Glasshouse

BIBLICAL BESTSELLER

Kerala has a tradition of chief ministers turning authors, and current CM V.D. Satheesan has now joined the club too. The Malayalam volume, Adam Nee Evide Aakunnu, brings together 32 public speeches the Hindu leader has made to Christian congregations, drawing on biblical teachings to explore contemporary public life. It sold 20,000 copies in two months, prompting an English edition, Adam, Where Art Thou?, translated by Panjab University professor Rauf Rumi, a Muslim, making it truly a multi-religious effort. Meanwhile, Kerala’s publishing circles are abuzz with rumours that Satheesan’s success has inspired home minister Ramesh Chennithala and Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal to write books of their own. Unlike Satheesan, both have had stints in Kerala and Delhi, and have been privy to the innermost workings of the party. Suffice to say that if they do decide to put pen to paper, it could turn out a lot spicier than VD’s beatific offering.

BEARD BATTLES | STUBBLE BURNING

Telangana politics is seeing some hair-raising moments. Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao, once unfailingly clean-shaven, has been sporting a stubble at public appearances of late, inviting barbs from rivals. The BJP’s bearded Nizamabad MP, Arvind Dharmapuri, was the first to pounce, slyly suggesting KTR had been advised that growing out his facial hair would improve his chances of becoming CM. “The beard might grow, but the CM’s chair will still elude you,” he joked. On Saturday, CM Revanth Reddy, who has sported a beard for long, joined in the roasting. At a public meeting, he invoked the fable about a fox trying to look like a tiger to win respect in the jungle. “Growing a beard will not make you Revanth Reddy,” he said to laughter all around. The CM saved his sharpest barb for last: “Anyway, it took 50 years for your beard to grow...don’t know how long wisdom will take to arrive.”

OMEN EMPOWERMENT

When it comes to poll superstitions, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav seems to have them in plenty. On November 3, he remarked in Varanasi that he became CM when he did not contest the assembly election (he was Kannauj MP in 2012 when the SP swept to power). But then, political omens are not always reliable. As CM, he avoided Noida, believing a visit there would cost him power. But that didn’t stop the 2017 debacle. In 2022, he campaigned again in Noida, recalling how his efforts there in 2011 had led to the 2012 win. That didn’t help either; the BJP won again.

FEAR OF GOD

Defence minister Rajnath Singh gave new Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit a divine endorsement at a pre-Diwali event at Bagdogra air station on November 7. The minister noted that Ashutosh was also one of Lord Shiva’s bynames. And just as Shiva assumes his formidable Rudra avatar when circumstances demand, the air chief could also unleash a fearsome response, Rajnath suggested. The message to India’s adversaries was clear: better not provoke the air chief into revealing his Rudra avatar.

PRICE OF POWER

Bihar’s free electricity scheme is beginning to prove costly for the state. Launched by Nitish Kumar in July 2025, the monthly promise of 125 free units to 16.7 million households appeared to deliver electoral dividends last November. Exactly a year later, CM Samrat Choudhary is now urging affluent and income tax-paying families to voluntarily surrender the benefit, citing an annual power subsidy burden of Rs 23,000 crore. One question, though, remains: will elected representatives and officials also give up the subsidy and pay their own electricity bills?

—with Jeemon Jacob, Prasad Nichenametla, Ashish Misra, Pradip Sagar and Amitabh Srivastava