The selected cartoons appeared first in other publications, either in print or online, or on social media, and are credited appropriately.
Sajith Kumar suggests that the BJP’s strategy to keep Prime Minister Narendra Modi front and centre while downplaying local issues might have cost the party dearly in Himachal Pradesh, the home state of party president J.P. Nadda.
Satish Acharya refers to PM Modi’s criticism of his political adversaries, accusing them of using “politics of shortcuts” — revadi (freebies) and restoration of Old Pension Scheme (OPS) — in the backdrop of the BJP’s historic win in Gujarat and its loss in the Himachal Pradesh assembly and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls.
Referring to the resignation of Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta on account of the party’s poor performance in the MCD polls, R. Prasad illustrates how the BJP’s central leadership is struggling to find Gupta’s replacement since all of its popular leaders — MPs and Union ministers — live under NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Corporation) limits, outside the jurisdiction of the MCD.
Kirtish Bhatt gives his take on the newly-constituted 182-member Gujarat Legislative Assembly comprising 40 MLAs with criminal cases against them. In the illustration, an elected representative — likely one with a criminal case against him — says: “This is the beauty of democracy that I like. No one faces discrimination here.”
Sandeep Adhwaryu draws on a report by The Indian Express that revealed how SUVs bought using Nirbhaya Fund were deployed as escort vehicles to accompany legislators part of the Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde. The Nirbhaya Fund is a government corpus for implementation of initiatives to enhance security for women.