BMC polls: Rhetoric loud, but roads broken: Will Mumbaikars finally get their due?

15 hours ago

The stage is set for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election, which will be held on Thursday, where the BJP-led Mahayuti is locked in a keen battle with the united Thackeray cousins Raj and Uddhav for control of the cash-rich BMC.

Transcript

00:00Mumbai car it's your moment

00:05battle for BMC set to kick off

00:12pose after three years of delay

00:18rhetoric loud but roads broken

00:30a smitha politics versus civic reality

00:37will Mumbai girls finally get their due

00:46maximum city maximum states

00:53good evening you're watching to the

01:00point I come to you from the city of

01:02Calcutta West Bengal the lovely Victoria

01:05right behind me well the state that is

01:09up for elections in just two months while

01:12we're going to put our focus firmly on

01:14the BMC elections that are taking place

01:16but before I get you the latest allow me

01:19to take you through the headlines

01:26E.D. vs. Didi courtroom drama in Bengal

01:29Calcutta High Court disposes of TMC plea

01:32after E.D. says it hasn't seized anything

01:34during IPAC raids now action shifts to

01:38top court supreme court to hear E.D.'s

01:41plea against TMC tomorrow

01:53Justice Yashwant Varma remains defiant

01:55opposes impeachment in his reply to the

01:58parliamentary panel says he cannot be

02:00blamed for failure of police and fire

02:04officials to secure the site where money

02:07was found

02:11as violence continues to spiral in Iran

02:19with over 2,000 people dead in clashes

02:21MEA issues and urgent advisory to all

02:24Indian nationals in Iran asking them to

02:26leave the country at the earliest

02:30Grooming gang racket exposed in West London

02:37over 206 come together to rescue a minor

02:39girl allegedly abducted by a Pakistani

02:42grooming gang the suspect is taken into

02:44police custody

02:53It's raining freebies in Tamil Nadu on the

02:55day of Pongal Neta's across party lines

02:57distribute freebies on occasion of Pongal

03:00Prime Minister Modi extends Pongal wishes

03:02to people of Tamil Nadu hailing culture

03:04and tradition of Tamil Nadu

03:12Prime Minister Modi to sound the pole bugle

03:15in Chennai on January 23rd top NDA parties

03:18to participate in rally sources say another

03:21party may also join hands with NDA before

03:24Prime Minister Bradley

03:45All right let's begin with the latest news

03:46coming in on the Zubin Garm death mystery

03:49and it seems it's not such a mystery

03:51anymore or a murder as per the coroner's

03:54office in Singapore the Singapore police

03:56has made struggling revelations which

03:59lay bare on the manner in which Zubin Garm

04:02passed away in Singapore while allegations

04:05are flying taken past Zubin Garm's death

04:08has become political fodder as well

04:12lots of allegations and counter allegations

04:14on that but the Singapore coroner's office

04:19where the death actually took place

04:21which was in Singapore the coroner's office

04:24has come clean and has said singer Garg was

04:28drunk Zubin Garm was drunk had declined

04:31life jacket this is what the coroner's court

04:34have said in Singapore popular Indian singer

04:37songwriter Zubin Garm was severely intoxicated

04:41this is what the coroner's office has told the court

04:47that Zubin Garm drowned off the Lazarus Island

04:51after declining a life jacket last September

04:54a coroner's court in Singapore was told on Wednesday

04:58Zubin Garm 52 was with a yacht party on September 19th

05:0320 25 where he doubt died of drowning a day before he was

05:09slated to perform at the Northeast Indian festival in Singapore

05:13the singer and this is all been detailed in a court of law

05:18by the coroner's office in Singapore where it said the singer

05:23initially wore a life jacket but removed it and later declined

05:27to put on a second one offered to him the chief investigating

05:32officer told the court in the opening of the inquiry at the time

05:37Garg was also severely intoxicated and severe and several witnesses

05:42saw him trying to swim back to the yacht when he went limp

05:47and began floating with his face in the water Garg was promptly

05:51rescued back to the yacht and CPR was administered but he was

05:56pronounced dead later the same day the singer had a medical history

06:01of hypertension and epilepsy with his last known epileptic episode

06:07in 2024 however it is unclear if he had taken his regular medication

06:13for epilepsy on the day of the incident when the incident while the

06:18evidence of eyewitnesses insufficient to establish that he had actually

06:22taken it the Singapore police does not suspect any foul play in the death

06:28one needs to underline that this has been stated by the court coroner's office

