The BJP, the same party which in 2009 had said, 'Give us power and you will have Telangana within 24 hours', seems to be finding the going a bit bumpy. Vicky Nanjappa tells you why
One of the G-23 leaders also pointed out that "we are not political tourists" and said the party leadership has to be conscious of "rumour-mongers and naradmunis".
'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,'
A day after Janata Dal-United and Bharatiya Janata Party clashed in the Upper House of the Bihar assembly peace was restored in the House today following the Chairman giving a clean chit to former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar accused of instigating the scuffle and the leader of opposition expressing regret about the episode.
'The people of Uttar Pradesh have already made up their mind to puncture the Samajwadi Party's cycle, kick away the Bahujan Samaj Party's elephant, and remove shadows of the already-vanished hand of the Congress.'
Even as Congress has announced plans to hold year-long celebrations to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to lay the foundation stone for the 'Ambedkar International Centre' in New Delhi, the legacy of the Dalit icon becoming the focus of a contest between the rival parties
'By resorting to divisive issues, the BJP is giving the impression that even if it is voted to power it won't do anything new to give Bihar a facelift. It will repel voters with the belief that the BJP can't do anything without communal polarisation as its core ideology. This is sad and unfortunate,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'Today, Dalits can become IAS officers, doctors, IPS, MLAs, MPs and even the President due to the Constitution of India.' 'And if you destroy India's Constitution, then poverty will never disappear.' 'If the BJP is pro-Dalit, they must implement policies which are pro-Dalit.' 'It cannot work if they only talk.'
Expelled BJP ideologue Prof Hari Om speaks to Pervez Majeed.
Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday resigned as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, ending days of speculations of a change in leadership in the hill state.
Buoyed by the formation of governments in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP is making a bid to expand its footprints in the region.
It is wrong to say the Congress doesn't matter. Certainly one set of people who do not believe that for a minute is the BJP. That's why even in his speech in Parliament on Constitution Day, Mr Modi called dynastic politics a threat to democracy, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'The softening of India's attitude towards Pakistan -- whatever the compelling reasons -- opens up the BJP to harsh scrutiny.' 'This is a high stakes gamble with the potential for devastating losses,' warns Vivek Gumaste.
'The BJP can kill two birds with one stone by wresting back control of the message; and the steps are fairly obvious. Once the media is neutral, there is a level playing field,' argues Rajeev Srinivasan.
Modi noted that his interaction with Kovind, a long time BJP member before being appointed first as Bihar governor and then President, goes beyond his presidency.
'Chief Minister Rio is holding the Naga Peace Accord hostage with his tacit support to the NSCN-IM, egging them to refuse to accept a solution within the Constitution.'
'The BJP has replaced huge portraits of the two BJP leaders from Gujarat with very small portraits of many leaders from Bihar. Much is being read into this changed tactic of hoardings and banners,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'I won't be surprised if a third alternative to Badal and the Congress is swept to power in Punjab in 2022.'
Ramdas Athawale-led Republican Party of India on Wednesday gave an "ultimatum" till Thursday afternoon to Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party to allocate at least 18 seats to smaller constituents of 'Mahayuti', saying the party will have a rethink on its continuation in the rainbow alliance should the saffron partners failed to oblige to their demand.
Sheela Bhatt lists ten quick takeaways from the passage of the Telangana bill in the Lok Sabha.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday urged top opposition leaders to rise above political compulsions to take on the BJP in the interest of the nation and start planning "systematically" to realise the "ultimate goal" of winning the 2024 Lok Sabha polls
'It is this new brand of nationalism, where the saffron has elbowed out the other shades in our Tiranga, that will go before the electorate later this year.' 'And it is this new nationalism that will power Modi back into office with 300-plus seats when elections are held,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Let me reveal for the first time that around August 2019 Congress President Sonia Gandhi told the Congress leadership and CWC members to form a consensus over the name of a non-Gandhi leader.'
The Shiv Sena and the NCP suspect that either of them may walk into the waiting arms of the BJP. The Congress feels that the Sena and the NCP may eventually team up and marginalise it, reports Dhaval Kulkarni
Aiming to send the right signal to different sections of society, the BJP has embraced figures like Chuhar Mal, Emperor Ashoka, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar and Maharana Pratap.
Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM, which is going to contest next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls on the promise of creating leadership among Muslims, has created unease in the political parties that so far considered the members of the minority community as their core "vote bank".
'Religion must be in your home and in the temple, not in government functions.'
We used to hear of the Modi-Shah pair as the hyphenated top of the BJP leadership. Lately, the hyphen has disappeared and it is only Modi at the top. Yogi Adityanath gets honourable mentions, but he is still a good distance away from being anointed a worthy successor, observes Shreekant Sambrani.
'Four years into his tenure and Modi still has no idea what is wrong with the agriculture sector!'
It seems that the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is leaving no stone unturned to make grand the October 31 oath-taking ceremony of its first chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, at the Wankhede stadium in South Mumbai.
After the Congress and the Janata Dal-United discontent now appeared to be brewing within the Bharatiya Janata Party against state President B S Yeddyurappa over the appointment of party office bearers.
Kumar was speaking to media persons at Patna airport on his arrival from New Delhi.
The task for RS Rawat to enter the assembly might not be easy, especially with the ongoing situation arising out of Covid-19, lack of vaccines and allegations of poor hospital facilities, reports Shishir Prashant.
Modi said this expressway will not only give speed to the vehicles, but will also accelerate the industrial progress of the entire Bundelkhand.
The BJP is set to make decisive gains in civic elections in Maharashtra even as it is locked in a neck-and-neck fight with its bickering ally Shiv Sena in Mumbai.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena were on Sunday trying to make last ditch efforts to salvage their alliance in Maharashtra for the upcoming Assembly polls after the Uddhav Thackeray's final offer of giving 119 seats to the coalition partner was rejected.
Kumar said after the meeting that all parties from Bihar spoke in one voice on the need for a caste-based census, and asserted that statistics about different castes will help in formulating development schemes effectively as many of them have not benefitted so far in line with their actual population.
'The Congress has a great programme, but a suspect leader. The BJP has a great leader, but a suspect programme.'
What we have in the Congress is a useful glue to hold a non-cultural, unified Opposition together. That is the sacrifice the Congress must be willing to live with if showing the BJP the door is what the collective Opposition wants, observes Shyam G Menon.
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