Ground Reality

Caught in cleft stick of CPM and Trinamool Congress, Ace strategists of the Grand old party, having only 45 members in the Lower house of the Indian Parliament are mulling over its strategy for the forthcoming  State Assembly polls in the West Bengal. Communist party of India (CPM) ,fresh from the party’s plenum in its old citadel WB,is holding two days meeting of the party’s central committee in the National capital on Feb 16 and 17 to frame its poll strategy in tune   with the W.B state committee meeting recommendations in Kolkata .  The state   committee will send its proposals about the Political-Tactical line ( P-TL) to the Central committee and on those recommendations , top heads of the Red brigade will have   brain storming session to crystallize its strategy. The P-TL approach was approved in the Vishakhapatnam Congress of Party and it was under discussions at plenum, held after more than three decades.   Knowing fully well that th...

Ground Reality : Amit Shah dons BJP Chief's Tiara embedded with Je... : : As the Prime Minister Narendra Modi marches ahead pushing Indian   government's flag ship programmes,grabbling plethora of ...

: As the Prime Minister Narendra Modi marches ahead pushing Indian   government's flag ship programmes,grabbling plethora of challenges from opponents outside and within the organisation,Role of newly anointed full term President of the Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Amit Shah has become more crucial to increase party’s hold in states.He has to bridle fringe elements, having propensity of destroying all good-will with strokes  of intolerance.  As a President Shah hands are full with state assemblies polls in ten states & UT in next two years, and party’s performance in the poll bound swathes will empower  the central government at least in public perceptions and investors’ confidence in the Modi’s Rule. In a way ,success of flagship programmes is also linked with BJP’s performance at the hustings as nothing can be pursued in isolation in a federal state. Cooperative federalism is the essence of the success. Till next elections ...

   A compulsive scramble has ensued in India among those in game of power politics.For every one holding reins or in race to grab one –may be in Delhi or states, time is fleeting out at a faster pace than they anticipate. It is the Urgency like situation.If some one wishes to sail afloat in political space- one has to  deliver on platforms of development and over all governance –mainly corruption and price line.Other factors like caste and communal lines are subtly taking a back seat though last ditch attempts are always made to keep the twin issue alive even at the cost of collateral loss to the society and public property. The Twin realities exist but are losing its bite some where. The duo can brighten prospects rather than playing sheet anchor role as it used to be in pre-2014 era.       Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in tearing hurry to see that his growth agenda gets translated into a reality within a stipulated period o...

In a recent visit to Mexico formula one racer  Lewis Hamilton was in for an adventure of different kind. He kindled  with White Tiger Lewis. Hamilton posted videos on Instagram and those went viral. Other day,a sweet Big cat entered my e –mail inbox and that too was white.    It was a white Lion which was in Thailand, and my daughter was playing with it. It sent chill down my spine but the Royal beast keeper ekes out bread by giving opportunity to tourists to have pictures with roaring animal .. Lewis had an encounter with White Tiger when visited a NGO which houses tigers. He played with his namesake Lewis the Tiger. In his videos, he was seen playing with the tiger and for a moment he lost his balance when the playful animal put his paws on his body. White Lions and white tigers devour good space on both print and digital platforms whenever they make appearance.  In the National Capital of India, New Delhi, A White tiger Vijay who h...

A decade ago ,A Hindi film Omkara , directed by Vishal Bhardwaj,made buzz among cinema buffs , every ingredient of the spelling stuff was appreciated –characters, directions, dialogues, photography ,but no one  knew much about  the 45 year  man behind the camera to catch action of the crime thriller. The Film based on legendary writer Shakespeare’s  much acclaimed piece “Othello”,but now a days, cool climes of Bijebehara reverberate with Omkara and its Cinematographer Tassaduq Hussain Mufti. Lost in his father’s profound memories ,Tassaduq is seen with her sister Mehbooba Mufti  ,almost all time ever since they lost Father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed ,but now tongues wag fervently that  he would say good bye to his Bollyood stint to be in politics. Lot of churning is underway in the Kashmir valley and speculations are rife when the People’s Democratic party (PDP) chief and Aanatnag MP will step into her father’s shoes to don the mantle of the Jammu a...

