Fearless, fiery, and fiercely articulate—Shehzad Poonawalla has become a household name on Indian news panels for his no-holds-barred takedowns and sharp political commentary. Once a Congress insider, today he stands as one of the most prominent faces of the BJP’s media offensive, often seen dismantling narratives with precision and poise. In this freewheeling interview with The Commune, Poonawalla opens up about his political journey—from the sycophantic corridors of the Congress to the merit-driven ecosystem of the BJP, his take on Rahul Gandhi, the cultural politics of Tamil Nadu, and why the Waqf Amendment Bill is a watershed moment for social justice. True to form, he pulls no punches.
The Commune: You started with Congress back in 2008 — what’s the wildest memory you have from your early days in the party that you still laugh about today?
Shehzad Poonawalla: The answer to question number one. Well, I don’t have any wild memories from my early days in the party, but what I still laugh about today, what I laughed about even back then in the Congress Party, was how people could consider Rahul Gandhi as the leader. I used to always hear that Rahul Gandhi was a complete misfit, and even today, when leaders are forced to project Rahul Gandhi as some sort of a great leader, I know his potential and his capacity is nil, and therefore I can see through the sycophancy involved in that.
The Commune: How does the media cell of Congress work?
Shehzad Poonawalla: Well, the media set of Congress does not work. It only engages in blind criticism without application of mind. It only operates on pushing forward people in factions, and not necessarily people based on talent, and therefore, if you have ingratiated yourself to the head of the media department or some leader, then you get taken as a spokesperson and promoted, if you’re a dynast, you’re promoted. So there’s no real talent in the Congress’s media cell. It’s basically a collection of people who are good at sycophancy.
The Commune: During your Congress days, what was your go-to line to shut down a debate with a rival party worker — and does it still work now?
Shehzad Poonawalla: During my Congress days, also, I used to often tell, not rival party workers but generally everybody else, that we should put a premium on merit and performance, not on Parivaar. And I think I’ve been vindicated as far as that is concerned.
The Commune: You describe yourself as a Muslim by birth/faith and Hindu by culture. Explain it to us. Do you believe in Savarkar’s views about Muslims as espoused in Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History?
Shehzad Poonawalla: As far as that is concerned, just because one is born in a particular religion or follows a particular puja padhathi (method of worship) doesn’t mean that your culture is different. Our culture is common, and that is a Hindu culture. Hindu is a way of life. Sanatan is the only dharma. You can have different mazabhs (sect), you can have different panth, and you can have different puja padhathi. Somebody may be following the Islamic puja padhathi, and somebody follows the Christian puja padhathi but that doesn’t mean that their culture and civilization are different. In fact, even in Indonesia, even though they are Muslim, they continue to have reverence for Ram. So why is that? Because Ram and Krishna are part of our culture. They are not part of just one religion. They are our cultural icons. So one must accept that even if we have different forms of worship, our cultural ethos, our heritage, and our civilization, are all common, and that is why I say that our culture is Hindu. Hindu is a way of life, and that is the larger glue, the civilizational glue that binds all of us, irrespective of our faith or irrespective of our region.
The Commune: You worked with big names like Digvijaya Singh and Rajeev Shukla — what’s the most unexpected advice one of them gave you that stuck?
Shehzad Poonawalla: The most unexpected advice, well, it’s not unexpected, but it is good advice that Rajeev Shukla gave me. And Rajeev Shukla always advocated about how to put people and relations first above just petty partisan divisions and considerations. So in a sense, it is something that he himself espouses this spirit of bipartisanship, and he always said that there should be room for maintaining relations. So one should have political differences, but it should never transcend to personal differences.
The Commune: What is that one moment that made you say “Enough is enough” with Congress?
Shehzad Poonawalla: The one moment that made me say enough is enough with Congress is when Congress was trying to push Rahul Gandhi as the president of the party. So it was not an election, it was a coronation. It was a Taj Poshi. That was when I realized that from 2004 to 2017, all that Rahul Gandhi was giving us was to feel that he would reform the party and that the party would become more democratic, more merit-oriented. But in reality, it was far from the truth. And that was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back.
The Commune: According to you, why hasn’t the BJP been able to penetrate TN? Even in Kerala, you have an MP. But TN drew a blank in 2024.
