>The BJP's star campaigner could not help even half the number of candidates for whom he campaigned in his aggressive 'Didi-o-Didi' style in Bengal
Inability to take everyone along during his nearly four-year term led to Trivendra Singh Rawat's undoing. He tried to take control of all major departments by holding on to more than 40 of them, but still could not deliver.
'Invoking 133 (2) of the Karnataka Education Act-1983, which says a uniform style of clothes has to be worn compulsorily. The private school administration can choose a uniform of their choice,' the government order said.
Known for his clean image, Harsh Vardhan will face a stiff challenge of uniting the faction-ridden Bharatiya Janata Party as his nomination to the chief ministerial post comes after a bitter internal squabble that had threatened to derail the party's campaign to wrest power after 15 years in the capital.
How Modi retrieves the situation and how he enlists new allies in the next two years will show if the BJP is fighting fit, report Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Congress Member of Parliament and party spokesperson Sushmita Dev tells Kavita Chowdhury that party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's "new kind of politics" has revitalised the party, lifting it from the gloom of the 2014 general elections.
AAP will have to learn to be patient as such electoral changes do not happen in a hurry, asserts Ramesh Menon.
"There is no doubt we are fighting with our backs to the wall but these political bonfires in the BJP will help to consolidate our position to some extent," a senior Congress leader tells Rediff.com's Anita Katyal.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra, Ramesh said, has been a "real booster dose" for the public relationship of the Congress.
'Change was very much needed for the Congress to win the 2022 assembly elections.'
Yediyurappa termed these two years as 'trial by fire', pointing out that he had to run the administration without a cabinet in the initial days, followed by devastating floods and the challenge of COVID-19 management, among other issues.
He appears to prefer controlled environments and secure, guided outcomes. In this format, he seems to be at home across scales ranging from a studio-based interview to giant stadiums. It highlights the significance of control in the ruling dispensation's idea of narrative, observes Shyam G Menon.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani continued to sulk over the choice of Narendra Modi as the party's prime ministerial candidate even as party leaders, including Rajnath Singh and Sushma Swaraj, met him in an apparent bid to mollify him and later denied that the party patriarch is upset.
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.
Bharatiya Janata Party Vice President Uma Bharti on Thursday said that the rape charge levelled by a teenage girl against Asaram Bapu could be "politically motivated" as he had been critical of top Congress leadership.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Thursday clarified that the Bharatiya Janata Party has not yet decided to nominate former Delhi Metro chief E Sreedharan, popularly known as 'Metro Man', as the chief ministerial candidate of the party for the upcoming Kerala assembly polls.
There seems to be no "closure" for B S Yediyurappa, the Bharatiya Janata Party's "comeback man" in Karnataka, as he could never complete a full term in office, despite becoming the chief minister four times, surmounting odds. It's also too early to write a political obituary of the 78-year old Lingayat strongman and the 24X7 politician, the face of the party in the state for decades.
'The BJP should know that simple caste arithmetic may have ceased to follow the basic law of addition.' 'Adding up seemingly distinct vote banks can even cause overall reduction in numbers,' says Sudhir Bisht.
Two members of a famous family are fighting against each other for the Jamnagar seat in Gujarat. Bharatiya Janata Party's young candidate, Poonam Madam, the sitting MLA from Khambhaliya, is pitted against her uncle and Congress Member of Parliament, Vikram Madam, who has been an MP since the last two terms.
'The Congress era was already over anyway! The real question is: Has India opened a new, post-coalition era and I'm very doubtful about that,' Christophe Jaffrelot, author of several books on Indian politics, tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com, analysing Mandate 2014.
As indications emerge that Centre could withdraw the controversial ordinance on lawmakers, Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress on Wednesday engaged in a slugfest over the issue with the Opposition claiming victory and the ruling party accusing it of changing tunes.
The BJP on Sunday accused Delhi's Law Minister Somnath Bharti of "racism" and wondered if the dharna planned by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to demand suspension of some police officials is a ploy for "a way out of the government and get back to the streets".
'You can walk wearing the hijab on the street, but not in a school.'
The Bengal Tiger, the Asiatic Lion and the more widespread leopard have had to swallow their pride. Rarely has the prime minister turned up in person, sun hat and camera at the ready, to welcome a member of the big cat family, notes Shyam G Menon.
'Modi had not discussed demonetization with me prior to his announcement on 8 November 2016. 'I learnt of it along with the rest of the country. 'I was not surprised when he did not discuss the issue with me prior to making the public announcement. 'It fitted in with his style of making dramatic announcements.' A fascinating excerpt from Pranab Mukherjee's The Presidential Years: 2012-2017.
Nitin Gadkari has a message as much for his party as much purportedly it is for the Opposition. Listening to him, whatever be his reasons and motives, will help, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Kerala Minister Saji Cheriyan on Tuesday landed in trouble for his harsh remarks against the Constitution, triggering a huge political row in the state with the opposition demanding for his sacking, but the Left leader later expressed regret and claimed news reports in this connection were 'distorted'.
If the Chirag Paswan-led LJP posts a good result, the young leader could become a formidable caste challenger in the years to come and a permanent fixture as a BJP ally, reports Aditi Phadnis.
Army should be allowed to enter PoK and destroy the training camps set up by Pakistan, said Ravinder Raina, BJP MLA from Sunderbani.
Modi said that unlike other parties that believe in keeping people weak so that their dependence on them never ends and their "crown" remains intact, the BJP believes in empowering them and making them independent.
Just as the superstars of Indian cricket only play IPL and international fixtures and ignore the Ranji and Mushtaq Ali trophies in domestic cricket, Narendra Modi should play a very limited role in state assembly elections, argues Sudhir Bisht.
The speed at which he led the central bank in different areas -- ranging from internal reorganisation to inflation fighting, stabilising the currency, taking on rogue corporations, cleaning up bank balance sheets, and opening the sector -- makes one believe that Rajan knew he had only three years to do his job. A fascinating excerpt from Tamal Bandyopadhyay's MUST-READ Roller Coaster: An Affair with Banking.
Haryana's chief minister enjoys Narendra Modi's support and protection and will be in office unless the state sees a massive administrative botch-up.
'The boy has remained so simple. Still wearing that sweater and light pants. He doesn't even have a decent pair of shoes! So much like one of us! How can we not give him another chance?' 'And what is Modi Sir doing? He changes clothes three times a day and wears designer clothes. He isn't the son of a simple chaiwallah we voted for.'
Five of the six Lok Janshakti Party MPs in Lok Sabha have joined hands against their leader Chirag Paswan and elected Pashupati Kumar Paras, the youngest brother of Paswan's late father and party founder Ram Vilas Paswan, in his place, causing a big churn in Bihar politics.
The Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left Front on Saturday congratulated Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and expressed hope that the new government will "live up to the expectations" of the people.
Against the backdrop of the Lok Sabha results, a much larger scale of desertion was anticipated from the TMC. 'It seems, people don't believe that the ship is sinking.'
"For the next 25 years we need to focus on the five resolves - developed India, removing every trace of bondage from our mind, taking pride in our glorious heritage, unity, and fulfilling our duties," he said.
Amid bitterness in ties with ally Shiv Sena, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has fired a fresh salvo questioning the opposition to his decision to provide security to Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali when Sena Chief's family had hosted cricketer Javed Miandad from that country.
'To lead the Congress party, you need experience.' 'You should have held some positions which give you the experience of running the party at any level.' 'Tharoor doesn't have any such experience.'
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