Jist Desk

Manan Tandon

Amid the Maharashtra election campaign, Eknath Shinde has revealed that the threat to Shiv Sena's survival motivated his 2022 rebellion.
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Speaking on The HotSpot with Rahul Shrivastava, Shinde said preserving Balasaheb Thackeray's legacy and securing the Shiv Sena&rsquo;s future were the primary motives for challenging Uddhav Thackeray's authority. Shinde also questioned Uddhav's 'Facebook Live' governance model, which he says alienated not only the Sena MLAs but also the ordinary party workers. But what forced Shinde&rsquo;s hand, he said, were the insults directed at Hindutva icons including Veer Savarkar.
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Shinde recalled how Balasaheb would have reacted compared with the response of the Uddhav-led party, which was tied down with coalition compulsions. Shinde, who rose from humble beginnings in Thane, says he was drawn to Balasaheb Thackeray&rsquo;s ideology when he was around 18 years old. But he remains equally indebted to his mentor and guru, Anand Dighe.
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The Shinde family, which had migrated from Satara to Thane, lived through difficult times. Eknath Shinde had to stop his studies after Class 12 to start working. He tried his hand at several jobs &ndash; from working at a fisheries factory, driving an auto and even getting into the Army. But once he came in contact with Anand Dighe, his entry into politics was inevitable. Many years after joining politics, Shinde went back to his studies to do his graduation in Marathi and political science.

Akansha Goyal

Eknath Shinde Trumps 2022 ‘BJP’s Puppet” Taunt

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The HotSpot looked beyond the poll rhetoric about Ravindra Singh Bhati, the independent candidate from Jaisalmer-Barmer Ravindra Bhati. What are his views on national issues like the Caste Census and demands for raising the quota backwards beyond the Supreme Court stipulated 50%? He backed the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya by PM Modi and the abrogation of Article 370. In less than five years after taking a political plunge in a Jodhpur University election, Bhati is being considered the next big emerging face of Rajasthan politics. His father is a school teacher. The family has no political connection. From a law student who would lead protests for students&rsquo; welfare, Bhati is taking a big leap of faith. He was the first independent candidate to win the Post of JNV University in Jodhpur in 57 years in 2019. Four years later in December 2023 again as an independent, he defeated a six-term Congress MLA who was fighting his tenth election and the candidate fielded by the BJP. Now he is contesting as an independent aiming to win the Jaisalmer-Barmer seat, India&rsquo;s second-largest constituency in terms of area His entry has diminished the chances of sitting BJP MP Kailash Choudhary and the saffron party a 2019-like clean sweep of the 25 seats in Rajasthan.

Desert Storm: Campaign Trail of Ravindra Bhati

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The HotSpot spoke to the Samajwadi Party President, Akhilesh Yadav one day after 7 MLAs of his party in UP Assembly cross voted for a BJP candidate. During the course of the interview UP&rsquo;s ex-chief minister candidly admitted that his alliance partner, the Congress suffered poor cadre strength. He said &ldquo;the SP agreed to give 17 Lok sabha seats to the congress to maintain the ally&rsquo;s stature.&rdquo; Speaking on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi&rsquo;s attack on actor Aishwarya Rai ( who is SP Rajya Sabha member Jaya Bachchan&rsquo;s daughter-in-law), Yadav said he will ask Rahul Gandhi to refrain from making such comments and uphold dignity of women. He explained his strategy for the coming LS polls and dismissed the departure of allies like RLD&rsquo;s Jayant Chaudhary.

Jist Hotspot Ft. Akhilesh Yadav

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Shivraj Singh Chouhan is bidding to enter national politics. He is the BJP candidate from the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat. Before he took over as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in November 2005, Chouhan had won four consecutive Lok Sabha polls from Vidisha between 1991 and 2004. This time Chouhan has been invited to the Centre by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who declared at a rally in Bhopal on April 24 that 'I want to take him with me'. While the roadmap for Shivraj Singh Chouhan's future is drawn out, JIST visited Bhopal and found that Mama still remains the Tiger not just in Vidisha but across Madhya Pradesh where he is campaigning for a BJP sweep.

Jist Hotspot Ft. Shivraj Singh Chouhan

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Nishant Khullar

Nitin Gadkari talks about politics and his personal life in a Jist Exclusive with Rahul Shrivastava.