Mahua, Mamata and BJP’s endgame

Welcome to Powertrip, a newsletter exclusively curated for TNM Subscribers. In this issue, we talk about the ‘cash for query’ allegations against Mahua Moitra and BJP’s endgame, how a SEBI source tried to plant a rumour about OCCRP’s Adani probe and how the BJP is playing big brother to the JD(S). To read Powertrip every week, subscribe to TNM now..Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only..Mamata backs Mahua for nowIt wasn’t the BJP that Mahua Moitra’s former boyfriend and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai that first turned to with the ‘cash for query’ allegations. While he did want to ensure that the TMC MP gets into trouble, the first two people he approached with a bunch of allegations are two senior journalists. Both left mainstream media a few years ago and are quite popular on YouTube. These journalists refused to publish the cropped pictures of Mahua with Shashi Tharoor or the allegation that businessman Darshan Hiranandani was planting questions against Adani. It was then that Jai went to the BJP (unsurprisingly).West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee has been backing Mahua and has told her to fight the BJP. But some TMC sources say that after Hiranandani’s statement and Mahua’s lawyer withdrawing from the case (after Jai alleged that the lawyer tried for a settlement), things will get trickier for Mahua. The BJP’s endgame is Mahua’s disqualification. How a SEBI ‘source’ tried to plant a rumour about OCCRP’s Adani investigationImmediately after OCCRP published its investigation on Adani over possible stock manipulation, SEBI wrote to the global investigative news reporting platform and asked them for documents. OCCRP said as per their policy they don’t share documents as agencies can use them to trace sources etc. While this part has been reported in the media, what happened next is interesting.OCCRP told SEBI that they could contact Prashant Bhushan as the lawyer had tweeted a key document that OCCRP also had. A source in SEBI, we have learnt, then told Delhi journalists that Bhushan was OCCRP’s source. One reporter in turn asked OCCRP about this. In its reply, OCCRP said that it got documents from multiple tax havens, bank records and internal Adani group internal mails. These documents were available for SEBI to tap and they could have very well done so, OCCRP suggested. BJP plays big brother to JD(S)Weeks after the JD(S) stitched up an alliance with the BJP, the party’s high command is trying to quell a rebellion in the ranks. HD Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy have met with Muslim leaders in the party, who were planning to leave, and assured them that the alliance is only until the Lok Sabha elections. TNM has learnt that Deve Gowda and HDK gave the leaders two reasons for why they opted for an alliance with the BJP, a party the former PM was once averse to aligning with.The first reason was that the BJP promised to push ‘investors’ towards JD(S) at a time when the regional party was finding it difficult to raise funds after its rout in the Assembly polls. The second was that several JD(S) leaders were in talks with Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar to defect to the Congress. The BJP had promised to protect the regional outfit by preventing a mass exodus from the party.As far as expelling JD(S) state president CM Ibrahim is concerned, the high command said they had to remove him to protect the party symbol. Deve Gowda and HDK did not want a repeat of the NCP drama playing out in the party..Zero HourA political story of public importance.Govt Accepts Resignation of Scapegoated IIPS Director After Revoking His Suspension for Unflattering NFHS Data.With K.S. James gone, International Institute of Population Sciences faculty say the credibility of upcoming NFHS rounds may go for a toss and the data may not be considered fully reliable. NFHS is a large-scale data collection exercise IIPS conducts for all states/UTs regarding various health and some development indicators and helps track the impact of targeted schemes launched to address them..PowermovesTop 5 political stories.Father YSR’s legacy, rift with brother Jagan: Tracing Sharmila’s political journeyKanniyakumari and The Seven Sisters: RSS-BJP's strategy for Tamil NaduDeve Gowda says JD(S)-BJP alliance had Kerala CM’s nod, Pinarayi calls it absurdTelangana polls: Ignoring TDP, BJP reaches out to Pawan Kalyan for supportTelangana polls: RS Praveen Kumar banks on local Bahujan history to win Sirpur