The Big Story
Mufflerman is back. Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal will be sworn in at noon on Saturday, with the same pomp and pageantry as last time, when more than a lakh of his supporters turned up. Kerjiwal might even remind people of his rather prescient words in December 2013: "Whether we pass or fail in the test of confidence motion... we are ready to face elections, if we fail. The people will vote us with a huge majority."




Aside from the gala event at historic Ramlila Maidan, the AAP's massive victory in the Delhi elections will bring the focus back to its crusading agenda. The party is all set to continue pursuing corruption charges against India's richest man Mukesh Ambani and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. It is also already sending a message to the Centre by picking Sanjiv Chaturvedi, whose removal as chief vigilance officer of AIIMS last year prompted controversy, as its Anti-Corruption Bureau chief. To get him, however, Kejriwal will need a No Objection Certificate from the Health Ministry, which moved Chaturvedi out of AIIMS in the first place. IANS, meawhile, seems to think bribe-taking has already started coming down.

Having a whopping 95% of the seats in the Delhi assembly doesn't mean it'll be all smooth sailing for the AAP. Former cabinet ministers Somnath Bharti and Rakhi Birla, both of whom generated controversy the last time around, are likely to be kept out.

The Big Scroll
Delhi has taught Modi a lesson in plurality and persuasion. Arvind Kejriwal has managed to avoid Supari Journalism, and AAP supporters in Varanasi feel vindicated.

Need to Know 1
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is once more talking to Pakistan, again using the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as well as the impending Cricket World Cup as reasons for the dialogue. New Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will tour the SAARC nations in the coming months, with the visit to Pakistan likely to be the biggest newsmaker. Kashmir's People's Democratic Party is taking this as a good sign as it continues negotiating to form a government with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Need to Know 2
Modi seems to have taken a new tack on the religious Right in the aftermath of the Delhi debacle. First he tweeted against being idolised in a temple. And on Friday he summoned the Delhi Police Commissioner and ordered strict action against those involved in robbing a Christian school in the capital, the latest in a spate of incidents involving Christian buildings in Delhi. Modi bhakts are annoyed.

Politicking
The Congress continues to battle fallout from its Delhi disaster, with Sandeep Dikshit, senior leader and son of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit,  calling the party "arrogant", "elitist" and saying it doesn't have genuine leaders.

JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar is worried that President's Rule could be imposed on Bihar, giving his opponents a chance to horse trade.

Maharashtra coalition partners BJP and Shiv Sena are still battling in the headlines, with a Sena Minister of State calling BJP-Sena ties a "farce".

DMDK Chief Vijaykanth doesn't think jokes about him are funny. (They are).

Giggle

Punditry
"What the AAP is experimenting with is not a grand theory of overthrow or revolution but one of enlarging the public space within the existing structures": Harbans Mukhia, Indian Express.

"AAP can still win in Punjab. And in the BMC elections. And in Bangalore. "It would be well-advised to contest only if it is sure it can swamp out everyone else. That needs organisation, preparation, funding and ideological clarity. But it can be done": Aditi Phadnis, Business Standard.

"In the long run, internet.org could present a huge competitive advantage to some, to the disadvantage of many": The Hindu.

"The extraordinary dominance of some (not all; some process of meme-selection does go on) left wing tropes in this highly educated and influential group therefore translates into wide (mostly uncritical and superficial) acceptance of many of these tropes within the larger South Asian community": Omar Ali, Brown Pundits.

Don't miss
God gave us only 10 commandments. Chetan Bhagat has 17 for Modi: 
"Be real. Have work life balance. Why can’t the PM catch a movie sometimes? Or eat chaat in Delhi somewhere? A humanised PM works better than a glorified PM."