New Delhi: Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan has earned a reputation for sharp political timing. The 2025 Bihar assembly election results have only burnished that image, with his party winning as many as 19 seats. A day before counting, though, Chirag mistimed his boarding on a Patna-bound flight from Delhi.
The flight waited on the tarmac for a considerable time as Chirag and his entourage made a delayed entry. It took a few more minutes for the crew to find space for their luggage, leaving some passengers fuming.
“Will such privilege being extended to the minister be given to common people?” one passenger snapped at a crew member, who tried to placate the angry flyers by saying the delay was due to pending Air Traffic Control clearance. Eventually, the flight took off over 40 minutes after its scheduled departure time.
Why Singapore matters for Naidu
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu adores the late first prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, and admires the modern, progressive nation the statesman built. On Friday, during the Andhra Pradesh CII Partnership Summit held at Visakhapatnam, the CM revealed another reason for his strong attachment with the city state.
“When I lost power, all my friends ignored me. Only one government remembered me and that is the Singapore government. They comforted me saying that regardless of you being in or out of power, you are our permanent friend. They said my credibility as a leader was important to them,” Naidu said, during the signing of an MoU between Singapore and Andhra Pradesh to collaborate in the fields of sustainable urban governance, digital transformation, HRD, etc.
The MoU renews the partnership between Andhra Pradesh and Singapore, as previous CM Jagan Mohan Reddy had scrapped the earlier arrangement with Singapore’s involvement in the development of Amaravati.
Naidu said his association with Singapore goes back to 1995, when he first became the CM of united AP, sharing how he took the city-state’s help to build Cyberabad.
“So, after the 2014 bifurcation, as Hyderabad went to Telangana, I announced that I will build a new capital like Singapore. Today, I am extremely happy as the Singapore government has again come forward to support AP in development,” said the CM.
Singapore Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister of Home Affairs K. Shanmugam reciprocated, saying that Andhra Pradesh was the focus state for Singapore “primarily because Naidu understands Singapore and we understand him”.
“He (Naidu) is an old friend of Singapore,” said the Singapore minister.
Adani, Pawar & Fadnavis at same wedding
This week, various political and industrial bigwigs made their way to a high-profile wedding where Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, NCP founder Sharad Pawar and businessman Gautam Adani were spotted in the same frame.
It was the wedding of an IPS officer’s daughter and netizens wondered who this officer was to draw such an elite guest list. The officer in question is Pravin Pawar, police commissioner of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
According to sources, all VIPs made a beeline for the wedding mainly out of respect for Pravin Pawar’s father, Ramrao Pawar, a retired senior policeman.
On a lighter note, there’s also an unofficial phenomenon that the police chief of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city (formerly Aurangabad) finds his way to Mumbai, and hence becomes an important asset for the political class.
‘Dy CM only works past midnight’
It was a big day Friday for D.K. Shivakumar, Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister, as his first book Neerina Hejje was to be released by CM Siddaramaiah. In attendance was almost the entire state cabinet, MLAs and other party leaders at Vidhana Soudha’s Banquet Hall.
Beaming from ear-to-ear, Shivakumar was at his uncanny best during his speech, making light of earlier criticisms against him over the years. But it was CM Siddaramaiah who sent the audience into raptures with his witty remarks, praising and poking fun at his deputy.
The CM expressed surprise at Shivakumar finding time to write, given his demanding schedule. When some in the crowd suggested Shivakumar works until 3 am, the CM cheekily responded, “he only works past midnight”.
But Siddaramaiah was not done, stating that he himself has not been able to pen a book on finance despite handling the portfolio more than 13 times.
For the duration of at least one evening, it appeared as though the two leaders had buried the hatchet, in contrast to the daily reports about their alleged rivalry.
Siddaramaiah concluded by asking the audience to read the book.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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