Highs & lows

Not many Bharatiya Janata Party heavyweights sat out the 2026 Bengal assembly elections. The saffron party used almost everyone in its arsenal for campaigning in the state. A few names were missing though; none quite knows why. One absence that stood out was that of Rajiv Pratap Rudy. The four-term member of the Lok Sabha from Saran, Bihar, who is also a licensed pilot, could have been useful as Bengal has a sizeable Bihari voter base. Yet Rudy was not deployed. Whether it was a deliberate decision or an oversight remains unclear. After all, not many MPs double up as commercial pilots. Rudy does. His bio on X mentions: “Capt Airbus”. On April 30, a day after polling in Bengal ended, Captain Rudy flew an Indigo aircraft from Jammu to Delhi. On board were his colleagues from the government and Parliament, including the railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and the minister of state for science and technology, Jitendra Singh. Most of them had just returned from the Bengal campaign trail and had to rush to Jammu for an official event. A former minister flying serving ministers is not a usual event. Rudy stepped out to greet them, saying it was a privilege. Singh returned the courtesy on X, calling it a privilege to be flown by “dear friend”, “esteemed senior” and “accomplished pilot”. Whether those words comforted Rudy — now regarded by many as operating on the margins of the current regime — is anyone’s guess.

On the back foot

The news of a tribal man from Keonjhar, the home turf of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, carrying his sister’s skeletal remains to the bank to withdraw money deposited in her name has put the BJP government on the back foot. The Majhi government, which has sought to project itself as a champion of women’s causes, had convened a special session of the assembly on April 30 to corner the Opposition following the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 in Parliament. The government also ensured that the assembly gallery was filled with women supporters of the BJP.

The House debated women’s issues for nearly 12 hours but failed to reach any substantial conclusion. Instead, the former CM, Naveen Patnaik, seized the opportunity to corner the Majhi government. Calling the episode “shameful”, Patnaik said that Odisha’s “head hangs in shame”. He added that the Majhi government had no moral ground to speak about women’s dignity when such an incident had taken place in the CM’s own district, reflecting what Patnaik called the “shocking state of affairs” in Odisha.

Hot topic

The Congress has latched onto the Supreme Court order granting anticipatory bail to its party leader, Pawan Khera, in connection with the case registered by the Assam Police for going after the CM, Himanta Biswa Sarma. The case is based on a complaint filed by Sarma’s wife over Khera’s allegations that she holds multiple passports.

The Congress is especially harping on the SC’s observation about the “unparliamentary remarks” that Sarma made against Khera for going after his wife. The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president, Gaurav Gogoi, has criticised Sarma’s conduct, while claiming that “… Assam has had to suffer his corruption and intimidation for the last five years”.

Sarma too has hit out at the Congress, asserting “this is just the beginning, not the end”. Going by the reaction and counter-reaction, it is clear that things will only heat up after the results of the state assembly polls are declared on May 4.

Swift escape

The Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab has been criticised by its opponents for misusing the state police to go after its political adversaries and
the press. This strategy, which mirrors the Centre’s alleged use of investigative agencies, is said to have been pushed by its former MP, Sandeep Pathak, who recently switched from the AAP to the BJP.

On Saturday, Pathak made a dramatic escape just before an expected
visit by the Punjab police at his Delhi residence to investigate two FIRs under non-bailable sections against him. He was seen by the TV crews fleeing in an SUV through an alley behind his Pandara Park home. Before leaving, Pathak lashed out at a TV camera, saying, “If any action has been initiated against someone like me, it only shows how scared they are.”