06:34that the Singapore police does not suspect any foul play in his death a

06:40total of 35 witnesses are slated for the inquiry the chief investigating officer

06:46in the case has also stated that 20 people on the yacht including his friends and colleagues

06:52had some alcohol on the boat the investigating officer then described a step-by-step account

07:00of what happened during the first swim Garg removed his life jacket and later went back

07:07on the yacht and was heard saying that he was tired when he decided to resume swimming

07:12Garg was offered a second smaller life jacket but declined to wear it he entered the water

07:18without a life jacket and started swimming in the direction of the island

07:24ultimately what one needs to underline viewers is this

07:28that the Singapore police have clearly stated in a court of law

07:32that Zubin Garg's death was an accident and there was no foul play as ruled at least by the coroner's office in Singapore

07:44I want to cut across right now to my colleague Rajoy Das who's joining us live with more details

07:50Rajoy this is bound to have ramifications in the state of Assam a state which is election bound in the next two months

07:58where Zubin Garg has become a hot political issue the Singapore police coming in

08:04the coroner the investigating officer deposing in court stating that Zubin Garg's death was an accident and there was no foul play

08:14you know this development has come up in a day of Bihu when whole Assam is having Bihu for the first time without Zubin Garg

08:24and this reports are suggesting that Zubin Garg has jumped into the waters the second time without a life jacket and then he drowned

08:34and he was also like taken to the Yaach and given CPR and he was heavily intoxicated it is being mentioned

08:42and the level of alcohol in his blood was found as 330 milligram per milliliter of per 100 milliliter of blood

08:50was found in his blood that's the coroner's court that was told to the coroner's court in Singapore

08:57you know we all know that Zubin Garg had like history of epilepsy and also had a very rough sleeping schedule

09:07and like this comes at a time when Assam is going for elections and it is a big development for the Zubin Garg murder case in Assam

09:18Assam

09:20right

09:22well you know there's lots to look at here viewers because as my colleague Rajoy just said that it was known that Zubin Garg had epilepsy

09:31he had a rough schedule when it come to sleeping he also had a very troublesome relationship when it came down to alcohol

09:37he very often in interviews accepted that he did have a problem where alcohol was concerned

09:44now juxtapose it but what is happening right now in the state of Assam

09:48where you have both the BJP the Congress locked in a political battle over Zubin Garg

09:55there have been people who have been taken under arrest for the alleged murder of Zubin Garg

09:59the Chief Minister of Assam has already proclaimed that Zubin Garg was murdered and it wasn't a natural death

10:06in light of all of that

10:08now you have Singapore police this accident as per the Singapore police had taken place where a yacht party was on Zubin and his friends

10:20some of his colleagues his manager were on that yacht it happened off the coast of Singapore and it was not and there was no foul play

10:29which has at least been judged by the coroner's office and the Singapore police they say it was an accident

10:36will this have ramifications back home in Assam which is election bound

10:41I want to bring in Rajoy back into this conversation

10:44Rajoy break it down for us because this has become a hot political flashpoint

10:48we don't have Rajoy with us anymore we're going to try and cut across to him

10:53but this is big news viewers

10:55it will play out on multiple fronts even the family of Zubin Garg his wife

11:00earlier on had said that she did not suspect any foul play and then said

11:04that if at all there is foul play then the perpetrators of the crime need to be brought to justice

11:09there have been people who have been taken under arrest in this particular case

11:13a parallel investigation is taking place in India as well

11:17having said that you have the Singapore police now ruling out the cause of death of Zubin Garg

11:23an accident and no foul play

11:27interesting developments especially when you note them in a political context as well

11:33not just that the sheer fact that there are people today who have been arrested for the death of Zubin Garg

11:40this was a case what many would have suggested was going down the lines of a Sushant Singh Rajput case

11:46but at least here you've had a police force of another government another country which is Singapore

11:55coming out and stating that as per their investigation there is no foul play

11:59Zubin Garg died of intoxication and drowning

12:02we're going to continue to get our viewers more on this developing story

12:05but let's quickly shift focus right now to what we are tracking very closely

12:11it's the countdown to the BMC election where the richest municipality in India all set to vote tomorrow

