Moods - creation by Gulzar :::: The magic of simple words but deep thinking :::: "Why should I turn out to be one .... you are looking for"

It's the peak of a political season. We are dealing with an essential question .... practically every hour; -- Who is a Good Politician. But even for vultures like us -- making livelihood and profit from politics -- getting a straight answer to this question is quite tough. 

On a different plane one can argue -- a good politician can be like a good poet. I am not talking about the self-styled poetess-neta (netri). That's beside the point. But a true political leader or a true poet (lyricist) is someone whose work touches the right chords with the people.  

Taking about lyricists in the Hindi film industry, one cannot miss Gulzar. He is Sampooran Singh -- also a perfect gentleman.  Many years later it appears it could have been only Gulzar -- the irreplaceable gem - who could have penned ---- 

“Mora gora ang laee ley, mohey shyam rang dei de / Chhoop jaungi raat hi mein, mohey pee ka sang dei de” 

(‘Take my fair body, colour/convert me as dark as Shyam / I will hide myself in the night, ........). This is from illustrious Bimal Roy's 'Bandini' made in the year 1963. Gulzar's admirers and those who followed his work minutely would say in more ways than one -- Gulzar was fortunate enough to start his career with a maestro like Bimal Roy. 

Gulzar's works either in the form of film songs or some powerful dialogues in films have one thing common. It is very very deep and yet simplistic and inherent. 

In the year 2002 - the year of communal mayhem in Gujarat - I met him in Mumbai at a news briefing where he and other co-stars of his spoke about a stage play they were still working on 'a middle class life when the town is burning'. I fail to remember the one-liners but a few from a female protagonist of the play would leave the audience spellbound and perhaps with moist eyes. 

As we were interacting and asking him questions -- one could also realise that each one of will have our own parameter for defining a good writer or a lyricist. 

Gulzar gave another memorable piece in 1969-made film 'Khamoshi'.

And the graceful line was --- ‘Humne Dekhi Hai Un Aankhon Ki Mehakti Khusboo’ --- Just appreciate the fact that the poet is able to 

see the "fragrance of the eyes". (Aankhon Ki Mehakti Khusboo).

The song and the film had unorthodox opening. 

'Khamoshi' was shot in Calcutta and was based on the Bengali short story titled 

"Nurse Mitra" by noted writer, Ashutosh Mukherjee and is a remake of director Asit Sen's own Bengali film, 'Deep Jwele Jae' (1959), starring Suchitra Sen. 

Discover the other side of  Gulzar - the political side ... It came out best in film 'Machis' and the dialogue is by Om Puri (Sanatan - a terrorist) 

 "Aadhe 47 le gaya tha, aadhe chourasi (1984) kha gaya" (Half were taken by '47, and remaining half of my family were consumed by 1984 riots)".  -

Another poignant statement of the terrorist is -- 

मैं किसी धर्म या देश की लड़ाई नहीं लड़ रहा हूँ , मेरी लड़ी इस सिस्टम के ख़िलाफ़ है |  (I am not fighting any battle for any religion or country; my battle is against the system".   

About his songs, one can say they are serious and they could make statements about you or about things around you; but Gulzar does not throw them at you. It appears -- every line he writes comes gradually and they are open for interpretation. Otherwise how would you describe  numbers like -- "Is Mod pe (Aandhi) -- and it does so much justice to the film and also the stars SuchitraSen and Sanjeev Kumar. 

Another "Biti na bitaen Raina (from Parichay)' is also a magical.   Gulzar is also the person credited for depicting Ghalib's true life story in the serial of Doordarshan era. In the process, Ghalib's poetry was popularized when put to excellent music by Jagjit Singh.

Ends 

    

FIR in Delhi against Mahua Moitra :::: Trinamool is aware that the tide has turned. The people of West Bengal have already delivered their verdict

 In the election atmosphere in Bengal, political tensions have once again escalated. A written complaint has been filed against TMC MP Mahua Moitra at the Mandir Marg Cyber Police Station in Delhi. The complaint alleges that an attempt has been made to create confusion among the public by spreading a “fake AI video” on social media.

According to the complaint, it is claimed that the viral video was used to tarnish the image of IPS officer Ajay Pal Sharma. The applicant alleges that the video may have been created using artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Its purpose, it is claimed, was to spread misinformation, create confusion, and influence the electoral environment.

