Mann Na Mann
There’s a personal connect that ITV Network (India News, NewsX, The Sunday Guardian) has with the new Punjab Chief Minister. It was way back in 2009 that Bhagwant Mann debuted on one of our channels when he was given his own show—Mann Na Mann on India News.
And now he’s back again on all the television screens, as a very popular Mehmaan (guest).
The Last Laugh
After the five Assembly results the BJP is certainly having the last laugh over its rivals, especially the Congress, which could not even retain Punjab, a state where the BJP is not a player. But the one whose words are coming all too true is former Prime MinisterAtal Behari Vajpayee. When his government fell in 1998 by one vote thanks to the Congress supporting Jayalalitha’s plans to destabilise his coalition he had prophesied that one day a similar fate would befall his rivals. He had said then “Today my government has fallen because of one vote and the Congress is taking pleasure in this. But the Congress should mark my words, for there will come a day when there will be BJP governments all over India and the entire country will be laughing at the Congress.” Clearly, the postscript to Vajpayee’s prophecy was added on 10 March this year, by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the BJP swept four of the five Assembly polls under his leadership.
The Yogi Magic
Ever since the BJP swept Uttar Pradesh under Yogi Adityanath’s chief ministership there has been speculation regarding the Yogi-Modi equation. While it is no one’s case the Yogi’s stature now equals that of Modi, the win has certainly put the UP Chief Minister way above the rest of the second rung of BJP leaders. There is even speculation as to whether his new Cabinet will be decided from New Delhi or if he will be given a free hand to choose his own team. Will the Modi protege A.K. Sharma be made Deputy Chief Minister, as was being speculated before the polls? These are some of the questions that will be answered in the coming days as Yogi gets set to be sworn in once again as UP Chief Minister.
The Quick Retort
It was interesting to see two former Congress leaders turned BJP netas on election day. Both R.P.N. Singh and Jitin Prasada must have been relieved to note that they had made the right choice in joining the BJP, for the Congress has scored even lower than the last round of elections, getting only two seats (it had got 7 seats in 2017). When talking to NewsX, RPN was asked how it felt facing the cameras on a winning note. He smiled and shot back that even while he was in the Congress, his last interaction was on a winning note—from Jharkhand (he was the state incharge when the Congress- JMM alliance won the state in December 2019). Interestingly, the BJP won in all the segments of both Jitin and RPN’s constituencies. Wonder what the Congress has to say about that!
Winning with Grace
While the BJP has reason to be chuffed with its staggering electoral wins, the icing on the cake is to see the party MLAs and leaders being graceful in their win. I had occasion to see Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane (the outgoing Goa Health Minister who has retained his seat in these polls) on NewsX where he shared screen space with an AAP MLA from Punjab. Not only did Rane congratulate his co-panellist but he also congratulated the opposition MLAs who had won from Goa, for every seat signifies a democratic sentiment. As the then Health Minister, Rane was in the limelight during Covid,especially since Goa became the Go-Too destination for Delhiites, but it was interesting to hear his take on reviving the state’s industry and tourism. One wonders where he is headed next.