The selected cartoons appeared first in other publications, either in print or online, or on social media, and are credited appropriately.
On Shaheed Diwas (March 23), Sandeep Adhwaryu, for The Times of India, recalls freedom fighter Bhagat Singh’s thoughts on religion and politics. Bhagat Singh along with his associates Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar were hanged on 23 March 1931 by the British government for the killing of a British police officer.
Manjul, for Firstpost, takes a dig at the India’s ranking on this year’s UN World Happiness Report. India figured at the 140th place, seven spots down from 133 last year. The cartoonist shows BJP president Amit Shah blaming Congress president Rahul Gandhi for the poor ranking.
R. Prasad, for The Economic Times, weighs in on Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav contesting from Azamgarh in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The seat is currently held by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Sajith Kumar takes a potshot at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is likely to contest from Wayanad in Kerala apart from his current Lok Sabha constituency Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. The cartoonist calls it Congress’ ‘job security plan’.
Mahamud illustrates ‘margdarshak’ Lal Krishna Advani in light of the BJP fielding party president Amit Shah from Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Advani had represented Gandhinagar six times in the past. He was made a member of the ‘margdarshak mandal’ (group of mentors) after the BJP came to power in 2014.
Satish Acharya shows the electoral face-off between 111 farmers from Tamil Nadu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The farmers will file 111 nominations from Modi’s Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency to contest against him. They said the decision to contest the polls from Uttar Pradesh was taken to urge the BJP to include in their manifesto their demands, including loan waivers and profitable prices for farm produce.
Ajit Ninan, for The Times of India, shows Congress President Rahul Gandhi trying to fix the ‘leaks’ in the Congress ‘hand balloon’. The cartoonist takes potshot at the Congress that is witnessing major defections ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Mika Aziz | Twitter
Mika Aziz takes a jibe at a ‘chowkidar’, taking a nap while goons attack a Muslim family in Gurugram on the day of Holi last week. At least 35 to 40 goons had assaulted the family when they were playing cricket near their house.