Referring to Ravindra Jadeja, BJP says it was 'BJP Karyakarta' who helped CSK win IPL trophy
Chennai: Chennai Super Kings (CSK): fans are rejoicing as their team secured a historic fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) championship. However, political nuances have crept into the celebration after K Annamalai, the Tamil Nadu BJP president, claimed that it was a "BJP karyakarta" (party worker) who played the winning shot for the MS Dhoni-led team. Annamalai was referring to the heroic performance of CSK all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the final over, which propelled the team to a thrilling five-wicket victory against the Gujarat Titans in the 16th edition of the IPL.
On May 29, in a match that extended into the early hours of May 30 due to rain interruptions, CSK needed 13 runs in the final over to secure the title. With Jadeja at the crease, the equation came down to 10 runs needed from 2 balls. The Rajkot-born all-rounder responded with a six and a four off the next two deliveries, ensuring CSK's triumph and their claim to the coveted IPL trophy once again.
While fans took to social media to celebrate the victory, supporters of Tamil Nadu's ruling party, DMK, seized the opportunity to draw political parallels, labeling CSK's win as a triumph of the "Dravidian model" over the "Gujarat model." When questioned by a News 18 anchor about this perspective, Annamalai asserted that it was a BJP party worker who hit the winning shot for CSK.
Referring to Jadeja, Annamalai stated, "Jadeja is a BJP karyakarta, and he is from Gujarat. His wife is a BJP MLA. I am also proud as a Tamilian. While there were more Tamil people in the Gujarat Titans team than in CSK, we celebrate that fact as well."
“Not a single Tamilian played for CSK, but we still celebrate CSK because of MS Dhoni. We are proud that the winning run was scored by a BJP karyakarta," he added.
Although it is unclear whether Jadeja is officially affiliated with the BJP, there have been instances in the past where the cricketer has expressed his support for India's ruling party. In the 2022 Gujarat assembly elections, Jadeja's wife, Rivaba Jadeja, contested and won from the Jamnagar North constituency on a BJP ticket.
Rivaba Jadeja formally joined the BJP in 2019, and the Indian cricketer himself tweeted his support for the party during that time, stating, "I support BJP."
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
