The new 'Mission 350+' is to focus on 150 seats where the BJP was number two or three in 2014.
Patel's victory, which came against heavy odds, has given the Congress and the rest of the Opposition the confidence that Modi and Shah weren't invincible.
Post Nitish's exit, 17 parties plan to meet on Friday to formulate their future course of action. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has invited Sharad Yadav to join them, reports Archis Mohan.
'You won't find such an apathetic indecisive party in the world.'
Some within the BJP see Amit Shah's entry into the Rajya Sabha as the party's succession plan for 2025 when Narendra Modi turns 75.
Arun Jaitley will visit Kerala on Sunday. The same day, Kerala Governor P Sathasivam will discuss law and order with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
'We are all members of a tennis paradise that this year improbably promises to last forever -- and we owe it in no small part to the two champions' parents,' notes Rahul Jacob.
'...getting drenched in the rains, doing farm work, labour and sweating it out so that they can get their evening meals.' 'I want to tell them that this Ram Nath Kovind of Paraunkh village is going to Rashtrapati Bhavan as their representative.'
The government is also planning to replace the current ageing Air India One or Boeing 747 with Boeing 777s. Arup Roychoudhury and Archis Mohan report.
A senior politician Naidu respected once tried to convince the firebrand student leader to quit the Jana Sangh.
The two agreements were signed during Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's state visit to India in May.
Justice V Gopala Gowda's name has been considered positively by the Trinamul Congress as well as the Left.
The crisis will strengthen Nitish Kumar's position as Lalu's troubles erodes his bargaining power within the ruling coalition in Bihar.
Even as the BJP is expected to win the vice-presidential poll, ppposition hopes to make it yet another display of its unity, reports Archis Mohan.
Its electoral triumphs in assembly polls, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, have made the BJP the single-largest party in the Rajya Sabha.
And no, it doesn't begin with a W...
GST would make compliance easier for big businesses, but hurt small scale industries., says SJM
As the BJP snaps at its heels, can the Communists stay relevant in the electoral game?
Other members of the group are former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Communist Party of India-Marxist chief Sitaram Yechury.
The RSS wants BJP to field a 'swayamsevak', while the Opposition has mulled fielding former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.