Adani’s 4-hour Chennai pitstop & Congress CM aspirants in Kerala relieved | Powertrip

A private jet landed in Chennai on Tuesday evening, from which Gautam Adani deboarded and went straight to Chittaranjan Salai — which is where Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin lives. What was the industrialist – who is famously close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi – doing in Chennai? Who did he meet and what did they discuss?Meanwhile, Stalin has been facing criticism over the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party state president Armstrong. We’ve learnt that the DMK has deputed the CM’s son-in-law Sabareesan’s agency PEN to communicate with journalists in the state.In Kerala, Congress politicians in the north of the state are busy with some voodoo stuff. Apparently the men who we expect to be rational leaders believe in black magic — and that their rivals can use some ragdolls and thingamabobs to cause physical ailments and political setbacks. We’re not sure if we’re amused or shocked!And the film industry in Tamil Nadu is facing a crisis — the main culprits are the big male stars who demand hefty paychecks. How much do they charge and what are producers planning to do to change this? In this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter exclusively curated for TNM subscribers by Dhanya Rajendran, Shabbir Ahmed, Pooja Prasanna, and Nidheesh MK, we give you the inside scoop. Subscribe to read..Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only.Adani’s 4-hour Chennai visitAt 5.30 pm on Tuesday, July 9, a private jet landed at the Chennai airport and out came the top industrialist Gautam Adani, who is famously close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Adani got into a car and soon reached Chittaranjan Salai — which is where Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s residence is located. Also located on the road is the office of Sabareesan, Stalin’s son-in-law. So who did Adani meet in Chennai and why?For now, what we know is that the Chief Minister’s office has denied any meeting between the CM and Adani. As to the reason for Adani’s sudden visit, there are two probable reasons. First, the Adani group is facing heat over a Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption investigation in Tamil Nadu on an alleged coal price scam. The story is from 2014 when the group supplied 70,000 metric tons of coal to TANGEDCO. Transparency activists have alleged that substandard coal was sold claiming it is high value and the price was inflated by over three times. This is one of the reasons why after the DMK government assumed charge, TANGEDCO has stopped buying coal from the Adani group and has been purchasing it directly from the international market.Second, the Adani group is eyeing to invest more in Tamil Nadu, in particular expand their renewable energy projects. It has set its eyes on the Parandur airport project, which is dubbed as Stalin’s pet project. As of today, Adani is one of the top players in India’s aviation infrastructure market and the Parandur greenfield airport project will be the most advanced of the projects. So, the top industrialist has more than one reason to spend a few hours in Tamil Nadu..The TN govt’s narrative building over ArmstrongAfter the murder of BSP state president Armstrong in Chennai, the DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu seemed to have taken a ham-handed approach in this regard. The narrative management was controlled directly by PEN — the Populus Empowerment Network, a political strategy and communication company started by CM Stalin’s son-in-law, Sabareesan.The TN government is facing a lot of criticism over the murder of the Dalit leader which happened right outside his residence – the way it’s handling the case, and the law and order situation in general in Tamil Nadu, especially when it comes to crimes against Dalits. PEN works parallelly for the DMK, while the party has its own media monitoring wing. Usually, when the government wants to give a directive or suggestion on coverage of important issues to the media, the message comes from the DIPR. But in the Armstrong case, it is PEN managers who have been messaging and calling journalists. From “friendly advisories” on how to frame the issue to calls asking why multiple opposition reactions were being played on their channel, the PEN team has been actively telling journalists not to “show the government in poor light.” Some reporters got a call asking why they were showing only quotes criticising the government..Congress CM aspirants in Kerala relievedOne line in a rare interview by AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal has come as a relief for several Congress leaders in Kerala who are vying for the CM’s chair if the Congress wins the state Assembly elections in 2026. Venugopal is known to be extremely close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi — some even call him Rahul’s right-hand man — and he’s usually not one to give interviews to Malayalam channels. But he made an exception recently when he gave an interview to Johny Lukos of Manorama. During this interview, he declared that he’s not in the race for the CM’s post if the Congress wins in Kerala in 2026.That has come as a shot in the arm for many Congress leaders because if Venugopal did decide to set his eyes on the CM’s chair, they know that none of them will actually stand a chance. So who are the leaders breathing a sigh of relief? The list includes Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan, former LOP Ramesh Chennithala who heads the ‘I’ faction of the party, late leader Oommen Chandy’s son Chandy Oommen, and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor..What’s worse — ‘black magic’ nonsense, or politicking over it?A really silly spectacle is playing out in Kerala. KPCC president K Sudhakaran is being targeted by someone with ‘black magic’. And if that isn’t ridiculous enough, the senior politician apparently actually believes this black magic is causing him health ailments. About a year and a half ago, there were ‘black magic items’ found in various properties and offices of Sudhakaran — dolls, evil eye thingamabobs, the works. For some reason, the video of these items being dug up has surfaced this week — and in the background, one can hear Sudhakaran insisting this voodoo is why he had knee pain or other ailments.So why did this video surface now — and who exactly is behind planting these items in Sudhakaran’s properties? While there are many theories, one thing everyone agrees on is that the ‘black magic’ itself had to have been done by someone close to the leader because they had to have that kind of access. Fingers are pointing at political rival VD Satheesan, and most interestingly, Rajmohan Unnithan, Congress MP from Kasargod.Unnithan is with Sudhakaran in the video that has surfaced — and apparently, this man has a reputation for going around telling Congress leaders that they’re victims of ‘black magic’. He then brings in a pujari who he claims can solve the issue for the leader — and behold! The astrologer has found voodoo thingies. Apparently, Unnithan tried this hustle on another leader, KM Mani, sometime back, but Mani did not humour him.People believe the video has been released now in order to sabotage both Sudhakaran and Unnithan — and on this count, the fingers are pointing at Balakrishnan Periya, a recently suspended Congress leader from Kasargod, and Unnithan’s rival..Tamil film producers to strike against overcharging actorsVijay: Rs 200 crore + GSTAjith: Rs 170 crore + GSTRajini: Rs 130 crore + GSTKamal: Rs 70 to 100 crore + GSTSimbu: Rs 50 crore + GSTSuriya: Rs 45 crore + GSTSivakarthikeyan: Rs 40 crore + GSTNayanthara: Rs 12 crore + GSTKeerthi Suresh: Rs 8 crore + GST Tamil film producers are not happy with these numbers. The industry has stagnated in terms of profits, and the enormous salaries being charged by top actors is bringing their profits down further, they believe. OTT platforms are also not proving profitable — they now have deals such as buying the licence for one year only, which means producers are working in very different market conditions from before. So much so that staff salaries have been pending at a lot of production houses for several months now. And so, starting November, producers are planning on going on a strike until actors decide to reduce their numbers.Meanwhile, we wonder if the leading women stars also reflect on why their pay package is so much smaller than the men they work with. Anyone listening or planning to stage a protest?.Zero HourA political story of public importance.Assure probe, backpedal later: Government’s Parliament tactic when questions rise on Adani.Over the last 9 years, Modi government assured Parliament at least 7 times that it was investigating alleged scams involving Adani Group and other corporations. But when public attention faded, Centre quietly worked to kill most of the thorny assurances..PowermovesTop 5 political stories.1. NEET fiasco and centralised exams: Was the NTA designed to fail? 2. Ground Report: How BJP made Ezhava voters sway right in Left bastion of Alappuzha3. It’s Modi’s Cabinet that’s ‘disrupting’ Parliament, not the Opposition4. What we know so far about BSP leader Armstrong’s murder in Chennai5. Why Naidu-Revanth meet will be keenly watched in Telugu states