The BJP may be in the Opposition in many states, but nowhere is it as divided as it is in Karnataka, points out Aditi Phadnis.
The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said the agenda of the new political outfit would be to struggle for the restoration of J and K's statehood and to fight for the job and land rights of people.
Uttarakhand has become the first state in India to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), fulfilling a key promise made by the ruling BJP ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami unveiled the UCC notification and launched a portal for mandatory online registration of marriages, divorces, and live-in relationships. The UCC aims to create equal laws for all citizens regardless of their religion, marking a historic moment in the state's legal landscape.
Earning goodwill of the people of Jammu & Kashmir was necessary before such a move, the former prime minister said.
Gandhi said the Chouhan government had not even spared gods, referring to winds on May 28 damaging six idols in the Ujjain's Mahakal Lok corridor, the first phase of which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October last year.
Uddhav Thackeray, who played the bold gambit of taking on the ally Bharatiya Janata Party in 2019 and forged an unlikely alliance with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, was on Saturday left struggling to make sense of his party's rout in the Maharashtra assembly elections.
'There is a huge constituency that upholds this ideology.' 'Hindutva will remain relevant in our public life in the near future as an ideology and in politics as well.'
Turning tables on Congress and left thinkers, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday accused them of practising "ideological intolerance" towards the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and trying to project India as an intolerant society through structured and organised propaganda.
Outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who returned to Mumbai from New Delhi on Friday morning, is travelling to his native village in Satara district amid continuing suspense over his successor a week after the assembly poll results. Shinde had told reporters in New Delhi on late Thursday night that the next meeting of the Mahayuti alliance on government formation will be held in Mumbai on Friday. However, the caretaker CM, who heads the Shiv Sena, is travelling to his native village Dare in Satara district in western Maharashtra and the meeting is now expected to take place on Sunday, the sources said. The Shiv Sena leader has repeatedly said he would not be an obstacle in the government formation and abide by the decisions taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the next chief minister. Different viewpoints are emerging in the Shiv Sena over Shinde's place in the next government to be headed by the BJP, the biggest constituent in the Mahayuti, which posted a thumping win in the just-held assembly polls. Many leaders in the Shiv Sena are asking Shinde to accept deputy CM's post if offered by the BJP. However, another section feels it wouldn't be right for him to accept No. 2 position after serving as CM for more than two-and-a-half years, the sources said. "The government formation process will start after the BJP announces its legislature party leader," they said. During his Delhi trip, Shinde had met Shah and discussed formation of the next government in the state. His deputies in the outgoing state cabinet Devendra Fadnavis (BJP) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) had also met the senior BJP leader. Talking to reporters in the national capital, Shinde called the discussion good and positive. Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar had also met BJP president J P Nadda.
Kumar will launch her campaign from Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat on June 30.
'Granting the country's highest civilian honour to Prime Minister Modi was surprising as it indicated the government was going out of its way to have India as a close partner.'
Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday likened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a "poisonous snake", drawing strong rebuke from the Bharatiya Janata Party which said "hate is coming out" with such comments and sought an apology from the veteran leader.
'There was a time when a movie star could win an election just by stepping into politics. That era is over.'
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah on Friday said that the party is in talks with both the Peoples Democratic Party and National Conference and would like to form the next government in Jammu and Kashmir.
'There is no question that Putin's preference will be to avoid unpleasantness with Trump, leave alone a collision course,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
On the eve of the meeting hosted by it, the Congress clarified that it will oppose the ordinance on Delhi services in Parliament, a key condition put by the AAP to attend the talks.
'...It is important for you to take a stand.' 'It is a sin to remain silent when the basic structure of the Constitution is being attacked.'
'You changed me, you told me what to do, you have brought me into politics.' 'I will work tirelessly for you. It is in your fingers to support me.' 'My career peak I have left to be with you.' Superstar Vijay is the latest actor to enter politics, and his speech at his new party's first public meet on Sunday offers a glimpse into his worldview.
Gandhi answers several such light-hearted questions in a more than two-minute video released by the Congress on its social media channels.
Wouldn't it be better to join the celebrations with the vast Hindu majority while at the same time criticising Mr Modi/BJP/RSS for politicising it? notes Shekhar Gupta.
Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, he said, 'We will not allow reservation to be done away with, no matter how much Modi Ji or Mohan Bhagwat dream of it.'
Voters, it is said, get the government they deserve. We will soon see what voters in Maharashtra choose. Till then, a sense of helplessness and scepticism hangs in the air, notes Ramesh Menon.
Delhi faces a severe financial crunch and the deficit is largely due to numerous welfare schemes without adequate revenue flowing in. The success of welfare schemes and electoral promises will need careful financial planning and out of the box thinking to whip up additional revenue, notes Ramesh Menon.
Senior Congress leader Anand Sharma scotched speculation about his meeting with BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday, saying if he had to, he would do so openly as they both hailed from Himachal Pradesh and studied at the same university.
Kankar Munjare, a former MLA and MP, said he would return home after polling day on April 19.
The Rajya Sabha chairman asked him to authenticate his assertions and refused to accept newspaper clippings that the Congress leader showed to buttress his points.
Questions are being raised on the future of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) as differences among its constituents come to the fore and several parties call for serious introspection by the Congress after a string of debilitating electoral losses.
'The government is saying 88 Hindus have been killed, but it could be much more.' 'Their properties are being looted, their businesses have been ransacked. I am getting distress calls from there.' 'Muslims who believe in the philosophy of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman are also under attack. Most of those who have fled Bangladesh after Sheikh Hasina's fall are Muslims.'
The BJP may win more seats in the February 5 assembly election, but not enough to trump AAP, notes Ramesh Menon.
Shinde also said a party grows when leaders reach out to the grassroot worker rather than sitting at home.
Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial Narendra Modi on Saturday hit back at Congress Vice president Rahul Gandhi for attacking him on his links with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, saying he was "proud" of the ideology and the principles based on the "altar of sacrifice and service".
Besides the not-so-hidden unease between Modi and Adityanath, Modi chose to address the Lok Sabha to ensure that he could personally claim all the kudos, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Eknath Shinde, a former auto-rickshaw driver, has emerged as a key leader in Maharashtra, culminating in his appointment as Deputy Chief Minister. His journey from a Shiv Sena rebel to a dominant figure in the state's politics is a testament to his resilience and political acumen. He gained popularity for his pro-people stance and his contributions to infrastructure projects and social welfare schemes, solidifying his position as a powerful player in the Mahayuti alliance.
Uma Bharti has blasted party leaders for not supporting her in the row with Advani.
BSP VP Jai Prakash Singh Rahul Gandhi will not succeed in Indian politics because his mother was a foreigner.
'The BJP is racing against its opponents by putting a chain on their legs.'
Mahesh Vijapurkar on phoney ideology excuses and the spurning of brand ambassadors.
It's time India re-visited its Western alliances for the attitude and approach that the West reserves for the nation when it comes to security cooperation of the kind that they might not have visualised outside of China, India's bug-bear, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Addressing a rally in Mhow on Monday, Gandhi said Dalits, backwards and tribals had no rights before Independence, when "only maharajas and rajas enjoyed rights".