12:18we know the results day after the BMC is going to elections after 2017

12:24eight years on what do Mumbai cars really want and ultimately they might want something

12:30will they really go out and vote for what they want is the big question

12:41tomorrow Mumbai votes

12:44the campaign has been loud

12:47about Thakre legacy

12:49Marathi pride

12:51and who speaks for the Marathi Manus

12:54but on the ground

12:55Mumbai cars are asking different questions

12:58the Shiv Sena UBT MNS Alliance

13:02framed this election as a fight to preserve Marathi identity and unity

13:07the Mahayuti countered with Hindu pride

13:12promising a Hindu mayor

13:14protection and housing for Marathi speakers

13:16but while identity dominated the narrative

13:19the ballot for many Mumbai cars has been about survival in a city under stream

13:27Mumbai is choking

13:29the Bombay High Court has repeatedly pulled up the BMC over rising air pollution

13:34warning that drastic steps are needed

13:37yet residents say little has changed

13:41despite hundreds of crores spent

13:44potholes remain a permanent feature

13:47over 59,000 potholes were reported in just one year

13:52for Mumbai cars bad roads mean daily danger

13:58Mumbai faces a daily water shortfall of up to 500 million litres

14:04no new dam in decades

14:07even as the city keeps expanding

14:09reliable clean water

14:12remains a growing concern

14:15footpaths have vanished under illegal encroachments

14:19the High Court has called the situation painful and troubling

14:23but enforcement on the ground remains weak

14:26so when Mumbai votes tomorrow

14:29beyond identity politics and slogans

14:32the choice is about basics

14:34clean air

14:36safe roads

14:37reliable water

14:38walkable footpaths

14:40that's what the BMC poll means for Mumbai cars

14:46Bureau report

14:47India today

14:48India today

14:54all right let's cut across right now to some Mumbai cars as the Mumbai gets set to vote

14:59but you know

15:00we can crib for all the all we want

15:02of what Mumbai wants

15:04but will Mumbai earn the right to crib

15:07that's the question

15:08and that right can only come at the back if that finger is inked tomorrow

15:13and history stands testimony that the voting patterns where Mumbai comes into question

15:20especially in BMC elections has been abysmal

15:23it was the highest

15:24the last time around in 2017

15:26eight years ago

15:27where it was 55%

15:29before that

15:30Mumbai has recorded an abysmal water turnout of not more than 50%

15:35sometimes middling forties

15:37I want to cut across to our panelists this evening

15:40joining me Tara Deshpande author actor Meghna Pamth author

15:44Dr. Aprithim Goyal CEO Medical Director of Q2 Skin Studio

15:49she's also a celebrity dermatologist

15:53Dr. Goyal is also a celebrity dermatologist

15:55Bharat Dhabolkar advertising professional

15:59Mr. Dhabolkar you know

16:00there is

16:01the rhetoric is something else

16:03the narrative is something else

16:04it needs to be scripted by the likes of you

16:06voting percentage in BMC election has been abysmal

16:10do you really think people will actually put their money where their mouth is

16:14go and actually vote and register a count

16:17which can effect a legitimate change

16:20no they won't

16:21in Mumbai we

16:22Mumbai never votes

16:23only 50% of Mumbai votes at the most

16:26and this time election campaigns of all the political parties

16:30I underlined all the political parties

16:32have been the most ridiculous

16:34and the most irrelevant campaigns I have ever seen

16:38this was a civic election

16:40what is coming up tomorrow is a civic election

16:42as somebody just said

16:43it's about the roads it's about the water

16:46it is not about development of the state

16:49this is not the Vidhan Sabha election

16:51it is not about the Marathi pride

16:53it is not about Adani

16:54it is not about Mumbai being taken away

16:56it is about do I get good roads in my locality

16:59do I get enough water

17:00are my footpaths walkable

17:03these are the issues and not one single political party has touched upon these issues

