‘No rest for Shukla ji’: Jokes galore after ‘omnipresent’ Rajeev Shukla meets Rishi Sunak

Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium witnessed a parade of VIPs yesterday for the fifth India vs England T20 International. Among those spotted at the stadium were Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, his son Akash Ambani, Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, former UK PM Rishi Sunak, billionaire Ajay Piramal… and Rajeev Shukla.

Rajeev Shukla, a Rajya Sabha member and Vice President of the BCCI, was photographed in the stands last night, seated next to the Ambanis and Rishi Sunak. His presence at the match led to a revival of jokes on the BCCI Vice President being “omnipresent.”

The jokes on Mr Shukla had gone viral last month after he was photographed with Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Social media users noted how the BCCI Vice President had been spotted at a slew of events and joked that he was the “Orry of politics”, leading to an explosion of memes online.

“No rest for Shukla ji”

This afternoon, Rajeev Shukla took to the social media platform X to share three photographs that show him with Rishi Sunak. Sunak, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, had attended the fifth T20I with father-in-law Narayana Murthy.

“Had lovely meeting with former prime minister of Britain Rishi Sunak & his father in law Narayan Murti ji in Mumbai. Rishi is not only fabulous human being but was also most effective PM of UK [sic],” wrote Shukla.

His post led to much amusement on the social media platform as followers remarked on his ‘omnipresence.’

“Omnipresent Shukla ji with Rishi Sunak,” read one comment under the post.

“Sukla jee hee Aswathama hain,” another person joked.

“No rest day for Shukla sahab!” a user commented.

“Sir how did you manage to present every event or snap of cricket? Hats off to you,” an X user asked.

People were also full of praise for the parliamentarian’s networking skills. “If there were a Nobel Prize for networking, it would undoubtedly go to @ShuklaRajiv. His soft-spoken nature and genuine warmth naturally draw people toward him,” a user said.

(Also read: Mukesh and Akash Ambani join Rishi Sunak, Narayana Murthy to watch India vs England at Wankhede)