Former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh has been awarded a posthumous Bharat Ratna – India’s highest civilian award – the government said Friday afternoon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the award on X (formerly Twitter) hailing Mr Singh for his “incomparable contributions”.

“He dedicated his life to the welfare of farmers… whether as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh or Home Minister of the country, and even as MLA, he always gave impetus to nation-building. He stood against the Emergency (and) his dedication to our farmer brothers and sisters is inspiring…” Mr Modi said.

The Bharat Ratna for Chaudhary Charan Singh comes amid reports of a seat-sharing deal between the BJP and the Rashtriya Lok Dal – founded by his son and now led by his grandson, Jayant Chaudhary.

And, minutes after Mr Modi’s post, Mr Chaudhary tweeted: “Dil jeet gaya (Hearts have been won).”

दिल जीत लिया! #BharatRatna https://t.co/Ns0CraJ7yI

— Jayant Singh (@jayantrld) February 9, 2024

Sources told NDTV the BJP will give the RLD – which has substantial support among Jats and farmers in western Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to Parliament’s Lower House, the most of any state – two Lok Sabha seats and one Rajya Sabha seat in return for its support. NDTV was also told the RLD had made awarding a Bharat Ratna for Chaudhary Charan Singh a key condition for any agreement.

Jayant Chaudhary’s party is likely to get the Baghpat and Bijnor seats, and his wife may be made a Rajya Sabha candidate, sources have said. There was also talk of ministerial berths for the RLD.

Sources said the BJP had offered two berths in UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s cabinet, but the RLD also wanted a seat in Prime Minister Modi’s cabinet at the centre.

READ | BJP Approaches INDIA’s Rashtriya Lok Dal With 7-Seat Offer: Sources

The RLD only last month confirmed an alliance with Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, under which it was to contest seven Lok Sabha seats. Faced with possibly losing the RLD’s backing, Akhilesh Yadav yesterday told reporters Mr Chaudhary is a “very well-educated person… (who) understands politics”.

The former UP Chief Minister also said he hoped he would not weaken the struggle against the BJP “for the welfare of farmers and prosperity of the state”. His party was more explicit; General Secretary Shivpal Yadav said “Jayant will not go anywhere”, and accused the BJP of “spreading confusion”.

This morning too Akhilesh Yadav downplayed buzz of the RLD leaving, saying, “There have been no talks. Whatever it is, (it) is being published in newspapers,..am getting information through you.”

#WATCH | Lucknow: On speculations of Jayant Chaudhary-led RLD joining the BJP-led alliance in UP, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav says, “There have been no talks here. Whatever it is, is being published in newspapers, I am getting all the information through you.” pic.twitter.com/8Hfb3vkAa2

— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2024

Mr Yadav, meanwhile, welcomed the award for Charan Singh but also took a swipe at the BJP, remarking it is only right someone “who spent his life” helping poor farmers get the Bharat Ratna”. 

“I want to congratulate all farmers. Chaudhary Charan Singhji fought for farmers all his life… We are happy a farmer leader got Bharat Ratna,” he said in the UP Assembly.

The jab comes as the BJP faces yet another wave of protesting farmers; on Thursday farmers from UP’s Noida and Greater Noida amassed on Delhi’s border to agitate for better land prices.

The sight of farmers penned behind police barricades, with riot control vehicles at the ready, were a replay of images from three years ago – when tens of thousands of farmers and their supporters marched on Delhi to protest the “black farm laws”, triggering a massive image crisis for the BJP.

Five Bharat Ratnas This Year

Chaudhary Charan Singh’s Bharat Ratna is the fifth announced this year; the government has also recognised Congress leader and former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, and the BJP’s LK Advani, as well as world-renowned agronomist MS Swaminathan.

The awards come weeks before a general election and a number of Assembly polls, including one in Andhra Pradesh, which is Mr Rao’s home state and one in which Mr Modi’s BJP is scrambling for grip.

Equally significant, Karpoori Thakur’s award came shortly before Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar – his protege – executed (yet another) flip-flop, dumping the INDIA bloc and realigning with the BJP.

READ | Bharat Ratna To Karpoori Thakur As Impetus For Nitish Kumar’s U-Turn?

Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) has declared its “appreciation” to the Prime Minister for “honouring the real India”; “We are proud of it…” JDU leader KC Tyagi told news agency ANI.

The Bharat Ratna for Mr Advani – who has labelled himself the “charioteer” who steered the controversial ‘rath yatra’ to Ayodhya in UP – came days after the consecration of the Ram Temple.

The sole non-political Bharat Ratna this year was to MS Swaminathan – the ‘father of India’s Green Revolution’ and who was hailed by the Prime Minister as “a true farmers’ scientist”.