17:08it is the most ridiculous campaign I have ever seen

17:14and the sadly Mumbai girls don't give a doubt

17:16no I understand that it is a ridiculous campaign

17:18but that's the question

17:21because you know the fact is

17:23you will see a ridiculous campaign

17:25because it really doesn't matter

17:26and why it doesn't matter is

17:28because we can't stress on it again and again

17:30and we are doing so multiple times

17:33on air

17:34on India today

17:35go out and vote

17:36if you want to crib about your roads

17:38water

17:39then earn the right to crib

17:41Tara Desh Pandey

17:42I want to bring you in

17:43you know the political narrative has been very very different

17:45than what the narrative should be

17:47and what the reality is on ground

17:49there is a complete disconnect between our netas

17:53and what people really want

17:55but

17:56and there is a huge but

17:57we will have people who will come on camera

18:00who will come on air

18:01to elucidate on what's wrong with Mumbai

18:03but tomorrow

18:04they are not going to go out and vote

18:08you know I am very sad to say

18:10but Mumbai the city of dreams

18:11is turning into Mumbai the city of screams

18:14and these screams are being heard by nobody

18:16in order for people to hear us

18:18and hear our plight

18:19I think we really need to make a lot of noise

18:22and the best noise we can make is to go out and vote

18:24we have some serious issues here

18:26you know some of these points were mentioned by you earlier in the program

18:31but let me give you a few numbers to show you how bad it is

18:34there is one toilet for every eighteen hundred and twenty women in this city

18:39only sixty percent of toilets in this city

18:43get electricity on a continuous basis

18:46we have a situation where one out of twenty four wards in the BMC

18:51gets twenty four hours water supply

18:53the rest get about five point three to five point seven liters

18:57the situation has become so bad that there isn't a single road left in Mumbai where there aren't potholes

19:03we are now cutting down mangroves

19:05we are cutting down trees

19:06like you know like a lawnmower in someone's garden

19:09when we know that our city is a coastal city

19:11climate change has resulted in rising sea levels

19:14we have suffered catastrophic floods in Maharashtra as well as in Mumbai

19:18that have taken lives and yet we continue to destroy our floodplains

19:22this is really critical because once things go really wrong

19:27there's very little you can do to sort this out

19:30we want the BMC to stop cutting down our trees

19:33and to stop destroying our mangroves

19:35we want the Mitty River to be desilted

19:37we want the encroachments to be removed

19:39and speaking of encroachments

19:40this is one of the biggest reasons

19:42Mumbai is being destroyed

19:43illegal encroachments

19:45illegal buildings

19:46and very high IQI

19:47which are all connected together

19:49there is so much illegal construction

19:51taking place in the city

19:52and the legal construction doesn't follow any rules

19:54we have so much dust both from road construction

19:57as well as from buildings

19:58every second building has work going on

20:01all hours of the night

20:02Tara Deshpande I can't seem to hear you

20:04either you know we've lost you because I am in Kolkata

20:07we've lost you or we're going to try and reconnect to you

20:10Meghna Panth I want to bring you into this conversation

20:12you know Tara is giving some very hard facts out

20:17on why we need a great civic body to put Mumbai back together

20:21which is clearly fraying at its edges

20:23there is a larger question here though Meghna

20:27that the onus also lies on the people of Mumbai

20:31absolutely you know

20:33effect that change

20:34absolutely Preeti I love Mumbai

20:36I love Mumbai cars

20:37but I hate how apathetic Mumbai is when it comes to voting

20:40and the pride that Mumbai cars almost take in being apolitical

20:43the Mumbai that I know has been othered from politics for decades

20:46we've been told subtly and even not so subtly that politics is dirty

20:50it's distanced it's like this othering that voters are you know underprivileged

20:54or they've been offered train or electricity or bus fare concessions or 3000 rupees a month

20:58now that mindset has led directly to voter apathy and this chronically low turnout that you just mentioned

