While Bharatiya Janata Party's countrywide vote share shot up by over 12 per cent at the expense of other parties, the chart throws some contrary pictures as parties like Bahujan Samaj Party got no seat in spite of third-highest vote share, but Trinamool Congress and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam clinched over 30 seats each with less than 4 per cent vote share.
'Any Muslim who shows even the slightest hint of revolutionary thought is marked as 'infected'.' 'At that point, he is taken to the nearest Detention Centre where a procedure called Reconditioning awaits him.' 'Areas with a high Muslim population have been designated as Scheduled Religion Zones.' 'To be an active participant in this social cleansing ritual, there is only one prerequisite: You have to be an undying patriot whose friend and family is his country.'
Be it Oscars, Kareena Kapoor or Karan Johar, Sukanya Verma's super-filmi week is a study in grace for both the right and wrong reasons.
'How can you blame poor Kabir Khan for the Tubelight fiasco?' 'We know that his Job Description expects him to work below full capacity, to sell his soul, and we know his SOP-sheet has the title: Design the next Salman Khan Project.' Sreehari Nair sees through Kabir Khan's cunning.
'Who should I date?' This question hovers in our minds in our 20s. Here's how you should evaluate the one you like.
The government chose moral persuasion to make people give up subsidies, notes Rahul Khullar.
Hema Malini goes back in time, and recalls some beautiful moments from her life.
The trouble is largest FDI projects in India have had a tragic history.
Etihad to have 2 directors even if it dilutes stake to 15%
When political parties opt for alliances, it is to win an election, and if post-poll, to come to power by cobbling together the numbers to secure a majority. This has been a striking feature of Indian politics, throwing up such screens as 'coalition dharma' to hide all ills, including corruption, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Ileana D'Cruz shows Rediff.com a different side to her.
The initial misadventure of an individual AAP leader highlights how the party not only has to bone up on tactics but should also constantly look within to root out ingrained and inherited prejudices, says Subir Roy.
Modi govt has a unique style of working, say experts.
'The cadres who die for the party are from the backward and scheduled caste communities while the leaders and those who enjoy power are from the forward community.' 'When this is the reality, who will stay with them?'
Indian business has many legitimate grievances against the political class for not delivering an optimal business environment.
'They are not affected by ISIS' sentiment of avenging the suffering of the global ummah.' 'They have a huge ummah of their own in India, a huge Muslim population.' 'And because of that, they have to take into consideration the political and social conditions of Muslims in India.' 'They have to express themselves in a more political way and not through terrorism.'
'This is the first of (ideally) many superhero films that will appeal to those who aren't already besotted by the comics and the characters,' says Raja Sen after watching Captain America.
Mumbai FC coach Khalid Jamil looks back on his playing days and the challenge of coaching.
One of Bollywood's most rock-solid careers, Anil Kapoor shows no signs of stopping!
It's a riveting film, writes Raja Sen.
Pran lived a full life, entertaining and scaring the hell out of many people, writes Aseem Chhabra, in his tribute to the legendary actor who passed away on July 12.
Two years into power, there is very little to show for the Modi government by way of 'achievements' on the foreign policy front, and his China, Pakistan policies are gasping for breath, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
For the AIADMK's cadres, it is much more than an election symbol, they believe the party's electoral chances rest on owning it, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
It reminds us why we like to watch films, writes Aseem Chhabra.
Macro data have little connect with indicators on the ground.
'We have not seen even during Vajpayee's time what Modi and the BJP has adopted now.'
'The creation of Pakistan was integral to Britain's grand strategy.' 'If they were to ever leave India, Britain's military planners had made it clear that they needed to retain a foothold in the NWFP and Baluchistan because that would provide the means to retain control of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.'
Just like with millions of Indian Muslims, even the vice president of India has been forced to undergo the covert loyalty test: 'you are presumed to be pro-Pakistan until you demonstrably prove you are a nationalist', says Shehzad Poonawalla.
Unfortunately, by presuming guilt of the Army personnel in the Chattergam incident, for what is at worst an honest error, made in good faith, the ability of the military leadership to impose the fighting spirit necessary in their men to curb militancy stands seriously compromised.
Now that an elected chief minister is at the helm, it is high time the Centre initiate discussions to appoint a full-time governor at the earliest, given that the state is set to face some challenging times, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
If either faction of the AIADMK failed to muster a floor majority, then the governor would be called upon to ask MK Stalin as the leader of the opposition if he would like to try his hand at government formation.
'My mantra is simple. If a customer demands something, we have to deliver at the speed he wants. No customer will wait for us. That is where local top-quality talent comes in,' says the MD of Bosch India.
One of the urgent tasks ahead for the new government should be to improve public trust in the executive.
Somen Mitra, the one time pillar of the Trinamool Congress and now Congress candidate from Kolkata North constituency, can't help smiling. The SC's order directing the CBI to probe the Saradha scam is the fruit of his hard and lonely battle. On the day when 17 constituencies in the state go to polls, Mitra speaks to Rediff.com's Indrani Roy about the impact of the Saradha scam on the elections and his relationship with his former party chief.
After getting fresh support from various political parties, the Election Commission has written to the law ministry for a ban on opinion polls from the date of notification of elections.
The stage is now set for the first substantial round of polling in the Lok Sabha elections on Thursday, involving nearly 11 crore voters in 92 seats spread across 11 states, including Delhi and the national capital region and the riot-hit Muzaffarnagar.
To some the public humiliation of Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi at the party's annual Dussehra celebrations in Mumbai may have come as a shocker, but his relationship with the party and the Thackerays has always been rocky, says Neeta Kolhatkar.
United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins, who was in New Delhi on Thursday said in an interaction with the press that improvement in Indo-Pak ties will automatically improve the situation in Afghanistan, even as he discussed the current state of play in US-Afghan relations and attempts to work towards reconciliation with top officials.
Farhan Akhtar's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag does not offer anything new
