BJP backed to the hilt Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as its leader in the state and rebuffed a rebellious Chirag Paswan, while acknowledging his Lok Janshakti Party as an ally 'at the Centre'. At a press conference which was attended by top leaders of the JD-U headed by Kumar and the BJP, it was made clear that 'only those who accept the chief ministers leadership will be deemed to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar'.
A broad range of internal security issues, including those related to Jammu and Kashmir and the naxal problem, were at the centre of the ongoing three-day deliberations between the Sangh Parivar and the government.
RSS leader Prafull Goradia, who recently quit BJP, is at the forefront of efforts to revive the Jan Sangh.
He, however said he will serve people in whatever ways he can without entering electoral politics.
But the party also made it clear that such a law cannot be passed in Parliament without the support of the NDA allies and the Congress Party.
Senior BJP leader Kalraj Misra said, "Every time, we have deviated from the hindutva path, the party has suffered a setback. So some rethinking needs to be done."
It is a record that the saffron party has created, where the majority of its legislators belonged to the minority community.
SP-Congress alliance is likely to consolidate Muslim vote in their favour.
The RSS leader said he had not violated any customs and claimed that he ascended the 18 steps carrying the sacred offerings.
'The only reason why it has taken him in is to rile the Congress and also to show, yet again, how fleet-footed the saffron camp is when it comes to raiding the pastures of its rivals,' notes Amulya Ganguli.
While Himanta Biswa Sarma scotched rumours that he would be the king this time, political sources in Guwahati maintained that he, and not Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, had a bigger say in choosing candidates, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
While Yechury feels CPI-M should unite with others to fight the 'growing danger of fascistic forces', Karat camp says it should fight the BJP, but not have any leaning towards the Congress or other opposition parties.
Sporadic violence marked the 'hartal' called by Hindu right groups in Kerala over Wednesday's police action against those opposing entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.
The Bharatiya Janata Party will tone down its rhetoric on Article 370 and unveil a development-based vision for the voters of Jammu and Kashmir, where the five-phase long assembly elections are due in November-December.
Sasikala, said she was not allowed to undertake the trek to the shrine and sent back by the police, official sources said that she entered the sanctum sanctorum and offered prayers.
'We had no inkling this would come. Admittedly, we failed to inspire confidence in migrants that no harm would come to them if they stayed back.' Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
'The viral video from Una aroused something that Hindu chauvinists and cow-botherers never take into account: Numbers.'
One of prominent religious leaders of South India, the 88-year old Swamiji was admitted to a hospital at Manipal a few days ago for breathing difficulty and his end came on Sunday morning, they said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his lieutenants are reaching out across the aisle to get key legislation passed.
He said the "countdown has begun for Narendra Modi," citing the results of Rajasthan by-polls in which the ruling BJP faced an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Congress which won two Lok Sabha seats and one assembly segment.
For successive governments the Election Commission remains a 'holy cow', where unhealthy precedents are allowed to be nurtured since Independence, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday slapped a show cause notice on party's Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj asking him to explain why action should not be initiated against him for his controversial remarks in the recent past.
The Congress's revival plan says it needs to bring back into its fold Hindus repelled by the Sangh Parivar, take its message to youth and women and sections upset at curbs on their personal freedoms.
Sakshi Maharaj, Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament from Unnao, has stirred a hornet's nest yet again by saying that Hindu women should produce at least four children in order to protect the Hindu religion.
'The coronation of Yogi Adityanath as the surprise chief minister should set at rest all speculation over the nature of the UP mandate,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Modi said he was shocked that such voices are being raised for political gains in the land of Shivaji Maharaj.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's similar remarks about the need for a review of the reservation policy, just ahead of Bihar polls, had cost the BJP dearly as it saw a massive consolidation of the electorate from the backward classes and weaker sections in favour of Nitish Kumar-led grand alliance.
Adding that the two leaders had shared an 'excellent personal rapport'.
After days of tough posturing between leadership of the Janata Dal-United and the Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar on the issue of alliance for the assembly elections, action has now shifted to the national capital, where top leaders from both the parties will meet to thrash out the differences.
'This survey, done on the basis of feedback from BJP-RSS workers at the booth level, has given Narendra Modi the confidence to start packing his bags in Gandhinagar. on Tuesday, he has done photo shoots with his colleagues and staff.' Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com presents the Sangh Parivar's assessment of how many seats the BJP will win in this election.
Perhaps the calculation is that economic recovery will have been achieved before the next general election comes around, but such assumptions can come unstuck if current directions are not reversed quickly, cautions T N Ninan.
Although conventional political wisdom would decree that the construction of a 'magnificent' Ram temple at his 'birth-place' would bring the BJP a big yield of votes in the prospective elections, its leaders know by now that the mandir must not exist in isolation in its game plan, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
The Congress leader has been targeting the BJP and Sangh, accusing them of pursuing a divisive agenda.
Claiming that that the law is a rejection of secularism, the Kerala CM said his govt will question its validity on all platforms.
Breaking his silence in Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday denounced communalism and asserted that his government stood for unity wherein all religions prosper within the framework of the Constitution.
'We had never imagined that the prime minister could use such language to win votes.' 'I was under the impression that the prime minister is a very knowledgeable man, but I was amazed to find that he doesn't know that India's Constitution.'
Pinarayi is exploring the potentials of 'socialism with Indian characteristics'. The next five years under Pinarayi's watch will be a transformative period for Kerala's development, observes M K Bhadrakumar.
Bindu and Kanakadurga, who broke centuries-old tradition by entering the holy shrine, said there were no objections from the devotees and called those who were protesting riot-mongers.