21:04but let me be very clear this BMC election is not about partisanship

21:08it's not about ideology

21:10it's not about party politics

21:12people need to understand this is about how you live every single day

21:15so stop making excuses

21:17it's embarrassing

21:18go out and vote

21:19tomorrow's a holiday

21:20voting does not require heroism

21:22it takes 10-15 minutes

21:23your polling booth is in your ward

21:26that is your neighborhood

21:27very often it's literally in your building or the one next door

21:29so if you have a voter id or even your parchi

21:32just go there are no excuses left

21:34go decide who your cooperator is going to be

21:37this is the person who is going to represent your neighborhood

21:39in the city council

21:41the city council is sitting on 60-70 thousand crore rupees

21:44that can change your day to day life

21:46this vote is going to decide how your roads are

21:48how your drains are

21:49how safe your parents feel walking on the road

21:51whether your children can breathe clean air

21:53how your garbage is handled

21:54your water and electricity

21:56so this is not about politics

21:57this is about quality of life

21:59it's your responsibility and your civic duty

22:02so Mumbai cars

22:03please ask yourself simple questions

22:04go to chat GPT if you have to

22:06find out who your cooperator is

22:08what work have they actually done

22:09what promises have they kept

22:11has accessibility improved or worsened

22:14you know just see what's going on around you

22:17at least in your neighborhood

22:19and that's what democracy is all about

22:21so my appeal to Mumbai cars is simple

22:23show up

22:24vote local

22:25vote practical

22:26vote for who makes sense for your life

22:28because if you don't choose

22:29someone else will

22:30and we will still be stuck complaining

22:32in traffic

22:33in floods

22:34and you know

22:35in broken cities

22:36that we have forgotten to

22:37how to defend

22:38so it's like choosing to stay with a toxic partner

22:40and then the fault is finally with you

22:42right

22:43so don't do armchair activism after that

22:45tomorrow Mumbai needs to stop surviving

22:48and start deciding

22:49Tara Deshpande author and actor

22:52Meghna Pant author

22:53Apratim Goyal who's the CEO and medical director of Qtis skin studio

22:59a celebrity dermatologist in Mumbai

23:02and Bharat Dhabolkar advertising professional

23:04these are the four guests we have with us right now

23:07thank you very much guests for staying with us

23:09we are talking about what do Mumbai cars want

23:12the battle for BMC that is set to take off voting tomorrow

23:15we will start with you Tara Deshpande

23:19what do Mumbai cars want

23:22are we looking at issues based elections

23:24or are we stuck on religion, region and language

23:30Tara Deshpande

23:31well I think there will always be a little bit of identity politics

23:34because this is India, this is Bharat

23:36but I think it's less so in Mumbai than it is in other parts of the country

23:40we just have such huge issues right now that are so worrisome

23:44that I think people are kind of more scared than they have been before

23:47also we are having an election after a really long time

23:50so I think you know I am hoping that we have more people voting than in the past

23:56you know one of the issues that citizens often complain about

23:59is that the response time of the BMC to their problems

24:02are far from what the citizens charter outlines

24:05the citizens charter says for emergency problems

24:0824 hours to resolve it

24:10and 3 business days to resolve a non-emergency problem

24:14but the average from studies shows that it takes between 30 and 35 days

24:18for the BMC to resolve any of the citizens issues

24:22this is you know a very very long drawn process getting any problem solved here

24:27and one of the reasons for it is

24:29there are you know a lot of reasons and these are quite surprising

24:32the BMC's budget has gone up by 25% five years ago

24:37and again in this period by another 20%

24:40yet there has been a fall of between 11 and 18%

24:43in the monies that have been passed on to the wards

24:46so if the wards are ill-equipped how are they going to function

24:48we also have a lot of vacancies in the BMC right now

24:52in very critical sectors that have not been filled

24:54we need more people manning the BMC in order to help citizens out

24:58all right

24:59all right thank you very much for that Tara Deshpande

25:02Dr. Aprathim Goyal is also with us

25:04if we can get your view Dr. Goyal

25:07on what are the big issues for Mumbai cars right now

25:11as Tara was saying there are a lot of issues

25:14the BMC doesn't even respond and this

25:16there hasn't been an election in the BMC for a long time now

25:19Tara, Dr. Goyal

25:21hi yes so I think our issues are very very basic

25:26clean water clean air a proper disposal of waste

25:30you know we need proper sanitation especially for women

25:33because in my practice I see lots of urinary infections

25:37leading to kidney infections and yes this noise is creating

25:40so much of distress and it is upsetting not only citizens

25:44but also our pets so I think very very basic you know

25:48since Mumbai is a place we all want to be by choice

25:52I think it should become a very livable city

25:55it should be all we are asking is very very basic amenities

25:59water, sanitation, noise, less noise

26:02I'm not saying noise less but yeah less noise

26:06clean water, sanitation and air pollution is at its peak as we know

26:11lately it's been Mumbai Delhi you know race for pollution

26:15so I think that if these basic things are set in place

26:19that's what every Mumbaiker wants

26:22alright Dr. Goyal you're saying that if these basic things are in place

26:26that's what every Mumbaiker wants but we've seen so much politics being played

26:30when it when it comes to dealing with pollution

26:33we're seeing a lot of politicking when it comes to basic civic amenities

26:37let me also go across to Meghna Panth

26:40Meghna Panth, we've seen a lot of politics being played

26:43particularly when it comes to identity politics in Maharashtrian politics

26:48with the BMC election we've seen the kind of language that has been used

26:54in the last several months we've seen the kind of identity politics

26:57language politics that has come up

26:59is that going to have an impact on how the Mumbaiker will vote tomorrow according to you?

27:05I think there are narratives that are being deployed about demographic and voter behaviour

27:11but I think it's strategic

27:13and while opposite opponents are calling these messages divisive

27:16I don't

27:18my take on this is that this is very dangerous and polarising and very divisive

27:22so we should not other any religion

27:25and slot them under you know a particular religion that is not even

27:29that is foreign to India

27:31this is infantilising them and the serious issue of anti-national elements

27:35and all citizens especially in a city like Mumbai are stakeholders in the city's future

27:40reducing them to a monolithic sort of voting block or using them as scapegoats

27:45is inaccurate, it's very harmful

27:48let's remember that Mumbai thrives because of its diversity not despite it

27:52and using religion, caste or identity to steer fear

27:55this is not constructive political debate

27:57it's a way to distract voters from real issues like infrastructure or health or education and jobs

28:02so when any political alliance tries to frame communities as threats

28:07it risks dividing people rather than uniting them around shared challenges

28:11so please remember Mumbaikars that political debate should challenge policies and governance

28:16so let's engage with citizens respectfully regardless of their religion

28:20and strengthen our democracy

28:22because fear mongering is only going to weaken it

28:24and I'll tell you this much, I'm also an immigrant to Mumbai

28:26I'm a Pahadi, I'm from north of India originally

28:29but Mumbai has been for 30 plus years

28:31and I've never felt like an outsider

28:33and that's what Mumbai does, it's a melting pot

28:35it's not a cultural gatekeeper and it never will be

28:38all right

28:39Bharat Dhabolkar, I'll take the same question to you as well

28:42how is Mumbai going to be voting?

28:45what is your take on it?

28:47is it going to be voting on the issues of civic infrastructure

28:51or is the religion, region, language, politics going to hold sway?

28:55Bharat Dhabolkar

28:5650% Mumbai is not going to be voting

28:59what we are doing is wishful thinking here

29:01and my constituency which falls in south Bombay

29:05is the crown jewel of apathetic behaviour

29:08we can talk till cows come home about how we should go out and vote

29:12that's our democratic right

29:13but Mumbai cars don't give a damn

29:15and that's why they deserve the kind of situation that we are in right now

29:18if we don't have more than 50% people voting

29:21when there are so many problems that are facing us

29:23and we all talk about it all the time

29:25why aren't people coming out on voting?

29:27and the sad part which I began by saying

29:29is that all political parties are feeding them the wrong things

29:33they are telling them about Marathi Manus

29:35they are telling them about Adani development

29:37they are talking about development of coastal roads

29:39that is not the issue here

29:41and somehow if people start believing that

29:43and acting on that

29:44we are going to be in a worse situation than we have been earlier

29:48we can't vote on ideological patterns

29:50we have to vote for civic amenities

29:52and Mumbai cars don't go out and vote

29:55we are a pathetic city when it comes to voting

29:57and exercising our democratic rights

29:59and I don't think that's going to change

30:01sadly so

30:03I am being practical about this

30:04alright

30:05a very very sad situation according to Bharat Davalkar

30:08that Mumbai cars don't go out and vote

30:10so this I suppose will be our message from this bulletin

30:14from this debate

30:15from this discussion

30:16everyone must think about going out to vote

30:19stop being apathetic

30:21look at the issues around you

30:23and vote according to your conscience

30:25that thank you very much to all of my guests today

30:28all four of you

30:29you've pointed out the civic situation

30:32the very very pressing issues that are there

30:35for all Mumbai cars

30:36as Mumbai goes out to vote tomorrow

30:38we'll see how this works out

30:40the hope is that people will go out and vote

30:43in Tamil Nadu politics today

30:58there's one name everyone is chasing

31:00one leader every party wants on its side

31:03and one question that could reshape the 2026 battle

31:07where will Vijay go

31:14with the DMK firmly in power and the opposition fractured

31:18actor turned politician Vijay has emerged as the state's most sought after political force

