Delhi Confidential: Kolkata Calling – The Indian Express

With Kolkata region having been a difficult area for the party to penetrate so far, the BJP is all set to launch a new exercise to make its presence felt in the region’s 40 Assembly constituencies. Besides programmes already scheduled, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will launch a massive public outreach campaign in Kolkata on April 13, with more than 2,000 small path sabhas (street meetings) in constituencies in and around Kolkata. Several national and state BJP leaders will reach out to various communities residing in Kolkata to share with them the BJP’s vision for the city in specific and the state in general. This, party leaders say, is an attempt to ensure that the urban voters stand with the party.

From Russia With Love

Russian diplomats are celebrating the impending approval of Sputnik V as a Covid-19 vaccine. They have been working behind the scenes on the approval process with the drug manufacturing company. Noting the reports that a committee of experts have recommended Sputnik V for use in India, Russia’s ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev on Monday tweeted that this step would definitely contribute to India’s efforts at countering the pandemic. This was one of the issues discussed during Russian Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit last week.

Dialogue Online

The Raisina Dialogue this year, to be held through virtual mode from April 13 to 16, will feature Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his Australian and Danish counterparts, Scott Morrison and Mette Frederiksen, respectively, and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, among the top leaders. Morrison was scheduled to attend the Raisina Dialogue, organised by the MEA and the think tank ORF, last year but could not make it due to the bushfire incident in that country. This year’s event will also see the presence of Carl Bildt, former PM of Sweden; Anthony Abbott, former PM of Australia, and Helen Clark, former PM of New Zealand. Foreign ministers of Portugal, Slovenia, Romania, Singapore, Nigeria, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Australia, Kenya, Chile, Maldives, Iran, Qatar, and Bhutan will also participate.