This election will decide in what shape and form the Akali Dal will survive.
Founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena in its more than five decades long journey has allied with the Congress, formally and informally.
'Some of his decisions were not so good, but his intentions were always guided by a deep national interest.'
Attacking "glorification" of only "one-family" by the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said that if voted to power the party would review christening of more than "600 schemes" in the name of three generations of Gandhi dynasty.
'Didi' became the real 'Dada' as she got past the post, on a wheelchair and a foot in cast, a souvenir from the Nandigram battle against former protege-turned-rival Suvendu Adhikari.
The SC, however, rejected NIA's request for immediate stay to the order.
Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit won't be afraid to tangle with the toughest of them.
Jaitley said the Congress has given to the people many slogans but very little resources to implement its election promises.
"Within a few weeks, Rahul Gandhi will become the prime minister. In your (Gandhi's) hands the country will be safe we believe," he said.
Trouble is brewing for government in the monsoon session of Parliament, which is expected to start next month, with the Congress on Monday hinting at stacking up ammunition on issues like failure at the Nuclear Suppliers Group, terror strikes and diatribes of Subramanian Swamy.
The Congress and the NCP are not comfortable with the name Maha Shiv Aghadi (a grand alliance comprising the Shiv Sena)
'It was more than ego.' 'It carried with it a sincere belief that he was the quintessence of the country, that the country's destiny was irrevocably intertwined with his destiny.' An excerpt from T J S George's The Dismantling of India: In 35 Portraits.
On Wednesday, Bengal's own daughter she firmly pitched herself as, was sworn in as the chief minister of the turbulent state for the third successive term amid raging fires of political violence and a rampaging pandemic.
'The unprecedented bitterness and rancour that marked this election campaign need not spill over into government and governance,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
While the BJP has taken a beating, its leader still stands tall, points out T N Ninan.
Ambassador Venu Rajamony, who served as press secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee during his tenure, salutes the statesman and political legend, who passed into the ages on Monday.
Anything can happen, says a young Congress leader.
'It has also underestimated the striking force of the Opposition. It has been complacent and paralysed. That may be due to the compulsions of coalition politics and the arrogance of a party which looked at itself as entitled to rule,' says political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot.
'The BJP's use of nationalism was a major factor in its likely victory,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Affectionately called 'Leader' by his admirers, Congress stalwart Kannoth Karunakaran was a master tactician who remained a 'King' in Kerala politics for decades and a political troubleshooter at the national level.
Indicating that regional parties will play a major role after the elections, the NCP leader said, "My own thinking and assessment is that ultimately it will be a state-wise position. There might be states like Tamil Nadu, where the number one party will be Dravida Munnetra Kazagham and other non-BJP parties will have to accept it."
Congress gets into the opposition groove but still has miles to go, says Saroj Nagi.
Congress had sacrificed its two leaders Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi for it while the Vajpayee government had "compromised with terrorism", Madhya Pradesh chief minister said.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Monday for the first time targeted Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is considered close to him, by saying that ongoing Lok Sabha polls outcome will prove the impact of the Janata Dal-United's decision to end its alliance with the BJP.
Politically, women have been making their presence felt in voter turnouts. According to the Election Commission, the female voter turnout was higher than male turnout in 16 states and Union territories.
In the unlikely event of the BJP-NDA losing all five states going to the polls in February-March, the Presidential electoral college numbers could be significantly altered, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Narendra Modi was both conciliatory and mocking towards the Opposition, particularly Congress, during his hour long reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Upper House.
Congress Working Committee member and former Kerala chief minister A K Antony is all set to be elected to the Rajya Sabha unopposed as he was the only candidate to file nomination for the June 3 by-election from the state.
The Emergency greatly influenced the RSS' makeover from a fringe force in the Indian political imagination to one that could have its own man sworn in as prime minister in two decades' time. A riveting excerpt from Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil's India's First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-1977.
In an apparent reference to the recent sting operation over the Gujarat riots, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday spoke about the need to fight against anti-social forces, failing which there could be 'dangerous consequences' for secular and democratic India.
Gandhi, who is on a whirlwind two-day tour of Kerala as part of Lok Sabha poll campaign and is contesting from Wayanad besides his family bastion Amethi, took time off his hectic schedule to pay obeisance at the famed Thirunelli temple near the stream.
'Gogoi will be remembered as someone who recovered Assam as a state, as a people and society from the fear of insurgency that had struck the state from the 1980s till 2000.'
Hitting back over Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swamy's allegation questioning his nationality, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "throwing mud" on him through his "cronies" and dared the government to "jail" him if he is guilty.
"Prime Minister Modi is not a leader, he is an actor. It would have been better if Amitabh Bachchan was made the prime minister," she said at an election meeting at the end of her roadshow in Mirzapur.
A quick look at the 66-year-old leader's political journey in the mid-1970s shows how injuries and physical assaults have shaped her political career over the years.
Earning goodwill of the people of Jammu & Kashmir was necessary before such a move, the former prime minister said.
He challenged the Congress to select someone 'capable' as its president, who did not belong to 'that one family'.
With the BJP continuing to be the constant combatant, centrifugal pressures will rise. Fractured relations between the Centre and the states as between BJP and non-BJP ruled states is a sizeable risk owing ahead, warns Shekhar Gupta.
The 71-year-old MP may have time to pursue her other interests, but many believe that she will continue to play the role of a mentor.
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