The BJP has many ruthless leaders with super-sharp political minds. But none has all this and Yogi's charisma and personal ambition, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday shocked party leaders and workers alike when he stated, "Modi ke liye Delhi abhi dur hai" (Delhi is still far for Modi).
Gowda said that the Congress will play a crucial role in forging opposition unity in the bid by the alliance to dislodge the BJP from power.
After opposing Narendra Modi's anointment as Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate, a mellowed L K Advani on Monday praised him for development in Gujarat and hoped that all good tasks undertaken by party governments in states will be rolled out across the country.
Ahead of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's rallies in Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, security forces averted a possible landmine explosion, as they diffused two Improvised Explosive Devices weighing 50 kg in the Dantewada area of the state.
The filmmaker, to put it bluntly, has absolutely nothing going for him to justify his nomination as a BJP candidate from Hyderabad, feels Vicky Nanjappa
Distancing himself from the BJP's victory in Gujarat, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sought to suggest that he does not see Narendra Modi as a prime ministerial candidate.
Proving wrong his detractors' claim of being sidelined after denial of chief minister's post for fifth time last year, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan won Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha Lok Sabha seat for the sixth time by a record margin of 8.21 lakh votes.
The exit polls that predicted a strong showing for BJP in four states in Wednesday's crucial Assembly polls were on Friday rubbished by Congress as one which has "no meaning" while the saffron party said it appears to be "completely demoralised".
Hitting back at Rahul Gandhi for his "balloon jibe", Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the Congress vice president should focus on the nation rather than criticising Gujarat which was declared "number one" by his mother Sonia Gandhi.
As Narendra Modi sharpened his attack on the government accusing it of failing to curb price rise, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday hit back saying the BJP's prime ministerial candidate will have to "unlearn" a lot before he learns about Indian economy.
A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party's first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls was declared, its veteran leader L K Advani today expressed interest to contest elections from his current constituency, Gandhinagar.
Sharing the dais with arrested Congress candidate Imran Masood's wife, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday disapproved of his controversial comments threatening to chop BJP's prime ministerial candidate Modi "into pieces" saying they militated against the party's ideology.
Upset over not being projected as Bharatiya Janata Party's chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi assembly polls, Vijay Goel on Sunday staked his claim for the position before the party's top leadership and indicated his opposition against any move to declare Harsh Vardhan's name for it.
Launching a broadside against Narendra Modi on his home turf, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal Saturday called the BJP's prime ministerial candidate a "property dealer for corporates like Ambani, Adani and Tatas".
Nath also said that no one in the history of the world has undertaken such a long 'padayatra'.
Concealed beneath the feat, which testifies to his political acumen and survival instincts, is the fact that the 72-year-old leader could never remain at peace with his allies which also made him change partners frequently.
The speculation was triggered after Shravan Kumar, a Bihar minister, who is also the Janata Dal-United's in-charge for UP, said there were 'demands' that the party boss enter the fray from the adjoining state.
The "lackadaisical attitude" of Bihar Police in handling the security at Narendra Modi's Patna rally, which was hit by multiple blasts, has peeved the home ministry as, even three days after the explosions, live bombs were found at the venue.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posed questions for the prime minister ahead of his rallies in Karnataka.
The present elections were held in states where the BJP has a strong presence and organisation and where it was pitted directly against the Congress. But the party's real challenge lies in states outside the northern belt where it has a negligible presence and has to contend with strong regional players, reports Anita Katyal.
Raj Thackeray announced unconditional support to the ruling 'Mahayuti' alliance of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP in the state and backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The BJP and the AIADMK are unable to sort out ideological differences, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP leadership knows it can't boast of governance in the state as the Bommai government has little to show. So, the game plan is to project Modi, who will reiterate how important it is for a state to have the same party ruling in power at the Centre, observes Ramesh Menon.
The saffron party dubbed the Prime Minister as being "diffident and unable to run the government" as his Left allies are threatening to pull the rug beneath him. "He is frustrated and disappointed and is making these comments considering his own state of mind," said BJP vice president M Venkaiah Naidu. Singh had taken a dig at Advani's anointment as BJP's next prime ministerial candidate, saying it was done because the party feared danger from Gujarat CM Narendra Modi
A fierce competition among parties to offer freebies and guarantees, a scramble for tribal, OBC, women votes and a touch of Hindutva -- all have combined to make the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls a high-stakes battle with main rivals BJP and the Congress pulling out all the stops to gain power.
A special NIA court on Wednesday convicted 10 persons in connection with the serial blasts that took place in 2013 at the venue in Patna of a political rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat.
He was trolled during the Lok Sabha poll campaign, but despite the tactics by his rivals, action hero Suresh Gopi rose to national stardom in cinema style on June 4, winning the Thrissur seat on a BJP ticket and scripting history for the saffron party in Kerala.
As India prepares for elections, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party terming its economic policies as retrograde and "blood-eyed" and asked why it's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had never fielded a Muslim candidate.
Attacking Narendra Modi, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday said that "even a butcher is shy" of the BJP leader who was aiming to become the Prime Minister of the country.
Sources reveal that Modi's first choice to contest Lok Sabha election from the 'safest' Lucknow constituency could have affected BJP president's personal plans, who was getting increasingly uncomfortable in Ghaziabad. Sharat Pradhan reports.
Discarded by the Bharatiya Janata Party within hours of his admission into the party, controversial chief of fringe right wing outfit Sri Ram Sene, Pramod Muthalik, on Tuesday announced he would contest the Lok Sabha polls against state saffron party chief Prahlad Joshi from Dharwad.
In winning a seventh term, the BJP also matched the Left Front's feat in West Bengal.
Former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, who has decided to rejoin the Bharatiya Janata Party, said on Tuesday that his return was unconditional for the larger interest of the country and for the party's Prime Ministerial nominee Narendra Modi.
The National Investigation Agency on Friday filed a charge sheet against 10 people, including alleged activist of banned Students Islamic Movement of India group Hyder Ali, in a court in Patna in the case relating to the serial blasts at the then BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's rally in Patna last year.
'It will be a long time before we will see the likes of Vajpayee again.'
In a frontal attack on BJP, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi alleged that the saffron party, which is leading the NDA, is trying to make "Hindus fight against Muslims" and also seeking to create two Indias with one for chosen business class and another for the poor.
Elections 2024 is not as open and shut as has been presumed. There is some life left in it, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will need to break several records to emerge victorious in the next Lok Sabha elections. Mayank Mishra reports.
Bihar Industry and Disaster Management minister Renu Kumari Kushwaha on Monday evening resigned from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet and the Janata Dal-United party. Kushwaha is set to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Khagaria seat as a Lok Janshakti Party nominee. LJP has joined hands with the Bharatiaya Janata Party in Bihar.
