Netas in Uttar Pradesh are using Rajkumar Hirani's film PK to play the politics of polarization.
Sharat Pradhan secures exclusive access to the Justice Vishnu Sahai report and discovers it blames two BJP MLAs, a former BSP MP and his cohorts, local intelligence officials and the media for the horrific Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013, but attributes no blame to the Samajwadi Party government in the state.
Terming Narendra Modi's rally being denied in the temple town and the ensuing protests from the saffron party leaders in Varanasi as a "new drama", Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party in connivance with the Samajwadi Party was "doing" this to influence the elections on the remaining seats in the state.
'Emboldened by the BJP victory, the upper castes feel they must assert themselves and regain dominance over the rural power structure.'
'In Kairana, the grand coalition was able to transfer its votes to a Muslim candidate in supposedly an era of anti-Muslim ambience.' 'Given this perspective, the Kairana result seems more significant than that of Gorakhpur and Phulpur a few months ago,' says Mohammad Sajjad.
'A one party-State, with only one kind of Indian,' argues Mihir S Sharma.
The 10-day Ganesh festival began on Saturday under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, with devotees restricting celebrations to their homes and using online platforms to get 'darshan' of the Lord at temples, amid strict COVID-19 restrictions imposed by governments.
'The EC seems to have killed the joy of elections by stretching it interminably.' 'Imagine watching Andhadhun in a six-hour format and you will get the point,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'It is only for a particular kind of Indian. The thing is: Even some of those types of Indians do not like it,' says Aakar Patel.
'The Elgar Parishad turned out to be the first rallying cry against the BJP and RSS in Maharashtra.' 'The speakers took a vow not to vote for the BJP.'
For Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who continues the Gandhi family legacy of active politics that began several generations ago, the formal entry into politics was two decades in the making.
Twenty-eight years ago almost to the day, 37 unarmed Muslims were killed in cold blood, an act of wanton violence for which no one has so far been held guilty. Jyoti Punwani and photographer Uttam Ghosh visited the Meerut locality after the trial court recently acquitted the security personnel charged with the killings, and found a town untouched by its grim past.
'Some BJP old timers have remarked that the BJP is now driven by its own high command, the way the Congress was under Mrs Gandhi, says Subir Roy.
The nationwide ban comes into force at 6 am Tuesday, the poll panel said.
The BJP also defended the order saying the primary duty of police of any place is to maintain communal harmony so that there is no law and order issue.
As the government came under attack from the Opposition during the debate on the recent communal riots in the national capital that have claimed over 50 lives, the BJP members alleged that the violence was a pre-planned conspiracy and the home minister and authorities took pro-active steps to control the situation.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati on Saturday charged the NDA government with discriminating against Dalit icons like Kanshi Ram while awarding Bharat Ratna to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malviya.
The unity by the opposition parties is likely to reflect inside Parliament as well.
'I am more worried about the BJP as I see lot of marginalisation of top leaders in the BJP.' 'I am really worried about the terminal decline of the Congress. And the greatest tragedy is that there are so many good people in the Congress.' 'It will take a couple of years, but this is the most appropriate time for a new political party and leadership to emerge.'
Ram V Sutar, 89, has already created more than 200 distinct statues, many of them massive. Now, he is a leading contender for the commission to produce the world's largest statue: A 597-foot tall rendering of Sardar Patel, an independence leader who played a crucial role in uniting India's fractious states.
The million dollar question that begs for an answer is: Why is it that an amateurish attempt to convert a handful of Muslims by fringe Hindu elements garners so much attention while large scale systematic attempts to subvert Hinduism go unnoticed or are deliberately overlooked? If this is not double standards then what is, asks Vivek Gumaste.
'No lives should be taken during Paryushan.' 'When fish is taken out from the sea it is dead, hence no ban on it.' 'They hang the meat in shops and those who are fasting are pained by this sight.'
'Mayawati is an experienced politician with a track record in national politics much longer than Modi's.' 'She must be sensing from the tremors in the Hindi heartland she crisscrossed in recent months that the prospect of another Modi-led government at the Centre is fast receding,' says M K Bhadrakumar.
'Mainly, his strategy to win UP veered around spreading the message of Hindu identity, projecting Modi's leadership, encashing anti-incumbency against the Samajwadi Party and UPA governments in Lucknow and Delhi respectively.' Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com provides exclusive insights into Amit Shah's strategy that gave Narendra Modi an awesome victory in Uttar Pradesh.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Monday came in for flak from non-Bharatiya Janata Party parties for his suggestion that all Hindustanis are Hindus with many leaders wondering if he has read the Constitution and really believes in it.
'The continuing crisis in agriculture, the inability of successive governments to provide secure jobs to millions of youths having varying degrees of skills, and fragmentation of politics have created a sense of despondency.'
Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad took a potshot at Narendra Modi on Monday calling him a Dhritarashtra who is not only "blind" but also "deaf and dumb" and a "coward", as the chorus of criticism against the prime minister's "silence" on Dadri lynching grew louder.
'KCR's plan for the future is three-pronged. He wants to see a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the Centre in 2019 so that he can become the Union minister for home or defence,' says R Rajagopalan.
'The 16th and 17th Lok Sabha and the 2017 assembly election show that Dalits and OBCs are moving towards the BJP.'
Three guys stood out at the swearing-in ceremony of Deve Gowda's son, says Sudhir Bisht.
'They take each and every election with seriousness.' 'No other political party has that kind of cadre who is strongly aligned with the reason, motto and ideology of their party.'
Jaitley also dubbed Gandhi's attack on Modi as an attempt to shift the focus due to people's 'revulsion' towards the Congress party.
Around 1,20,000 Indian-Americans reside across Florida.
73 constituencies will vote on Saturday.
'Secularism is associated either with corruption, malgovernance or minority votes.' 'That allows the BJP to construct its own majority vote.' 'It will remain a feature of electoral contests, but it is not the only reason for the BJP's success.'
The party's performance in the assembly polls in the state -- which is the most populous and hence sends maximum number of MPs to the Lok Sabha -- will have a bearing on its future prospects on the national level.
Muslims constitute 20% of UP's electorate. Currently, Muslim voters are divided between Akhilesh's SP and Mayawati's BSP. What will tilt the balance? Can Muslims back the winning party? Mohammad Sajjad explains the mysteries of UP's Muslim politics.
Gandhi also took a potshot at the RSS, saying it was bent on changing the country's Constitution.
Singhdeo was the main architect of the Congress party's poll manifesto, which he said was made after feedback from about 80,000 people from across the state.
BJP MP Satish Gautam demanded the expulsion of Uttar Pradesh Labour Minister Swami Prasad Maurya from the party for calling Jinnah a 'mahapurush'
