'I told him when I started my political career seven decades ago he was not even born. His political activities, the protests he organises and the way he fights the biggest corporate of India, the Ambanis, give hope to all people who are progressive. My desire is that such a party must grow, and I wished him all success for its growth.' V S Achuthanandan, the senior-most Communist in India, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier why he turned down Arvind Kejriwal's invitation to join the Aam Aadmi Party.
'It is mind-boggling that a party can be in rigor mortis even after numerous electoral defeats,' observes Ramesh Menon.
A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com recalls how Kanyakumari MP H Vasanthakumar, the first parliamentarin to die of Covid-related complications, would address his constituents by their names, making it a point to ask after their work and family.
Ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress won one seat each in the bypolls to Patiala (urban) and Talwandi Sabo Assembly seats on Monday but the Aam Aadmi Party finished a poor third.
Congress says K Chandrashekhar Rao backstabbed it; Chandrababu Naidu detests him.
The sacked water minister said that when he asked the Delhi CM about the cash, he was told 'said few things in politics cannot be explained'.
'While the farmers are reeling under a huge debt burden, crop loss due to locust attacks and erratic rainfall, the state is also facing a COVID-19 challenge.' 'In this situation, you have Congress and BJP MLAs trying to outwit each other in a game of thrones'
Not everyone in Jammu and Kashmir is optimistic about the alliance between the Peoples Democratic Party and Bhartaiya Janata Party. Upasna Pandey/Rediff.com spoke to Kashmiri pandit organisations to find out how they view the new coalition politics in the valley.
Modi lashed out at the Siddaramaiah government over alleged corruption, saying there is not a single minister who is not facing allegations of financial wrongdoing.
'Jignesh Mevani has many strengths: Youth, articulation, fearlessness, proficiency with social media, political and ideological flexibility.' 'Also focus, as in targeting the BJP as the one and only enemy for now and using that justification to align with the rest,' says Shekhar Gupta.
In his fresh letter to Modi, Kejriwal urged him to end IAS officers' strike so that he can attend a meeting of NITI Aayog on Sunday.
Sitting Congress MP Madhu Yaskhi Goud, who played a crucial role in passing the Telangana bill in Parliament, is up against TRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao's daughter. However, one cannot simply rule out the chances of E Lakshminarayana, the popular BJP leader who is also in the fray. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi appears to be on the way out in the wake of his defiance as the Janata Dal-United is all set to replace him with his mentor Nitish Kumar at a meeting of the legislature party on Saturday.
Though authorities and NGOs have made arrangements for their food, most of them want to go back to their native places to escape the hardship brought by the sweeping curbs.
'The NDA has provided me a healing touch to survive'
Since the Mahabharata the Yadavs have been known for infighting. And the 2017 UP election proved yet another example of that, says Nazarwala.
'Kejriwal has read the Constitution, still he misused office to benefit his MLAs.' 'If the BJP and Congress are wrong, does that mean even you will do wrong things?' 'So how is Kejriwal different from the others?'
"Governance, governance, governance," was what Nitish Kumar said were his three priorities when he took the helm of Bihar in 2005.
Modi's NDA is good enough to give a psychological boost to the once 'untouchable' BJP and Modi but if the NDA doesn't get a majority on its own, then walking the last mile will be the greatest challenge of this election for Modi, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Breaking with past practice, the Congress on Thursday released its first list of 24 candidates for the Delhi assembly polls repeating all its eight members of Legislative Assembly and 12 others who were runner-ups in the 2013 assembly election in which the party had suffered a setback.
Venugopal is valued highly by Mrs Gandhi and Mr Gandhi. They consider him a loyalist, more to the point, one who can deliver.
Amid claims of Kumar Vishwas trying to separate the AAP, Kejriwal issued a tweet saying that the former was like his brother.
In a jolt to Lalu Prasad ahead of Lok Sabha polls, the Rashtriya Janata Dal split on Monday as 13 of the 22 party MLAs in Bihar announced they have quit the party but six of them later claimed they are not part of the breakaway faction.
The JNU student leader said, "There is an atmosphere of fear in the country and anybody who speaks against the government is threatened."
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