'His record will be clouded by the same negative factors as of Rajiv Gandhi and Narasimha Rao, namely, their politics and therefore social policies,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hoists the national flag from the ramparts of Red Fort on Independence Day on Sunday, it will be seven in a row for him, with only Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi ahead of the economist-turned-politician.
He was admitted to the AIIMS on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion.
Varun Gandhi on Wednesday gave a new twist to the prime ministerial candidate race in the Bharatiya Janata Party, comparing party president Rajnath Singh to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and saying he has the ability to bring together people of different religions and castes.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Sunday reached out to the Muslim community saying his party is being defamed and maligned continuously over Gujarat riots under a "planned conspiracy".
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday went to the house of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who turned 87, and greeted him on the occasion. After returning from his visit to Kerala, Dr Singh drove straight to the Krishna Menon Marg residence of the former prime minister and presented a bouquet to the ailing leader. During the brief meeting, the prime minister also inquired about the health of the octogenarian leader from his family members.
'Vajpayee would not have approved either of the way the BJP now functions or of the thoughts that it entertains in its mind,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
The accent on 'making the south feel wanted' was the reason why P Muralidhar Rao, who was dropped as general secretary, was partially reinstated in the central apparatus as prabhari in charge of Madhya Pradesh. 'Pressure from the RSS was brought to bear on Rao's return,' a source said. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Amid the controversy surrounding the observance of 'Good Governance Day', the human resource development ministry has communicated to vice chancellors of all central universities to complete all programmes related to the event before the Christmas break.
Former President A P J Abdul Kalam on Friday gave 'pass marks' to the over six-decade old Indian democracy awarding it 'five points on a scale of 10', while observing that its fundamental principle to empower citizens will stay forever.
While Narendra Modi addresses rally after rally in Bihar, Shatrughan Sinha has been left out of the BJP's campaign.
'I was present at a meeting where he decided to permit the IAF to strike at Pakistan positions in Kargil, with the caveat that they should not cross the LoC.' 'Confident that the Indian Army would succeed, Mr Vajpayee was positioning himself to tell the world after the Kargil conflict was won that India did not violate the 'sanctity' of the LoC,' recalls Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's envoy in Islamabad in that eventful year, 1999.
What the Indian economy looks like next January will influence her view on India, not her genetics, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Given Nitish's track record as an accomplished trapeze artist who can dump the BJP overnight and embrace the RJD, he can leave the saffron party stranded should he fail to get the chief ministerial crown for the fourth time, notes Virendra Kapoor.
An interplay of Modi government's outreach in Bihar and the sequence of events in Chirag Paswan's life could make Bihar a game of musical chairs when the results are out.
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.
'New Delhi is in a perpetual dilemma. It can't do without Yediyurappa, but it doesn't want a powerful CM. It stokes the opponents within against him. The result is he has never settled down in office, even in the present tenure'
Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain reiterated on Monday that his party was firm on its demand that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should resign over the coalgate issue because "he is directly responsible for the corruption".
Raj Thackeray's comments threatening to brand Biharis as "infiltrators" have fuelled a controversy with leaders from various political parties slamming the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief over the issue.
'Switch it on at 2 pm, they will scream the same.' 'Are there no other problems that the country is facing today about which people need to know or these channels must need to broadcast?' 'There has to be some limit to this naked TRP greed.'
'Like in cricket, M S Dhoni was the captain and Virat Kohli played under him.' 'Then Dhoni played under Kohli.' 'Now imagine, having a second switch.' 'That is the analogy here, and I find no other example in Indian politics, or even world politics.'
She, however, clarified that she was not retiring from politics.
'Certainly if Advani had agreed to Vajpayee in sacking Modi, then we would never have been talking of Modi today.'
Sudhir Kumar Ojha from Muzaffarpur, an advocate known for his penchant to file cases against the high and mighty, has fired a legal salvo at the irrepressible cricketer-turned-politician.
Commenting on the Time magazine's latest article, the Home Minister said the United Progressive Alliance-II was confident that it would overcome the present economic situation.
Jitan Ram Manjhi went ahead with proposing dissolution of the assembly
'The culture of the BJP has changed and the party too has changed with this new culture. 'The BJP is having bad political management, bad man management, personal management and inter-personal relationships.' 'Therefore, people like me are not in the BJP.'
Actor-turned-Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Shatrughan Sinha said that it is high time for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resign on the moral grounds since he is 'responsible' for the coal scam and cannot escape accountability.
Diljit Dosanjh's striking self-possession, like the champion he's portraying, doesn't let it come in the way of a performance that screams g-o-a-l, feels Sukanya Verma.
Kaul had been Vajpayee's constant companion of many years and the mother of his adopted daughter Namita Bhattacharya
Seeking to defend its leadership from the attack by its veterans, the BJP said the "healthy precedent" of collective responsibility for poll defeats was set by Vajpayee and Advani.
Congress candidate Manvendra Singh, who recently crossed over from the BJP, will be facing off the Rajasthan chief minister in her political fortress of Jhalrapatan.
Mahajan, who turns 76 next week, said there had been speculations whether the party will field someone who has crossed the 75-year age bar.
General Asad Durrani's disclosures could leave considerable egg on the face of those currently wielding the stick in Pakistan, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'Look at the number of billionaires, the number of new billionaires in India.' 'Adani and Ambani are not the only ones.' 'What's wrong with people making money as long as it benefits us?'
Prime Minister Modi made a strategic blunder of Nehruvian proportions -- presuming no war can happen now, and the Chinese won't be a military threat and risk their economic interests, observes Shekhar Gupta.
In a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party days ahead of the April 10 elections in Gautam Budh Nagar, former Union minister and senior leader Ashok Pradhan on Tuesday joined the Samajwadi Party, claiming that there was "trade" of Lok Sabha tickets in the saffron party.
About 25 years after the incident, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday said he "felt sad" for ordering firing on 'karsewaks' in Ayodhya in 1990.
The two leaders discussed steps needed to bring peace back to the Valley, where student protests against police actions have been gaining ground in recent days.
'Today, we being the majority pass a law and if the Opposition parties do not like it, they throw files at the Chair, and beat up women marshals.'
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