31:24every party except the DMK is trying to woo him

31:29the BJP has fired the opening salvo

31:35Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Arnamalai has openly called for the consolidation of all anti-DMK voices

31:42and that call includes Vijay and his Tamil Raga Vetri Karagam

31:46when DMK has to go the best way for DMK has to go is

31:50all the anti-DMK votes gets consolidated

31:53Mr. Vijay whenever he speaks that is what his speech indicates

31:5590% of his speech he attacks DMK he wants DMK to go

32:00for the BJP the calculation is simple

32:03a united anti-DMK front with Vijay as the ultimate crowd puller

32:08but there's a catch

32:10Vijay has already drawn his red lines

32:13no alliance with the DMK

32:15no alliance with the BJP

32:17at least for now

32:19yet the political coating shows no signs of stopping

32:24inside the Congress debates are intensified

32:28one section wants to explore an alliance with TVK

32:32betting big on Vijay's mass appeal

32:35another insists if Congress continues with the MK Stalin led DMK alliance

32:40it must secure a larger share of power

32:43we all know that Tamil Nadu is a state where the political alliances matters

32:50whomever is having good alliance they are going to win the government

32:54it has happened in 1967 when Congress was defeated by extreme two different visions

33:01adding fuel to the fire

33:04leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi weighed in with a sharp political message

