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Regional buzz | Mann’s hockey pitch: World cup for promotions
During the event, Mann and Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh shared a jovial moment after the latter requested promotions for hockey players from Punjab
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Mann’s hockey pitch: World cup for promotions
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann held a gala dinner at his official residence in Jalandhar for six international teams participating in the Asian Champions Trophy on October 28. The venue was elegantly illuminated with chandeliers and floral decoration. During the event, Mann and Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh shared a jovial moment after the latter requested promotions for hockey players from Punjab. Responding wittily, Mann said “Aap hamein 2030 ka hockey World Cup de do, hum in players to SSP bnaa denge,” drawing laughter from everyone on stage. Meanwhile, the foreign players enjoyed special delicacies including Japanese, Chinese and Korean cuisines.
Sukhbir’s nursery visit with a political twist
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal may be busy with poll preparations, but he finds time to indulge in his passion for horticulture. Last week, he stopped at a plant and fruit nursery in Chandigarh to pick up saplings of seasonal flowers.
He spent nearly 45 minutes at the nursery, enquiring about exotic fruit varieties. However, it seems politics follows him even into the garden, as he bumped into BJP Punjab vice-president Jasmine Sandhawalia. In half jest, Sukhbir invited her to join the SAD. He even asked an aide to fetch a siropa from his vehicle and offered it to Sandhawalia for a formal induction, which she declined with a smile. Earlier in the day, Sukhbir had inducted Congress’ Raminder Awla into the SAD.
Renomination brings cheer behind bars
Renominated by the AAP from the Ludhiana West assembly constituency, cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora, currently in jail in connection with a money laundering case, appears elated over the party leadership’s decision. A post on his X account thanked AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Mann for giving him another opportunity to serve the people.
“I am deeply grateful for your faith and trust. I remain committed to working tirelessly for the progress and welfare of Ludhiana West,” it said on Saturday even as the party drew flak from the Opposition for fielding a jailed leader. The former Rajya Sabha member had won the seat in a bylection in June 2025.
A house divided ahead of polls
With the 2027 assembly elections knocking at the door, Akali Dal Waris Punjab De working president Tarsem Singh, father of jailed MP Amritpal Singh, seems to have his hands full keeping his flock together. On October 29, the party suspended five members of its principal drafting committee for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities. Their crime, sources said, was opposing the dissolution of the organisational structure. The real trouble, however, appears ideological, with the party’s proposed liberal, secular makeover not going down well with its Panthic hardliners. With the house divided, Tarsem Singh has quite a balancing act ahead.
No Invite, no interest: Mann takes dig at Manpreet
In Punjab’s political circles, even wedding invitations can become talking points with chief minister Bhagwant Mann taking a swipe at opposition leaders while addressing a Lok Milni programme at Kamalpura village in Jagraon on Friday. Mann pointed out that BJP leader and former cabinet minister Manpreet Singh Badal had not invited him to his daughter’s wedding, even as leaders from different political parties attended and enjoyed the celebrations. The CM remarked that he was deliberately kept out because of political rivalry, adding that he was not interested in attending anyway.
Turban, hookah and barricades as Nabin enters Haryana
The BJP’s political show in Rohtak had an interesting geographical twist. The 800-meters ‘Loktantra Bachao-Arajakta Hatao’ padyatra concluded at a venue located barely 100 metres from former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s residence at D-Park.
The event organised in a congested market brought unusual security arrangements outside Hooda’s residence, with deployment of cops and barricading. The optics were hard to miss as BJP national president Nitin Nabin entered Haryana. At Bahadurgarh, senior BJP leader OP Dhankar welcomed him at the Haryana-Delhi border with a traditional Haryanvi touch offering a hookah and a white turban.
Farewell ride with boss at wheel
A Haryana development and panchayats department driver Yabu Prasad Pandey was in for a heartwarming surprise on his retirement day last week. The department’s director Sushil Sarwan took the wheel to drive him home. Sarwan, an IAS officer occupied the driver’s seat and asked Pandey and his wife to sit in the back seat before driving them to their residence in Ramgarh in Panchkula.
From whispers to wedding wishes
As J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah broke the news about his new journey with journalist Nidhi Razdan, social media became abuzz with reels, memes and congratulatory messages. The announcement was largely welcomed, with even his opponents extending warm wishes to Abdullah for beginning a new chapter in his life. For the past month, rumours had been circulating that Abdullah was getting married for the second time. However, no one seemed willing to break the news. Even officials making the arrangements and those invited to the reception, including journalists, remained tight-lipped. The news was confirmed only after Abdullah shared pictures of himself with Razdan on X on Saturday evening.
BJP targets Sukhu over delayed payments
A political video campaign shared by the BJP targeted Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu over delayed payments to government contractors. It featured a woman identifying herself as the wife of a local government contractor. Addressing Sukhu directly, she stated that while the government announced a special holiday for Karva Chauth, it had failed to clear the pending department dues owed to contractors.
The video appealed to the CM to release the funds and contractor payments before Diwali so that working families, laborers, and material suppliers can celebrate the festive season. The party integrated this narrative into their broader criticism of the state administration’s handling of the state’s economy, pointing to long-pending liabilities for road maintenance, building construction, and PWD/Jal Shakti department tenders. The BJP’s official social media accounts posted the video with the caption: “Karva Chauth has passed, and now Diwali is approaching, Sukhu Sahib.”
Medical college credit war on display
The ongoing political tug-of-war between ruling Congress and opposition BJP over Hamirpur medical college has acquired a new exhibit — the original sanction letter displayed on the college campus. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has seemingly decided to settle the political ownership dispute with BJP MP Anurag Thakur by putting the original sanction letter of Dr Radhakrishnan Government Medical College, Hamirpur. The letter issued during the previous Congress-led UPA government has been displayed on the college campus. It seems Sukhu wants visitors to read the history of the institution before listening to competing versions of who deserves the credit. However, Sukhu was generous enough to acknowledge Union health minister JP Nadda for facilitating the expansion and approval of additional PG seats.
(Contributed by Navrajdeep Singh, Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Navneet Sharma, Hillary Victor, Tarsem Singh Deogan, Neeraj Mohan, Hitender Rao, Mir Ehsan, Shailee Dogra)
