Single blot
The outgoing Bharatiya Janata Party president, JP Nadda, may well have been the party’s luckiest chief. He enjoyed a full three-year term — from January 2023 to January 2026 — after securing an extension beyond his original tenure, which had ended in January 2023. Nadda, who succeeded Amit Shah in January 2020, benefited from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and a prolonged tussle with the BJP’s ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, allowing him to continue in office. Under his leadership, the BJP retained its dominance in the Hindi heartland and expanded its footprint in eastern India. However, the party’s failure to secure a majority on its own in the 2024 general elections remains a blot on his record. That unease surfaced last week when he stepped aside to make way for the younger Nitin Nabin. Addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters, Nadda conceded that the Lok Sabha results had “surprised both the party and the public”. He argued that voters’ disappointment subsequently gave way to renewed support for the prime minister, Narendra Modi, in the assembly election victories in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi. Yet, sections within the party questioned his silence on his controversial remarks against the RSS ahead of the elections — remarks widely seen as contributing to the electoral setback. In an interview at the time, Nadda had said that the BJP had become self-reliant and no longer needed the RSS’s support.
Shakespearean tragedy
The election scene is heating up in Assam. Over the past few days, the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president, Gaurav Gogoi, has been targeting the chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, in rallies organised to galvanise the party’s foot soldiers. He has been asking one specific question: who is Himanta Biswa Sarma? He then goes back in time to come up with the answer. Sarma is the man who stabbed his father, the late CM, Tarun Gogoi, in the back, he claims. Tarun Gogoi treated Sarma like a son, protected and supported him, but was ultimately betrayed, something the late CM regretted, Gogoi junior alleged, his claim having a similar ring to the betrayal of Julius Caesar by his close friend, Brutus. Sarma also betrayed Sarbananda Sonowal, the man whom he replaced as CM in 2021, Gogoi adds to amplify his charge.
Once a blue-eyed boy of Gogoi Senior, Sarma left the Congress to join the BJP in 2015 following ‘irreconcilable differences’ with Tarun Gogoi. Observers said it will be interesting to see how Sarma responds to this ‘Et tu, Brute’ moment in Assam politics once he is back from his Davos trip. They are, however, sure the attacks and counter-attacks will get increasingly personal in the run-up to the polls, which is set to revolve around these two leaders.
Words that soothe
At a time when the Mohan Charan Majhi government is under the scanner for attacks on minorities in Odisha — the most recent being the assault on a pastor in Dhenkanal district by alleged Hindu fanatics — the praise by the vice-president, CP Radhakrishnan, of governance in Odisha has served as a balm for the state government. The VP praised the Majhi government for its good governance while attending the Parakram Diwas celebrations at the Netaji Birthplace Museum in Cuttack on the 129th birth anniversary of Bose. He praised the state government for its focused efforts towards tribal as well as sustained infrastructure development. He said that with continued good governance, Odisha would emerge as one of the leading states in the country. Majhi’s supporters are elated after the VP’s certificate to him at this juncture when the focus of the nation is on the state as well as on Majhi. It has been alleged that Majhi’s soft approach towards Hindu fanatics is responsible for the attacks on minorities in Odisha.
Merry
flight
The Tata-owned airline, Air
India, is all set to welcome its international destination flyers by pouring tequila, classic wines, innovative, new‑world labels, and rare, aged
spirits into crystal glasses, adding
a touch of classic elegance to the
onboard experience. In a category-first for Indian aviation, Air
India now serves tequila onboard, featuring 1800 Reserva Añejo from Mexico. The collection also includes India’s celebrated Rampur Double Cask single malt. Apart from this, under the ‘Regional Wine Programme’, the airline would also offer a true taste of the destination one is flying to. For these redefined collections, cabin crew have undergone specialised sommelier-style training to guide guests through
personalised recommendations
during their journey to an international destination.