Concealed beneath the feat, which testifies to his political acumen and survival instincts, is the fact that the 72-year-old leader could never remain at peace with his allies which also made him change partners frequently.
The court observed that 10 per cent reservation for poor among the unreserved category takes the total quota beyond 50 per cent, which is not permitted as per the SC's earlier decision.
Jailed gangster and former member of Parliament Atiq Ahmad and his wife on Tuesday joined the All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen in the presence of its chief Asaduddin Owaisi, drawing a sharp reaction from the Bharatiya Janata Party which said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will not allow "Jinnah's jihadi mentality" to flourish in Uttar Pradesh.
In the five years in politics Priyanka Gandhi has undeniably emerged as a thorn in the BJP flesh, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay. It is time that this thorn is twisted a wee bit more when the elections have become far more uncertain than what it was when the Election Commission announced the poll schedule.
Smartly blending its development agenda with Hindutva politics, the BJP has not lost assembly elections in the state since 1995.
'The BJP is doing politics 24x365, but the Congress revs up only during elections.'
Patna senior superintendent of police Manavendra Singh Dhillon courted trouble for having said that Popular Front of India members arrested from Phulwari Sharif in Patna underwent "physical training similar to what happens in RSS shakhas (branches)".
A total of 89 seats -- out of 182 -- spanning the Saurashtra and south Gujarat regions, are up for grabs in the first phase with 977 candidates in the fray, including Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
'Modi is now the biggest messiah of OBCs and Dalits as V P Singh once was.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and chief ministers of various BJP-ruled states attended the ceremony.
Don't pretend to be a pressman. Why don't you ask better questions, asked Rahul Gandhi.
Prasanna Zore/ Rediff.com talk to members of the Patel community to find out why they are dissatisfied with the state of affairs.
Radha Mohan Singh appointed in-charge of politically crucial UP. Kailash Vijayvargiya will continue to be the in-charge of West Bengal and he will be assisted by BJP national secretary Arvind Menon and party national IT cell head Amit Malviya.
Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, state BJP chief R C Faldu, 37 members of the assembly and six ministers are Patels.
'Since September 1, a senior cabinet minister has been to-ing and fro-ing between Jalna and Mumbai by chartered flight every single day with messages from the two deputy chief ministers and the chief minister to get Manoj Jarange-Patil to back down from his agitation.'
Stakes are high for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party against the backdrop of Patel quota agitation while Congress is pinning on hopes to make a comeback.
'Other communities are also equally frustrated, but they have not been able to put up a front so far. Now a wind of change is blowing,' says Gujarat Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia.
While the BJP and the Congress have always supported the bill, opposition by other parties and demands from some for quota for backward classes within the women's quota have been key sticking points.
Patel quota leader Hardik Patel on Tuesday returned to Gujarat after spending six months away from his home state and launched a second round of agitation by appealing to Patels to unitedly fight against prevailing "autocracy" in the state, an oblique reference to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The electoral bounty reaped by the Congress was nothing more than an ill-gotten gain of a casteist, divisive campaign; nothing to be proud of and certainly not a moral victory, argues Vivek Gumaste.
Rupani on Sunday met Governor O P Kohli and staked claim to form the government, a day after he was elected by BJP legislators to succeed Anandiben Patel.
A total of 788 candidates are in the fray in the first phase of the elections on 89 seats spread across 19 districts of South Gujarat and Kutch-Saurashtra regions.
At a press conference, the Congress president-elect also said, "What Modiji has said about former PM Manmohan Singh is not acceptable."
"I don't care if someone doesn't like my visits to Madhya Pradesh. I will continue to talk about farmers, employment to the youth and good education," said the Patidar agitation leader.
Gandhi said Modi was frequently shifting his campaign plank in Gujarat.
Though the Patidar-dominated Morbi Assembly seat in Gujarat is considered a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party, the poll equations this time may change due to many factors, including the recent bridge tragedy which claimed 135 lives, political observers say.
'I am not interested in anything but the truth. I only speak the truth, it is my work and I will keep doing it even if I get disqualified or get arrested'
He called on all sections of the society, especially SC/ST and other weaker sections to unite for safeguarding the Constitution and democracy.
'Who will vote for and against who will be clear once the election results are declared on December 18.'
Later addressing a public meeting in Varana, Gandhi asked Modi to respond to allegations of manipulative share trading by a firm linked to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The Congress will not make a difference in the life of a Patel, but only to teach the BJP a lesson we will vote against it.'
The Congress forget Modi has demigod status in Gujarat and there is no way he can be defeated in the state, argues Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Any move of the present government to appease the Marathas may boomerang. Eknath Shinde is a worried man with the agitation not having an easy solution, notes Ramesh Menon.
'Gujarat is a high turnout state and the BJP, even if it leads opinion polls, must ensure that its base comes out and votes.' 'The Congress can be confident that, even though its base is smaller, their voters will turn out because they are angry.'
'The coronation of Yogi Adityanath as the surprise chief minister should set at rest all speculation over the nature of the UP mandate,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
AAP could make its presence felt. But Gadhvi may have to wait for a chance to get the top job.
The Chief Minister has been under intense pressure for some time now, over expansion and rejig of the Cabinet not taking place, to make way for the fresh faces, ahead of Assembly elections by April-May next year.
Any narrative against the Dravidian model may impact the BJP's prospects in Tamil Nadu. This may explain why the BJP in Tamil Nadu is placing more emphasis on corruption allegations against the DMK, even as the party focuses nationally on the Sanatana controversy.
Criticising BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for advocating the Gujarat model of development, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi dismissed it, saying the same formula could not be applied to all states in the country.
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