The 71-year-old MP may have time to pursue her other interests, but many believe that she will continue to play the role of a mentor.
The BJP took a dig at Gandhi, saying the Congress vice president was visiting temples as his party has failed to win elections in the state for long time.
V P Duraisamy's exit will in no way upset the poll scene in western Tamil Nadu, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Modi, with his sharply honed political savvy and undoubted grasp of international affairs, is a past master at taking the measure of world leaders.' 'He would be the last person to think of the unpredictable and not too well-regarded Trump as the mediator,' says B S Raghavan.
The classic Third Year or Mid-Term Problem has afflicted all but two prime ministers who have lasted a full term, give or take a few months this way or that, points out T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
'At critical moments an inability to take tough decisions resulted in potentially far-reaching solutions slipping out of our grasp.' 'If similar opportunities come Narendra Modi's way will he act differently?' asks Karan Thapar.
People of Cuba were offered a glimpse of India's diverse culture when visiting Vice President Hamid Ansari inaugurated a Festival of India in Havana to bring the two countries closer.
'He was an embodiment of old school courtesy and grace. It was embarrassing when he would insist on receiving and seeing off guests at the gate of his house! A trait he shared with another of great soldiers of India, Sam Manekshaw!' remembers Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan has been summoned by a court in the United States over his alleged controversial slogan in 1984 following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards.
20 years ago this day, May 11, 1998, India conducted its second nuclear test at Pokharan in Rajasthan. In a fascinating interview on Rediff.com, K Subrahmanyam revealed how Indian PMs reacted to nuclear ambitions.
'I don't know who is deciding Indian foreign policy today. I don't know who is deciding how India deals with Pakistan,' former Union minister Ram Jethmalani takes on the Modi government.
'Wisdom demands Modi moves to restore the critical institutions of the State and dial back on the cult building around his persona,' say Sonali Ranade and Shealja Sharma.
Kolkata will host the summit clash of the U-17 World Cup football on October 28 while Navi Mumbai and Guwahati were chosen to stage the semi-finals.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month will be undertaking one of the longest ever abroad visits by an Indian head of government in recent times. He is scheduled to be on a nine-day, three-nation visit to Myanmar, Australia and Fiji from November 11 to 19. Later in the month, he will be in Nepal to attend the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit on November 26-27.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday dedicated birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as National Unity Day, saying a nation that disregards its history cannot create one and made a veiled reference to anti-Sikh riots that followed then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination this day 30 years ago.
'One hopes that in his second term, Modi spends more time reading serious material even if it bores him or is against his nature,' says Aakar Patel.
The 58-year-old Rajya Sabha MP will face several challenges, including strengthening of the combat capabilities of the army, navy and the air force due to changing regional security matrix and geo-political dynamics.
'Since the two successive drubbings of the Congress have rung the alarm bells about the party's future, the need to chart a new course cannot be delayed any further,' says Amulya Ganguli.
The Finance Minister and senior party leader Arun Jaitley said the Congress does not deserve "even a single vote" for its promises, such as doing away with sedition law.
Intellectuals can debate the difference between what was achieved during the Congress regimes and the BJP-led NDA, the PM said.
Amit Shah now enters an unfamiliar and interesting phase of his political career. His success or failure will henceforth be assessed based on his performance as a key minister, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Aseem Chhabra lists his favourite Indian films of 2021.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who leaves office this week, was tonight given a warm farewell dinner by Congress President Sonia Gandhi which was attended by a galaxy of party leaders and Union ministers.
'I was present at a meeting where he decided to permit the IAF to strike at Pakistan positions in Kargil, with the caveat that they should not cross the LoC.' 'Confident that the Indian Army would succeed, Mr Vajpayee was positioning himself to tell the world after the Kargil conflict was won that India did not violate the 'sanctity' of the LoC,' recalls Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's envoy in Islamabad in that eventful year, 1999.
Prime Minister Modi made a strategic blunder of Nehruvian proportions -- presuming no war can happen now, and the Chinese won't be a military threat and risk their economic interests, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'When it vanishes as a national force (meaning when it can no longer get sufficient votes to hold onto its symbol, the hand) it will not have been the first large Indian party to die,' says Aakar Patel.
'This bill is for the children of Partition who are still subject to inhuman barbarism because they profess a faith rooted in India.' 'If India fails them, we shall be no better than a Pakistan which brutalises its minorities and has turned into a factory of intolerant bigots,' says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
'In old India, there was no hatred, anger or lynching. New India is one where humans are enemies of each other'
When Union Minister Maneka Gandhi sought to project her son Varun as a possible future chief minister of Uttar Pradesh last Sunday, it was widely seen as an attempt to claim Sanjay Gandhi's legacy. Anita Katyal reports
Gandhi said he did not need anybody's certificate about his religion.
'The monumental first Modi wrought in 2014, followed by the miracle in Uttar Pradesh, is not a matter for celebration, but an ominous warning of the perils ahead.' 'There are 5 areas which Modi has to address immediately and relentlessly if he has to live up to all that the people are taking him for,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Tharoor claimed that this quote of the unnamed RSS source was quoted in a news article that he had read some years ago.
Modi and Shah's next focus will be South India, and the Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly elections. Shah is unlikely to abdicate control over the party even after he joins the government. Modi and Shah both know only too well that the party makes the government, and not the other way round.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday asked why India's highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, has not been conferred on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The party and its president, it seemed, were also unable to articulate their views effectively enough
'He is wily and has everything that a political leader needs to succeed at that level.' 'He would be outstanding as a counter to Modi in the Lok Sabha, if he had the Opposition benches behind him,' says Aakar Patel.
Notwithstanding the party denial of the possibility of national campaign by her, the Congress on Tuesday saw demands that Priyanka Gandhi contest Lok Sabha elections.
'The colloquial language forced a turn to the recent past and I thought about the hangings of men like Afzal Guru and Yakub Memon.' 'Whatever their deeds, proven or still in doubt, did their deaths not deserve to be mourned by a sister, wife, or child?' A fascinating excerpt from Amitava Kumar's Writing Badly Is Easy.
'There is a need for a younger person at the top, but the old guard wants to grab the post themselves,' points out Amulya Ganguli.
The Congress leader is one of the most powerful functionaries in the party, having the reputation of being a trouble-shooter and strategist.
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