Polling is scheduled in all 13 seats of Punjab and four of Himachal Pradesh, 13 constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, nine in West Bengal, eight in Bihar, six in Odisha and three seats in Jharkhand besides Chandigarh.
Addressing his last 'Mann ki Baat' of 2019, the prime minister said the youth hate anarchy and disorder and dislike casteism, nepotism and favouritism, remarks that come in the backdrop of recent violent protests in various university campuses over the Citizenship Amendment Act and proposed National Register of Citizens.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com does a deep dive into four elections when Narendra Modi resorted to anti-Muslim fervour and points out that Hindu-Muslim politics does not necessarily mean victory for the BJP.
The Manipur high court has directed the state government to operationalise mobile towers, on a trial basis, in all those district headquarters which have not been affected by ethnic strife.
A First Information Report has been registered against Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia for inciting communal passions after he allegedly asked locals of a society in Bhavnagar, Gujarat to forcibly occupy a house purchased by a Muslim man in a Hindu-dominated locality.
'Besides Ayodhya, the BJP lost in nine other constituencies with a Ramayana imprint; it tasted success only in Thrissur.' 'In Rameswaram, K Navaskani of the Indian Union Muslim League won with a 44% voteshare in a 84% Hindu constituency.' 'In the 21 seats in the Ayodhya and Varanasi regions, both crucial to the Hindutva project, the BJP won just 7.' 'It won just 3 out of 12 seats around Modi's constituency,' points out Krishna Prasad.
In a democratic set up, a demand for "Hindu rashtra" does not amount to promoting enmity between religious groups, an accused in a case of allegedly communal sloganeering at an event at Jantar Mantar here argued before the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.
The prime minister also congratulated the film's makers for giving importance to scientists of the country.
Aarya 3 feels like a recycled version of the previous seasons, discovers Mayur Sanap.
Spinners selected gives us best opportunity to beat India: Ben Stokes
'The election results mean that the Opposition can no longer either be ignored or attacked in the way that it has been.' 'For this reason it will be interesting to see how it behaves from here on and whether there is any change in its behaviour,' notes Aakar Patel.
Ulajh strikes you as an attempt at statement-making gone horribly wrong, a punchline that doesn't land, a roar that never reaches the ear, observes Sreehari Nair.
Venus Williams targets return for Indian Wells and Miami
It was almost as if we were back to 'acchey din', when Parliament was a forum where two sides fought ferociously as equals. For that we need to thank Rahul Gandhi, notes Jyoti Punwani.
The Congress on Wednesday questioned the Election Commission's move to get a post on electoral bonds scheme deleted from social media platform X and said that the issue raised in the post makes the government 'extremely uncomfortable'.
'Rahul Gandhi never gets firsthand information. He does not know what is good or bad going on in the party.'
'The sari is the most comfortable attire for curvy Indian women, who are all bust and butt.'
Maidaan draws out more yawns than yays, observes Sukanya Verma.
Congress MP Sushmita Dev said that speeches given by Modi and Shah are also punishable under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code as they "blatantly promote disharmony and feelings of enmity on the grounds of religion and such acts are also likely to prejudice the maintenance of public harmony and tranquility between religious communities".
Congress leader Vaibhav Walia said Rawat's remarks were not just an insult to the father of the nation but also an insult to the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused the Congress again of planning to redistribute people's property if it is voted to power, but stopped short of saying that the wealth would go to Muslims.
The Congress had fielded Bam against sitting BJP MP Shankar Lalwani from the Indore Lok Sabha seat, where polling will be held on May 13.
Sukanya Verma gives us five reasons to look forward to December 1 when Animal's father-son tale unleashes itself on screens.
Crucial reforms in Muslim personal law, especially laws related to inheritance and adoption, need to be initiated forthwith; historically speaking, without the State's backing, hardly has any reform taken place or allowed to prevail, asserts Mohammad Sajjad.
'I chose the colour pink and I looked like a doll in it.' 'I worked on the pink gown single-handed and it took me one month...'
'The Opposition will continue to be attacked through misuse of agencies, civil society will be force-marched towards extinction and India's plummeting on global indices will continue.' 'Minorities and especially Muslims will continue to have open season declared on them. Institutions will continue their decline,' predicts Aakar Patel.
As an influencer, Ramsha Sultan tells Rediff.com's Hitesh Harisinghani, you learn certain lessons that can help you in your life's journey.
Here are some golden nuggets when it comes to creating wealth. Read them and if you find yourself saying, 'This everybody knows', cross your heart and ask yourself how many times you have forgotten these simple rules, says P V Subramanyam.
A look at this week's hits and misses.
'I never get nervous about my films. But I do get nervous when Vipul's (husband, director-producer Vipul Shah) film is releasing because it affects our whole family.' Shefali Shah gets ready to face the camera again.
Amid the row over Congress leader Sam Pitroda's remarks, the party on Wednesday asserted that it has no plans whatsoever to introduce an inheritance tax and cited former Union minister Jayant Sinha's remarks to allege that it is the Modi government that wanted to do so.
Polling is scheduled in all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, eight seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, six seats in Madhya Pradesh, five seats each in Assam and Bihar, three seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and one seat each in Manipur, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement issued through her lawyer Shobha Gupta, Bano thanked the top court for the verdict and said, "Today is truly the New Year for me." "I have wept tears of relief. I have smiled for the first time in over a year and half. I have hugged my children. It feels like a stone the size of a mountain has been lifted from my chest, and I can breathe again," Bano said.
The best-case scenario is that the BJP will top out at around 50 seats in UP -- a drop of 12 from the 62 it had won in 2019. Taken in tandem with Maharashtra and Karnataka, this is what is likely to put paid to the BJP's ambitions of a third term for Modi, argues Prem Panicker.
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In an interview to a private news channel on March 31, Munirathna, Horticulture Minister in the Basavaraj Bommai government, had purportedly said, "Christians are converting people in this moment also. Conversion is maximum in the slums. In places where 1,400 people are there, 400 have been converted. If they come (for conversion) then kick them out or give complaint at the police station."
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench that as the Centre is responsible for maintaining law and order in Delhi, it be made a party in the matter, which was allowed by the court.
This election will be remembered for being the first election where the Election Commission failed to take action on gross violations involving the ruling party that repeatedly used religion, communal slurs, lies and undocumented allegations, observes Ramesh Menon.
...Even if it means less democracy, so that their everyday problems get solved? argues R Jagannathan.