Shehzad Poonawalla: Well, it’s a little complex as to why the BJP hasn’t been able to penetrate Tamil Nadu. I wouldn’t say that that’s the case. We’ve obviously been able to become a party to reckon with, because of the efforts of many leaders, including Annamalaiji, Prime Minister is hugely popular. Our organization hasn’t been able to come on the ground to the extent that it could capture or make the most of PM’s popularity. Also, the fact of the matter is that DMK is an old party because of the kind of language, regional, and emotional politics that it has played, and it has been able to capture the wings of the media, and popular culture like films. Because of that, making political inroads has been a little more difficult. So you can say that the DMK has basically been able to not only capture political power but has been able to impose its worldview in a very big way, very effective way, as far as cultural space is concerned. And therefore the challenge of the BJP is not only to get its organization going but also to break the sociocultural mould which has been created, which is artificial. Because if you see the people of Tamil Nadu, they have great reverence for their faith. They have great reverence for what Prime Minister Modi is doing. But because there is such a propaganda mechanism that is at work, along with a strong organizational mechanism of the DMK that is at work. Because of that, it becomes difficult to penetrate. But in the days to come, you will see that the BJP’s organization and its communication, its outreach, socioculturally, it’s improving. And therefore it won’t be long before the BJP becomes the center pole of Tamil Nadu politics as well. It already has, in a sense, become, because the DMK always attacks BJP. So in a sense, it also realizes that the BJP is a rising force, not just in Tamil Nadu, but in the entire south India.
The Commune: Who is your most favourite rival – Supriya or Shama? Also if you could name one from each party.
Shehzad Poonawalla: My favourite rival to spar with on debates is neither Supriya nor Shama. It’s Rajeev Sardesai. I think he’s the best unofficial spokesperson Congress has, and obviously Preeti Choudhury also. As far as spokespersons from each party are concerned, well, from the Congress, I like Avaid Dubey to spar off with him. Then, from the Samajwadi Party, Rajkumar Bhatti, from the Trinamool Congress, Riju Datta. From the Aam Aadmi Party, I like to expose the idiocy of all the spokespersons, particularly Priyanka Kakkar.
The Commune: Can a Muslim ever become BJP President?
Shehzad Poonawalla: Why not? Any karyakarta of the BJP can become its president. There’s no constitutional bar. It’s only a question of how committed you are and how much work and effort you can put in for the party. The BJP is a platform where only merit is recognized and merit comes first. Doesn’t matter where, which background you come from, who’s your father, who’s your mother, whose son you are, etc, etc. So even a chaiwala can become the prime minister, and a person who was working at Booth level can become the president. Anybody in the BJP can aspire to reach the highest positions, provided he has the support of the people and has put in that much hard work.
The Commune: What is the one argument that will convince people about the news for the Waqf Amendment Act?
Shehzad Poonawalla: Now that the Waqf law has been passed, the one argument I think that is important for people to remember is that Waqf is not a Hindu-Muslim issue. It is not a minority-majority issue. It is an issue of Saamaajik Nyay (social justice) to ensure that the Waqf properties are used for the poorest of the poor in the Muslim community and are not usurped by the Ashraf or the Syed Samaj in collusion with certain political elements who back them.
It’s for the benefit of the Pasmandas, for the Arhanis, for the Boras, for the women. Secondly, it is about Samvidhan Ki Suraksha (protection of the constitution), this unlimited land-grabbing power that was given to the Waqf in the name of vote bank politics, so it could capture any property it liked. It could lay claim to the parliament, lay claim on Eden Gardens, Mahakumbh lands, one 1500-year-old temple in Tamil Nadu, or Vijaypura farmers’ lands. This should stop because it gave it certain provisions by which it could make these unreasonable claims. Then the matter would go to the tribunal without any recourse to the courts. So now this entire unconstitutional arrangement has come to an end. And lastly, it is about Sushasan (good governance). Those huge corruption in the Waqf administration, and even the Muslims acknowledge this. Sachar committee report, Rahman Khan report, and many other Muslim scholars know that there was huge corruption. 3739 lakh acres of land and an income of just 166 crores. So if you calculate the income per acre and compare it with the incomes generated by other such properties or other such institutions, you will find that Waqf is woefully falling short of it. Therefore this is about Sushasan (good governance), Saamajik Nyay (social justice), and ensuring Suraksha of Samvidhan (protection of the constitution). It’s not a Hindu-Muslim issue. So those who are trying to incite in the name of Waqf, are basically the same Jamaat, that was trying to incite in the name of CAA, that nagrikta (citizenship) of Muslims would be in jeopardy if the CAA law was passed. That didn’t happen. Nor is the masjid or kabristan of Muslims going to be in jeopardy because of the Waqf Amendment Act. In fact, it has been supported by KCBC and CBCI Christian bodies, because even they have been the sufferers or the victims of the Waqf. I am an Agakhani and the Agakhani community too had certain issues with the Waqf Board of Maharashtra and others, and therefore we all are very happy that this amendment has been passed and has become law.
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.