This week on Hafta, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Anand Vardhan and Jayashree Arunachalam are joined by The Hindu journalist Sobhana K Nair and screenwriter, producer and professor Sabrina Dhawan.

The first phase of polling is done in Bihar, and Sobhana talks about Nitish’s relevance. She says after 20 years in power he “remains the single most popular leader” and that there’s “no leader who can hold a candle to Nitish Kumar in terms of personal integrity”. Anand adds: “His integrity is his shield – no major corruption scam against him, which makes him insulated from BJP's poaching tactic.”

Sobhana explains how the Bihar government’s welfare schemes have empowered marginalised women in the state: “Women have the money. Women have the reservation. Women are now making decisions. So many places, I was surrounded by women, each one tugging at my sleeve to grab my attention, to tell me why this Rs 10,000 rupees is significant and how it has changed their lives.”

On Zohran’s historic win in New York City, Sabrina says, “He built his campaign by listening to the people of that area...canvassing Trump voters, asking what their concerns were. Listening, building a platform based on constituents’ concerns, and delivering the message effectively through social media.”

Jayashree frames the American Left’s sense of hope: “When you’re a leftist, there is so little hope to hold onto. Someone like Zohran, at least, is speaking a language tangentially connected to the things you want.”

This and a lot more. Tune in!

Hafta letters: NL recommendations, PK interview, thumbnail optics