POLITICS

Dharmendra Pradhan is the silent architect of BJP’s Haryana victory?

The architect of the BJP's historic third victory in Haryana, Dharmendra Pradhan, is anything but flamboyant. He was also assigned the elections in Uttarakhand in 2017, Uttar Pradesh in 2022. His long-term project was home state Odisha, which the BJP won this year. For over a month, he did not budge from the Haryana, setting up camps at Rohtak, Kurukshetra and Panchkula. He kept an ear to the ground - listening to party workers and leaders and liaising on their behalf with the Central leadership. He enthused workers, demystified the Congress campaign and helped with the candidate selection. He would go to ground zero and hold small meetings. He would take real time feedback from the workers and inform the leadership and rectify the shortcomings immediately. He also pacified the angry people in Haryana, identified the weak booths and adopted strong workers from other parties.

Why there is noticeable hesitation in Mahayuti Alliance in declaring CM face?

 Maharashtra Assembly Elections are around the corner. However, the ruling Mahayuti Alliance in the state, comprising Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), BJP, and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), is yet to announce its CM face. While the alliance has confirmed that the elections will be led by current Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, there’s noticeable hesitation in officially naming him the Chief Ministerial candidate. Instead, Mahayuti is pressing the opposition Mahavikas Aghadi (MVA) to declare their CM nominee, while strategically delaying the formal announcement of Shinde as their candidate for the top post. This has left political analysts questioning why Shinde, a clear frontrunner, has not yet been officially declared. Mahayuti’s leadership seems intent on ensuring that all factions within the alliance feel they have a role in post-election decisions, which helps maintain cohesion and unity.

Ex-Kerala DGP, Sreelekha is now card-carrying Member of BJP

R Sreelekha, former DGP of Kerala, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the State unit. She is a 1987 batch retired IPS officer of Kerala cadre.