From handling the party organisation, finalising candidates, shooting the breeze with the media to pow-wows with diplomats and liaising with the PMO -- Arun Jaitley is the BJP's chief backroom manager in this election, reports R Rajagopalan.
Hazare, 81, had started his indefinite fast on January 30 over appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs.
'Amritpal is the creation of journalists and the inaction of the government in Punjab.'
'The Ayush minister (Shripad Yesso Naik) himself was suffering from COVID-19 and got treated in a modern hospital.'
Voters will decide the fate of 456 candidates in 32 constituencies spread over six Naxal-hit districts.
'They also think that if all opposition parties rally behind him, then 2024 will be Rahul versus Modi and that will be advantage BJP'
'I remember the confusion over the slogan, 'Karenge Ya Marenge! (Do Or Die!)'.' 'I think this confusion arose because Gandhiji was arrested.' 'People used to wonder: What are we supposed to do?' 'How are we supposed to die?' 'How are we to fight the British?'
Ram Vilas Paswan, 74, who was the Lok Janshakti Party patron, had undergone a heart surgery at a hospital in New Delhi a few days ago.
'These naval sailors should have been given due respect as freedom fighters.' 'February 18, 1946 should be as important as January 26 because that date changed everything.'
Mahesh Vijapurkar is hopeful that two Supreme Court directives and Gopinath Munde's confession that he spent Rs 8 crore to get elected to the Lok Sabha may lead to a possibility that the processes administered by the Election Commission may get cleaner, even if only over time.
In a relief to thousands of young doctors pursuing higher specialisation courses, the Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that in the interest of students, it has decided to implement changes in the pattern of the NEET-Super Speciality (NEET-SS) examination from the academic year 2022-23.
Born in Rangoon (now Yangon, Myanmar) Rupani, 61, joined an RSS shakha as a schoolboy, before graduating to the BJP via the Sangh's students wing -- the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.
It is largely due to his vision and efforts that we have almost quadrupled our per capita milk availability in the last 40 years, points out Shailesh Dobhal.
The Emergency greatly influenced the RSS' makeover from a fringe force in the Indian political imagination to one that could have its own man sworn in as prime minister in two decades' time. A riveting excerpt from Christophe Jaffrelot and Pratinav Anil's India's First Dictatorship: The Emergency, 1975-1977.
What do we know about India's devastating second wave, and can we assign responsibility for it?
'In her insecurity, she destroyed the institutions of democracy.' 'She packed Parliament with her supporters with loyalty being more important than ability; she superseded judges; she corrupted the civil service.' 'She knew how to use people against each other and was quite a master of that.' 'She would do this with calculated skill and in the bargain cause enmity between brothers, split up families.'
Hazare began his fast on January 30 at his native Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, demanding appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs at the Centre and in Maharashtra and resolution of farmers' issues.
COVID-19 has propelled him into a place in the sun that he could only have hoped for.
In another somersault, the BJP MP claims Arun Jaitley looks smart in a suit.
'Consider Mrs Gandhi's view of her opponents: Traitors, anti-nationals, rumour-mongers.' Does the spirit of the Emergency-era Indira Gandhi still rule India? asks Vir Sanghvi.
'...are the deep ruts and fissures in the rotting fabric of our cities and the incompetence of elected leaders and administrators,' notes Sunil Sethi.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani and Narendra Modi on Wednesday shared a public platform for the first time after the declaration of the party's prime ministerial candidate but a feeling of warmth was missing as they exchanged greetings.
The meeting between the two leaders, which was also attended by Bihar's deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, was described as 'positive'.
'All but one of the previous oil shocks brought either a change of government or a political crisis.' 'Is the government braced for stormy weather?' asks T N Ninan.
The JD-U appears unwilling to become the BJP's second-string. A senior leader said, "If the BJP demands that the 2014 polls be made the yardstick for seat-sharing in 2019, we will insist the results of the last assembly polls become the criterion for the next state election." Radhika Ramaseshan reports.
Modi did not consider these deaths important enough to express regrets. Will these lives continue to count for nothing? asks Jyoti Punwani.
'New Delhi's rulers should be alert to lighting a dangerous tinderbox,' warns Sunil Sethi.
A party demanding meaningful change seems to have touched a deep chord among voters, says Sreelatha Menon
Nowhere else has caste, power politics, and generational change come together to form a combination so potent that it is combustible.
Modi accused opponents of trying to pit one section against the other while his government is working towards taking all people along
'If somebody in your family listens more to your neighbour than you, then doesn't the fault lie with you also? This is what is happening in Kashmir.'
'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.
Paswan was a minister under six different prime ministers, hardly out of government since he was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977, observes Virendra Kapoor.
If there is unity in the Opposition, it is only about regional parties other than the DMK not wanting Rahul Gandhi or any other Congress leader for prime minister, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Shivpal refused to comment on whether the SSM will eventually part ways with the Samajwadi Party.
Invoking the legacy of B R Ambedkar on the eve of the first phase of Bihar polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday categorically ruled out scrapping the reservation system and assailed "a group of liars" for the false propaganda that it is under threat.
The really disturbing numbers relate to inequality.
'We are not promising prosperity to these villagers. Instead, the focus is on self-sufficiency.'
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has to deal with 3 powerful enemies: the media, the political establishment, and business houses.
'It's like the BJP is mocking people: Do what you want, we'll still win.'
