The last time Tamil Nadu seriously voted on pre-poll promises was in faraway 1967.
Modi accused the TMC of killing the aspirations of the middle-class people in the state and said the ruling party in West Bengal is known for 'triple T -- Trinamool Tolabaji Tax'.
Is the demoralised party trying to open its account as an Opposition party?
A spirited turn at the mic by Mahua Moitra, first-time MP from Trinamool Congress, in which she listed the "signs of early fascism", has been hailed as the "speech of the year" on social media.
Mohammad Sajjad salutes the memory of Mushirul Hasan -- historian, thinker, academic, institution builder, -- who passed into the ages this week.
In an all Dalit village in Muzzaffarnagar, three girls who do mazdoori after finishing the day's chores, will cast their vote for the first time. Opening their home and heart to Archana Masih/Rediff.com, they say all they want is a high school, a vehicle to take them to the main road and a sewing machine.
'The question now is how long the exercise in perfection he created will last once his influence isn't there any longer,' says Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
Everything about Narendra Modi's Maha Garjana rally in Mumbai on Sunday is humongous, reports Prasanna D Zore.
Even as Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje faces the worst crises in her political career, son Dushyant Singh is vacationing with his wife and children at an undisclosed location abroad
'What I want is not for the elected to tell me what they did in the 1990s or for the past 5 years,' says A Bihari Abroad. 'I would rather know what they plan to do in the next 6 months and give the people a report on the progress of these initiatives. Perhaps, a presentation on their performance and their future plans, to the electoral public, who they represent and are actually answerable to.'
Using the Jinnah portrait as an issue, and by demonising AMU and consequently Indian Muslims, the politics of communal polarisation is sought to be played out ahead of the Kairana Lok Sabha by-poll and to sustain it till the next Lok Sabha election, says Mohammad Sajjad.
Congress sitting MP Sanjay Nirupam is facing a tough contest from Bharatiya Janata Party Gopal Shetty in the North Mumbai Lok Sabha constituency, which goes to polls on April 24.
'Success will require political skill, not just economic expertise'
'Don't waste your time in doing long pointless graduation courses.' 'Try and get into an apprenticeship or a job after Class 10 or Class 12, as there is always time to get back to academics and learn new skills.'
Nitish Kumar's decision to resign as the state chief minister was as dramatic as the time he decided to tie up with old foe Lalu in 2015.
Convicted Congress leader Rashid Masood on Monday became the first member of Parliament to lose his seat after the Supreme Court struck down a provision that protects a convicted lawmaker from disqualification on the ground of pendency of appeal in higher courts.
This phase of voting was crucial for the state's ruling Samajwadi Party and main opposition Bahujan Samaj Party.
'The BJP politics of appropriating icons from its ideological adversaries could only be a desperate attempt to extend the Jat-Muslim divide in Uttar Pradesh. Why this desperation when it can comfortably get votes on the plank of economic development?'
With help from family members and pension amounts, some Delhi electoral hopefuls are managing to stay afloat financially in the battle for ballots. Their sole prayer -- let there not be another hung assembly. Rediff.com contributor Upasna Pandey reports.
Even without Shah's TN visit and the rest, the increasing bonhomie between the BJP and the AIADMK factions in the state have become more visible than ever in the post-Jaya era, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Modi and Shah can't afford to lose any of the 24 per cent Dalit vote of 2014, says Shekhar Gupta.
'Competence, experience, matter, did you say?' 'No music was sweeter than the mash of xenophobia, jingoism, racism, misogyny.' 'And the master busker to play the tune was round the corner to capture an eager audience just in the nick of time.' Shreekant Sambrani on the Trump Triumph a week after his upset victory.
Rahul Gandhi has taken the fight to the Modi government, feels Milan Vaishnav. Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC.
Kashmir's youth are being radicalised. The once-alienated separatists are ready to return to their old haunting ground. The ruling PDP-BJP coalition finds itself on the defensive over almost every issue of governance.
A more informed electorate, rather than the Lokpal, can fight corruption better, argues Neeta Kolhatkar.
"There will be no discrimination in name of caste, religion and sex. There will be overall development," Adityanath said in his address at the Maharana Pratap Inter College in Gorakhpur, his parliamentary constituency.
A poster boy of Congress in Mizoram, four-time Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla is a stalwart in the state politics and has been in and out of power for the past three decades.
'The whole country supports the government. The exceptions are only two -- those who thrived on black money and those who are inimical to Indian interests,' argues Major General Mrinal Suman.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's solid solo performance in Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections confirms continuation of some of the trends that emerged in the Lok Sabha elections in May this year.
Manohar Lal Khattar is a low profile Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader who is known for his quiet work on the field and in the BJP that has earned him the reputation of a tough task master with a no-nonsense approach.
With the results of the Jammu & Kashmir assembly elections out, hectic lobbying among the political parties has started, with a visible sign of the People's Democratic Party and the Congress warming-up to form the government.
Misa Bharti, Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter, denies that she was forcibly thrust into politics. Kavita Chowdhury reports.
Why does this Kerala district see so many political murders and revenge killings?
What is the man who hopes to replace Jayalalithaa like as a campaigner?
Of all the Indian films screened in Toronto, three stood out for Aseem Chhabra -- A Death in the Gunj, Mostly Sunny and An Insignificant Man.
Almost everyone in Gorakhpur has a story about an Adityanath intervention that helped push through a piece of work that would've been otherwise impossible.
'One senior Congress leader told me: "As long as Rahul is seen arriving there is no harm done, but when he opens his mouth, oh God...",' reveals T V R Shenoy.
'The spread of barbarity in Muzaffarnagar's villages makes administrative complicity so very evident that your government is rightly alleged to be imitating what the Modi-led administration did in Gujarat in 2002,' Mohammad Sajjad tells UP Minister Azam Khan.
Vaihayasi Pande Daniel glances at the life and political career of Alexey Navalny who has been banned from challenging Vladimir Putin in Russia's presidential election.
'Consider this image of today's youth in Bihar -- armed with a bike, a smartphone and possibly some illegal arms too, imbibing incessant stream of images from the Internet and television.' 'Some of them would turn into gau bhakts, some would listen with interest the exploits of Salafism, dig deep into the Internet to come out with images which cry vociferously that their respective religions are in danger.'
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