STORYMIRROR

Sudha Ramanathan

Drama Romance Classics

3.6  

Sudha Ramanathan

Drama Romance Classics

Elections, Egos, and Everything In Between

Elections, Egos, and Everything In Between

6 mins
434


Mumbai is a city that never sleeps, but somewhere between its endless honking and the swaying waves of Marine Drive, it was losing its patience. It was election season, and the city was divided. Not between political ideologies, mind you, but by who could shout the loudest from their balconies about potholes, traffic, and corrupt politicians. In the midst of this chaos, our story begins—not with love at first sight, but with a smirk and an insult.


***


Siddharth Rao, or Sid, was a strategist. Not just any strategist—the guy was a genius with campaigns, the kind of person who knew exactly how many WhatsApp forwards it took to swing an entire constituency. Tall, lean, with a sharp jawline that was as cutting as his wit, Sid was riding high. His latest project? Making the most boring politician in Mumbai—his uncle, of course—seem like the next messiah of the people. 


But Sid had a problem. No, not the uncle’s terrible mustache, though that was an issue too. His problem came in the form of a girl—Ananya Mehta.


Ananya was everything Sid wasn't. She was poised, principled, and infuriatingly self-righteous. A political journalist who didn't hesitate to call out Sid's uncle as a "corruption specialist" on live TV, she made it her personal mission to scrutinize every campaign promise his team came up with. Her Instagram bio even read, "Crushing patriarchy and fake politicians one article at a time." She was also, according to Sid's assessment, "ridiculously unattainable."


“Out of your league, Sid,” said Rohan, Sid’s best friend and partner in crime, over a plate of vada pav. “She probably dates philosophers or some NGO types who wear khadi and drink kombucha.”


Sid rolled his eyes. “That’s what makes this fun. I’m going to make her fall in love with me.”


“You? The man who thought ‘feminism’ was a marketing strategy?” Rohan cackled.


Sid grinned, a devilish gleam in his eyes. “Watch me.”


***


The plan, as Sid saw it, had to be flawless. Ananya wasn't the kind of girl you wooed with flowers or poetry—no, she needed something grander. But first, he had to make her notice him as more than just "that slimy campaign guy."


Phase one began when Sid found himself at a political debate where Ananya was moderating. She was in her element, gracefully dismantling politicians with pointed questions, her long hair tied up in a bun that somehow made her look both intellectual and utterly unattainable. Sid raised his hand, interrupting the proceedings.


“Yes, you in the grey suit,” Ananya acknowledged him, not even looking up from her notes.


Sid smiled. “I have a question for you, actually.”


That got her attention. She looked up, her eyebrows raised, curiosity mingling with a healthy dose of irritation. “I’m the moderator, not the politician here.”


“I know. But don’t you think you’re part of the problem too?”


A ripple of murmurs spread through the crowd. Ananya narrowed her eyes, ready to pounce. “Enlighten me.”


“Well, you’re always pointing fingers, calling out corruption, but what have you *done* to change anything? All talk, no action. You’re like a Twitter trend—gone in a day.”


Her eyes flared with fury, but Sid didn’t flinch. He knew she thrived on intellectual challenge. He’d planned for this. Ananya leaned forward, her lips curling into a dangerous smile. “You know, you’re right,” she said sweetly. “I’ve just been waiting for someone to tell me what to do. How about you? What’s your grand solution, Mr. Campaign Strategist?”


“Let’s start by having coffee,” Sid replied smoothly, smirking.


The room went dead silent. Ananya blinked, her sarcasm short-circuited for the first time in her life. "Excuse me?" she managed to say, the fire in her voice returning.


“I’m serious,” Sid said, shrugging. “You critique the system, I work within it. Maybe we could learn something from each other.” His tone was

casual, but the challenge was unmistakable. The audience was eating it up.


Ananya stared at him, weighing her options. Her instinct was to dismiss him, but something about his audacity intrigued her. “Fine,” she said, the word laced with skepticism. “But you’re paying.”


***


Phase two began at a coffee shop in Bandra, where Sid and Ananya sat across from each other. She had come with a notebook, expecting a serious discussion. Sid, meanwhile, ordered the most overpriced latte on the menu, just to annoy her.


“So, what’s your angle?” she asked, her arms crossed. “I’m sure you didn’t ask me here just to discuss civic issues.”


Sid leaned back, looking annoyingly relaxed. “I wanted to get to know the woman who single-handedly makes my life difficult. Why do you hate my uncle so much?”


Ananya snorted. “He’s the poster boy for everything that’s wrong with our system. Nepotism, corruption, zero accountability. And you, you’re his enabler.”


Sid smiled. “I prefer the term ‘mastermind.’”


Her eyes narrowed. “This isn’t a joke, Sid. People are suffering.”


“Exactly! That’s why you’re wasting your time yelling at people like me instead of doing something about it.”


Ananya’s jaw clenched. “What do you think I’m trying to do?”


Sid leaned forward, lowering his voice. “You’re trying to change the world one angry op-ed at a time. But guess what? You can’t fight the system from the outside. You have to play the game.”


She hated that he was making sense. “And what, you’re going to teach me how to play?”


“Maybe,” he said, his grin back. “Or maybe I’ll learn something from you too.”


Ananya couldn’t help but smile, just a little. “You’re insufferable, you know that?”


“I’ve been told,” Sid replied. “But I grow on people.”


***


Weeks passed, and Ananya found herself spending more time with Sid than she’d intended. He wasn’t who she thought he was—he was worse, actually. Every time she called him out on his moral compromises, he had an infuriatingly pragmatic answer. But what really annoyed her was that she was starting to like their sparring. It felt like they were playing chess, and for the first time in her life, someone was keeping up.


Meanwhile, Sid’s plan was progressing exactly as he had hoped. The more they argued, the more she let her guard down. He wasn’t just a smug campaign strategist to her anymore. He was someone who understood the system as well as she did but was willing to manipulate it to his advantage. And she hated that she was intrigued by it.


But Ananya wasn’t the type to give in so easily. One evening, after a heated debate about economic policies, she crossed her arms and said, “This isn’t going to work, you know.”


“What won’t?” Sid asked, pretending not to understand.


“Whatever this is,” she said, gesturing between them. “You’re a pragmatist; I’m an idealist. We’ll never see eye to eye.”


Sid smirked. “Who said we need to see eye to eye? Sometimes the best partnerships are the ones that challenge you.”


She rolled her eyes. “Nice try, Sid. But I’m not falling for your game.”


He grinned. “Who said this was a game?”


And for the first time, Ananya found herself speechless.


***


In the end, it wasn’t Sid’s strategy or charm that won Ananya over. It was the realization that despite their differences, he respected her—genuinely. He wasn’t trying to change her or mold her into something she wasn’t. He enjoyed the challenge, the constant push and pull between their worlds.


The election came and went, and Sid’s uncle won (barely). Ananya, of course, wrote a scathing piece about the campaign, but she sent Sid a copy with a handwritten note: “You’re still insufferable, but I’ll allow it.”


And Sid? Well, he knew he had won the only battle that really mattered.


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