Vol: 26 | No. 4 | April 2018 | R20 www.opinionexpress.in A MONTHLY NEWS MAGAZINE COVER STORY BATTLEGROUND 2019 ALLU ARJUN THE STYLISH STAR OF THE MILLENNIUM With the swiftly changing political equations across the country, how the biggest battle will play out Thank You BIPL %DODML,QIUD3URMHFWV/LPLWHG www.balaji.co.in www.dighiport.in editorial RNI UP–ENG 70032/92, Volume 26, No 4 Allu Arjun is modesty EDITOR Prashant Tewari ASSOCiate EDITOR personalized superstar Dr Rahul Misra POLITICAL EDITOR ig names of South India cinema namely MGR, NTR, Rajnikant, Kamal Has- Prakhar Misra san, Chiranjivee, Mohan Babu are household names with global Indian BUREAU CHIEF Anshuman Dogra (DELHI), Diwakar Shetty Bcommunity. The rise of Allu Arjun is likely to script similar success story. (MUMBAI), Sidhartha Sharma (KOLKATA), Allu rose up the ladder since his debut in Tollywood and has never looked back. Lakshmi Devi (BANGALORE ) DIvyash Bajpai Allu Arjun soon began riding the wave of success and landed (USA), KAPIL DUDAKIA (UNITED KINGDOM) Rajiv Agnihotri (MAURITIUS), Romil Raj blockbuster films such as ‘Arya’, ‘Bunny’, ‘Happy’, ‘Arya 2’, Bhagat (DUBAI), Herman Silochan (CANADA), ‘Race Gurram’, ‘S/O Satyamurthy’, ‘Sarrainodu’, ‘DJ’ and Dr Shiv Kumar (AUS/NZ), Nithya Ramesh many others. On the surface, his road to superstardom has (Fashion & Entertainment ) been enviably easy marking to be the next superstar in the CONTENT partner industry. He burns up the screen with his energy that spikes The Pioneer Pratham Pravakta out in all direction, sweeping you up with its force even in LegaL AdviSORS casual encounter. Vishnu Sharma Adv Vijai Krishna Adv He is the only South Indian actor whose movies have AdvertiSEMENT / MARKETING DIRECTOR reached the Rs 100 crore club thrice. His Hindi dubbed movies have collectively Diwakar Shetty Gopal Chopra surpassed 530 million views on YouTube and have a huge crossover appeal across India especially in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and among other ADMINIStrative DIRECTOR Amit Pandey states. Today, his fan following is increasing by every minute and so is the number Bal Mukund Gaur of filmmakers wanting to sign him. What’s more he has hit a beautiful equation in Corporate COMMUNICation / PR his personal life as well. Riding the crest of his huge fans followers of 12.7 million in Sanjay Mendiratta Facebook alone making him the highest among any South Indian actor and many M M Upadhaya Bollywood stars. Opinion Express is experimenting with a shift from political to GRAPHICS & DESIGN Writeword Commuications (Studio 8) entertainment cover story. Secondly we are reporting in depth assessment of Modi wave in the country: Photographer Ratan Shukla How has the Republic fared with Prime Minister Narendra Modi steering the coun- OVERSEAS MARKETING try towards the general election of 2019? It has been a mixed record, with the will- OEMCL Ltd (Mauritius), OEHCL ltd (DUBAI) ingness to take decisions trumped by ideological blinkers and a propensity to think AdvertiSEMENT / CIRCULation: of the virtues of Ram Rajya. The Sangh Parivar leadership has not quite reconciled Delhi / NCR - Hemant Sharma: D 239 itself regarding how far to take the concept of Hindutva in ruling a heterogeneous Defence Colony New Delhi 110024 INDIA Tel – 011 49060350 and multi-ethnic country. Two major decisions merit attention — the sudden move Mumbai - Vijay Kalantri – Advisor: New for demonetisation of a huge chunk of our currency and the hasty introduction of ExcelsIor BUILDING, 6tH Floor, A.K. NAYAK the Goods and Services Tax. The first decision was Mr Modi’s own prescription MARG, Fort, MUMBAI - 400001 (INDIA). for the evils of black money and it has badly misfired, slowing down the economy, Phone: 91 - 22 - 22019265 / 22019160 while the GST, an essential measure that earlier Congress governments had failed FAX : 91-22- 22019764 / 22019760 to bring in, was imposed somewhat post-haste. The demonetisation scheme was The magazine is published and printed by Rajiv Agnihotri for Opinion Express Communications essentially Mr Modi’s idea, and although he talked it up as a kind of poor man’s & Entertainments Pvt Ltd, from Kumpu Graphic revenge against the rich, the poor suffered the most. There has been no suggestion Press 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow & printed at of apology on Mr Modi’s behalf on slowing down the economy and its numerous Kumpu Graphic Press 2 Ashok Nagar, Lucknow – 226001 Tele : 91-522-4060880 & other consequences. Nikhil Offset An ISO 9001 : 2008 Certified In the field of foreign policy, Mr Modi has built on the country’s record, consid- Company 223, DSIDC Complex, Okhla Industrial erably enhancing ties with Israel and becoming the first Indian PM to unreservedly Area Phase - I, New Delhi - 110020 Tele : 91- welcome Israel into the hall of nations. Mr