BJP West Bengal unit says :

It is now evident that Mamata Banerjee’s theatrics in Kolkata were not a spontaneous outburst, but a carefully crafted diversion meant to shift focus away from what Trinamool’s cadre has been attempting across other parts of West Bengal.

While public attention remained fixed on Kolkata, troubling developments surfaced from Bardhaman. At the University Institute of Technology (UIT), a TMC-backed miscreant reportedly tried to scale the boundary wall to gain access to a strong room storing EVMs. 

The incident was brought to light by BJP candidate Sanjay Das, raising serious questions about the intent and planning behind such an act. This is no ordinary location. It houses EVMs from five key Assembly constituencies: Bardhaman Uttar, Bardhaman Dakshin, Galsi, Ausgram, and Bhatar.

Taken together, these incidents are far from coincidental. The drama in Kolkata and the activities unfolding elsewhere reflect a broader, coordinated pattern. A pattern rooted in unease, driven by the growing realisation that the political ground beneath them is slipping.

This is the face of desperation. The Trinamool is aware that the tide has turned. The people of West Bengal have already delivered their verdict. May 4 will merely formalize the inevitable.  

Following in his father's footsteps, Suvendu Adhikari began his political journey with the Congress and was elected as a councillor in the Kanthi municipality of East Midnapore. He joined Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in 1998 and entered the Bengal assembly as an MLA from the Kanthi Dakshin constituency in 2006.

A year later, in 2007, Adhikari made a name for himself and emerged as Banerjee's chief organiser when he spearheaded the Nandigram agitation alongside the Trinamool Congress chief. Violence had broken out in the area, also part of the East Midnapore district, during protests against the Left Front-led government's plan to create a chemical hub run by the Salim Group of Indonesia. The hub was part of a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which would require the acquisition of 10,000 acres of land.  

Adhikari led the Bhumi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee (Committee Against Land Evictions), which was at the forefront of the agitation. On March 14, 2007, an attempt to break up the protests led to 14 demonstrators dying in police firing, which sparked outrage across the state. The project was shelved soon after. 

The Nandigram controversy and the protests against the Tata Motors plant in Singur in the neighbouring Hooghly district catapulted the Trinamool Congress to power in the 2011 Bengal Assembly elections, ending the Left Front's 34-year rule in the state. 

Passion Without Performance or .... Performance with Passion ::: How Words, Luck and Manush play havoc with Life and Politics

The only Bengalis who remained blind were CPI(M) leaders. - This was the tale in 2011-May month when Exit Polls predicted the 'exit' of Marxists in West Bengal. 

They had good reasons to believe only themselves and not trust any 'exit polls'. In 2026, the hands of clock have come back to the position (Ghari ki sui) from where it all started. 

Now Mamata says the BJP has paid money to the TV channels to throw out such exit poll findings. 

In 2011, Mamata was the would be victor and hence it was Biman Bose who sneered that the "contract media" (translation: journalists paid by the evil, bourgeois America-Congress-Mamata conspiracy) would have to lick the spit they spat at the Left once the results came in. 

History or Her story is known to all. 

See the paradox, M J Akbar wrote in 2011 for 'India Today' :

"Three decades ago (that is 1977), astonishingly, the CPI(M) was equally clueless about its epochal impending victory. 

It had fought the post-Emergency general elections of 1977 in alliance with Morarji Desai’s Janata Party, and would have settled for a junior role in the Assembly elections with just 120 seats out of 294. An obstinately foolish Janata was not willing to give the Marxists even this many."  

Akbar also wrote: "Thirty-four years of success have camouflaged the principal fault-line of Communist structure and thinking: that the party must always take precedence over the people. 

The people became instruments of the party’s will. Reward and punishment were the party’s gift, as its rule seeped into every crack and crevice of Bengal’s social multiple pluralities." 

Has anything changed in the last 15 years ? Now Mamata and her Bhaipo face an adverse Exit Poll findings and they want the rest of the world to disbelieve it. Heart in heart - they know. Mamata herself said during campaign - 

"If TMC survives, we shall meet".   

Prophecy comes to politician-turned-poetess !! 

"Jabar Bela" is an extremely powerful phrase. Another Bengali phrase going round is "chapey achey (TMC is under pressure)". 