Mr Swaminathan died in September last year.

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Ahead of a Lok Sabha election in a few weeks and a state poll later this year, it seems a swayamvar on in Delhi as the ruling BJP decides on a match from Andhra Pradesh. Less than 24 hours after Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu met Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP boss JP Nadda, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy travelled to Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On the face of it, Mr Reddy is meeting the Prime Minister to discuss Special Category status for his state – a long-standing demand of his YSR Congress Party and the TDP – central funds and other issues. Analysts, however, say the meeting suggests the BJP is in its customary watch-and-wait mode, weighing its options before committing to either side (or remaining neutral) before the elections.

Most likely, any understanding between the BJP and either the YSRCP or the TDP (which is allied, in the state, with actor Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena, a member of the BJP-led national alliance) will be informal, which the regional parties may prefer since a formal tie-up risks them losing minority votes.

That, interestingly, means neither Jagan Mohan Reddy nor Chandrababu Naidu wants the swayamvar to end with a public marriage; a private handshake might be the preferred outcome.

That could be what the BJP wants too, despite Mr Modi’s party not being a political force in the state; it was routed in the 2019 Assembly election, failing to win a single seat despite contesting all 173 in play.

A formal alliance with either party might be seen as favourable but that comes with its own challenges, the biggest of which is seat-sharing. Neither the YSRCP nor the TDP will be very keen on surrendering seats to the saffron party, because it reduces their potential contested seats-to-win ratio.

And the BJP, given its poor record from five years ago, and its big defeat in neighbouring Telangana in November last year, may not be in the strongest bargaining position.

So while a backroom deal seems more likely, Chandrababu Naidu’s chances of winning that support is seen as lesser than that of his state rival. The BJP, it seems, has been giving him the cold shoulder because of the way he walked out of the party-led National Democratic Alliance, twice.

The last time was in 2018, when he was under pressure from Mr Reddy on the Special Category status issue. Back then the BJP had said the “doors are closed forever (for the Andhra Pradesh party)”.

That might leave Mr Reddy in the lead, but he is likely to only want ‘associate member’ status.

Mr Reddy, in fact, is very clear he wants only the best possible outcome for his state; he has said, as he did before the 2019 Lok Sabha poll too, he hopes no party gets a clear majority in the national election, so Andhra Pradesh has leeway to negotiate with whichever alliance forms the central government.

Ultimately, it seems the BJP will win regardless of which way the Andhra Pradesh voters lean.

Its strength in the state will come, as some analysts have remarked, from ‘B’ (for Chandrababu Naidu), ‘J’ (for Jagan Mohan Reddy), and ‘P’ for Pawan Kalyan, because all three are ready to back the BJP.

Meanwhile, in the BJP camp opinion is divided on how the party should progress and if, in fact, there should be any alliance in Andhra Pradesh. One lobby, which including its state unit boss Daggubati Purandeswari, wants an alliance. Another feels going solo is a chance to establish itself in the state.

That reasoning is based on the fact the Congress, which like the BJP has been nearly non-existent in the state since 2014, is trying to revive its fortunes, and is banking on Mr Reddy’s sister, YS Sharmila.

READ | YS Sharmila, Congress’ Weapon For Andhra Pradesh Polls, Gets Big Post

Ms Reddy, who has been made the party’s state boss.

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Preity Zinta took a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about the time she filmed for Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se. As it was her debut film, she had anticipated a different experience. Preity posted a throwback photo from the set and reminisced about how director Mani Ratnam had requested her to have a natural look for the film.

Sharing a picture of herself, Preity took to Instagram and wrote, “This picture was taken on the first day on the set of Dil Se. I was so excited to be working with Mani Ratnam sir & Shah Rukh Khan. When Mani sir saw me he smiled and politely asked me to wash my face…. But sir… my make-up will come off, I said smiling …. That’s exactly what I want… Pls wash your face…. He smiled back. I thought he was joking …. Then I realised he was not !!”

She expressed gratitude to the cinematographer Santosh Sivan for capturing her beauty even without makeup. She wrote, “So thanks to the amazing Santosh Sivan (our Director of Photography) I filmed with a freshly washed face and got away with it. I guess he shot me Dil Se. #throwbackthursday #Dilse #Memories #Ting.”

Upon its release in 1998, Dil Se received a moderate reception at the box office, but the film’s narrative and themes have garnered attention over the years. The movie also featured Manisha Koirala alongside Shah Rukh Khan, who portrayed a radio jockey. Manisha played the role of a radicalised terrorist on a mission. Preity Zinta’s song Jiya Jale from the film, composed by AR Rahman, remains one of the standout tracks on the soundtrack.

See Also: When Kajol hung up on Mani Ratnam offering her Dil Se because she thought it was a prank