Even as politics engaged him more, he never hid his way of life. On one occasion, Morarji Desai pleaded with him to stop drinking publicly. "You stick to your pissky and I'll stick to my whisky'' he is supposed to have told him.
The opposition, while not directly stalling Parliament, will insist all legislation goes to standing committees, delaying implementation.
If the parliamentary representation of radical Islamic parties goes up dramatically in 2018, what will this do to Pakistan's army?
As the country readies to go to polls on July 25, one can't deny the role of the military, but there are other factors too.
Will Amar Singh be the go-between between the SP and Congress, asks Aditi Phadnis.
'Theirs is not a campaign for diffused issues like social justice and equity. They have three clearly articulated demands.'
Can Baichung Bhutia's Hamro Sikkim party pose a challenge to Pawan Chamling who has not lost an election in 24 years?
Top Congress sources said they would not hold up the Bill.
'But Russia is well aware of Pakistan's nuisance power on its border.'
Mehbooba Mufti is running an alliance that is unnatural -- and one she instinctively militates against. She needs to be responsible in what she says and does -- and her time starts now, says Aditi Phadnis.
'Will Muhammad Habib Zahir -- who was part of the team that arrested Kulbhushan Jadhav and went missing in Nepal -- figure in a Jadhav-for-Zahir deal?' asks Aditi Phadnis.
Why was everyone wooing Vijayakanth and why was he playing hard to get?
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav behaved entirely in character when he broke ranks with the Congress and backed the Bharatiya Janata Party in the monsoon session, says Aditi Phadnis
Congress says K Chandrashekhar Rao backstabbed it; Chandrababu Naidu detests him.
Farmer interest groups predict that unless the government corrects its agricultural pricing and procurement policy, it will face a political blowback.
The attack on a Dalit family in Faridabad days before the Khattar government's first anniversary suggests that nothing has changed.
'Akhilesh's plan is simple.' 'He wants to lead the party on the strength of the infrastructural development his government has done, capitalise on the massive sympathy wave of young people in the state who dream of doing what he has managed to do -- defy a feudal, greying orthodoxy that occupies and sits on posts and positions never to leave.'
Governance was Nitish Kumar's USP among voters in Bihar -- it is now being appropriated by the Gujarat chief minister, says Aditi Phadnis
Given the Opposition majority in the Rajya Sabha, the LARR Bill passed by the Upper House may be a deeply diluted version of the government's own 2015 Bill
Congress' chances of survival in the state do not look promising, says Aditi Phadnis
The President may not have agreed with the government on many occasions. Not once was this ever made public -- though he told off ministers in private.
If the BJP doesn't do as well as it is expected to, it might have to seek Upendra Kushwaha's help in forming a government for a price: the chief ministership
Javadekar, along with Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan, is among the few ministers who have party as well as ministerial responsibilities.
'Whether Kashmir or anywhere else, whether in peace or in war, pay commissions or no pay commissions, hollowness and shortages notwithstanding, the Indian Army -- and Sekin Fif -- will always be there to keep India together.'
83% of the CEOS plan to hire more in the new year.
The widow of Rajdeo Ranjan, the journalist who was gunned down, has said the killers had a connection with someone in jail.
'Like Nehru, too, Modi has found dealing with Beijing more and more difficult and has adopted an increasingly assertive approach towards managing India's northern neighbour.'
Current events in Haryana have set the state back 20 years. But this is just the beginning. Let's play a game. Let's try figuring out how much further the state can slide.
From son of soil to Hindutva and from the BJP to Hardik Patel, the Shiv Sena has changed its stand time to time to reinvent itself.
Last year, Maryam Nawaz accompanied her father to Washington, but played a role beyond being the dutiful daughter. She was 'discovered' by the White House, and was hosted by Michelle Obama.
Mehbooba wants a congenial political atmosphere and everybody's support before taking the reins of power; hence the delay in government formation. Aditi Phadnis opines.
'Unlike Dr Manmohan Singh, who quailed and turned away because the darkness was too frightening, Modi has taken a leap to the other side. He deserves applause for this fearlessness,' says Aditi Phadnis.
'The disquiet in the Sangh is, of course, over demonetisation.' 'But more than that, it is about the growing centralisation in the running of the government and party,'
The country has a fiendishly complicated electoral system that is a combination of population-based proportional representation and party-based national lists, says Aditi Phadnis
The long-term plans for Varanasi will take time to materialise but what has changed is the mood, says Aditi Phadnis
Can Mamata Banerjee unite the Opposition?
Factors such as industrial backwardness, crime, poor infrastructure, erratic power supply and poor educational infrastructure will take a backseat to identity
The Rajya Sabha election was personal so it had to be won and Amit Shah needed to be sent a message.
By annoying potential allies ahead of the polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate is playing a dangerous game but if he wins, he gets it all, says Aditi Phadnis
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