The RJD has fielded six women candidates, some of them are wives of bahubalis.
With Congress hubris reduced to ashes and the BJP's advance halted -- a new political force has made its entry in the turbulent waters of Indian politics. It is a new force, with people who seem to be ready to learn and who have, at every step so far, responded by taking seriously all the criticisms that were levelled at it, says Aditya Nigam.
'I declared myself a Sikh. We want freedom from caste discrimination.'
Joining hands with smaller parties with a political base in different castes was a part of the BJP strategy as it won big in Uttar Pradesh in the 2017 assembly polls and 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
The meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Delhi was one of courtesy
A u-turn by the BJP will be an apocalyptic occurrence in Indian politics and society, argues Amulya Ganguli.
The BJP top leader's Tamil pitch assumes significance Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had some days back alleged that the saffron party had no respect for Tamil language and culture.
'Both the CPM and the BJP have one agenda, and that is to keep the Congress out.' 'That's why they are coming together.'
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has written to the ethics committee of the Lok Sabha stating that she cannot appear before it on October 31 in connection with the allegations against her due to prior engagements and will be available only after November 5.
'The Constitution of India is a stumbling block. So, they want a Presidential mode of election.' 'This is the sole purpose of the BJP to go for one nation, one election.'
'If you want to really grow, it has to be geometric progression like it happened at the Centre or Haryana or Tripura, where you made a quantum jump.' 'This is possible in Kerala provided we present a better alternative with a great leadership, but the current leadership is busy fixing each other.'
'He felt that he had no place in the BJP and he was wrong.'
'Why is it that no other institutions are attacked? Why are only educational institutions run by Christians attacked?'
Rangeela's presence in the fray could have been trifle uncomfortable for Modi. He may not have posed an electoral challenge to the prime minister, but Rangeela's public meetings could have seen people flocking, if only to hear him mimic Modi. In a completely Modi-centric election, the presence of a 'rival' -- if only for a smattering of audience at his meetings -- would not have been particularly appreciated by Modi, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
The Congress needs to reorganise itself at the grassroots, infuse younger blood, and have more boots on the ground. Just offering freebies is not the answer anymore. Leadership matters, asserts Ramesh Menon.
Lovely had quit the Congress and joined the BJP in the presence of party president Amit Shah.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel were among the prominent faces who exercised their franchise in the second phase of Gujarat elections on Monday.
With the assembly polls only two years away, in 2026, any demoralising defeat in 2024, would challenge not only the party's continued relevance but also EPS's leadership, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Udayanidhi has handed over to the BJP one real issue to draw the line between it and the INDIA alliance, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Why is a powerful person called Amit Shah who camped in Manipur for three days not able to maintain law and order in the state?'
'What you need is a credible Opposition, a credible platform to persuade people to believe that it can replace this government.'
'Money was pouring in after Movers & Shakers. At the turn of the millennium, I was voted one of the top 10 Mumbaikars. People joked that even when they switched off their TV sets, I was there! I would ask God if he was compensating me for the loss of Ayush, the greatest tragedy of my life.'
'Somehow, Rahul Gandhi is not able to connect with the youth of the country.' 'While Modiji is 72, Rahul is only 52.' 'But the popularity of the prime minister among the young population is a lot more than Rahul's.'
For a party that has adopted the successful social re-engineering model from Gujarat, Rajasthan and across the rest of the 'Hindi belt' over the past decades, Tamil Nadu continues to remain a tricky customer, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The BJP can only form a government if the PDP splits.
It does not stop here, though. According to field information, state ministers, AIADMK candidates and campaigners are asking BJP cadres accompanying them not to carry party flags at common rallies and also avoid their saffron shawl on those occasions. BJP cadres are also asked to stay out of the common campaign when it enters a minority-dominated areas, especially of Muslims, and re-join later, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
He was admitted to AIIMS Delhi on August 10; the comedian had collapsed after experiencing chest pain while working out at the gym.
In this COVID-19 phase, the BJP leveraged its pre-eminence again to tip the power scales in its favour and relegate its allies in the National Democratic Alliance to a lesser position. Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
The BJP could win only 16 out of 57 seats where Shah campaigned.
Ravi Kishan, the BJP's candidate, is an outsider. The BSP-SP candidate is from the powerful Nishad community. Yogi faces a tough task in ensuring that the Gorakhpur seat, which he represented from 1998 to 2017, stays with the BJP.
'The BJP leadership knew I was unhappy.' 'No one came forward to speak to me. There was no dialogue at all.' 'It was as if they had shut me out.'
The students have alleged that they were manhandled by the police and university security inside the North Campus premises.
In 2018, the BJP's rare successes in north-east India aside, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the party.
He claimed even the media is debarred from entering the secretariat and reaching out to the chief minister and thus changes need to be made in the governance model in Odisha.
Already, there is a feeling even within the BJP's AIADMK ally that the BJP is overdoing things on the ED/I-T front, as corruption is not an election issue in the state -- as long as the people are otherwise not excessively unhappy with the governing party, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'What the UP administration wanted was political mileage, and they also had the silent approval from the central government.'
With half of their staff on duty and no visitors allowed in waiting halls, many top leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who are under quarantine due to the extended lockdown are exploring ways to keep themselves busy.
'Holding on to superstardom is far more difficult than the struggle to get there.'
While some in the Congress were apprehensive that land grab allegations against her husband Robert Vadra could turn out to be Priyanka's Achilles heel, much of the BJP leadership opted not to bring up the issue at the current juncture.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab on Wednesday filed a complaint with the state director general of police, seeking a thorough probe into allegations of an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party to topple its government.