An edit in 'The Statesman' (May 17, 2009) - the day Manmohan Singh was re-elected and TMC won 19 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal; --- remarked somewhat acidly: 

"In the aftermath of the results, duties and responsibilities devolve on both sides. The CPI-M is known to derive lessons from a jolt...... Civil servants will have to abide by the concept of neutrality. For too long have they functioned as an adjunct of the party. This must end".  

In 2026 too, we may write the same thing. 

Take another pause. 

M J Akbar's article (in 2011) also said :

"Mamata’s electoral success has been driven primarily by a pervasive disgust summed up in a simple phrase: enough is enough. 

But it also owes much to the fact that the CPI(M)’s famed cadre cracked sometime between the general elections in 2009 and the following panchayat elections. 

Some defected to Mamata, while others who kept their eyes open began to bargain for peace in a post-Left dispensation."

Rajnath and Modi : Why they can afford to laugh ?

Change, or poriborton, was visible long before it came. 

The leftist cause, it will be surely argued, is too important to be left to leftists. Mamata mistook some wrong policies as the golden rule. One of them is being pro-Muslim.  

Death is an essential necessity for rebirth, and the CPI (M) must first acknowledge that it is time to bury its past. It perhaps did but only partly. 

Being thrown out of office has many virtues. You walk into sunlight, for instance. If the Left opened its eyes it would have found a way forward. If not, it will rest in peace for a decade. 

Now, between 2011 and 2026 - it's decade and a half. 

And here - the BJP has entered to occupy the vacant slot. Suddenly, Bengalis have not become communal. They have also become pragmatic and also pro-Hindutva school 'nationalists'.

 

'India Today',  2011 - May issue

ends 

Sickular spin is very strong ..... "know-all Bongs" actually know Aapa is Gone .... Mamata's body language and shaky hands and frail voice are making it clear :: Yet 'sickular shopkeepers' want to present the battle as a poll of equals

Didi .... aapa hoe gechhey ....

Mandate is clear. Mamata is going. But sickular intellectual game is on. So that after the debacle is announced on May 4th; the fufu and Bhai po (what's Bangladeshi name ?)  will get a chance to blame EVM or manipulation by BJP.  

Mamata's body language and shaky hands and frail voice are making it crystal clear. A nervous chief minister (albeit outgoing) has even said that her party will win 300 seats out of 294-member. Importantly, the Muslim-appeaser mercurial lady did not forget to say 'salaam'. 

But a selling point is being created.... that even TMC can win this election.

I may be proved wrong and shall tender an apology ... but as of now, May 2nd, it is clear - Khela Khatam... aapa has to go.  The problem win Bongs - especially Hindus - is ... "we know more ... even our wives will know more ... but lok kya kahenge (what will people think of us)". 

So let us say - the great democrat duo of Bhaipo-and-Fufu (pishi) will come back and take West Bengal the 'Bangladesh way'. Ting Tong !! 

Kolkata journalism is full of active members of Fish-Fry Journalism. What will happen? Didi or aapa ... at least Fish Fry was assured !! 

Hence, keep creating confusion and within months... they will change colour once the BJP is in power. Some intellectuals will even claim their fathers and grand fathers were RSS shakha members !!  

 

 

But before that happens - Let us pretend to be intellectuals.  This malady is very strong even in states such as Tripura. Since 2018, even if there is rain at odd hours - Tripura intellectuals are blaming Modi. The same drama will be enacted even in Kolkata and other parts of West Bengal within two hours of a BJP chief minister being sworn in.

Such pretension game is at every level. Saurav Ganguly went to the extent even Goddess Kali Ma cannot predict what would be outcome of Bengal elections. 

The batting star (who did his jugadu game with Jagmohan Dalmiya) now realises - where he was wrong in turning down BJP's unofficial request of joining the saffron outfit. Since then, he is out from BCCI and now this mandate !   

"No one in Kolkata is discussing in public what the outcome of the election could be," said a trader from Chandni Chowk, near Esplanade. "That's because everyone is clueless," he said. (says 'India Today' report). 

What it is not stating is the obvious - people are still apprehensive because even by fluke if TMC returns to power; the Goonds with their Lungis will be out on the streets. 

2021 reality : Media ignored

Kolkata has a min-mini channel. 

As an attempt to prove its sycophancy. the newspaper has given more weightage to a 'paid lawyer' Sibal than the Supreme Court and the High Court order those rejected TMC's plea challenging Election Commission's powers to appoint central government employees on counting duties. 

