Mystery behind disappearance of Tejasvi’s video & Annamalai’s spat with BJP in-charge

This is the 50th edition of Powertrip. As we celebrate this mini milestone, I just wanted to share that it has been a pleasure to curate this newsletter for The News Minute subscribers. I’m Dhanya Rajendran, joined by my colleagues Shabbir Ahmed and Pooja Prasanna, all seasoned political reporters. Every week, we meticulously check with political sources to bring you insights, unreported facts, and a deep understanding of what leaders are thinking and planning. Thank you for being part of this journey with us.In this week’s Powertrip, we tell you about Tejasvi Surya’s video that TV9 Kannada deleted, what the internal surveys of BJP and Congress say about the Lok Sabha numbers expected in Karnataka, and why parties in Andhra Pradesh are waiting to release their manifestos. .Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only.Why did Tejasvi’s video disappear?On Sunday night, TV9 Kannada uploaded a video titled ‘Uproar at Guru Raghavendra Co-operative bank meeting in Bengaluru’. The video had visuals of Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya with his uncle and Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya at a meeting during which depositors of the Sri Guru Raghavendra Co-operative (SGRC) Bank tried to raise the issue of the bank’s revival with the MLA. The video also showed a woman questioning Ravi Subramanya, who slapped her hand away as she tried to reach out to him. Tejasvi Surya could be seen leaving the venue in anger.Hours after it was uploaded, the video just disappeared from the TV9 Kannada YouTube channel. When we asked sources in TV9, they were quite dismissive about it and said that the “online team decided to delete it”. BJP sources, however, conceded that Tejasvi’s office did exert pressure on the channel and also claimed that the video was part of Congress propaganda. The BJP doesn’t seem too worried that the victims of the bank fraud are upset with Tejasvi or at the video. The internal calculation is that at max he would lose 4,000 votes because of the incident. The party has, however, told Tejasvi to do some media management. And as we know, the young man excels in that for sure.Also, we haven’t deleted the videos. You can watch them here. And read our story here. Battleground Karnataka: What BJP and Congress expected numbers areWith 28 seats, Karnataka is an important state for both the Congress and the BJP. The BJP walked away with 25 seats in the last election and two surveys done within the party have predicted victory in almost the same number of seats this time. Varahe, the political consultancy that BJP general secretary BL Santhosh trusts, says the BJP will win in 23 seats and the JD(S) in 2. Party chief Vijayendra doesn’t trust either Varahe or Santhosh and has done his own survey. According to sources, while Vijayendra initially thought the BJP would win 20 seats and JD(S) 2, he has recently added Tumakuru and Chamarajanagar to the tally.So with the BJP believing it will win most seats in Karnataka, what does the Congress predict for itself? The party, we are told, internally believes that they have chances of winning 11 seats. These include Bangalore Rural, Mandya, Hassan, Chickballapur, Chikkodi, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Kolar, Udupi - Chikmagalur, Davangere, and Gulbarga. Andhra’s who-will-do-it-first contestAndhra Pradesh goes to the polls on May 13, but both the major parties – YSRCP and TDP – have not yet released their official manifestos. The TDP did unveil its six super guarantees in February, which included generating 20 lakh jobs for youth, providing a monthly unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000, and more. According to party leaders, a full manifesto with a focus on education and health has been prepared. The TDP-Jana Sena-BJP alliance manifesto has been approved by Chandrababu Naidu, but the BJP wants to add certain inputs. This is expected to happen within a few days. Though TDP leaders say the manifesto is “90% ready”, they aren’t sure when it will be released. So what’s stopping them from releasing it? They want the YSRCP to release its manifesto first and then see if they would need to add more to theirs.The YSRCP is also playing the waiting game and wants the TDP to release its document first. Some YSRCP sources say Jagan will not release a full-fledged manifesto but will more or less promise to continue the current governance. Arvind Menon-Annamalai fallout?BJP national secretary Arvind Menon who was made Tamil Nadu in-charge is apparently miffed with state party chief Annamalai. Though Menon is working out of Chennai, he has chosen not to travel extensively because he disagrees with the way Annamalai has been working. We are also told that Menon has put all this in a report and sent it off to the high command.The main grouse is that Annamalai does not take any inputs and has his own strategies. But this does not mean Annamalai is alone. BL Santhosh has firmly backed the former IPS officer who is contesting from Coimbatore and reached out to a few people in the city.We are also hearing that other BJP candidates in the state are quite displeased that Annamalai is walking away with all the attention and that there is no flutter over their campaign..Zero HourA political story of public importance.A brief history of Patanjali’s dangerous claims.From claiming to cure Covid to defying the Supreme Court, the ayurvedic company founded by yoga guru Ramdev has flouted the law several times..PowermovesTop 5 political stories1. Stone pelting at CM Jagan: TDP calls it ‘drama’, says Jagan deserves an Oscar2. Sidelined by the Sangh, Karnataka's Billava community seeks political representation3. Rise of Kerala Christian right is deeply rooted in Islamophobia: A look at Poonjar, Pala4. How the BJP is trying to make inroads in Tamil Nadu with YouTube channels 5. PhD scholar Padmaja who alleged discrimination by OU to contest from Hyderabad LS seat

Mystery behind disappearance of Tejasvi’s video & Annamalai’s spat with BJP in-charge

Inside Track

Exclusive stories, for your eyes only

Related Stories