadav-jk-haryana-polls-and-caste-census/">The AIDEM Interactions</a>)</figcaption></figure>As political activist Yogendra Yadav pointed out to The AIDEM, the popular impression that Congress is coming to power had led to a surge in the number of seat aspirants and this in turn has created a significant rebel problem for the party. Some of these rebels contesting as independent candidates are causing problems for the Congress in different parts of the State. Powerful independent candidates, who were originally in Congress or the BJP and are putting up strong fight include Rajesh Joon at Bahadurgadh, Kapoor Singh Narwal at Baroda, Savitri Jindal at Hisar, Devender Kadiyan at Gannaur and Chitra Sarwara at Aambala Cantonment.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:678px;" id="attachment_30106" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-30106"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_37_8229c8435f.jpeg" alt="images-37.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_37_8229c8435f.jpeg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_37_8229c8435f.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-30106">JJP’s campaign rally</figcaption></figure>The third pole in State politics, comprising different outfits floated by the family branches of former Chief Minister Omprakash Chauthala, such as JJP and Indian National Lok Dal are in the fight in some constituencies, but are not expected to make a substantive difference to the poll scene or outcome. Similar is the situation with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).</div></div>

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The Disappearing Modi Factor In Haryana Elections

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Tamil (ta)

English (en)

Hindi (hi)

Telugu (te)

Kannada (kn)

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Dancing To Her Tune

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An Unwritten National Autobiography

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_6258d15665.jpeg" alt="images-1.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">People who read literature in India knew him, MT Vasudevan Nair. Language was no hurdle for his works to reach out beyond the state borders of Kerala. While Malayali diaspora took a handful of nostalgia along to the places they went, a little bit of MT was also in that.Today, the big business of literature finds translators to translate anything that moves. All tetrapods of literature are given awards that stink of corporate imperialistic nexus. But MT belonged to a different era when blood recognised blood, genius recognised genius. He got translated not once but several times.Basheer, Takazhi and MT were the triumvirate that could transcend the borders and stand tall among the Indian modernist literature. Yes, MT’s literature also had a fair amount of auto-fiction but he hoodwinked it with the magic of text. He was a persuasive minimalist both in writing and in person.An unsmiling MT could generate generations of readers who could smile through tears. MT wrote about a collapsing social structure that divested the old feudal class with their ill-gotten properties. But their social capital remained intact and could exert a lot of influence among the readers by becoming the surrogate emotional ethos of a transition time of Kerala’s socio-political history.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1196px;" id="attachment_31084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31084"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg" alt="mt-1024x575.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31084">MT during his Interview with Sabha TV (Watch <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NttnjeaVqn0">Here</a>)</figcaption></figure>When society evolved into a different being altogether, MT turned to the treasure trove of myths and itihasas to eke out allegories that explained the pain of loss, of class, roots and love. His literature spat on the face of bigotry, whether it was religious or familial. He was so stoically poised in his literature that none could have challenged him and expelled him from the world of literature.MT’s literature spoke of love and separation as vehemently as he wrote about the changing social complexions. But he was not sentimental. There was something in his writing that touched some chord in every reader. Before initiating themselves into Ambedkarite politics, the Dalit ideologues also, in their torturous nights of youth, pined for MT’s characters.Those who call the modernists, Dad Vibes, have really lost the sight of the forest while focusing on shrubs and thicket. MT was a forest that moved, as in the great tragedies. He remained a serious writer while the post modernists fell in the trap of publishers and wrote lightning stories and became laughing stokes.MT remains, so is the MT critique. That’s the beauty of a great writer’s life and of course, death.</div></div>

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MT: A Forest that Moved

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An ‘Overture’ Stringing The Pope, Yesudas and the ‘Songster Chaplain’