The min-mini channel's interview with the 'drama queen' was also interesting --- it almost asked "oh Didi yo are so poor". Whereas the truth is Corruption is a major issue that has brought in the debacle for Mamata, her Bhai po and her quiz masters. 

Loss of Face ... one more time for Trinamool ::: Supreme Court "disposed of" the SLP by TMC after recording submissions of the EC

 WB elections: ECI tells Supreme Court State nominee will be present during vote count after TMC challenges exclusion. 

The last ditch effort to delay, disturb or influence vote count of  Monday, May 4 for West Bengal elections did not work. 

A Bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a plea by the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) against the Chief Electoral Officer's decision to deploy only Central government employees as vote counting supervisors for the assembly elections in West Bengal.

The apex Court recorded EC counsel Dama Sheshadri Naidu's submission that the EC will follow its circular in letter and spirit. Hence, it declined to pass any orders on the appeal filed by TMC against a Calcutta High Court order.

"No further orders are needed in the SLP. We record the submission of Mr Naidu that the circular of EC be followed in letter and spirit," the Bench said.  

The Calcutta High Court said on Friday (May 1) that it is the prerogative of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to appoint the counting supervisor and counting assistant either from the State government or the Central government. 

"This Court does not find any illegality for appointing counting supervisor and counting assistant from the Central Government/Central PSU employee instead of State Government employee," the High Court said.

It further stated that the TMC can later file elections petitions to challenge the results in case they find the central government employees favouring BJP candidates.  

Justice Bagchi said that counting will be in the presence of every party's election agents.

"It hardly matters if he is central govt nominee or not. 

"It is to subjective satisfaction of ECI. Your counting agents will be there and so as others. Then counting assistant, counting supervisor and micro-observer who is a Central government officer. 

"We cannot hold that this notification is contrary to the regulation since one is a central government officer but the others are not said that they cannot be central government employee. 

To choose wholly from one pool cannot be said to be incorrect," Justice Bagchi maintained.

"What is this proportionate representation concept. All of them are employees of the government," Justice Narasimha said.

"But the State government nominee has not been appointed," TMC counsel Kapil Sibal said.

"So have you written them. You were challenging the circular and now you are saying follow it," Justice Bagchi stated.

ends 

Delusions of grandeur or megalomania in TMC :::::: For BJP .. if election is won in Bengal; credit will have to be shared among Amit Shah, Sunil Bansal and Bhupendra Yadav ::: Crucial meeting on Saturday to draw plans for counting day

The mood is upbeat in the BJP over its handling of the mega challenge of elections in West Bengal. Wining Bengal - a red bastion for long and where Muslim appeasement thrived in the last 15 years - is more than a dream. 

They have beaten a 'malady' within the TMC leadership. 

We may use the phrase Folie de grandeur (French for "madness of grandeur") and it refers to delusions of grandeur or even megalomania --- where an individual holds an exaggerated, unrealistic belief in their own power, wealth and intellect.

Between April 23 and May 2 - the 10-day duration the TMC was looking for excuses. The 'excuses' that would stall the blame reaching the party leadership if the outcome is adverse. 

For the BJP on the other side the credit has to be shared among Amit Shah, Sunil Bansal and Bhupendra Yadav. But before that - the May 2 (Saturday) meeting is crucial. 

It will be attended among others by BJP state unit president Samik Bhattacharya and also Bansal, Bhupendra Yadav and Mangal Pandey. 

The BJP  are confident of their own feedback that they would manage a comfortable majority. They are also happy that most of the Exit Polls outcomes have indicated towards BJP's win. Bansal has already met state office bearers and some candidates to assess the feedback from the constituencies. On Saturday, among other issues plans will be drawn out for the counting halls. 

The manner TMC is coming out with one issue or the other including a four-hour visit to the strongroom by Mamata Banerjee on Thursday night; the saffron party leaders would not like to leave anything to chance. 

The refrain is while the BJP has many first timer counting agents; they should be guided properly. On the other hand, counting officials from the state government have experiences and they may still hold loyalty towards the chief minister. 

In 2021, the BJP probably lost 50 seats (according to their internal assessment) because on the counting day either the counting agents were soldout or they were threatened by TMC goons and directed to leave the counting stations. 

In other words, they do not want the repeat of 2021 at the last moment.  

