This week, Newslaundry’s Abhinandan Sekhri and Raman Kirpal are joined by journalists Girish Kuber, Sunita Aron, and Sudipto Mondal.  On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech accusing the Congress of receiving money from industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, Sudipto says this news is not headline material but rather “gossip material”. He adds that the talk on the ground is “nahi mila kya is baar”, suggesting that the corporate houses put their weight behind the Congress in this election. On the elections in Maharashtra, Girish says, “There is no state-wide agenda in these polls. There are 48 constituencies and 48 election agendas.” Sunita points out the BJP’s big challenge in UP. “The BJP has set a target of 75 seats, but after Rahul and Akhilesh came together, there is better chemistry and coordination [in INDIA bloc].” The panel then discusses the BSP’s prospects and the sacking of its leader and Mayawati’s nephew, Akash Anand, from the post of national coordinator. Sudipto counters Abhinandan’s argument of the BSP being the BJP’s B-team, saying it “doesn’t come with a sensitivity” that the party represents a politics “different from all other parties” and represents “the most oppressed sections”. He adds, “The pragmatism that other parties show is appreciated a lot more than the pragmatism these parties [including the AIMIM and VBA] show.” This and a whole lot more. Tune in! We have a page for subscribers to send letters to our shows. If you want to write to Hafta, click here.  Check out the Newslaundry store and flaunt your love for independent media.  Download the Newslaundry app. General elections are here and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans. Click here to support us. Timecodes 00:06:27 - Modi’s Adani-Ambani speech 00: 16:20 - Headlines 00: 24:04 - Maharashtra elections  00:29:49 - UP elections 00: 35:54 - Akash Anand’s sacking 01:11:06 - Letters  01:30:12 - Recommendations Hafta letters, recommendations, songs and references Check out our previous Hafta recommendations. Produced and recorded by Aryan Mahtta & Priyali Dhingra, edited by Hassan Bilal and Umrav Singh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.