Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has won the Prem Bhatia Award for political reporting for 2019, The Indian Express reported on Monday. The annual award, which carries a prize of Rs 2 lakh, is given in the memory of veteran journalist Prem Bhatia, who died in 1995.
Ishan Kukreti, who writes for Down To Earth, and independent journalist Sharada Balasubramanian won the award for environmental and development reporting. This category carries an award of Rs 1.5 lakh.
The awards will be given by the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust on August 11 at India International Centre in New Delhi.
Journalist Sagarika Ghose, who is married to Sardesai, tweeted that he won the award for his commentary on the General Elections. She called Sardesai “the only journalist who not only spotted the TsuNamo of 2019 but also wrote and reported it”. “TsuNaMo” was often used by Sardesai to refer to the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At present, Rajdeep Sardesai is a consulting editor with India Today Group. He is the author of 2014: The Election that Changed India and Newsman: Tracking India in the Modi Era.
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