Achyut Yagnik, co-author of The Shaping of Modern Gujarat: Plurality, Hindutva and Beyond, says, "I am surprised to read that Rahul claims that he is a Brahmin. His grandfather (Feroze Gandhi, husband of former prime minister Indira Gandhi) hails from Gujarat and Parsis are Gujaratis."
Achyut Yagnik, author, thinker and activist, on the five years since Godhra.
Modi, being the experienced and cunning election strategist, has written the role for himself and has trapped not only his party but has captured the minds of Congress leaders too.
The second part of the interview with Achyut Yagnik, the Ahmedabad-based social activist, writer and political analyst, in which he discusses the electoral winds in Gujarat, with Sheela Bhatt.
The battle to win the minds of around 37 million Gujarati voters will begin soon after the monsoon. Chief Minister Narendra Modi is at the centre of this crucial electoral battle that is as politically important for Modi as the Uttar Pradesh assembly election of 2012 was for Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi.
'One of the most unfathomable aspects of Gujarati society is the utter lack of reflection about the horrific violence of 2002,' says social analyst Suchitra Sheth.
All seems set for yoga guru Baba Ramdev's hunger strike against corruption in New Delhi from June 4. While this may seem as a follow-up to social activist Anna Hazare's fast against corruption last month, a cross-section of sociey rediff.com spoke to seemed divided on his appeal, and the outcome of his fast
'Modi is now realising what kind of damage he has done to his image after 2002,' says social activist Achyut Yagnik.
Public expression of dissent and quitting a party is not new for Shankersinh Vaghela
'The BJP's target could be the Kolis, Thakors and other numerically strong OBC communities to negate the shift of the Patel vote bank.'
'The new cabinet intends to create an impression in people's minds that even if it is new, it is performing from day one.'
'We are passing through a very historical moment. The UP election next year and the Lok Sabha election of 2019 will decide the course of India.' 'Maybe the unlettered will save India again because they have inherited a different India and a different idea of India,' says eminent social scientist Achyut Yagnik.
The BJP is not taking the AAP challenge lightly. Amit Shah has cautioned party insiders to ensure that AAP does not cross a vote share of 24%. He has always seen AAP as a much more significant challenge than the Congress, observes Ramesh Menon, author, Modi Demystified: The Making Of A Prime Minister.
While the Congress is elated to see the new caste dynamics coming to its rescue, the BJP still believes that no one is leaving its ship.
The coming elections seem a tough battleground for the BJP in the wake of anti-incumbency, Patidar and Dalit agitations and implementation of the GST.
'It is very interesting that the RSS is sending sadhus to Una.' 'They will again talk about Hindu unity to woo the Dalits.'
'The Congress is unsure of emerging as the single largest party or group on May 16. In such a scenario, they do not wish to accord a loser tag to the young Gandhi... The Congress feels Rahul's projection as a prime ministerial nominee in 2014 would come in the way of the formation of an alternative, non-BJP government...' Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt explains how the transition of power within the Congress is making the party vulnerable.
'The speeches of Modi in Assam, Bengal, Kerala, Baghpat and the border areas of Bihar, overplaying the themes of terrorism, izzat of mothers and sisters, are to be read carefully to understand that he is trying to keep the fear of Muslims alive in the Hindu masses,' says Apoorvanand.
It is unusual to see Narendra Modi highlight his OBC status -- something he has never done in his long political career. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com examines Modi's compulsions for bringing his caste to the foreground
As Melania Trump arrives in Ahmedabad, Sheela Bhatt offers the First Lady Of The United States a primer on one of India's oldest, and historic, cities.
Successor Anandiben Patel isn't having an easy time, with a protest movement by her own community and new challenges in keeping the mandate
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