'Only on two occasions has the RSS thrown itself completely on the side of the BJP.' 'In 1977 in the wake of the Emergency. And in 2014 with Modi.' 'Now, I've been told that this is not going to happen in 2019.'
The rising price of pulses has become a hot issue during the Bihar assembly polls.
To help the country emerge as a true welfare State, political parties must put the country's interests first before strategising to win elections and short-term goals, argues Ramesh Menon.
Uddhav Thackeray and his followers have the option to stop riding a tiger and commence work around a more meaningful and enduring political ideology. It is an option Eknath Shinde's side may not have, supported as they were by the BJP, to maintain continuity of the old Sena, argues Shyam G Menon.
The demand for a fresh caste census has stirred the political atmosphere in Bihar for some time.
Janata Dal-United President Sharad Yadav was on Thursday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar, but in two other seats, the party's official candidates were facing stiff challenge from Independents backed by rebels and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
But he doesn't want to shut the door completely on the Yadav family as that could create problems for him in 2019.
If the BJP or even the regional parties delude themselves that they are going to win the 2019 Lok Sabha election, then they are over-interpreting the assembly election results, says Kumar Ketkar.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday met Sonia Gandhi and expressed his intention to contest the upcoming AICC chief polls, while the Congress president conveyed that she would stay "neutral" in the elections, sources said.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP, who was speaking at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode on Friday, said while he concedes the BJP's dominance, it is also a fact that they have lost many states and them losing the central government is not impossible.
Altogether 160 MLAs voted in favour of the confidence motion while no vote was cast against the same.
Tamil Nadu electricity minister was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), official sources said, making him the first minister in the M K Stalin-led government to face such an action from a central agency.
The Congress veteran said that a stronger emphasis needs to be laid on grassroot leadership and that there is a need to rebuild the party's structure.
'The Modi Sultanate -- like the Congress Sultanate -- does not understand local aspirations and politics. It will repeat the same mistakes whenever it takes on powerful regional leaders.'
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has shown it is possible to form an electoral base with pro-women policies that matter, so why don't other political parties replicate it, asks Devanik Saha.
'Does the BJP opening up a new assault on Rajiv Gandhi indicate that the BJP's internal calculations are pointing to the election results not going as it hoped, and hence a sign of desperation?' asks Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Our political history tells us this has never worked. A united Opposition does work in some specific, limited situations, especially in the states. But never as some brilliant pan-national collection of diverse interests with no ideological or political core, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Political parties were bracing for the assembly election results on Thursday in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and politically volatile Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, sending out feelers for possible post-poll tie-ups.
The party is better at winning elections than at governance and it remains intent on pushing ahead with its trademark social and political agenda observes T N Ninan.
Several states that imposed prohibition in the past lifted it once revenue loss began to pinch
'Gujarat should have been a breeze. But the Patidar agitation and economic uncertainty queered the pitch.' 'Yes, the BJP won and its rank-and-file will take great comfort in the assembly victory. But the leadership is taking stock for a very tricky set of elections coming up in 2018.'
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi has been sent as a special officer to oversee the counting process in Meerut and Bihar's CEO to Varanasi.
This is something that Modi's critics are reluctant to accept: He is the most popular leader that India has seen since Indira Gandhi, says Vir Sanghvi.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said the decision of the merger has already been taken and there was no question of going back on it.
Members of JD-U, RJD and Congress which have given enough hint of fighting together against BJP in the coming state assembly election next year, jointly rushed into the well of both the Houses demanding action against Dhankhar and his "close friend" Sushil Kumar Modi.
Adequate security and Covid safety measures have been put in place for the electoral exercise.
Rai Mamta Kumari's first shot at politics ended before it could begin. She had gone to file her nomination with a procession of 56 four wheelers and distributed 1,800 food packets. But then something went wrong.
Murmu's vote share is now likely to go past 61 per cent, while it was earlier estimated to be around 50 per cent at the time of her nomination.
Putting pressure on ally Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Saturday offered 11 seats to the Congress and asked the party to give its acceptance by Sunday, before a meeting of the party's Parliamentary Board.
'In end-December 2015, Nifty would end at 8,600 and Sensex at 28,000.'
In spite of his trying hard he is unable to connect not only with ordinary voters but with most party colleagues as well, observes Virendra Kapoor.
"Leaders like Vajpayee, Advani treated me with respect," the JD-U leader said.
Patna residents discuss what may happen when the EVMs are unlocked on Sunday morningwith Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday targeted Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying that his party's decision to leave the National Democratic Alliance was right. Kumar was reacting to Modi's controversial 'puppy' remark.
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The buck for the Gandamal tragedy should not stop with the school-in-charge Meena Kumari. She is just the face of a deeper malaise in Bihar, says Apoorvanand.
Seeking to buck the trend of recent Parliamentary election in which BJP decimated them, Janata Dal-United, RJD and Congress announced an alliance among the three for bypoll in 10 Assembly seats in Bihar, considered as semi-final before the crucial state poll next year.
Counting of votes will be held today in Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand which witnessed a record turnout in the multi-cornered contests to elect their assemblies.
Fears of the Congress not having a credible face, after the death of its three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit last July, and ceding its vote bank to the Aam Aadmi Party came true with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party capturing the space once occupied by the grand old party.
'The NDA has provided me a healing touch to survive'
'Nitish Kumar wouldn't have won Bihar without Lalu. He needed a voter base and Lalu has a much bigger voter base than Nitish.'
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