Dream to win

The dream of the Union home minister, Amit Shah, is to see the Bharatiya Janata Party in power, from panchayat to Parliament, for the next five decades. As the BJP president during Narendra Modi’s first term, Shah had repeatedly urged party workers to dedicate themselves to this long-term vision. Bihar holds a special place in that dream. Shah has not forgotten the setback the BJP suffered in the state under his leadership in 2015, when the socialist stalwarts, Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar, joined hands to thwart the BJP’s bid for power. More than the defeat itself, it is Kumar’s betrayal — his decision to abandon the BJP and ally with the Rashtriya Janata Dal — that continues to rankle Shah, according to those close to him. Kumar is back in the National Democratic Alliance fold but the aspiration of a solo BJP rule remains unfulfilled. As Bihar heads for another election, Shah appears determined to leave no stone unturned to turn his dream into a reality. He is not only steering the strategising behind closed doors but also leading from the front on the campaign trail. While Modi launched his campaign with two rallies on Friday, Shah matched his pace — addressing two the same day and three more on Saturday without a pause.

Long wait

Canvassing for the Nuapada assembly bypoll in west Odisha is in full swing. But the Biju Janata Dal, the main party in the Opposition, which is fighting to retain the seat, is yet to field its top leader and former chief minister, Naveen Patnaik, to campaign for its candidate, Snehangini Chhuria. Even though media reports suggest that Patnaik will be visiting the constituency soon, the delay is making both party leaders and the people of Nuapada impatient.

Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Supremo Naveen Patnaik during a public meeting for Lok Sabha elections, in Kendrapara, Monday, May 27, 2024.

On the other hand, Mohan Charan Majhi, the Odisha CM, has already visited the constituency twice. The Nuapada bypoll is the first litmus test of the Majhi government. The Congress, too, is pulling out all the stops to improve the prospects of its candidate. BJD loyalists are beginning to wonder whether Patnaik, who is currently not in the best of his health, will hit the campaign trail at all.

Treasure hunt

The special investigation team of the Kerala Police probing the gold theft in the Sabarimala temple has reached Karnataka to retrieve the stolen gold. The team has taken along the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potty, to Bengaluru where he had allegedly sold the stolen gold to a local gold trader. The missing gold has been identified at Ballari.

Potty apparently received the gold-clad plates of the dwarapalakas for electroplating from the Travancore Devaswom Board in 2019. He then took it to various temples and also to the home of the actor, Jayaram, where he amassed huge funds by exhibiting the Sabarimala temple’s assets without the authorities’ authorisation. The grapevine has it that Vijay Mallya, the former chairman of the United Breweries Group, would have demanded the TDB to return 32 kilogrammes of gold and 1,900 kg of copper that he had offered to the Ayyappa shrine in 1998, had he not been a fugitive and living in exile in London.

For diversion

The Assam cabinet recently approved the tabling of the report of the T.D. Tiwari Commission, which had probed the 1983 Nellie massacre, in the upcoming November session of the assembly. Over 1,800 people died in the massacre, mostly Muslims of Bengali-origin. The decision of the BJP-led government to table the report, 41 years after its submission, left most surprised. The Commission was constituted by the then Congress government. The Assam CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said that the report could not be tabled because it did not have Tiwari’s signature. There were three copies of the report. After forensic analysis and discussions with those associated with the Commission, it was established that the report was genuine, he asserted.

However, questions abound regarding the timing of the decision. It came amid the widespread demand for justice for the late singer-composer, Zubeen Garg, and in
the run-up to the assembly polls next year. The government’s claim to ensure justice for Garg has apparently failed to convince the public. Many believe that the release of the report at this juncture is a diversionary tactic.

Evasive tactic

The director-general of the Border Security Forces, Daljit Singh Chawdhary, evaded questions on whether Opposition leaders were invited to and whether local tribes will participate in the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas celebrations at Sardar Patel’s statue near Kevadia in Gujarat on October 31. The event on the banks of the Narmada, populated mainly by the Bhil tribe, is being managed by the BSF this year. At a press meet, Chawdhary replied that “other important guests have been invited,” and that “everyone is involved…”