Chapter 60 #4
"I want to cleanse the party", Shaurya said finally. "I'm done working with corrupt politicians. I know this isn't some film where corruption disappears overnight, but I want to initiate a proper beginning. And that beginning starts with Virendar Shekhawat's downfall."
His gaze hardened.
"Yes, exposing him will damage me politically. But what if I'm the one exposing him?"
That single line instantly shifted the atmosphere in the room.
"I already ordered a confidential enquiry against Virendar Shekhawat. The committee will soon submit its findings to the High Court. And if found guilty — which he absolutely will be — he will face severe punishment."
Dev stood up abruptly.
"You ordered an enquiry against your own father? Damn, Shaurya..."
He ran a frustrated hand through his hair, unable to decide whether this move was brilliant, reckless, or terrifyingly calculated.
"Yes", Shaurya replied calmly. "I specifically requested the center to appoint the best officers available for the probe. The committee consists of retired judges with clean records — strict and sincere people who cannot be bought."
He leaned back slightly.
"The process was supposed to take a few more months. But Virendar and Shobha made the mistake of approaching Akansha and Siya directly. That accelerated everything."
His voice dropped colder.
"The next few weeks will be remembered as the fall of Virendar Shekhawat — a three-time Chief Minister who turned out to be corrupt and cruel."
Everyone understood immediately from his expression alone that Shaurya already had every backup plan in place.
"But what about your career?" Dev asked again. "The party itself will collapse."
"I already considered that possibility", Shaurya replied. "Initially, since I planned on leaving politics anyway, I intended to resign while taking moral responsibility for being associated with the same party. But now that resignation is postponed, political restructuring becomes the only option."
His eyes sharpened with determination.
"The party needs dissolution and rebirth. Leadership changes too."
He paused briefly.
"I'll lose some veterans and loyalists in the process, but honestly, I'm not interested in retaining politicians who are still stuck with outdated beliefs irrelevant to today's world."
"But all this will destroy your health", Akansha pointed out immediately. "You already aren't well."
Shaurya smiled softly at her concern.
"I'll be fine. I promise I won't overstrain myself. Restructuring is still easier than building an entirely new party from scratch."
He continued calmly.
"My father corrupted this party badly. But my grandfather founded it with sincerity and proper ideals. Those founding principles will remain the base of this new version too, only adapted to suit today's inclusive society."
The discussion continued intensely after that.
Everyone questioned him repeatedly while Shaurya detailed his long-term vision, possible risks, structural reforms, leadership changes, and future strategies.
At one point, Dev leaned forward thoughtfully.
"You should announce all this before elections are officially declared. You've already campaigned across almost every district. But if the party gets restructured, the symbol will change too, and that's a huge issue. People need to recognize the new symbol clearly."
Shaurya sighed immediately.
"That's the biggest problem."
"No", Akansha interrupted thoughtfully. "Design a symbol that's only slightly modified from the current one.
" Everyone looked at her. "If the current party itself gets dissolved, the old symbol won't appear anywhere on the EVM anyway.
So voters won't get confused between two similar symbols.
It'll actually help maintain continuity. "
Dev nodded slowly.
"That... actually makes sense."
"Good idea", Shaurya admitted. "But the Election Commission has strict rules regarding symbol similarities. Final approval depends entirely on them."
"But technically, you still retain rights over the party's foundational identity", Akansha pointed out.
"True. I'll get all the ECI guidelines by tomorrow. Maybe you can design something accordingly?"
"Done", Akansha agreed immediately.
"Bhabhi, I'll help too", Aakriti added excitedly.
"Of course. You're great at designing anyway. You represented our college at the state-level graphic designing competition, remember? And you even won."
Aakriti smiled sheepishly.
"And you gave me a chocolate after that congratulating me. I still have the wrapper."
Akansha blinked.
"You still kept it?"
"I don't know why, but yes", Aakriti shrugged casually, making Akansha smile fondly while gently caressing her forearm.
Aakriti truly was a pure-hearted girl.
And somewhere deep inside, Akansha silently decided that although she could never replace a mother in Aakriti's life, she could still love her like a sister and stand beside her the way she deserved.
Shaurya quietly watched the two women bond, and the affection visible in Akansha's eyes for Aakriti genuinely made his entire day despite the emotionally exhausting discussions surrounding them.
"Also", Akansha added while returning to the topic, "during restructuring, fake news will spread aggressively. Opposition and its supporters may deliberately circulate misinformation regarding the symbol change just to confuse voters."
"Hello, madam", Dev interrupted dramatically. "The opposition leader is sitting right in front of you."
"Exactly", Akansha replied immediately. "Which is why I can confidently say this to your face. You and your supporters have one thing in common — both try acting oversmart and fail badly."
Dev glared at her.
"Both of you, focus", Rajnath interrupted before the argument escalated.
"It's Dev irritating her", Shaurya immediately defended his wife.
Aakriti burst into laughter while teasing both Shaurya and Akansha openly. Akansha glared at her husband for shamelessly taking sides so quickly.
"Thank you, Shaurya. Wonderful friend you are", Dev said sarcastically.
Ignoring him completely, Shaurya returned to the discussion.
"Anyway, to control fake news circulation, we need..."
And the strategy meeting continued until the early hours of morning before everyone finally decided to sleep for a few hours and begin the next day all over again.