On the credit front, Sunil Bansal may be given the credit for coining the hashtag and the slogan #BhoyOutBhorosaIn (Fear out; Trust in). 

Bansal, Amit Shah and Bhupendra Yadav assisted by other colleagues decided long back that the campaign focus this time should be on small public meetings.

These small meetings were held on household or moholla basis. Over 12,000 street meetings were held in 53 assembly constituencies. 

Additionally, 165,000 small meetings were held to establish communication with voters, especially women and youth. 

These meetings, insiders say ... created an atmosphere of “BJP Tai-BJP Chai (Because BJP can deliver, we want it to come to power).

                                                          

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held 19 rallies and 2 road shows, covering approximately 42 organizational districts. 

Home Minister Shah held 29 rallies and 11 road shows, covering 29 organizational (23 administrative) districts and BJP president Nitin Naveen also held 17 key events. In fact, Bansal and Yadav have been working for months. 

Bhupendra Yadav has handled Bengal earlier too in 2019 and 2021. The 2019 campaign was the best when BJP could win 18 Lok Sabha seats and high vote share. He has previously partnered in different states with top leaders such as Rajnath Singh (Odisha), Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (Ashwini Vaishnaw) and with others in various states.

Over all, if the saffron party has something to laugh about on May 4; they will also have to cherish the team work.  

ends 

Huge Turnout in West Bengal certainly - but segments with large Muslim population also voted overwhelmingly

 Murshidabad, where Muslims make up over 66 per cent of the population, is perhaps the most closely watched district in this belt. In 2021, the TMC won 20 of its 22 seats.

Women Polling personnel at Basirhat Dakshin , North 24 Parganas 

Turnout here has surged sharply. Raghunathganj recorded the highest jump in the entire belt, up 20.5 percentage points from 2021. It was up by 17.9 points in Jangipur, 16.4 points in Sagardighi, 16 percentage points in Samserganj, and 14.5 points in Suti. 

Every seat in the district registered an increase in voter turnout.

The recently concluded Assembly elections in West Bengal witnessed a dramatic surge in voter turnout, crossing the 90 per cent mark for the first time in the state’s electoral history. In the 85 Muslim-dominated constituencies, the spike was even more pronounced, rising by 2 to 20 percentage points.

These 85 seats fall in districts where Muslims make up over 35 per cent of the population. For decades, this belt was dominated by the Congress and the Left. However, in the 2021 Assembly elections, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 75 of these 85 seats, signalling a consolidation of minority votes in its favour. 

The Congress and the Left were nearly wiped out, while the BJP emerged as the only significant challenger, winning most of the remaining seats.  

Birbhum is often associated with TMC strongman and district president Anubrata Mondal. The district also saw steady turnout increases. It rose by 13.3 percentage points in Murarai, 11 points in Rampurhat, 10.7 points in Nalhati, and 10.5 points in Suri. Labpur and Mayureswar recorded smaller but still positive gains. All 11 seats in Birbhum registered increases.

Malda and Uttar Dinajpur were once Congress strongholds before the TMC swept through in 2021. Now, with Mausam Noor back in the fray in Malatipur and the Congress contesting independently, these districts are being closely watched.

In Malda district, voter turnout jumped by 16.2 percentage points in Ratua, 15.3 points in Chanchal, 14.7 points in Malatipur, and 14.1 percentage points in Habibpur. Not a single seat recorded a single-digit increase.

In Uttar Dinajpur, Goalpokhar saw the second-highest jump in the entire belt at 19.7 points. It rose by 17.5 percentage points in Chakulia, 13.9 points in Islampur, and 13.4 points in Karandighi. All nine seats in the district recorded increases of over 10 percentage points.

Murshidabad and Malda were among the top districts in terms of SIR voter deletions. Murshidabad recorded 4,55,137 deletions, while Malda saw 2,39,375 names removed. Despite this, turnout remained extremely strong, with many seats recording over 90 per cent voting.  

Poll officials at Barasat , North 24 Parganas .

South 24 Parganas, which has 31 seats, recorded some of the biggest increases. In Metiaburuz, for instance, turnout jumped by 18 percentage points, while Kasba saw a rise of 17.2 points.

Kudos to the Election Commission of India for prioritizing voter comfort. The entire process was efficient and completely hassle-free. Great to see such voter-friendly services in action!

ends