State police in tizzy after Kunal Kamra says he is in Tamil Nadu | Powertrip #95

Welcome to this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter exclusively curated for TNM and NL subscribers by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed, Pooja Prasanna, and Nidheesh MK. Comedian Kunal Kamra, who is being hounded by Shiv Sena workers after he stirred a controversy in Mumbai, is giving the Tamil Nadu police sleepless nights after he said that he was in Tamil Nadu. Newly appointed Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar is vastly different from the inherited modest local leadership. We analyse what kind of state party president we can expect him to be. In Tamil Nadu, the battle between the state government and the ED in the TASMAC raids case continues in court..Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only.Securing Kunal KamraComedian Kunal Kamra’s latest stand-up act, Naya Bharat, in Mumbai has put him in a spot of bother. After he allegedly made derogatory remarks against Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, Shiv Sena workers vandalised the Habitat Comedy Club, where the event was held. Following this, workers from the Eknath Shinde faction have been calling Kamra in an attempt to track his whereabouts. In a phone conversation with a Shiv Sena party worker that went viral on social media, Kamra stated that he is in Tamil Nadu and invited them to meet him there. The person on the other end is heard asking someone: “Ab Tamil Nadu kaise pohenchega bhai!” (How can we reach Tamil Nadu?)Kamra’s remark has thrown Tamil Nadu police officials into a tizzy. They have been receiving calls from their counterparts in Maharashtra and other intelligence agencies seeking confirmation of Kamra’s presence.A senior police officer told TNM that they have not received any formal request from the Maharashtra police regarding Kamra, nor has Kamra personally reached out to TN police seeking protection..Kerala BJP’s new chief—and the subtext you might have missedRajeev Chandrasekhar is the new Kerala BJP president. On paper, it’s a promotion, but scratch the surface and the story gets a lot more interesting.Rajeev had been angling for a very different kind of future—not one that runs through the party’s state unit office in Thiruvananthapuram, but one that stays close to Delhi’s power circuits. After the loss in the Lok Sabha elections last year, he hoped to be among those re-nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. Nirmala, Jaishankar, Ashwini Vaishnaw got their nods. Rajeev didn’t.With Modi 3.0 in place, the new Cabinet is more or less settled. Rajeev’s slot—if there was ever going to be one—isn’t available. The message is polite but clear: you won’t be in the government anytime soon. But here’s an important role for you, make something out of it.But why Kerala state president? His appointment wasn’t born of consensus—it was born of stalemate.K Surendran’s tenure as state chief had run its course, but for long the party struggled to find a consensus replacement. Old guard names such as V Muraleedharan, Kummanam Rajasekharan, PK Krishnadas came up. So did the likes of MT Ramesh and Sobha Surendran. Each name was either too old guard or too divisive.Rajeev, paradoxically, became the compromise candidate: not too close to anyone, not owing allegiance to any camp, but could be sold as a fresh face with real-world credentials. Plus, his recent Thiruvananthapuram run gave him just enough skin in the Kerala game.So, what kind of BJP president can one expect he will be? For one, a president willing to take risks. Not just in terms of strategy, but in the language, framing, and extremity of political positions. The Kerala BJP has traditionally tiptoed around hardline postures—flirting with soft Hindutva while keeping its equations with Christian communities relatively undisturbed, and only recently becoming more confrontational toward Muslim constituencies.Rajeev doesn’t fit neatly into any of those inherited templates. After the Kalamassery blasts in 2023, he immediately lit a political firestorm by drawing attention to Hamas and suggesting ideological links—comments that led to not one but two police cases being filed against him—which showed his political instincts are extremely right-wing and combative.He’s also very rich—something that sets him apart from the Kerala BJP’s relatively modest local leadership. That wealth makes him both powerful and vulnerable. During the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha race, critics latched on to the fact that he declared just Rs 680 as taxable income for FY 2021–22, using it to paint him as disconnected and elusive. One can expect both qualities—financial muscle and risk appetite—to shape how he leads the party from here.In hindsight, the last general election had revealed that Rajeev isn’t your typical Kerala politician—calibrated messaging, quick pivots, and a willingness to retell the story depending on the audience. That might work in Delhi. But in Kerala?We can also expect him to bring a corporate logic to state politics: KPIs, verticals, maybe even a SWOT analysis or two. But Kerala’s voters value authenticity, intimacy, and a sense that their politicians live among them—not above them.The coming months will show whether Rajeev can adapt to this reality—or remake it in his image.Either way, Kerala BJP just became a lot more interesting..TASMAC vs ED: Officials under pressurePreviously on Powertrip, we had reported how the Tamil Nadu government had decided to approach the courts to challenge the Directorate of Enforcement (ED)’s action on TASMAC. Three separate petitions were filed by the TN government in the Madras High Court. One was filed by TN Home Secretary Dheeraj Kumar himself, while the other two petitions were filed by the Managing Director of TASMAC, Visakan IAS.What surprised the legal fraternity was the request made by the Home Secretary in his petition. The petition urged the court to declare the ED’s action illegal, arguing that it was carried out without the consent of the state government. However, unlike the CBI, the ED does not require state government consent to investigate money laundering cases.When the petition came up for hearing before the Madras High Court, even the judges were surprised by the request and questioned its maintainability. Quickly realising the mistake, TN Advocate General PS Raman admitted that the request was incorrect and stated that it would be altered.Initially, the plan was to challenge the ED’s probe based on a technical circular that outlines certain monetary thresholds for initiating a money laundering investigation. However, this approach was abandoned after top advocates from Delhi advised that it would not provide any relief. As a result, the request was modified at the last minute, and the TN government approached the courts seeking protection from harassment by the ED.One reason the state government rushed to the courts, according to insiders, was that the ED’s search of TASMAC and its seizure of mobile phones belonging to top TASMAC officials had sent shockwaves through bureaucratic circles. The ED’s forensic team had cloned data from three iPhones belonging to TASMAC MD Visakan, along with data from the mobile phones of General Managers and other top officials.The ED also summoned other TASMAC officials and sought extensive details regarding sales and distribution. The officials who appeared before the ED were under tremendous pressure, as strict instructions had been given from the ‘top’ not to share or divulge any information during the probe.But the authorities are unsure how long they can delay or stall the ED probe..Zero HourA political story of public importance.The Kiran Bedi Tapes: How top cop used Delhi police officials to surveil her daughter over suspected visa scam.During this surveillance, a lead on the sexual assault of a Swiss diplomat was ignored. Meanwhile, Kiran Bedi told TNM and NL that she requested the police to “save an innocent life. The police did its duty.”.PowermovesTop 5 political storiesCan Rajeev Chandrasekhar break BJP’s Kerala jinx? 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State police in tizzy after Kunal Kamra says he is in Tamil Nadu | Powertrip #95

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