Kishor on his way oUt of Cong

Congress strategist Prashant Kishor seems to be on his way out. In the party’s last Uttar Pradesh election strategy session conducted by Priyanka Vadra, Pradesh Congress Committee leaders were quite relieved to see that Kishor was not there. Congress leaders have been wondering how a “technical man” could strategise the political campaign of an over 100-year-old party. Kishor too is unhappy that he has to handle so many leaders, especially when Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar gave him a free hand. He is now looking for fresh pastures. In a major development on Tuesday, Amar Singh took Kishor to meet Mulayam Singh Yadav. New Fears by Ravi Velloor Konark Publishers New Delhi Pages 368

Ravi Velloor’s India Rising: Fresh Hope, New Fears is a chronicle of recent times when India decided to break loose from its past and be a part of the emerging world. It’s not an academic and prosaic work; Ravi Valloor’s reportage is based on his travels, cute observation, interviews of high-placed people and ordinary folks. His account of India in the 21st century as it unfolds, its resilience, new confidence mixed with some despair, is a fascinating account of people who have begun to aim high.

The writer is excited about the new India as it is shrugging off much that is old and effete, but no longer relevant in a fast changing world. Essentially he remains an optimistic about India’s future, although with some trepidations.

Ravi Velloor is Indian and has lived abroad: in Singapore, New York and Washington, but has been a frequent flyer to India, travelling to all parts of the country, from Nicobar Islands in India’s far-east to the west coast, from North to South, meeting the people