33:09on X he slammed the BJP

33:12accusing it of blocking the release of Vijay's latest film

33:16Jananayagan

33:17a post signaling solidarity with Vijay

33:20and underscoring just how politically valuable the actor has become

33:25meanwhile signals are coming from the AIA-DMK camp

33:30party chief Edapadi K. Par Nisamy hinted at a new ally joining the NDA

33:36speculation immediately turned to Vijay's TVK

33:42but for AIA-DMK it's a catch-22

33:46a tie-up with TVK could consolidate anti-DMK votes

33:51but Vijay brings no caste-based support

33:54he has a massive fan following

33:57but no boot-level presence

34:00and while he could be a campaign face

34:02Vijay insists on being the chief ministerial candidate

34:07the party has made it clear

34:12if Vijay's party joins any alliance

34:15one condition is non-negotiable

34:18Vijay will remain the CM candidate

34:21no backseat

34:22no compromise

34:24so as Tamil Nadu's political chess board shifts

34:27the BJP calls for unity

34:29the Congress debates its future

34:32the AIA-DMK drops hints

34:35and Vijay

34:36he waits holding the key

34:39because in this race to woo Vijay

34:42whoever wins his trust

34:44could change the game in Tamil Nadu

34:49all right there's a

34:54well four states up for elections

34:56two of them playing out in this show

34:58I stand right in front of Victoria

35:00West Bengal lots happening here

35:02and lots happening in Tamil Nadu as well

35:04and right now at least for the moment

35:07the centerpiece of politics is actor Vijay

35:11everyone wants a piece of Vijay

35:14be it the Congress

35:15be it the DMK

35:16be it the AIDMK

35:17or the BJP

35:19so Mansi Rabban to bring you in

35:21and Shekhar Iyer

35:23both senior journalists

35:25political analyst

35:26how do you break it down

35:28the Congress wants Vijay at one end

35:31to muscle flex especially with the DMK

35:34for a better power seat sharing arrangement

35:37and on the other hand

35:38the sheer fact that Subhansi Raman

35:40you said yesterday

35:41if Vijay was to even an outside chance

35:43go with the NDA

35:44he could very well be the Chirag

35:46Paswan

35:48Oh yes

35:49I think Preeti

35:50the matter of the Congress

35:52I still maintain that the Congress

35:54will not dump the DMK

35:55they've got to think nationally

35:57the DMK is one of the biggest entities

35:59in the India alliance

36:00so if the Congress breaks with the DMK

36:03it means nationally

36:04the India alliance

36:05for all practical purposes collapses

36:07so I'm not too sure that the Congress

36:10would want to take that risk

36:11and if they are to take that risk

36:12take it for a completely unknown quantity

36:14who may not even have the muscle

36:17or the stomach for the fight

36:19we don't know at this point

36:20how much of a stomach he has got for the fight

36:22almost all the major political parties

36:25have started finalizing candidates

36:26now with the TVK

36:28we don't

36:29we have not so far

36:30got even an inkling of

36:32whether the process has even started

36:34and this is a party

36:35which is contesting its first elections

36:36mind you

36:37so I think that

36:38there are

36:39there is a serious problem

36:41I don't know if Vijay recognizes

36:43the extent of the problem

36:44that there is

36:45that his party is facing

36:46and just charisma alone

36:47is not enough to win election

36:49and the best option for him

36:51as I have been saying this

36:52multiple times

36:53multiple times

36:54is for him to get into an alliance

36:56with the AIADMK

36:57not join the NDA

36:59he does not need to join the NDA

37:00because it dilutes his anti-BJP line

37:03he can get into an alliance with the AIADMK

37:06put up candidates against the BJP

37:08which is what Chirag Paswan did in Bihar

37:11and many others

37:12I mean as recently

37:13as you know as few months ago also

37:16we had friendly fights happening in multiple states

37:18so I mean we saw that in Maharashtra as well

37:21where you know the Congress had candidates against the Sharath Pavas

37:26NCP in a few seats and so on

37:28so I think that basically what needs to be done

37:32is for Vijay to take a call that he would contest

37:35maybe 40 seats

37:36identify the candidates

37:38sign up in an alliance with the AIADMK

37:40and the other parties in the alliance

37:42except the BJP

37:43there is the PMK

37:44there are some more parties

37:45which are coming on board

37:46TTV, Dinakaran and others

37:48and he will not put up candidates against them

37:50the BJP is at the most likely to contest 30 seats

37:53even if Vijay contested against the BJP

37:57the alliance would sweep the elections

37:59Alright, so even if he contests against the BJP

38:06the alliance will sweep the election

38:07very interesting you know political chessboard

38:10that Sumansi Raman has created there for us

38:12and an option for actor Vijay

38:15Shekhar Iyer do you agree?

38:17Well Preeti you know

38:19just before we got into this discussion

38:22you mentioned that everybody wants a piece of Vijay

38:25but Vijay wants the cake

38:27so as of now he has not indicated

38:30he has not indicated that he is willing to join hands with anybody

38:35and in fact before ADMK tied up with BJP

38:42there were discussions or I would say

38:46back channel talks between Vijayists

38:50AIDS and the ADADMK

38:52the problem is EPS

38:55the AIADMK leader

38:57he wants to become CM

39:00the same thing what Vijay wants

39:03so there cannot be any kind of compromise as of now

39:06number one

39:07number two

39:08the

39:09whether the Congress and Vijay issue

39:11you see

39:12a day ago Rahul Gandhi was in Tamil Nadu

39:15he was in Neil Greece

39:16and

39:18there was a discussion among Tamil Nadu Congress leaders

39:20and DMK leader A. Raja was also present

39:24after Rahul Gandhi left for Mysore

39:26A. Raja, the DMK leader

39:28and

39:29Tamil Nadu Congress leaders had a discussion

39:31and after that

39:32even Manikam Thakur

39:34who has been openly talking of

39:36you know

39:37that the DMK must promise more number of seats

39:40and participation in the next government

39:42he also said

39:43look this alliance is as strong as ever

39:45that means

39:47everybody may be you know

39:50looking at the possibility of a Congress Vijay alliance

39:53but

39:54at the moment

39:55nothing is coming from Vijay as yet

39:57as yet

39:58whether

39:59he is willing to join an anti-DMK alliance

40:00that is why

40:01former

40:02BJP President

40:03Annamalai's call

40:04there should be

40:06a

40:07kind of a rally of all anti-DMK forces

40:10this is a call that Amit Shah himself gave

40:12when he was in Tamil Nadu a few days ago

40:14but

40:15I don't think Vijay is willing to take the bait

40:17as so far

40:18very interesting because

40:23Shekhar Raiya you are practically suggesting Amit Shah's call was the same on a regional level

40:27that was the Congress's call on a national level

40:30where the India alliance was forged against the BJP

40:33interesting times

40:34also

40:35he

40:36wants

40:37Vijay wants the cake

40:39but the big question is will he get to eat it too

40:41and we'll only know in times to come

40:44I'm sorry I'm a little short on time today

40:46thank you the both of you for taking the time out and joining me this evening

40:50well

40:51you know one thing is quite clear with Subhansi Raman and Shekhar Raiya both said that the Congress is not going to be leaving the DMK anytime soon