SELFIE SARKARFor years, Yogi Adityanath’s political persona was all saffron and stern, with zero tolerance to a lot many things. But after almost a decade in the chief minister’s seat, and with the 2027 Uttar Pradesh election coming up, Yogi seems to be trying for a more ‘friendly’ image makeover. In late August alone, he was seen posing with Japanese students, newly employed youth with their appointment letters, and with the ladies at a special bus service launched for them. A most striking selfie was with a student from Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture, who was seen casually putting an arm around him and flashing a victory sign, leaving Yogi laughing. Three constituencies, three photo-ops, one unmistakable message. Team Yogi wants voters to see a more accessible version of him. The bulldozer image, it seems, now comes with a front-facing camera.NANDIGRAM TO NABANNA | PANDAL POLITICS Kolkata’s Durga Puja pandals have over the years reflected the social milieu of their times. In that spirit, the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha’s Ruby area pandal will celebrate CM Suvendu Adhikari’s journey from Nandigram, his home turf and the epicentre of Bengal’s anti-land acquisition movement that brought down the Left in the state, to Nabanna, the state secretariat. The pandal will feature a bust, a documentary and even the West Bengal CM’s face recreated using moong dal. Adhikari and governor R.N. Ravi are expected to visit. The Ruby area pandal has some history too. In 2022, the same organisers had caused major outrage by depicting Mahatma Gandhi as the shape-shifting demon, Mahishasura. Four years later, they are now celebrating Suvendu’s conquest of Nabanna as the first BJP and “sanatani” chief minister. Puja themes, like politics, clearly change with the season.THE CHOPPING BLOCK Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram is in a foul mood. The six-time MP, who had earlier indicated he might hang up his boots, has now changed his mind even as he sniffs a conspiracy to oust him. This came after an aide of his was arrested in Odisha for alleged arms trafficking. Oram claims it’s all part of a smear campaign by rivals in the BJP to engineer his exit. He has not named the plotters, but offered a dire warning, saying he had the power to “cut off their hands”.ORCHHA ORACLE BJP executive meetings are for organisational stocktaking, but in Orchha, ex-MLA Imarti Devi managed to create some ripples. Spotting minister Krishna Gaur, the Jyotiraditya Scindia loyalist greeted her warmly before offering a rather ambitious blessing: “I hope Ram raja (Lord Ram) makes you the CM.” Gaur, caught off guard for a moment, smiled and moved on. The remark was perhaps not random. Gaur is a Yadav (like CM Mohan Yadav), a former Bhopal mayor and daughter-in-law of ex-CM Babulal Gaur.AFTER YOU... It all started with state minister Santosh Suman, son of Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, backing a sub-categorisation of SCST reservations. LJP chief Chirag Paswan opposed it, saying it alters the spirit of reservations, and added that those backing the ‘creamy layer’ argument should quit their posts. Suman shot back that Chirag should do so first for opposing a move to help the most deprived. The exchange has given a sharp edge to the contest between the two camps for leadership of the Dalits in Bihar. But then, for all the talk, neither side seems eager to surrender office. The message from both sides: pehle aap (after you, please).—with Ashish Misra, Arkamoy Datta Majumdar, Rahul Noronha and Amitabh Srivastava- EndsPublished By: Shyam BalasubramanianPublished On: Sep 4, 2026 20:09 IST
