This week on NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Jayashree Arunachalam, Anand Vardhan and Raman Kirpal are joined by veteran journalist and political commentator Arati Jairath.

Arati discusses the complexity of the Indian elections and the need for a “grey area” while reporting on it. “One of the temptations that should be resisted is to jump to the conclusion,” she says. The panel follows up on the saga of Bollywood stars in politics. Aarti emphasises Mamata Banerjee's weakness of “glamour girls” and Jayashree brings out the comparative of star power in Tamil Nadu politics.

Referring to the remark of Suvendu Adhikari, BJP’s contestant from Nandigram, who said, "For Bengal, identity is more important than development", Anand speaks on the cyclical process of Indian elections where the identity quotient can never be wiped out.

The panel further discusses the perspective of nationality versus regionality. Stressing upon the significance of the Delhi amendment bill of the union government, Abhinandan questions the structural impact it will have on the national capital and AAP. "BJP wants to go with absolute power in Delhi but this will further alienate the aam aadmi of the capital," Arati says, while Jayashree points that this is yet another blatant attempt to centralize Delhi. Anand furthers the discussion by emphasising the constitutional aspects and the structural fragility of the union territories until they gain statehood.

The conversation also spans on the crucial case of Arnab Goswami and BARC, the cluelessness of Sachin Vaze and the Antilia bomb scare, Rahul Gandhi's interesting interview with a Cornell University professor and other recent issues.

Tune in!

Hafta letters: Echo chambers, democracy in political parties, south Indian politics