2 min readNew DelhiJun 29, 2026 04:20 AM IST
First published on: Jun 29, 2026 at 04:20 AM IST
MoS Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, who is also the UP BJP chief, on Sunday paid a visit to the family of socialist ideologue late Ram Manohar Lohia in Lucknow as part of party’s ongoing drive to meet intellectuals and prominent citizens on the completion of 12 years of the Narendra Modi government. Notably, the SP, the principal opposition party in the UP Assembly, calls Lohia its guiding light and organises programmes on his birth and death anniversaries. While BJP officially termed it a courtesy meeting, a senior BJP leader said since Lohias are not associated with any political party, the saffron party briefed the family on key welfare programmes of the Modi government.
Southern Thaw
During her past visits to Tamil Nadu, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at times had verbal clashes with the state government. However, her ongoing visit looks different. Sitharaman, who had drawn criticism from Vijay (now CM) for remarks over Periyar in the past, recently welcomed his announcement that TVK favoured cordial relations with the Centre. Sitharaman even defended the TN CM for using Kutty Stories in the Assembly, for which he had drawn criticism from DMK. The thaw has made Vijay’s supporters hail Sitharaman on social media. BJP insiders say a video of her visit to Higginbothams bookstore in Chennai was well-received.
Pride of Place
Office staff and other employees at BJP HQs got pride of place as party chief Nitin Nabin listened to PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat’ at his residence on Sunday. As per insiders, while some of them did attend Nabin’s housewarming earlier this month, many could not make it due to other engagements. On Sunday all of BJP “office family” rubbed shoulders with party brass.
