Welcome to this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter curated exclusively for subscribers of The News Minute and Newslaundry. This week’s edition is by Pooja Prasanna, Shabbir Ahmed and Lakshmi Priya.

In this week’s edition, we look at Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar flagging off 10,000 Bharat Jodo Yuva Sanghas. Officially a youth development initiative, these RSS shakha-style youth centres are also being seen as Congress's attempt to build a long-term grassroots cadre in Karnataka.

In Kerala, the CPI(M)’s defeat has sparked an unusually public churn within the party. Senior leaders have broken ranks over strategy, leadership, and the Vizhinjam port controversy. But there is no indication of a leadership change yet.

And finally, a senior IPS officer's transfer in Tamil Nadu has set off intense speculation. While Arun’s transfer to DVAC itself surprised many, his transfer out of DVAC was CM Joseph Vijay showing his displeasure about their handling of EV Velu’s case.

Powertrip is a newsletter that senior political reporters of TNM put together every week. 

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