'My feeling is that these parties will not learn their lesson despite their electoral drubbing. They cannot put forward a leader. They have no record of improving their constituents' lives by providing basic services. All they offer is their "'secularism",' says T V R Shenoy.
On the eve of the final phase of the Uttar Pradesh elections, Rediff.com's Aslam Hunani reviews the political landscape in the epicentre and beyond.
The nomination process began in Varanasi for the most keenly watched Lok Sabha elections, with Congress candidate Ajay Rai, who is pitted against BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, filing his papers after offering liquor to Lord Kaal Bhairav as per local tradition.
The results are a ringing endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security, nationalism and Hindutva.
The Congress leader also slammed the government's decision to cancel a food park in his constituency Amethi.
For firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yogi Adityanath, Hindutva and development complement each other and the sitting MP from Gorakhpur is harping on this ideology of political Hinduism, which he says is a "symbol of our nationalism", as he eyes a fifth straight term.
The one simple fact is that a government can be remote controlled but not an opposition. It needs to be kept on its toes, all the time enthusing its ranks to believe that it would win back the government in time. Would Rahul Gandhi be up to this challenge and provide proof that he does have the stuff, asks Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Ramesh, however, dismissed suggestions that Priyanka taking centrestage in campaigning in Uttar Pradesh showed poorly on the leadership of Rahul.
Ministers who were in the news for all the wrong reasons
A party leader, who is known to be close to Rahul, said he would be elevated "sooner than you think".
Does India's first political family see some serious threat to its own bastions? The question was doing rounds in Uttar Pradesh, where lie Rae Bareli and Amethi -- the respective parliamentary constituencies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president son Rahul Gandhi. Sharat Pradhan reports.
'The Congress's arrogance and unrealistic claims have weakened the anti-BJP movement at the national level.'
Gandhi, who is on a whirlwind two-day tour of Kerala as part of Lok Sabha poll campaign and is contesting from Wayanad besides his family bastion Amethi, took time off his hectic schedule to pay obeisance at the famed Thirunelli temple near the stream.
Akhilesh was referring to the advertisement in which Bachchan is seen inviting tourists to visit the Wild Ass Sanctuary located in Little Rann of Kutch in the state.
Unlike the LDF and NDA nominees who are at ground zero and campaigning hard every day, the Congress candidate's campaign is undertaken in absentia, dependent on an army of local and imported from the rest of Kerala Congresswomen and men.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday visited the village of the two Dalit sisters, who were gang-raped and murdered in Badaun, and met their family members as they pressed for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe and refused to take any compensation, demanding justice for their girls.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday came under attack in Lok Sabha, with the government accusing him of "playing politics of deception" and "misleading" the House over a mega food park project in his constituency Amethi, evoking strong protests from Congress members.
When Union Minister Maneka Gandhi sought to project her son Varun as a possible future chief minister of Uttar Pradesh last Sunday, it was widely seen as an attempt to claim Sanjay Gandhi's legacy. Anita Katyal reports
Keeping up the attack on Priyanka Gandhi, Narendra Modi gave another spin to her neech rajniti comments, saying that those allowing foodgrains to rot and the ones responsible for the Commonwealth Games scam were the ones indulging in neech rajniti.
Those complaining to the Election Commission about violation of model election code must keep in mind that right to free speech has not been diluted by the MCC in any way, Jaitley noted.
Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma on Saturday alleged that the rallies addressed by Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi in Uttar Pradesh were "fixed", adding that speeches of both the leaders were scripted by Amit Shah.
She also challenged him to a public debate 'without a handwritten script' over his criticism of the Modi government.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a frontal attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, charging it with pursuing "politics of strife" and questioning its alliance with Shiv Sena even as he rubbished Narendra Modi's claims of development in Gujarat.
The Congress scion will step into his mother Sonia Gandhi's shoes as the party president next week.
As many as 48 ministers of National Democratic Allaince government were in the fray in the general elections.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Friday explained to his supporters the circumstances behind him being in jail even as his party launched a mass contact programme over the issue to strengthen its support base with an eye on assembly elections in Delhi.
Its allies Apna Dal (S) and Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party bagged nine seats and four seats, respectively, taking the total tally of the combine to 325.
'The BJP would like to capitalise on Yogi's tough image on criminals, law and order situation, and hands-on CM.' 'Modi will be an additional advantage, but it is primarily a contest between Yogi and Akhilesh.'
'Whether she will remain CPP chairperson or not, that she will decide.'
Here's an analysis of the style and strategy of the man who did the magic for Narendra Modi and then Nitish Kumar and whom the Congress has now hired.
Just as the mighty Bhim sacrificed his son Ghatotkach and Arjun sacrificed his son Abhimanyu in the battle against Kauravas, Yashwant Sinha must ask his son Jayant to sacrifice his ministerial office, says Sudhir Bisht.
"Crores of Muslim women had always demanded that triple talaq should be banned, as it is also banned in Islamic countries," he said.
The Congress vice president also alleged that the National Democratic Alliance government was delaying the Winter Session of Parliament as Modi was not ready to discuss the Rafale and Jay Shah issues in the House before the Gujarat polls.
It's time Rahul Gandhi became attuned to the reality of the 21st century instead of recycling failed political jargon of the 20th century,' argues Virendra Kapoor.
Stung by the dismal performance not only in Delhi, but also across the country in the Lok Sabha polls, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday admitted that it had indeed made a mistake when Arvind Kejriwal resigned as the Delhi chief minister.
This is dil ka alliance, mil ke jeetenge (It is an alliance of heart, we will win together)... says Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi while addressing a joint press conference with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
'Her presence before and during the Lok Sabha election will electrify the political environment.'
'They thought he can separate the Muslim votes and win, but the Kerala mind is completely different.' 'It is a secular mind because Hindus, Christians and Muslims live together.' 'We don't like somebody coming from outside, contesting in our state, winning and going and avoiding us.'
The consolidation of the Muslim vote behind Lalu Yadav in Bihar and Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh may have forced Modi to spin Priyanka Gandhi's neech rajniti statement as a insult to his OBC status, says Dharmendra Singh.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday said that had he been in the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, he would have changed perception of law and order in the state within 15 days and advised Akhilesh not to hesitate in sending errant officers to jail.
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