This week, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Jayashree Arunachalam and Anand Vardhan are joined by Vibes of India founder editor Deepal Trivedi and Citizen associate editor Rajeev Khanna. 

The conversation begins with the top headlines of the week and the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assembly poll results. Briefing the panel on the numbers and demographics, Deepal says, “What works in Gujarat is the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” While she talks about election narratives that favoured the BJP and AAP, Rajeev gives an insight into the stepping stones behind the Modi factor.  

“I think we should blame the Congress first,” says Jayashree while talking about the AAP’s dent in the Congress support base in Gujarat. Pointing out the impact of a lack of strong opposition, Abhinandan mentions how Sheila Dikshit failed to win a fourth term in Delhi due to the rise of Arvind Kejriwal’s party. 

In Himachal, Rajeev says the AAP could not perform well due to the absence of prominent leaders. “Developments in Punjab caught their attention.”

As the discussion shifts to the MCD poll results, Jayashree says the media coverage was “way beyond what you usually give to the municipal level”. 

Tune in!

Hafta letters: Nuclear energy, Gujarat election, Club Q shooting