Firstpost Editor's Picks: Congress' need to reclaim BJP's space, rise of new BJP order in Uttarakhand, exhibition on Indian troops in WW-I; today's must-read stories

BJP's rise undeniable part of India's political story; Congress needs to reclaim space ceded to saffron party

The rise of the BJP surely had something to do with the “Brahmin backlash”. But as a political party, the BJP is mistaken in its belief that it is the only claimant of that mantle. Witness this simple nugget: It was “Brahmin” Congress prime minister Narasimha Rao’s decision to allow shilanyas in 1991 in the first place. The jury is still out on whether it was the right decision, and if the Congress shares the blame for the waves of virulent hate that have followed that moment, but Rao created the space for this movement to take seed.

BJP candidate list for Lok Sabha election in Uttarakhand marks rise of a new order, passing of old guard

BJP national secretary Tirath Singh Rawat, who lost his seat to Satpal Maharaj in the 2017 Assembly election, is going to contest the Lok Sabha election for the first time this year. It is going to be a great challenge for him to try to retain Khanduri's seat Pauri for the BJP. Interestingly, Rawat is very close with Khanduri, whose son is now going to contest from the same seat on a Congress ticket.

On the other hand, Koshyari is a sitting MP from Nainital and was the chief minister in the interim Uttarakhand government formed after the state was created in 2000. He has served as the Uttarakhand BJP president twice and has also been the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.

IPL 2019: How the cricket extravaganza is likely to affect Tamil cinema in an already disappointing year

The summer of 2019, as far as entertainment is concerned, will be dominated by IPL and the interest whipped up by the Lok Sabha Election 2019. The Kollywood movies are definitely going to take a backseat as IPL matches are going to eat into the prime time evening and night shows. Youth audiences make up about 90 percent of viewers for movies and cricket.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu box office will take a beating due to poor footfalls in movie theatres. This year so far, 45 Tamil films have been released and only four of them were profitable.

Best phones under Rs 40,000 (March 2019): Frome OnePlus 6T to Honor View 20 and more

Just like last month, there’s a good mix of some of the current flagships and a couple of last-generation legendary flagship devices that were priced a lot higher at launch, but have now dropped within this budget and offer excellent value for money.

Medals and Bullets: Indian troops who fought in World War I are focus of a new exhibition of paintings, letters

The exhibition, which is showing at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai, is an immersive experience which includes paintings, posters created by recruiters, and letters written by soldiers to people at home. There’s also a slideshow of old photographs and writing, projected on a screen that has cut-outs in the shape of Victorian Crosses; 11 of these prestigious awards were given to Indian soldiers, apart from 9,200 gallantry awards.

Sowani employs a lot of colour and the repeated use of symbols like bullets and the Victorian cross, superimposed on the faces of soldiers.