ASSEMBLY POLLS being fought on presidential lines. When one central figure hogs the limelight, conversations around policy and politics fade into the background. When Senior Assistant Editor Pratul Sharma suggested the theme and sketched out the outline, it all suddenly made sense.
In West Bengal it is Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam. In Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is the central figure and the Left Democratic Front’s hoardings in Kerala mostly feature Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
While Pratul has written the main article, Senior Correspondent Nirmal Jovial has interviewed Pinarayi. Chief of Bureau (Chennai) Lakshmi Subramanian and Special Correspondent Prema Rajaram contributed to the cover story. Elsewhere, Senior Special Correspondent Kanu Sarda looks at freebies and the balancing act between welfare obligations and fiscal responsibility.
It is not all politics, I promise. Deputy News Editor Navin J. Antony looks at how the Indian liquor market will be impacted as trade barriers disappear. And, former India pacer Varun Aaron appears on CEAT Beyond the Scoreboard this week. THE WEEK had a medical technology event in Delhi last week, partnering with Helmier. My special thanks to the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh, and the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilisers Anupriya Patel, for their insightful address.
Another interesting article is by Chief of Bureau (Mumbai) Dnyanesh Jathar on Maharashtra ADGP Aswati Dorje’s team that reunites missing women and children with their families. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had tasked Aswati with this duty, and now every police station in the state has a nodal staff member to handle cases of missing people. Aswati is the daughter of legendary filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. To desire a baby and not to be blessed with one is a pain that cuts deep. To lose one’s baby is a deeper pain.
As the discussion on political personalities is ongoing, Kerala witnessed a parallel conversation early this week. Former minister Dr M.K. Muneer, who represents Koduvally in the Kerala Assembly, confessed to the media that he stood to lose his house which was collateral for a home loan. A doctor, Muneer gracefully said that the liability was personal and that it would be unfair to ask his party—the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML)—to step in and save him.
Muneer had only recently recovered from a grave illness triggered by a cardiac condition. Considering his sensitive health, the IUML had kept him out of the current polls. But his financial situation brought Muneer back into the limelight, considering that he was a three-time minister who had handled the public works portfolio twice. Adding to the surprise was the fact that his father, C.H. Mohammed Koya, was former chief minister. The home that Muneer was about to lose was the one Koya had built, Crescent House.
And then another story surfaced about the time Koya resigned as chief minister in 1979, walked out of the secretariat, and stood waiting for a bus. His friend, the legendary Baby John of the Kerala Revolutionary Socialist Party, felt that the outgoing chief minister looked a little lost in his thoughts.
Knowing Koya well, John realised that he might not have the bus fare on him. John walked up and chatted with Koya, quietly slipped some money into his pocket, shook his hand and walked away.
As they say, like father, like son.
As I write this, the IUML has stepped in and paid Rs49 lakh to the bank on Muneer’s behalf. Politics throws up all kinds of personalities, doesn’t it?