'Is Rahul turning the Congress' covert soft-Hindutva support into overt support now?' 'And if so, following in the BJP's footsteps, is the Congress going to abandon Indian Muslims and Muslim causes altogether?' asks Dr Najid Hussain whose father-in-law former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed during the Gujarat riots.
It is early to make out which way the wind is blowing, but there is no denying that challenges for the BJP, far outweigh the advantages in this region, notes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
An independent Muslim candidate has secured a surprise victory in a ward in the Hindutva nerve centre of Ayodhya in the civic election results declared on Saturday.
Calling former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda-led party "communal" following its alliance with the BJP, he urged Janata Dal-Secular, to remove the word 'Secular' from its name.
The Congress accused the BJP of spreading mischief through its "hate factory".
The committee has also recommended highlighting 'Hindu victories' in various battles in the textbooks.
As the temple is inaugurated, unfortunately for Advani but unsurprisingly for the rest of us, the architect of the party's rise will not lead the ceremony and claim credit for his achievement, notes Aakar Patel.
Narendra D Modi and his party campaigned in these elections uncharacteristically without any big ideas. Of course, winning each election at all costs could be a big idea as well, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'We have Hindu values, Hindu customs, Hindu philosophy, Hindu way of looking at all religions as acceptable.' 'These are all great assets of India.'
The five-state assembly elections are seen as a now-or-never, no-holds battle for the Congress, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
With Union Minister Kiren Rijiju stoking a controversy by saying that the Hindu population was falling while minorities are flourishing, Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf studied the 2001 and 2011 census data to track the demographic changes in the northeast.
'Kejriwal took political steps and micro level care at every level not to allow the consolidation of Hindu votes behind the BJP,' observes Sheela Bhatt, the distinguished political commentator.
'Who has given them the right to decide that I am not a Hindu like them'
The BJP says an 'assassin' is very different from a terrorist.
Addressing a press conference in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress Rajya Sabha member termed Bajrang Dal -- the youth wing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad -- a goondon ki jamat (group of goons).
In its poll manifesto for May 10 assembly polls in Karnataka, the Congress said it is committed to take firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and the Popular Front of India (PFI) "spreading hatred" among communities on grounds of caste and religion.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Uddhav Thackeray saying he buried the Hindutva ideology of Bal Thackeray for power and joined hands with Congress and socialist parties.
Muthalik said he has conducted surveys in around eight assembly constituencies and will finalise the segment in which he would be contesting soon.
Thakur had on December 25 said Hindus have the right to respond to those who attack them and their dignity as she spoke about the killing of Hindu activists.
Most politicians and even non-politicians have been honoured because of what they were purported to be electorally worth for the ruling party of their time, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The overtures by CPI-M state secretary MV Govindan had upset the Congress that had, subsequently, accused the Left party of turning the UCC into a Hindu versus Muslim issue for gaining political mileage.
Women politicians bring to politics and policy a sensitivity that most of their male counterparts, at least until a generation back, lacked.
Sonia aid the Congress has been consistent over the years in its strong belief that both the Palestinians and Israelis have the right to live in a just peace.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is visiting Karnataka, said he intended to shut all the madrasas (Muslim religious schools) in his state, as they were not needed in "New India".
For the most battle-hardened, specialised and successful counter-insurgency army in the world, this is an unfamiliar, first-time experience of dealing with the north east's deepest complexities, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Sunny Deol-starrer Gadar 2 was screened for all Lok Sabha members over three days starting August 25, marking the first time that a movie screening was arranged in the Parliament.
'Only when you are close to the party, will you understand what the BJP stands for.'
He also told reporters outside the state assembly complex here that the state police will seek help from central agencies on a possible Pakistan angle in the incident.
The BJP has played the social engineering card in Rajasthan with an eye on the Lok Sabha election where the party will try and retain all the 25 seats that it had won in the 2014 and 2019 elections.
Disapproving the remarks made by Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Sanatan Dharma', Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Sanjay Raut has said it is not right to attract the anger of the entire country and that no one agrees with his statement.
'Should the Congress take Jyotiraditya's departure as good riddance?', asks Mohammad Sajjad.
Such a course would require a Constitutional Amendment, requiring a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament. Even assuming that the INDIA combine comes to power at the Centre next year, a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha could way off the mark for them, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'There was trust, but perhaps there was also this apprehension that given the supreme post of prime minister, Sonia Gandhi felt her authority may be a challenged.'
The opposition party also said that it would like to remind the BJP that Hindu Mahasabha president Syama Prasad Mookerjee aligned with Jinnah's Muslim League to form the government in Bengal during the British rule.
Modi wants the BJP to gets an additional 10% of the vote share from what it won in 2019. Plans are afoot to get new faces to replace MPs with poor chances of winning. Sources say more than 100 MPs are like to be axed, notes Modi biographer Ramesh Menon.
Deepa Gahlot lists Hindi biopics about Indian political leaders: Some worked, some did not, but they managed to avoid controversy.
As the campaign peaked, AAP leaders evidently realised they had to deflect their chief opponent's attempts to polarise the electorate over religious identity, explains David Devadas.
The CM said that the film exposes the conspiracies of 'love jihad', religious conversion and terrorism and its "hideous" face.
Shekhawat has filed a defamation case against Gehlot for accusing him and his family of being involved in the alleged Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society "scam".
'...a more capable State -- one that operates with greater capacity, greater efficiency, and greater clarity of purpose.' 'But I also see a more despotic State -- one that places more constraints on speech, assembly, dissent, and critique.' 'It may run 'better', but on the regime's rules.'
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