It will be in Modi's interest to reinvent his party, read the writing on the wall that voters wrote, and move ahead. He has little choice now. The country is watching, asserts Ramesh Menon.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by.
A few days later, three members of the Bishnoi gang delivered a letter threatening Bollywood actor Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan, police had said.
Two persons of a right wing Hindu outfit were arrested on Monday for smearing Jammu and Kashmir MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid's face with paint, ink and mobil oil protesting against his hosting a beef party in Srinagar earlier this month.
Against the backdrop of Kerala's appetite for commonsense, it was assumed that this controversy would pass. Respect for rationalism and scientific outlook is strong in the state despite political forces gnawing at it for their own goals, observes Shyam G Menon.
Modi knows that the BMC elections are critical for his party which has never won a majority in the city's 227 wards.
The Union government has approved the renaming of Maharashtra's Aurangabad city as 'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar' and the Osmanabad city as 'Dharashiv'.
Taking a strong stand against the call by its ally Shiv Sena for the scrapping of Muslims' voting rights, the government today said such suggestions were not acceptable to it and that these "should not be discussed even hypothetically".
Thackeray's statement comes in the backdrop of rebel group leader Eknath Shinde daring the party to disclose the names of some of the MLAs camping in Guwahati who were reportedly in touch with the party leadership.
The SC has kept in abeyance the disqualification proceedings before the Deputy Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly till July 12
Indian Army soldiers posted along the Line of Control in Akhnoor light candles on Dhanteras.
Having weathered many political storms since it was founded by Bal Thackeray to take up the cause of "regional identity" in 1966, Shiv Sena faces the challenge of positioning itself as "numero uno" in Maharashtra again as it turn 50 on Friday.
Amid different voices within the Congress and INDIA bloc on DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks against Sanatan Dharma, the principal opposition party on Monday said it respects all religions and stressed that others also have the freedom to express their views.
"Speaking of leaving the country is a language of treachery. Leave whatever glory this country has given you, here only," the Bharatiya Janata Party ally said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
'Muslims have been exploited for 65 years. They have been reduced to a community of committees and commissions. Nothing happens. Since 1947 they are worse than Dalits.' 'Muslims voted en-bloc once upon a time. Not now. Muslims are fragmented everywhere. They have the same choices as the Hindus in that area.' 'Muslims are not alienated. The alienation is between the haves and have-nots. Poverty in India has both Hindus and Muslims.'
'The dialogues and language used in this movie are indecent. In Tulasidas' Ramayana, Lord Ram was portrayed as 'Maryada Purushottam' and decent language was used. In Adipurush, dialogues of characters are of very low level'
In his weekly column Rokhthok in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Raut also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah should not sow 'seeds of hatred and divisiveness'.
There was no official word on the agenda of the session which will be held days after the G20 Summit in the national capital on September 9 and 10.
'The BJP's solo aim in Mumbai and Maharashtra is to finish off the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP.'
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
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.
Addressing a public rally in Aurangabad late in the evening, in which he was termed as 'Hindu Jananayak', the MNS chief said if Uttar Pradesh government could remove the loudspeakers, what was stopping the Maharashtra government, led by his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray, from doing so.
'Uddhav has told the cops to crack down hard on the MNS agitation if MNS activists try to vitiate the communal harmony in the state.'
These are the 15 seats to watch out for in Rajasthan where assembly elections will be held on November 23. The state has 200 constituencies.
If only the Congress could rebuild on its strengths and develop a modern enough ideology, we could again be moving towards a clearer two-party political landscape, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Here's a recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
Athawale said nobody can do any dadagiri at the mosques.
Deepa Gahlot lists Hindi biopics about Indian political leaders: Some worked, some did not, but they managed to avoid controversy.
The leaders attacked the BJP, accusing it of trying to create "Hindu-Muslim disturbances" to benefit politically and making false claims and promises.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Kejriwal could have easily deputed someone to step in as chief minister, but being the authoritative and self-centered personality that he is, he chose not to do it.' 'If the AAP loses Delhi, where it has a huge majority, the only one to blame would be Kejriwal,' asserts Ramesh Menon.
Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil on Monday said MNS chief Raj Thackeray's speech in Aurangabad, wherein he remained firm on the May 3 deadline for removal of loudspeakers from mosques, was aimed at "creating a divide in society", and hinted at action against him.
'A person of the stature of the RSS Sarsanghachalak would like to stick to changing social mores and social traditions and uniting society, which is much more important than politics.'
'The minority community has been used only for political gains.'
The Uttar Pradesh police on Tuesday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a "transparent" and expeditious probe into cases lodged against Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair in various districts of the state, a senior official said.
'Violence is the only answer to violence.'
With the Aurangabad police on Tuesday registering an offence against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Raj Thackeray over his speech against loudspeakers on mosques, some party leaders slammed the Maharashtra government and said they will hit the streets in case of further action against their party head.
'Now they're talking about changing the Constitution; they feel they have no reason now to hide their intentions.'
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Friday the bail plea of AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair in connection with a case registered against him in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly outraging religious feelings.
Couples -- young and old -- celebrated Valentine's Day on Tuesday with flowers and gifts even as a few right-wing outfits played spoilsport in some parts of the country.
