If wishes were e-horses, would beggars ride?

Well, it seems that Bengalis have finally turned to the BJP. After several terms, Congress dissident Mamata Bannerjee’s Trinamool Congress lost. It need not be said that the great bastion of the left, the Left Front of the pro-Moscow CPI and the pro-Beijing CPI(M), once again got taken to the cleaners. Mamata Banerjee said she was not leaving office, but then her term expired, and the BJP installed its own man.

Some people would say she was behaving like a typical woman, but I don’t agree. She has a solid, non-female, precedent for her behaviour in Donald Trump, who refused to receive Joe Biden at the White House at the end of his first term as tradition demanded. Trump was all  but dragged kicking and screaming from the White House.

I’m reminded of what US Gen Douglas MacArthur said when he fled the Philippines just ahead of the Japanese who had conquered it: “I shall return.” And return he did.

Anyway, Trump is not the only example Mamata can quote. There is Shan Masood, the Pakistan cricket captain, who has many memorable losses in his career, but who went down 2-0 to Bangladesh two years ago. His motto too was “Let them fire me. I’m not going on my own.”

Shan Masood is in Bangladesh, where he conceded a first innings lead, with Pakistan bowled out for 386 in reply to Bangladesh’s 413, whereas his counterpart, Najmul Hasan Shanto, got a century, Shan himself got 9. That was a little like Mamata Bannerjee, who had lost her own seat.

Mamata might have noticed about Trump that he only beat women candidates, Hilary Clinton in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2024. The only time the Democrats put up a man against him, Joe Biden in 2020, he lost.

Anyway, he’s got other problems now. One of the Democrats who could run for President in 2028, Senator Charles Kelly, had a run-in with the Pentagon, because he said in a message to all military personnel that they should only obey legal orders. His post-retirement rank and benefits could be at risk.

You can sort of see what the Pentagon means. I mean, if about to be hit by an enemy missile,

An officer who’s just garbled an order to use the air defence system doesn’t want the rating in charge to look at him and say, “Is that a legal order, sir?” One problem is that Senator Kelly is a former naval aviator, who reached the rank of captain, and who then went on to become an astronaut, flying more than one mission in space, including commanding the Soyuz Space Station.

He’s a senator from Arizona, like John McCain. McCain was also a naval aviator, who also retired as captain, though he wasn’t an aviator. He was the Republican nominee for President in 2008. Well, maybe Kelly will make that one more difference, by winning. John McCain passed away, still not reconciled with Trump, whom he didn’t want to come to his funeral.

Well, Trump missed Mc Cain’s funeral in his first term, but in his second he had to hear the Saudis refuse to support the bid to force open the Hormuz Strait. If he had  been able to, it would probably have been game over, but for that, he needed access to Saidi airspace anf airfields. The Saudis must have realized that if the USA reopened the Trait, Iran would blame them. If it couldn;t, the USA would blame them. Either way, they had had it.  So you might as well get Trump angry.

The Strait remained closed. One unexpected result is that Millat Tractors has decided to get into the e-bike business. Why not e-tractors instead? Apparently, with the petrol prices, e-bike demand is also going up. Next step: e-horses?

Finally, the diaspora in the USA has spoken. They’ve promised to defend Pakistan against all comers. I would feel more reassured if the diaspora in Iran said so.