Out of Congress, Vaghela, 77, declares himself Gujarat CM candidate of new non-party outfit, claims "wide" support

By A Representative
On being ousted from the Congress for voting for BJP candidates for the Rajya Sabha Amit Shah and Balwantsinh Rajput, former Leader of Opposition Shankarsinh Vaghela, aged 77, has suddenly found that there is something fundamentally wrong with the Indian party system, and it has befallen upon him to reform it.
Addressing a crowded media conference, in which there were large number of his supporters, who were more than eager to take selfies of a politician who once was Gujarat BJP chief, Vaghela said, whether it was the BJP or the Congress, both depend on every decision on their respective high commands.
"Quite unlike the US, where primaries at the local level elect the presidential candidate, and the process runs for full one year, here even candidates who want to fight assembly polls are decided by the High Command. I want to end this undemocratic system", Vaghela, who talked with media persons in a VVIP government guest house, declared.
And how is he going to go about it? Vaghela, whose nine supporter MLAs have crossed over from the Congress to the BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, said, "I have decided not to form any party. Instead, I have decided to form a non-party political organization, Jan Vikalp, which would put up candidates that would be selected democratically, at the local level."
Ironically, despite the talk of democratizing the party political system, Vaghela declared himself as the chief ministerial candidate of his non-party political outfit. Reason? "We sponsored an online survey, which said that majority of people in Gujarat favour me as the chief minister of the state."
Asked to provide details of the survey, especially the percentage of other possible chief ministerial candidates supported by those surveyed, and who carried out the survey, Vaghela named a person, who, when traced, "slipped out" of the media conference. Even his closest supporters couldn't find him despite their "frantic effort."
Scotching rumours that he would join the BJP, Vaghela predicted, "Neither the BJP nor the Congress would win the forthcoming Gujarat assembly polls. Our survey clearly says this." Asked whether it would be a third front, an experiment that hasn't ever succeeded in Gujarat, Vaghela said, "It will succeed, it has succeeded in most other Indian states."
Asked whether he would tie up with the Aam Aadmi Party, which wants to fight the forthcoming Gujarat polls, scheduled for December, overturning its earlier decision not to fight elections but defeat the BJP, Vaghela said, "We are open, we will support good candidates in other parties."
Despite a barrage of questions, which saw him perspiring, Vaghela couldn't identify the type of political setup his political outfit would have. When asked whether his supporters, who those who quit as Congress MLAs, would join him back, he said, "Why should they? They had negotiated with the BJP for quite some time."
One of the MLAs who quit the Congress to join the BJP, which hasn't yet accepted him, is Vaghela's son, Mahendrasinh Vaghela. When asked whether he would join the non-party outfit, Vaghela replied, "You can ask him".
Pointing out that the "positive agenda" of his new outfit, which included seeking jobs for youth and better working conditions for women, when asked what did he have to say about the now trending campaign in Gujarat, "Vikas gando thayo cche" (development has gone made), he said, "I don't want to comment on negative thoughts."
He added, "We are not going to criticise individuals, whether Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Sonia Gandhi or Ahmed Patel. We will only raise issues."

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

Search This Blog