The best Indian cartoons of the day, chosen by editors at ThePrint.
The selected cartoons appeared first in other publications, either in print or online or on social media and are credited appropriately.
The BJP’s defeat in the UP bypolls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur dominates the themes of cartoons Thursday, highlighting the significance of what is being touted as a turning point in electoral politics in the country.
The lead cartoon by Satish Acharya in Mail Today shows Rahul and Sonia Gandhi looking thoughtfully at Akhilesh Yadav balancing atop a bicycle (the SP logo), which is held up by an elephant (the BSP logo). The alliance between bitter rivals SP-BSP succeeded in defeating the BJP in the Uttar Pradesh by-polls, and a weakened Congress now wonders how they can replicate the feat at the national level.
E.P. Unny in The Indian Express draws on the death of renowned physicist Stephen Hawking on Wednesday by using the title of his book ‘A Brief History of Time’ to poke fun at Yogi Adityanath and Modi’s passing ‘Acchhe Din’ (good times).
Mansoor Naqvi in DB Post alludes to the large number of children that died in BRD Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur due to a lack of oxygen last year. Now once again under Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, the death is of the BJP, as the chief minister stands crestfallen with a wilting lotus in his arms (the BJP logo).
Narendra Modi’s proclamation that he has a proud 56-inch chest is made fun of by Irfan on Twitter, as with the BJP’s loss in UP, the SP-BSP alliance can now claim that they are the ones with a bigger chest.
Finally, Manjul in First Post intelligently encapsulates the changed political dynamic between the SP, BSP and BJP in Uttar Pradesh. In 2014, the BJP had floated to the top of the pile, while rivals SP and BSP drowned in losses. Now, as SP and BSP have struck a symbiotic relationship, they rise to the top together in 2018, as the BJP is held-back from victory.
Headline text: BJP loses in Uttar Pradesh by-elections in Gorakhpur and Phulpur
A leader from Samajwadi Party (left): More than 56 inches (referring to the self-proclaimed size of PM Narendra Modi’s chest)
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