Is there a hidden message in the recent handshake between Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq in Bangladesh? This question has been circulating in the political, diplomatic, and even cricketing circles, especially after the Indian cricket team refused to shake hands with their Pakistani counterparts during the Asia Cup tournament. Jaishankar and Sadiq’s meeting was interesting. Both were in Dhaka to attend the funeral of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. After the ceremony, Jaishankar was seen approaching Sadiq. They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes. What they discussed is a matter between them, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval are likely aware of it. But this handshake and brief conversation have caused a stir in New Delhi and perhaps Islamabad as well. Are these signs of a possible improvement in India’s relations with Pakistan? Does this mean that Indian cricketers can now shake hands with Pakistani cricketers after matches? It’s worth noting that Pakistan was deeply angered by the Indian cricket team’s behavior in Dubai, and its cricket board even filed a complaint with the ICC, stating that it violated cricket rules and traditions. The next few months will reveal whether the handshake in Dhaka was merely a courtesy exchange or whether there was more to it. With the Punjab Assembly elections approaching, dinosaurs have become the subject of political conflict between the Aam Aadmi Party and the Akali Dal. The elections are scheduled for January 2027, but the battle has already begun. The use of dinosaurs in this narrative began when Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann taunted the Akali Dal, saying that dinosaurs may return to Punjab, but not the Akalis. Building on this sentiment, the Akali Dal has launched a full-fledged meme campaign against the AAP, using dinosaurs as the central theme. “Wait and watch, both dinosaurs and Akalis will return to Punjab. Handle them if you can,” is one of the popular slogans. The Akali Dal has also released an AI-generated video showing Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal walking with a dinosaur, holding a placard that reads 2027. Assembly elections will be held that year, and Punjab will elect its next government. Will the Akali Dal be able to bounce back from Jurassic Park?
BJP will now bet on Dilip Ghosh in Bengal.
After unsuccessfully experimenting with Trinamool Congress rebels like Suvendu Adhikari and Arjun Singh to make inroads into West Bengal, the BJP is approaching veteran state leader Dilip Ghosh for better fortunes in the upcoming assembly elections. Dilip Ghosh was sent to the Lok Sabha to clear the ground for Adhikari and his company to establish the BJP as a force in West Bengal. However, the former TMC leader has not been successful. Apparently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the party’s chief election strategist, recently held a closed-door meeting with Ghosh in Kolkata. The purpose was to persuade Ghosh to take a more active role in the election campaign so that the BJP could avoid a fourth consecutive defeat at the hands of Mamata Banerjee and the TMC.
Shah is believed to have asked him to join hands with the party’s newly appointed state chief, Samik Bhattacharya, and hold rallies in all 42 Lok Sabha seats. Ghosh is a veteran BJP leader, but he has not been very successful in winning Bengal for his party. TMC members mock him by mocking his spoken Bengali. They say Ghosh speaks Hindi better than Bengali, which confirms the BJP’s image as an “outsider.”
A man in Maharashtra switched
parties three times in a week to secure a ticket for the upcoming municipal elections in Thane, Maharashtra. Mayur Shinde was until recently a member of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde. When it became clear that he would not receive the party’s nomination to contest the Thane elections, he joined the BJP. Unfortunately, he failed to secure a nomination there either. On the eve of the last day for filing nominations, he switched to Ajit Pawar’s NCP and managed to secure a ticket. The primary reason for the first rejection is his criminal record. He faces serious criminal charges, including murder, and was also booked under the notorious Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act. Apparently, this background did not worry the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, who happily granted him the ticket.
