'He should not come to Kerala and fight against the CPI which is an integral part of the INDIA alliance'
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
For firebrand Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yogi Adityanath, Hindutva and development complement each other and the sitting MP from Gorakhpur is harping on this ideology of political Hinduism, which he says is a "symbol of our nationalism", as he eyes a fifth straight term.
NDA partners will meet on Monday in the backdrop of the controversy generated over the BJP's attempts to revive the Hindutva issue.
'Don't be surprised if the Census forms come with a caste box.' 'I will be surprised if it doesn't. It will be a point conceded to Rahul Gandhi and his allies,' asserts Shekhar Gupta. The BJP machine could take all 3 in its stride, but this election has changed that, notes Shekhar Gupta.
'I would think that India faces less damage from opinions voiced overseas compared to the damage it suffers if the right to free speech of its citizens is curtailed in the name of image management,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
Shops owned by Muslims were shut for half a day in solidarity with the family of Hiremath and to condemn the dastardly act that shook the twin city of Hubballi-Dharwad.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said his party would oppose the Centre's move to bring a bill in Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards, and accused the BJP of trying to snatch the rights of Muslims.
The RSS today said that Hindutva is the "identity" of the country and asked the people to be proud of it. "Our identity is Hindutva and the people should be proud of it. The society should work for removal of evils and the welfare of the country," RSS chief Mohan Rao Bhagwat said while addressing volunteers at a gathering in Jaipur.
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
The party's executive president Uddhav Thackeray made this clear on the opening day of the two-day conclave of Sena office-bearers in Aurangabad.
In the second part of the three-part interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Gatade says that only continuous vigil by people would ensure that the law of the land remains supreme.
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.
Born as Ajay Singh, the diminutive shaven headed politician is known for his provocative speeches and mass following across Uttar Pradesh.
Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Sunday said Arun Jaitley's reported comment that the Bharatiya Janata Party was using Hindutva as an opportunistic tool has exposed the real face of the party and demand an apology from him. The senior Congress leader also asked BJP veteran L K Advani and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to tell the nation "what they now think about Jaitley."
'In the first elections, Hindutva forces got only 6% of the votes and won only 10 seats.' 'It was a great defeat for them.' 'They have held that grouse against Nehru since then.'
However, he claimed that this was a fight to save the party and its ideology and to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister once again.
'The BJP's defining character is Hindutva. The party's political strategy is based on a combination of Hindutva+Development.'
'...but subjecting our heritage to rigorous evidence-based understanding.'
'There is a saying in Assamese about inflicting pain on an adversary: He cut my hands with a sword and rubbed salt into my wounds.' 'This has never been the BJP's culture but it started happening openly and frequently under Himanta Biswa Sarma.'
'Many BJP MLAs and ministers tell us the police does not listen to them.'
The 75-year-old Eshwarappa, had remained steadfast in his decision to contest, spurning efforts by party leaders to pacify him. He had even filed his nomination as an independent candidate.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said his government has decided to hand over the Hubballi student murder case to the Crime Investigation Department and that a special court will be set up for its speedy disposal.
Virtually reopening its Hindutva judgement, the Supreme Court has decided to expedite hearing by a seven judge-bench for an authoritative pronouncement on electoral law categorising misuse of religion for electoral gains as "corrupt practices".
The transmogrification of Prime Minister Modi to Saint Modi began with the ground-breaking ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. By identifying himself with Lord Ram, Modi raised himself in popular imagination to a saintly person.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) could have performed better in the recently-held Lok Sabha polls and perhaps, too much time was spent in reaching seat-sharing agreements, Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya has said.
The fifth-term Lok Sabha member is the mascot of the party's Hindutva-wrapped agenda of development as the BJP makes a final push in its bid to capture power in the state
Claiming that the BJP's government's works in the three holy cities are only follow-ups of her government's initiatives, Mayawati went on to promise, in what is being seen as a subtle shift towards soft Hindutva ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, to complete all those work on time.
Raj Thackeray listed out his expectations from the PM in his third term in office.
'Besides Ayodhya, the BJP lost in nine other constituencies with a Ramayana imprint; it tasted success only in Thrissur.' 'In Rameswaram, K Navaskani of the Indian Union Muslim League won with a 44% voteshare in a 84% Hindu constituency.' 'In the 21 seats in the Ayodhya and Varanasi regions, both crucial to the Hindutva project, the BJP won just 7.' 'It won just 3 out of 12 seats around Modi's constituency,' points out Krishna Prasad.
For now, Modi's government appears singularly focussed on demonstrating that it is not in any way inhibited by the BJP's loss of a majority, and will continue along its patented path of bulldozing all opposition and doing just as it likes, asserts Prem Panicker.
'When I stepped down from the (United Nations) secretary general's race, the first visitor I had was a former minister of the Vajpayee government inviting me to the join the BJP.'
Akhilesh's fielding candidates from a broad spectrum of castes, not just Yadavs, and with the BJP losing in several seats in Purvanchal, suggests that smaller OBC communities shifted from the BJP to the SP in the region.
Describing Fadnavis as a friend, Thackeray also said he does not view him as opposition leader.
Gujarat was labelled Hindutva's crucible and Modi was to become the chief 'chemist'. A revealing political saga excerpted from Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay's The Demolition, the Verdict and the Temple: The Definitive Book on the Ram Mandir Project.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Friday sought to quell the suggestions of its rift with the Bharatiya Janata Party and that Mohan Bhagwat's recent critical references related to the Lok Sabha polls were aimed at the ruling party, insisting that such claims are just speculation meant to create confusion.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh today accused the National Democratic Alliance government of turning the programme to clean Ganga as a "Hindutva project" by attempting to polarise politics through the initiative on the holy river.
'The BJP is doing politics 24x365, but the Congress revs up only during elections.'
