Ahead of the elections, a lot had been spoken of the large number of leaders defecting from the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena. In fact, a month before the polls, more than two dozen Congress-NCP leaders quit and joined the BJP in hopes of riding high on the Narendra Modi wave. While for some the shift has brought in good fortune, for others it has brought loss. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com analyses how these defectors have fared.
'Gehlot is right now doing things, which are not appreciated by the Gandhis.' 'The Gandhis have realised that their writ does not run in Rajasthan, therefore they have deflected the issue to Kharge.'
'When he was killed, did you ask questions of the Muslim community? When we spoke of 'aar-paar' you are asking questions.'
'We will talk to Muslim, Christian organisations and form a broad alliance so that every temple, church and mosque will have freedom to manage their affairs and not to be intervened upon.'
'The Supreme Court has reiterated that marriage is an important institution but it cannot depend on criminal prosecution.' 'It has to rest on certain surer foundations like love, mutual trust etc.'
'They were certainly not practising Hinduism in the Harappan culture (which includes Mohenjo Daro and other sites).' 'There was no notion of Hinduism then.'
'The Congress may have made mistakes, but their ideology is not wrong. India will not function if you do not believe in unity in diversity,' declares filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com reports from Lucknow.
'The decision to supply free food grains is not an economically sound decision because the government will find it very difficult in future to charge anything for food grains.'
'Before entering Tihar jail, she told us not to worry and that we will together come out of this crisis soon.'
'Javed Ahmed was no mastermind of the riots, and this is not mentioned in the FIR against him either.'
'The suppression is mounting and people may react.'
'The right wing has worked for 70-80 years at the grass roots before it burst onto social media.' 'Social media is an extension of its formidable work in society.' 'If you think you can fight them on social media, forget it. You can't.'
'She said she could have taken so much energy from her father had she got a chance to meet him before his death.'
If you want Ranbir to get the girl, this film isn't for you.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf is startled by the prices for Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Shivaay tickets.
'After the Parliament election results many people are confused and that is why this crisis has erupted
'I wonder what Zaibunissa Kazi would feel if she saw the trailer for Sanju.' 'An effort that proves movies are made about celebrities who get away after committing a crime while poor souls like Zaibunissa rot all their lives in prison only for knowing a star like Sanjay Dutt,' says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'They are trying to make the situation bad for Indian Railways so that they can hand it over to private companies.'
'In many cases, I didn't take money because the Indian students had run out of cash.' 'The biggest high was the blessings that these students's parents used to give me on the phone or send messages thanking me on WhatsApp.'
'They were only chanting one slogan, "Ghar jaana hai (we want to go home)".'
Initially facing two years jail, the actor was hit with a stricter legal provision following a public outcry, reports Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'The Congress wants to deprive Modi another term in 2024 and for that they are ready to make any sacrifice.'
Worried over those under home quarantine going out and mingling with others, the Karnataka government wants them to confirm their location through selfies.
'A political party taking the law into its hands is objectionable, especially in the context of the 2002 incidents in Gujarat.'
'We cannot afford to be complacent about our food security needs.'
How many such cases are there against Salman Khan? What is their status?
'Only then will we withdraw the agitation.'
'One man went berserk or rogue that does not mean the Mumbai police should be ashamed.'
'The most important thing is that medical aid reaches people whenever required.'
'They also think that if all opposition parties rally behind him, then 2024 will be Rahul versus Modi and that will be advantage BJP'
'The Akali government is not responsible for the Punjab power crisis as Mr Sidhu is saying.'
An RTI plea reveals that Rashtrapati Bhavan employs 545 people, and incurs a monthly wage bill of Rs 1,34,68,927.
'When she left on June 8 after some kind of fight or break-up she did not think Sushant would die.' 'She did not think his family after his death would level such horrible accusations against her.' 'She did not think three agencies would be tasked to prove her to a bad woman.'
'It is not the duty of government to protect minority religions or promote it.'
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com on Priyanka Chopra's appointment as a brand ambassador for India, despite her frankness on intolerant India.
'If timely action was taken by the CBI, the other three murders could have been prevented.'
Less than half the ministers in Team Yogi are not long-term BJP members. Many old-timers have been dropped.
'There is no point in just saying, 'hum wapas bhej denge (we will send Kashmiri Pandits back)'.'
'Use of the word 'genocide' for Kashmiri Pandits is absolutely wrong.'
'Priyanka did draw huge crowds and eventually all of those ended up voting for the Samajwadi Party.' 'The voters today are smart enough to vote for the party which they know is going to win or they know this party will come second, but no way will they vote for a party which will come third or fourth.'