Modi has decided that India’s defence 26812316, 26810097, 26810458, FAX:91 45792362 E-Mail : [email protected], and geopolitical links with the Jewish state are important enough to be concentrat- [email protected] ed and the risks minimal as the Sunni monarchies are also reaching out to it. Does Registered Office: OPINION EXPRESS HOUSE Mr Modi have a roadmap beyond the victory post-2019? Judging by his exertions 24-A Clyde Road, Lucknow-226001 (India) Phone: 91-522-4060880 in Davos and elsewhere, he is rustling up plans for a major internal manufactur- Fax: 91-522-2208242 # 24x7 ing spree on the basis of abundant foreign investment. But circumstances have to mobility +91 9984437000 be propitious for such investment because men with money and resources have email: [email protected] options. The country will enter a new phase after the 2019 polls, and it will be an All disputes are subject to be under jurisdiction of courts in Delhi. entirely new ballgame. All content published may be subject to copyright, seek written permission to re-produce. Opinion —Prashant Tewari , Express is trade mark brand of Opinion Express Communications & Entertainment Private Limited. E d i t o r - i n - C h i e f OPINIon EXPRESS APRIL 2018 3 A Monthly News Magazine APRIL 2018 COver Story PM 2019? WHAT WILL BE MAJOR FACTORS TO DECIDE INDIA’S NEXT PRIME MINISTER P 8-14 BATTLEGROUND 16 2019 THEP 44 ICONIC STAR Testing 20 Times Power 29 Club Bond with 35 the west Farmer 36 Friendly Sound of 40 Success 4 APRIL 2018 OPINIon EXPRESS SAFFRON SURGE IN NORTH EasT Modi juggernaut expands Pan India courtesy RSS Chandan Mitra most backward region. Gradually, the In this context, the BJP’s success BJP is expanding in North-East state by in Tripura suggests that the state’s JP spectacular show in state leading to the integration of seven Bengali-majority voters switched their Tripura and Nagaland has sister states with the main land. allegiance to the BJP while the party’s opened a door for the party To say the BJP’s victories in the sustained efforts to win over the tribal ambitious plan to start GE North-east, especially in Tripura, are vote also paid off. The Bengali-speaking 2019 campaign. The look historic seems almost like an under- people of West Bengal and Tripura have Beast political strategy of BJP to garner statement. Routing the CPM in Tripu- traditionally aligned with the Commu- over 100 lok sabha seats in order to ra after 25 years is an unprecedented nists and looked only to the Congress ensure the repeat of 282+ seats in GE achievement comparable only to Ma- as a possible alternative so far. The col- 2019 is well in place. With exception of mata Banerjee’s feat in dislodging the lapse of the Congress across the country Mamta Banerjee in West Bengal and Left Front from power in Bengal after has obviously impacted voters in the Navin Patnaik in Odisha, the entire 34 years in 2011. Considering the BJP East too. If the Bengalis in their home- east is looking saffron. The credit of the failed to win a single seat in the last as- land start to accept the BJP as their pre- tremendous victories must go to Modi sembly poll in Tripura, its tally of 40 out ferred option, it may bring bad tidings Amit Shah duo, RSS organization, BJP of 60 this time is truly spectacular. With for Mamata Banerjee. The ascendant clinical planning and off course access Nagaland and probably Meghalaya also BJP will henceforth be vastly embold- of tremendous funding. in its kitty, the BJP can now credibly ened to mount a feisty challenge to Tri- Right from the day Modi govern- claim to be a pan-India party, barring namool, first in the Lok Sabha and then ment took over the centre: the tremen- some states in the South although it the assembly polls of 2021. dous focus on North-East has trans- hopes to wrest Karnataka from the Con- What is it that the BJP had to offer formed the entire eco system of India’s gress later this year. to voters in Tripura? Essentially it was OPINIon EXPRESS APRIL 2018 5 the assurance of change encapsulated gress in Kerala, Thiruvanathapuram is strategist Himanta Biswa Sarma has in its election winning slogan - “Chalo probably the last capital where the red been more damaging than the Congress Paltai” (let’s change). After 25 years, the flag will fly proudly. Bolstered by the president could have imagined. If the CPM looked jaded with nothing new to BJP’s resounding victory in Tripura, Congress also loses Karnataka in the offer. Impoverished voters of underde- the BJP will redouble its effort to first next few months, the idea of a “Con- veloped Tripura were not impressed replace the Congress as the only opposi- gress-mukt Bharat” would be almost by the fact that the otherwise popu- tion to the Left and eventually march to fully achieved, barring the odd Punjab, lar Chief Minister Manik Sarkar was power in the next poll.