Members from the Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal too were part of the group, their participation seen as another indication that the party is all set to switch sides from the SP to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
'Unlike in the sporting arena, where sports federations moved from partisan to impartial referees, in Indian democracy's biggest festival, it appears we are moving backward from unbiased and objective to one-sided and partisan,' observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
He also said that now everyone should listen to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's advice to shun habit of fighting on small disputes.
The gifts were in a bag that had a striking graphic image of the new temple and of Lord Ram in a very young avatar.
In addition to these temple models, metallic rings, lockets and other cloth items bearing Lord Ram's name are flying off the shelves in Ayodhya, according to shopkeepers.
'We are very close to become a theocratic State where Hinduism is the official religion of the government.'
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is visiting Karnataka, said he intended to shut all the madrasas (Muslim religious schools) in his state, as they were not needed in "New India".
The Delhi battlefield may not be a cakewalk for the Rhodes Scholar.
Issues including the Rafale deal, construction of Ram Temple and Cauvery river water caused disruptions in the House.
'They were very vocal on the defence of the Constitution, reservation, SC/ST Act and democratic rights.'
Electoral setbacks and thwarted ambition can have an unpredictable effect on leaders,, observes Aditi Phadnis.
'If we want real democracy, the economy itself will need to be democratised.'
Gujarat was labelled Hindutva's crucible and Modi was to become the chief 'chemist'. A revealing political saga excerpted from Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay's The Demolition, the Verdict and the Temple: The Definitive Book on the Ram Mandir Project.
'He has emerged as a formidable leader who cannot be ignored anymore, who cannot be mocked.'
The push to develop Ayodhya as a tourism centre, accompanied by large-scale infrastructure projects, comes on the back of years of limited income growth and tourist inflows.
'The allegations of government involvement in targeted assassinations abroad are likely to help, not hurt, the ruling party.' 'True or false, they convey a sense of muscularity and, in some quarters, are celebrated as a harbinger of 'great power' status.'
"I challenge BJP to prove corruption charges against me. If proved, I will resign from politics," said Hemant Soren.
'If you want a room for the consecration, then you better book it now.' 'By this time next week there won't be any hotel rooms available in the temple city.'
Nakul Nath's move has added fuel to rumours swirling for the last few days that he, along with his father, are defecting to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Uddhav Thackeray saying he buried the Hindutva ideology of Bal Thackeray for power and joined hands with Congress and socialist parties.
In the event of the BJP's poor performance in the assembly polls this year and in early 2025, Modi's hold will get further weakened because he will no longer remain the invincible electoral persona tightly controlling the machine at his disposal, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'Sonia did not visit this place once since she won. Who's to say they won't lose this one, too?'
The posters shared by Australia Today, read "Canada investigates the role of India in June 18th assassination".
Subhash K Jha celebrates the Ram Mandir pran pratishtha ceremony by picking some memorable Ram bhajans from movies you may not have heard of.
Not getting the kind of public support it had expected on issues like corruption and law and order, the Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to revive the Hindutva and Ram temple agenda in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, with the party planning to wrap up its Jan Swabhiman Yatra at Ayodhya on November 17.
The BJP had registered a one-sided victory on all the 17 SC-reserved seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But in 2019, out of these 17 seats, it lost Nagina and Lalganj seats to the Bahujan Samaj Party.
'Union Budgets are often used as political instruments and that was the intention of this government too.' 'But while the exercise has settled two fronts, it has left open several others and this has the potential to aggravate with time,' predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Vishwaguru who addressed the maximum rallies and boasted of being blessed with divine energy, who promised guarantees in his own name, turned out finally not invincible, points out Jyoti Punwani.
'How come the BJP won even in the Muslim belt? I am 100% sure that the BJP would not win in the Muslim belt.'
Earlier, there was a debate if Modi is entitled to adopt the role which usually goes to a "householder".
Kharge accused PM Modi of inciting people over the issues "that the Congress will never do".
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has sent invitations to 7,000 people, including 3,000 VVIPs, for the consecration.
Terming this occasion as special, CM Yogi said that liquor shops should be kept closed in the state on January 22.
With the judgment in the Ayodhya court case just round the corner, the Bhartiya Janata Party is striving to raise the pitch on the controversial issue. This was amply demonstrated at the party's two-day long state executive meet that concluded in Lucknow on Sunday.Spelling it out in the valedictory address, amidst reverberating cries of Jai Shree Ram, former national BJP president Rajnath Singh declared, "The Ayodhya temple is bound to be a reality -- come what may."
'Everyone is so excited. There is a lot of excitement everywhere. This was a long time desire of many people.'
Destiny had decided that a grand temple of Lord Ram will be built in Ayodhya and it chose Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this, BJP stalwart L K Advani has said in an article to be published in a special edition of the Rashtra Dharma magazine next week.
Why did Modi single out the Congress and its leaders for the most pugnacious verbal assault while sparing other regional adversaries? If he is trying to get some parties to break the Opposition ranks, it means that the BJP's present bravado is for effect. Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times, begins a new column for Rediff.com.
The biggest challenge will be to convert his regime into a coalition of minds. But given the fact that he is instinctively an authoritarian leader and supporter of the hard Hindutva line, the survival of his government will depend on his ability to balance between his heart and mind, between instinct and pragmatism, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
'They just say we agree to your demands in the meetings, which is lip service. But on the ground they do not implement anything.'