   Politics in Bengali speaking West Bengal is witnessing shrewd games ahead of the State Assembly polls due in a few months. Common refrain among voters is to retain  the incumbent government headed by  Trinamool  Congress (TC) chief Mamata Bannerjee,but mind boggling politics in the place like WB can’t  be defined in so easy terms.  Voters are highly sensitive and enlightened as well.For every penny spent , they are particular and a recent visit to the state revealed that they are cut up with shooting prices of eatables –mainly yellow mustard oil. A state government driver told me that the oil was getting costly  unnecessarily and asked who should be blamed, and then answering himself –“definitely not Didi(Mamata) but the center ,which,he said, could not check spiraling prices of Arahar dal even now “. He proudly pointed from the speeding vehicle towards the new building where CM works and said she was working very hard to bring the state...

 It  was a decision fraught with dangers. It could have brought him and his men on the ground, scripting his political obituary. But displaying steel nerves the team Kejriwal was on the batting crease to take on bouncers from all corners.   On the last day of the fortnight long car rationing plan in one of the most polluted cities of the world the skipper and his team had a last Hurrah with support of Aam Admi. Cutting across social and official barriers millions of people boarded public transport much to chagrin of the world.    Over fifty three lakh commuters boarded city buses daily and situation in metro trains was equally baffling more than twenty lakh people swapped cards and sunk tokens at entry and exit gates.     It looked that it was a world record that about seventy lakh people used public transport daily.       Pollution Meters may have not sounded very encouraging but fact of the matter is that plan worked. Traff...

Bugles for forthcoming State Assembly polls in Punjab state in 2017 were trumpeted at Maghi fair in the village Muktsar  in the Agrarian state of Northern India this week.  Much to surprise of many,politically fledging outfit of  Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made ripples by drawing maximum crowd in its Pandal.The Ruling Shiromani  Akali Dal (SAD) and its arch Rival Congress observed the developing situation ,and their leaders cautioned  people to be cautious of “Topi-Walas”.  AAP workers ,who visualize Punjab throne in their striking range,generally sport  white Gandhian caps and contest on plank of anti-corruption stances. Many of them were wearing green and pink mufflers. After emerging victorious in the Delhi Assembly  polls in 2014 which was the year of Narendra Modi who had swept the general Elections, AAP’s  eyes are riveted towards Punbjab.They had won  67 seats out of 70 seats in the Qusai-State Assembly in the ...

On way to Indira Gandhi Air port in the National Capital to receive wife ,my driver started discussing fish business in Hindi heart land state of Bihar where fish production was many times higher this year due to sufficient water in village fish ponds courtesy rains and gushing water in rivers too. I was in tearing hurry to reach air port to receive my wife and sister who were landing from different destinations at the same time. Discussions on fish veered around good omens like touching fish and Curd , eating sweets,  vermillion tilak on forehead.The Driver from Bihar quoting traditions said ,when you proceed for good work , “Dahi –Machali”  (Curd and Fish) chant  give positive results (No scientific explanation is available to such sayings but people follow such practices for hundreds of years as a blind faith). I was sucked into thoughts as he , after parking car on road side, was blurting out directions on mobile  to his wife for p...

The upcoming Lion Safari in Etawah is faced with a gigantic challenge of ensuring survival of the Endangered Asiatic Lions.The death of translocated  lions and their five cubs has ripped open chinks in the Park,'s management which should not lose the rare animals so easily    Sudden death of A lioness Tapsaya  this week after developing infection within  week of arriving there from Junagadh has jolted the state government driving  it to realize the gravity of situation.    Total 523 Asiatic Lions are left in the   World and India is its only home globally.The African Lions have already been put on the red list.     The Etawah Safari was given three Lions last week by Gujarat. While Tapsaya died of tick and worm disease, two others Pataudi and Jessica have been moved to breeding centre.At least half a dozen Lions are already there. Authorities feel that breeding programme would be a success     Unfortunately, fiv...

Even as prospects of foreign secretary level talks between India and Pakistan hang in balance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has noted with satisfaction that the decision making and its execution , the considerations  that into the tactical response to the terrorists attack at the Pathankot air base.    His tweet soon after the visit to  the Ground Zero  hailed valiant efforts put up by men and women on the ground  to thwart the attack .Seven security personnel were killed in the operations ,which according to many security experts, had lost precious  moments despite proper inputs of imminent strike in wake of fast unfolding developments including alleged kidnapping of the SP police. He also noted the coordination among field units.   The former national security adviser MK Narayanan was candid in his criticism and questioned rationality of talks. He wants. Pakistan to arrest Azhar Masood .he has lent his voice to the growing crit...