The next general election is more than three years away. Yet, the Centre appears to be reluctant to take any bold move that might annoy influential sections of the electorate.
'Indian nationhood is indeed at the cusp of alarming redefinition -- hate-filled, and exclusionary.' 'Nations are not built this way, instead these are the ways of liquidating nations.' 'We must pre-empt it.' 'Can we?' asks Mohammad Sajjad.
'Modi is still immensely popular and, therefore, he can sustain any number of policy failures.' 'Modi himself has worn multiple faces so it would be naive to think that the Modi of 2021 will be the same Modi that will be campaigning for re-election in 2024.'
The Bihar CM has been expelled for anti-party activities.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan came down heavily on Congress leaders for "persistently and willfully obstructing the House" and suspended them for 5 days. The members who have been punished include a president's son, ex-chief ministers' sons and an ex-CM's grandson. Rediff.com brings you the complete list.
'Akhileshji has to protect his political turf and if it means confronting his father, snapping ties with him and forming another party, so be it.'
JD-U president said earlier the saffron party was acting from behind the curtain but now the curtain has been lifted.
'The BJP has sent out a message that its allies are at its mercy.' 'The allies cannot pressurise or bargain with the BJP any more,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
Karunanidhi was convinced that using the 2G cases against the DMK and reopening the fodder case against Lalu Prasad Yadav were products of the Congress leadership's short-sightedness. A revealing excerpt from A S Panneerselvan's Karunanidhi: A Life.
The PM needs to tap into his latent support base among the aspirational classes, while keeping the loony fringe at bay to stop or reverse the change in the political atmosphere
The ruling party is worried as the alliance represents over 50 per cent of the state's population, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
The government is banking on help from regional parties and rejigged numbers in the Rajya Sabha.
An emotional farewell was given to the valiant army jawans who lost their lives in the Uri attack, as their last rites were performed in their respective native villages with full military and state honours.
'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.
Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com explains the compulsions that forced Bihar strongman Lalu Yadav to play second fiddle to Nitish Kumar.
Despite the show of unity, JD-U spokesmen Neeraj Kumar, however, said the coalition dharma is bigger than showing obstinacy.
SP-Congress alliance is likely to consolidate Muslim vote in their favour.
For the fourth day, the Lok Sabha House fails to take up trust vote notices.
'Nitish Kumar has only done what any smart politician will do in his place,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
More than two decades after the then Janata Dal disintegrated, six of its constituents merged on Wednesday to form a new party which will be headed by Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha appear to be inching closer towards forming an alternative government in Jharkhand which has been under President's Rule imposed after fall of the Arjun Munda government on January 8.
After a series of defeats since 2012, the results of the recent panchayat polls are being seen by her as a tide changer for the upcoming UP assembly elections
States are apprehensive of losing their rights to raise revenue during emergencies.
'The general idea is to unite all the anti-Modi parties into an alliance, to dent the PM's image as a vote-winner, and then stymie him in Parliament -- particularly in the Rajya Sabha -- in order to ruin his credentials as a reformer,' says T V R Shenoy.
Despite the flood of BJP victories, it is difficult to see how regional parties will disappear. These parties not only have the same development goals as the national parties but also promise good governance
'Embedded with the divisive regime, they administer heavy doses of the opium of religion and nationalism day in and day out,' observes Mohammad Sajjad.
According to data culled by PRS Legislative Research, Singh has asked 13 questions in the Lok Sabha in its proceedings up to the last budget session, while the average is 69.
Arvind Kejriwal's challenge is unlikely to even cause Narendra Modi to change his schedule. The only person it will embarrass, likely, is Kejriwal, says Mihir S Sharma
India is in the midst of its biggest crisis since Independence. It is a national emergency and begs to be dealt with. Politics can wait. Lives need to be saved. We need to vaccinate India at a pace faster than any country in the world, asserts Ramesh Menon.
After all, unlike the barriers between Nitish and Lalu, the forge between Mulayam and Mayawati has not been limited to just political differences, it has been a personal war, says Sharat Pradhan/Rediff.com
Chances of holding early assembly polls in Telangana and Seema-Andhra, along with the Lok Sabha elections, seem unlikely, says Renu Mittal
Park only savings that need not be touched for many years, says Devangshu Datta.
The minimum punishment in cases of rape of women has been increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years.
She needs to find innovative ways to at least match the growth during Gehlot's rule.
The Congress, which wanted to contest as many as 121 seats, has reportedly now settled for 105 seats.
The deadline for withdrawal of nominations ended on Friday afternoon.
They alleged that the BSP was getting a 'bad name' because of the 'huge sums' being demanded for party tickets.
'I have nothing more to lose. My three sons were killed. I am not going to sit silent.'
While all political parties have been talking about following in the footsteps of the debutant Aam Admi Party by fielding fresh faces in the coming Lok Sabha polls, Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal-U leader Nitish Kumar has set the ball rolling by deciding not to renominate his party's three sitting MPs in the coming biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha scheduled for February 7. Anita Katyal reports.
There are no permanent friends or foes in politics. It's true that the RJD supported us on the trust vote, but it doesn't mean we needed them, says Bihar new chief minister, Jitan Ram Manjhi.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances