THE BHARATIYA JANATA PARTY is going into the 2024 elections with a shot in the arm—retaining one state (Madhya Pradesh), taking two (Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh) and improving its tally in one (Telangana). While it gives the BJP great confidence, the result of the heartland states will not affect the Lok Sabha polls much as a majority of the parliamentary seats in these states were already in the BJP’s kitty.

The INDIA alliance, however, has much to think about. An unimaginative and inflexible alliance cannot provide a vibrant opposition, and that will weaken democracy at large. Hard decisions must be made when needed. For example, the BJP is known to drop a sitting MLA without any qualms, if his performance has been below par. And, if what is being said can be believed, the Congress’s internal survey in Rajasthan pushed for 50 legislators to be dropped. But they were not, and most of them lost, I am told.

Reporters on the ground tell me that a positive of this election was that the subjects discussed were mostly developmental—governance and welfare. Religion was at play, sure, but by and large not communal.

In a surprise move, Mizoram rejected the Mizo National Front, the Congress and the BJP to choose the Zoram People’s Movement. The rise of the ZPM is a sign that there is space and acceptance for new parties in the Indian political space.

As I write this letter, the field is wide open concerning the choice of chief ministers in the BJP states. Telangana will swear in Revanth Reddy on December 7, according to current reports. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh have spoken exclusively to Senior Special Correspondent Sravani Sarkar. My thanks to both of them.

This issue is not all politics, though. Senior Special Correspondent K. Sunil Thomas spoke to former Reserve Bank governor Raghuram Rajan, who said that instead of competing with certain countries for low-skilled jobs, India must invest in health care and education and build a workforce that can compete with the west.

Then there is the article about a young Indian girl who has gone international, with fans in China and Pakistan. A colleague from our newspaper, Chief Subeditor T.S. Divya, writes about Aria, the K-pop idol who is all of 20. I was surprised to know that her contract prevents her from naming her parents or the schools she has studied in.

Another article I loved this time was the one written by Lifestyle Editor Namrata Zakaria and Senior Special Correspondent Nachiket Kelkar on the Taj Mahal Palace turning 120. The bit about the hotel being a backdrop to history and memories is so true!

I was in my late teens when I first walked into Taj as a guest in the early 1960s for the wedding reception of my cousin Mammen Philip aka Sen. I have walked in through those doors many times since, and while the wonder I felt as a teenager has disappeared over time, the memories come back every time. I feel it even more so because many of the people who were there with me on that first day are no more. My parents, for one. Sen’s father, my uncle K.M. Philip, passed away at 104 in 2017. And so many others.

My compliments and best wishes to the staff of Taj Mahal Palace, the IHCL board and especially to Puneet Chhatwal, the MD and CEO.