Tax evasion to multi-crore scams: Inside the world of India's sham political parties

U-turn in Bhopal: Just seven months after he was expelled from the party for six years, Pritam Singh Lodhi is back in the BJP. Lodhi, a relative of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti, rejoined the saffron party in the presence of national president J.P. Nadda. Lodhi said that all Lodhi community leaders expelled by the BJP—Kalyan Singh, Uma Bharti and Sakshi Maharaj—were taken back and thus the move felt natural for him. He had been attracting big crowds to his meetings after the expulsion, and Uma Bharti had openly supported him | Illustrations by Jairaj T.G.

Fond remembrance: The BJP, it seems, has remembered Sushma Swaraj all of a sudden. The party has constituted an award for women in the late leader’s name. It will be given by the national and state units of the party’s women wings every year. The party recently appointed Swaraj’s daughter, Bansuri, co-convener of the Delhi state legal cell. She was earlier made part of G20 sub group on women and appointed additional advocate general of Haryana.

Pee news: Atiq Ahmed’s return to Prayagraj from Sabarmati jail for trial in a kidnapping case was a story that received non-stop television coverage. But one news channel took it to a new level when it recorded the criminal-politician taking a leak by the road. Social media users latched on to it, with some suggesting that the channel be given all journalism awards for the coverage. Fans of the chief minister’s zero-tolerance policy, meanwhile, were quick to point out that Ahmed was forced to get off as the fear would not let him hold it in till a more convenient spot could be found.

The inside story: Gauri Khan is known for her impeccable taste. And now we will all get a taste of it through her debut book, My Life in Design. She announced it with a dazzling photo of the family—Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri with kids Aryan, Suhana and AbRam—all attired in black. Gauri, who has designed the homes of celebrities like Katrina Kaif, Alia Bhatt, Manish Malhotra and Karan Johar, is finally sharing her design secrets with the world. The plus? Intimate photographs of the family’s home, Mannat—a six-storied, sea-facing house in Bandra, reportedly valued at Rs200 crore | Getty Images

Dethroning the king: Farzi actor Raashii Khanna had her moment in the IMDb sun when she beat Shah Rukh Khan to top its list of most popular celebs. She initially thought it was a hoax, but when she realised it wasn’t, she immediately called her father to tell him the news. Khanna plays the hard-working and ambitious Megha in Farzi, starring Shahid Kapoor and Vijay Sethupathi in lead roles. The show was a huge hit and went on to become the “most watched Indian web series of all time” | AFP

War diary: Stranger Things actor Millie Bobby Brown would not have been there to tell the tale if her grandmother had not survived the Bethnal Green Tube disaster during the World War II. But she did, and so we get to read about it in Brown’s debut novel, Nineteen Steps—a fictionalised version of her family history. “I really hope you will find the true spirit of love and strength in Nineteen Steps, and I can’t wait to share it with you,” she said. The book will be released by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, in September | Getty Images

Drape master: A photo of actor Vijay Varma, his hair dyed a vivid blue, posing in a red metallic sari by designer Rimzim Dadu has gone viral. Sharing the photo on Instagram, Dadu wrote, “With fluidity anchoring our worldview, we abide by no definitions.” The look received a big thumbs-up from his fans, even from fashion’s enfant terrible, Uorfi Javed. “You’re magic,” she gushed. From retro suits to cropped shirts, Varma is known for his eclectic taste in fashion. His biggest pride, we hear, is the room in his home that houses his enviable collection of sneakers | Instagram/rimzimdaduofficial

Baby alert: Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe met his partner, actor Erin Darke, on the sets of Kill Your Darlings (2013). “Our characters are meeting and flirting with each other, so there is this sweet record of us just meeting for the first time and flirting,” said Radcliffe. “It’ll be a hell of a story to tell our kids one day....” That day might not be far away. The two are now expecting their first child and fans were already naming the unborn baby on social media. “If it is a boy, call him Harry, and if it is a girl, call her Hermione or Luna,” suggested one of them. Once a wizard, always a wizard! | Getty Images