"There is no doubt we are fighting with our backs to the wall but these political bonfires in the BJP will help to consolidate our position to some extent," a senior Congress leader tells Rediff.com's Anita Katyal.
'The greatness of Indian democracy is that it never lets any political pundit master the pulse of the electorate. Sometimes people vote for change and sometimes they vote for the status quo.'
'The recalculated ranking showed India should have had a higher ranking earlier (113 in 2012 instead of 132) and lower ranking later (114 in 2018 instead of 100).' 'This would mean that there has been no change in India's climate of doing business across two regimes.' 'This is exactly consistent with the reality on the ground,' observes Debashis Basu.
'Their vote bank has shifted to the BJP; the Congress is yet to realise it.'
The former Union minister said it is 'quite heartening' to see that Gandhi has taken up the initiative to involve Kishor to come out with a strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and the party's revival plan.
A day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the talks with Shiv Sena over power sharing were 70-80 per cent complete, a senior Sena leader on Tuesday said both the parties have "buried" their differences and agreed on a "suitable" formula.
Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav on Friday turned up at a function hosted by Union minister Pashupati Kumar Paras, triggering speculations about the maverick RJD leader, who wears his religious fervour on the sleeves, cosying up to BJP-led NDA which his father has always fought tooth and nail.
The four-day-old government, however, collapsed on Tuesday, after Ajit Pawar resigned citing 'personal reasons'.
The Election Commission has issued a notice to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her prima facie 'completely false, provocative and intemperate statements' against central armed police forces deputed on election duty in the state, saying her remarks are demoralising the personnel.
Who will win in the end? The Dashing Pilot or the elderly warhorse?
Unlike other top police officers, A A Khan spoke boldly --- be it while defending 'encounters' in many of which he was involved, or in tracing the cause of the ghastly Radhabai Chawl incident, recalls Jyoti Punwani. Encounters were useful, he said, because hardened criminals who were targeted were beyond reform and no good for society.
The Union Home Ministry has issued showcause notices to six senior officers, including the Bathinda police chief, over the "major lapses in security" during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab, officials said here on Friday.
Sources reveal that Modi's first choice to contest Lok Sabha election from the 'safest' Lucknow constituency could have affected BJP president's personal plans, who was getting increasingly uncomfortable in Ghaziabad. Sharat Pradhan reports.
The maverick MLA came out with the announcement, claiming, as always, that he had "the blessings of Lalu Prasad", at a time when he was left licking his wounds after losing the battle in a tug of war with state RJD chief Jagadanand Singh.
A little over a year after it retained power in Kerala with a massive victory, the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front suffered a huge setback on Friday in a bypoll held to Thrikkakara assembly constituency, with Congress candidate Uma Thomas winning with a historic margin of 25,016 votes, giving a boost to the morale of the party-led United Democratic Front in the southern state.
There is discontent in the Bharatiya Janata Party and Telugu Desam Party cadre, and the decision to turn allies could lead to some members turning rebels, says Vicky Nanjappa
Shah also said that the parties in power in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka were answerable for the incidents cited by protesting writers.
'By resorting to divisive issues, the BJP is giving the impression that even if it is voted to power it won't do anything new to give Bihar a facelift. It will repel voters with the belief that the BJP can't do anything without communal polarisation as its core ideology. This is sad and unfortunate,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'Himanta Biswa Sarma has put a lot of effort in demonising Muslims this time.'
33-year-old Abhishek Banerjee has emerged as the most visible and significant leader in the party after his pishi (aunt), Mamata Banerjee reports Ishita Ayan Dutt.
It was amusing to hear Minister Jaishankar's argument of tech companies being influential non-State actors. If only he looked at his own party before saying what he did, notes Shyam G Menon.
In her inaugural address at the party's 'Chintan Shivir' in Udaipur, she urged delegates to deliberate with an open mind and send out a clear message of strong organisation and unity.
The Aam Aadmi Party has nominated former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Lovely Professional University founder Ashok Mittal, AAP MLA Raghav Chadha, IIT Delhi faculty Sandeep Pathak and industrialist Sanjeev Arora for the March 31 Rajya Sabha polls.
Strengthening the party's communication strategy to improve public engagement is foremost on the Congress agenda after Rahul Gandhi had stressed that they "have to go back to the people" at the Udaipur meeting.
Congress is the only other horse in the race for national power, never mind how distant. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah know better than to take the Congress lightly, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Prasad said the Narendra Modi government was working to resolve the OROP issue and will do it.
In Narendra Modi, every BJP worker sees what he might have been or what he can become, says Amberish K Diwanji
Against the backdrop of the opposition closing ranks on the CAA issue and the BJP faring poorly in several state elections recently, the 2022 electoral battle is unlikely to be a cakewalk for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
While agency sources informed that Gandhi recorded his statement and checked its transcript minutely, Congress leaders said the investigators took multiple breaks during his questioning
The Opposition must understand that while 2024 may draw mileage from the growing resentment towards the BJP, the real battle and proof of how well India learnt from its disastrous dalliance with the Right-wing, will be in 2029, observes Shyam G Menon.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday asked why India's highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, has not been conferred on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The SAD MP from Bathinda said the alliance will be voted back because it had worked hard for the future of the state on an agenda of "development, development and yet more development".
'In the next two years, we might see a new kind of realignment across India.' 'I don't see political alliances working against the BJP until an alternative political agenda is created.'
'Political parties have appropriated our military victories -- the Kargil war is the BJP's and the Bangladesh war is the Congress's -- what is going on?' As Uttarakhand -- where faujis number nearly 40% of the state's population -- prepares to vote, Rediff.com's Archana Masih discovers what upsets retired soldiers in Uttarakhand the most is a forgotten protest in the heart of Delhi.
Amid a controversy over a Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party leader describing tennis star Sania Mirza as a "non-local" and "daughter-in-law" of Pakistan, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday said the tennis ace is a pride and brand ambassador of India.
Former Indian Army chief General V K Singh on Saturday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and claimed that it was the only "nationalist" party in India.
The man who threw stones at Rahul's vehicle has been detained.
Political analysts say the road to the 2024 polls for the Congress is going to get tougher as it is a party that is 'in the ICU' and cannot be revived with quick-fix solutions.
In one of his longest speeches, All India Congress Committee vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday tore into the Bharatiya Janata Party's poll manifesto. The BJP's manifesto was released on April 7 when the first phase polling of Lok Sabha 2014 had already begun. Shahnawaz Akhtar reports
Jayanta Roy Chowdhury reports on how the West Bengal elections are being fought by the BJP and Trinalool Congress amid COVID challenges, 'Bangaliana', and campaigns based on religion, region, and caste.
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