Inside Track by Coomi Kapoor | Knock-out clout

In the past year, Singh has questioned some UP government’s actions and the state administration has turned uncooperative towards some of his supporters. (Express Photo)

Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s extraordinary clout stems from his direct links with the party high command in Delhi which has used his services in the past to liaise with politicians from other parties who share a common interest in wrestling.

Written by Coomi Kapoor 

Wrestling federation president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh may be a power to reckon with in parts of UP, including Gonda, Balrampur, Bahraich and Shravasti, but contrary to popular assumption, he is not backed by Yogi Adityanath. In the past year, Singh has questioned some UP government’s actions and the state administration has turned uncooperative towards some of his supporters. Singh’s extraordinary clout stems from his direct links with the party high command in Delhi which has used his services in the past to liaise with politicians from other parties who share a common interest in wrestling. This includes SP’s Akhilesh Yadav.

In the 2022 Goa Assembly elections, unsure whether the BJP would score an outright victory, Shah had requested Singh to fly to Goa to use his influence with three potential winning candidates who were not in the BJP but, being a part of the wrestling circuit, were friendly with him.

A Pawar-ful Coup

The Pawar family’s body language during Sharad Pawar’s dramatic resignation announcement this week told the whole story. The patriarch looked completely in control, with his wife Pratibha, who plays an important role behind the scenes, by his side. Nephew Ajit Pawar, who had assumed that he would be his uncle’s successor, appeared rattled and sought to silence workers who were demanding Pawar not resign.

Daughter Supriya looked smug as she gesticulated to senior leader Jayant Patil to join her and Ajit in the front row. By Friday Pawar had agreed to take back his resignation after the outcry in the party. Even if he had not stepped down, Pawar would have ensured that he remained the effective boss by dividing the leadership role among Supriya, Ajit and Jayant.

Pawar’s resignation should be seen in the context of recent developments. Home Minister Amit Shah visited Mumbai thrice last month and gave a dressing down to the Eknath Shinde-led Sena members. Surveys indicate that though Shinde has the majority of legislators, Uddhav Thackeray still retains the loyalty of party workers. Shah told the Shinde Sena MLAs to tour their constituencies and not sit in Mumbai. The smarting Shinde faction retaliated by threatening the BJP that if Ajit joined the alliance, as speculated in the media, it would pull out. Pawar — aware that Ajit, as well as close lieutenants Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare are pushing for a tie-up with the BJP to prevent the ED and the CBI from registering cases against them — pulled a rabbit out of his hat.

Untimely event

Indian embassies were directed to ensure that PM Narendra Modi’s 100th episode of Mann ki Baat should be relayed live in their respective regions with a large audience and that VIPs should be persuaded to attend. But the mandarins in South Block did not take into account the problems of streaming live in different time zones.

For instance, at India House in London, the function was at 6.30 am. Singer Raageshwari, when interviewed, gushed, “Waking up at 4 in the morning, getting ready and coming here absolutely fruitful.” Some suspected a tinge of sarcasm in her remark. The Permanent Mission in New York held the event at the UN Trusteeship Council with much fanfare. Mission employees were ordered to fill empty chairs at the function, which was conducted past midnight. In Africa’s Eswatini, an official photograph showed a family of three, including an infant in arms, listening to the show.

Ungracious Politics

The grand old man of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, was cremated at Lambi village in Muktsar district with full state honours. BJP president J P Nadda and senior leaders from many parties paid homage. Badal’s son Sukhbir Singh Badal, who lit the pyre, commented bitterly to a relative that politics was a cruel business. Many of those who had much to thank the Akali Dal for were missing. Just a few thousand attended the funeral. Sukhbir observed that if the Akali Dal had been in power, lakhs would have shown up.

Video wars

The bitter campaign war in Karnataka often hits below the belt. For instance, the BJP was busy tweeting two videos of Congress leader D K Shivkumar’s door-to-door campaign, giving them a mischievous interpretation. In one, Shivkumar is seen distributing Rs 500 notes to the crowd. He has explained that he was, in fact, offering donations to a religious procession moving alongside his truck. In the other video, Shivkumar is seen lurching, unable to hold himself erect during a padayatra, as his followers try to block the camera person. Shivkumar explained that he was certainly not tipsy, but suffering from low blood pressure. A party leader suggested tartly that he should eat ice cream at the end of the day to combat low blood-sugar levels.

© The Indian Express (P) Ltd

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