'Kejriwal has taken a leaf out of Modi's campaign of 2014 and improved upon it.' 'That suit will haunt Modi till he exits politics.' 'Of all the factors that favoured Kejriwal, the biggest was the arrogance and over-confidence of the Modi-Shah led BJP.' 'What the Congress could not do in the last two decades in Gujarat, Kejriwal did it in no time in Delhi.' 'The BJP has behaved exactly like the Congress in decoding Kejriwal's politics.'
The narrow win in Gujarat can be contributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his no-holds-barred approach and party president Amit Shah who plays to win and knows that there are rules to be followed when suited and broken when needed.
'Except for the Akali Dal and Shiv Sena, the BJP has not found any permanent friends.' 'This is because most parties are genuinely concerned about what Hindutva politics does to Indian society,' argues Aakar Patel.
The BJP has nothing to lose after a point. For the DMK it is a difficult choice, as it would not want to give too much of space to a 'national party' lest the 'Dravidian duel' of the past decades should be lost forever, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Star campaigner' to address election meetings in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, MP, Rajasthan.
'I think he had this in his head to go to different places, get some experience and then become the Congress president.'
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.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday dared the Bharatiya Janata Party to defeat it in the ensuing Mumbai civic polls, saying his party's bond with the city was unbreakable, and also hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over his rebellion and for laying claims to his late father's legacy.
Days after being sworn into office, Nitin Patel is yet to take charge of the portfolios allotted to him.
Political battles were decided not in boxing rings but in the court of the people, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah said in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, responding to Samajwadi Party's counter to Narendra Modi's "56 inch chest" remarks.
'Why should Khargeji work against the Gandhis for the sake of proving his independence?'
Sticking to his offer of 11 Lok Sabha seats to the Congress and one to Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad on Sunday appealed to Sonia Gandhi to agree to the seat-sharing formula asserting that he would deliver results in Bihar and Jharkhand in the general elections.
If the CM can steer the BJP into forming a government for a third term, he will have achieved a unique place in the party's history -- Mewat notwithstanding.
Kushwaha said Kumar remarks that the JD-U would not join the Modi cabinet reminded him of 'sour grapes'.
Modi was at the receiving end of criticism from across the political spectrum, dubbing the barb as demeaning.
'For short-term gain, the BJP makes extraordinary promises, they take extraordinary decisions, but in the long term it is going to impact both them and the country.'
Days after the Congress praised A B Vajpayee to target Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial Narendra Modi, the party did a U-turn on Monday, calling the BJP veteran "the weakest PM India ever had", a taunt often directed at Manmohan Singh by the opposition party.
Why did we go into nationwide lockdown when we were adding 100 cases a day and why are we not going into lockdown but allowing cricket stadiums, political rallies and Kumbh Melas when we are adding 40,000 cases a day? asks Aakar Patel.
'Just last month alone, 28 Indians have been killed in lynchings'
Addressing her first press conference after the election results were declared, she accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of polarising the people on religious lines to garner votes in West Bengal.
At a video conference with chief ministers and representatives of these 10 states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, Modi said the recovery rate has gone up which, he added, meant that government efforts have proved to be effective.
He said that as the previous government could not do it, he had to do it.
Kejriwal sought to remind AAP volunteers, MLAs and Delhi government ministers that things will get worse in the coming days and exhorted them to 'leave' if they are not strong enough.
Panthic politics came easily to Parkash Singh Badal. But he was quick to abandon it when it became a problem, points out Aditi Phadnis.
From the voter-level, traditionally anti-BJP, anti-Hindutva minorities and other secular voters would have an option, especially in the face of the mounting anti-incumbency against the ruling party -- as it happened in the 2001 assembly polls, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
As the new year arrives, the Bharatiya Janata Party's finds itself on the cusp of the most consequential cycle of state polls since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as the results will tell if the road ahead in its bid for a third straight term at the Centre is getting any bumpier or a strong opposition challenge remains elusive.
With the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party seat-sharing talks deadlocked over the latter's insistence on getting more seats to contest the assembly polls, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday said he is against breaking the alliance but party workers feel the ally's "body language is anti-Congress".
Veteran leader Keshubhai Patel on Wednesday announced that he would quit active politics and wished that the Gujarat Parivartan Party floated by him against Narendra Modi should merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
P Chidambaram rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's veiled charge that Sonia Gandhi was an "unconstitutional authority."
Mamata said TMC will win all 42 LS seats from WB.
According to the makers, the CBFC was not happy with references made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and use of real names in the film.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah handed over urns containing the ashes of the late leader to the party's state unit chiefs.
The Patels of Gujarat are seething and they have warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Anandiben Patel of consequences if their demands for reservations are not met.
CM Stalin has a procedural problem. Nominating new ministers would entail his having to seek formal permission from governor R N Ravi. Stalin does not want to interact with the person of this governor, as far as possible, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he would not a utter a word against estranged Bharatiya Janata Party ally Shiv Sena during the campaign for the October 15 Maharashtra polls as a mark of respect to Bal Thackeray.
The move came at a time when deliberations between the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena seemingly reached the final stage on Friday.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh office, Keshav Kunj, was abuzz with activity on Sunday as Bharatiya Janata Party leaders kept visiting it ahead of government formation under leadership of Narendra Modi.
Like Modi, Keshav Prasad Maurya worked at tea stalls. Dinesh Sharma, on the other hand, is a professor at Lucknow university.
The BJP IT cell has held meetings right down to booth levels and these volunteers have been working for the past six months already.
Life on the election campaign trail can be hard!