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/1_cc9df0fe47.png" alt="വലതുപക്ഷവുമായുള്ള-സംവാദത്തിൻ്റെ-വ്യർത്ഥത-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_1_cc9df0fe47.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_1_cc9df0fe47.png 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">When old age shall this generation waste,Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woeThan ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is allYe know on earth, and all ye need to know.” (John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn)<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/6_904b2e9f2a.jpg" alt="6.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 147w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 470w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Siddharth Tagore, Founder Director of Delhi’s <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/artkonsultindia/photos">Art Konsult</a> Gallery is no more. He cannot be contained in such a cold statement, so matter of fact like death itself. Besides the gallery, he founded magazines such as Art and Deal, Travel and Deal and many other publications. Even when he knew that he wouldn’t make any profit out of the publications, he invested money in them because he knew art wouldn’t survive without the literature surrounding it.&nbsp;Yet another venture of Tagore’s was an auction house, namely Art Bull. The name was perfect for a bullish art market of the 2000s. But the glitch was this: Siddharth Tagore was not bullish. Nor was he bearish. He was cherubic, complete with a benign smile on his face and a burning cigarette between his fingers. Whenever I came out after having a meeting with him, I would ask myself, was he cut for this business?&nbsp;Tagore could have been a poet and dreamer like his internationally renowned namesake of yesteryears.. After the pandemic period I met Tagore after a gap of four years at the Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre where Art Konsult had organized a group exhibition. After the inaugural function, I shook hands with him and I realized that his hands had lost the firm grip though the warmth remained. “I have not been keeping well,” he told me.&nbsp;<div class="gallery galleryid-31051 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-full" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:30px -8.96875px 0px;padding:0px;" id="gallery-1"><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg" alt="c-768x993.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 387w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 580w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg" alt="b-768x985.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 122w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 390w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 585w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/a_7888f94e4b.jpg" alt="a.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 385w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 577w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure></div>Then on another occasion, at the same gallery, I met him again, this time without the crowd. He preferred to wear a pair of fading blue jeans and white shirt, a reminder of those romantic 1970s when every youth in West Bengal dreamt of poetry, love and revolution. Jeans and Shirt were the uniform of love and revolution. I think, when Tagore came to Delhi as a young man, he carried those qualities along, plus his sense of dressing. Lovers in those days smoked rather constantly and drank Old Monk Rum.&nbsp;On that day when I met him, Tagore told me that he had quit smoking, which was news to me. I couldn’t have imagined the man without a cigarette between his fingers or at least a packet of cigarettes to fuss with. I understood the gravity of the situation.&nbsp;Then again, we met when Praveen Upadhyay of the Progressive Gallery at Laddo Sarai organized a talk session with art professionals that included Tagore, Prayag Shukla, Vinod Bharadwaj and myself. Tagore was supposed to talk about the art market. When the mike was handed over to him, he fussed with it for a while and said that he always wanted to make it big by promoting young artists, but somehow, he never made huge business.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:689px;" id="attachment_31054" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31054"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg" alt="7-768x511.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 235w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31054">Siddharth speaking to the media at Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>Then I remembered Tagore telling the same during the market boom years that lasted in India for around ten years starting from 2005 to 2015. In 2008, the world market had collapsed, but the Indian art market using its cunning and reserve withstood the pressures and dragged the impending failure for a few more years only to revive itself by the beginning of the third decade of the new millennium.&nbsp;Had Tagore acquired a penchant for failure despite his resilience in running a gallery, publications and an auction house for over three and a half decades ? Did he enjoy calling himself a failure in the art market? Was he romantically involved with the idea of failure even when he kept others who were with him in the business, floating? I don’t know for sure. But Tagore remained grounded and rooted; he tried his best to keep himself away from the nefarious market practices.&nbsp;There were a few people who stood with Tagore in his highs and lows (lows that lasted for not some months but for years together), never deserting him, following his orders. Prashant Seal and Rajula Bisht are two people I remember. These two people have been so close to his heart and even after his twin daughters joining him in the business, both Seal and Bisht never lost their position as the confidantes of Tagore. He loved them like family.&nbsp;I met Siddharth Tagore in 1995. He had started Art Konsult in Hauz Khas Village. Meena Tagore (now Meena Varma) was with him then. Late Vijayan Kannanpally was the editor of Art and Deal. With the growth of art scene, Tagore’s gallery also grew in stature. Art Konsult was one of the few A listed galleries in the city. Tagore took it to South Delhi’s art district, Laddo Sarai during the boom years and later relocated it to Hauz Khas again.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:562px;" id="attachment_31055" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31055"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg" alt="0-768x512.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31055">Siddharth Tagore with art critic and curator Jyoti A Kathpalia at the Art Konsult, New Delhi</figcaption></figure>It was in his Laddo Sarai phase that I joined him as the Editor of Art and Deal. It was the same when he decided to start Art Bull and Travel and Deal. I brought out around ten issues of Art and Deal between 2010 and 2013, with a gap in 2012 when I joined the United Art Logistics to establish the United Art Fair. Tagore literally lent me to the other organization with a promise that I could walk into the editor’s office at any time that I wanted. And I did go back.&nbsp;As a part of Tagore’s team, he gave me full freedom to edit the magazine and curate exhibitions. I curated a few shows and introduced a few new artists of which some are very reckonable names in today’s art scene. The exhibition ‘Merging/Submerging’ was a showcasing of contemporary photography art and ‘R.A.P.E’ (Rare Acts of Political Engagement), an all-woman show responding to the brutal murder of Nirbhaya in Delhi. This exhibition was a super hit and was discussed in all the print and television media. Art Bull did do a couple of exhibitions and auctions. I did not take much interest in it though Tagore hoped that his auction house could change the scenario and also break certain monopolies. Tagore also initiated an Art History Lecture series which I conducted on his behalf.&nbsp;Siddharth Tagore remained true to his calling. With a kind of detachment, he sponsored exhibitions that he knew well, would not bring any business. He was an avid collector of folk and tribal art and together with Meena Varma, he initiated an organization called ‘Art of the Earth’ for promoting the folk and tribal art of India, much before the ‘folkploitation’ of today’s art market became rampant. Tagore helped whoever came to him with a request for an exhibition or an immediate financial relief. &nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_31053" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31053"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg" alt="3-e1734762508660-669x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 102w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 327w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 490w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 653w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31053">Siddharth Tagore signing the <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://amzn.in/d/4TijcgO">book</a> “Ganika- In the visual culture of the 19th-20th Century India” at the Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg" alt="4-560x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 85w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 273w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 410w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 547w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">When artists in Calcutta packed their wares and set out for Delhi, they knew Siddharth Tagore was there if nothing else worked (perhaps he was their primary destination), along with cigarettes and Old Monk Rum. He never discouraged the people who came to him with a clear intention to exploit. He was not cautious about relationships that brought him a fair amount of heartburn. As I said elsewhere, Tagore was a poet in his heart, with a heart ready to bleed for love and art.</div></div>

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