In switching over, Nitish has sent out a message that if he could not now become the NDA's PM, then he would need to stay on as CM at the very least, which a third term for Modi would not let him have, N Sathiya Moorthy points out.
The government has to specify what it intends to do with caste census data. It will be closely tracked if the government would simultaneously move towards removing the present 50% bar on reservations using means which are permitted in law. If this is not done, the entire exercise will become meaningless and could boomerang on the BJP, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday snubbed senior leader Jaswant Singh by denying him a ticket in the Lok Sabha elections in Rajasthan and instead decided to field Col Sonaram Choudhary in Barmer, which Singh was seeking.
Former Union minister and Telugu Desam Party founder N T Rama Rao's daughter D Purandeswari on Friday joined BJP after quitting the Congress over the Telangana issue.
If Indira Gandhi hadn't targeted the RSS, Narendra Modi wouldn't be sitting pretty with his second majority and looking at a third, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Sonia, Sumitra Mahajan share a laugh at the event
Aam Aadmi Party termed BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi as "an autocrat and dictator in his party" and claimed that even senior BJP leaders L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi have "no say" before him.
There is no use of the BJP targeting the likes of Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin, directly by the party's political bosses, both in Delhi and the respective state capitals, or even using the Raj Bhavans to fire those salvos from. Successive elections have proved that it's counter-productive, if anything. But the BJP is yet to understand it, acknowledge it, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
He underlined the need for patience in political life and said those seeking a change of guard should go back to the people to achieve it.
At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
It also marks the end of the first half of the Budget session in the Lok Sabha.
Stepping up his attack on Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party rebel Jaswant Singh on Tuesday said "personality cult" was not good in a democracy and it would harm the party.
Sources said Rahul's meeting with Pranab follows the former's participation in the Congress Core Group meeting for the first time on July 12.
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Shatrughan Sinha on Tuesday shocked party leaders and workers alike when he stated, "Modi ke liye Delhi abhi dur hai" (Delhi is still far for Modi).
The government had earlier announced the country's highest civilian honour for L K Advani and Karpoori Thakur.
In a strong show of support for Arun Jaitley, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the finance minister will come through "with flying colours" against charges of corruption levelled against him by the opposition in the same way L K Advani did in the Hawala case.
Hurt over denial of ticket, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh is likely to resign from the party on Sunday.
Seeking to defend its leadership from the attack by its veterans, the BJP said the "healthy precedent" of collective responsibility for poll defeats was set by Vajpayee and Advani.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is likely to announce the names of its candidates for over 150 Lok Sabha seats on Thursday.
Last week, the RSS informed the party president Rajnath Singh and other leaders that all leaders above 75 should not be given any "pad" (position), meaning just not Cabinet position but even as chairman of the National Democratic Alliance or as Lok Sabha Speaker. That put to rest claims by old and veteran leaders like L K Advani, M M Joshi, Shanta Kumar and Karia Munda, reports Sheela Bhatt.
Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh on Saturday took potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party over the latter's decision to nominate Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, saying the party has succumbed to threats from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and wondered if the Sangh could still call itself a "cultural organisation".
Take a look at the famous faces who exercised their democratic right.
Will BJP campaigners start using the term 'Ram Rajya' to refer to the nation under Modi's rule, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and H D Devegowda, Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Najma Heptullah and Ram Vilas Paswan are among over 300 MPs who are on the utility bill defaulters list of the New Delhi Municipal Council.
Manoj Tiwari and RK Singh found fault with the party's strategy and supported the demand of veterans like L K Advani that accountability be fixed.
The only other legislative action was the approval of the Supplementary Demands for Grants.
A day after his release on interim bail, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging he was on a 'One nation, One leader' mission to impose 'dictatorship' by putting all leaders from opposition behind bars and 'politically finishing off' those in the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Vajpayee's picture is now displayed on the last page along with those of party's idealogue Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, who were on the second page of the 2014 manifesto.
Few had imagined the BJP would be able to travel this far when it was founded on April 6, 1980.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday said her party would contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on its own.
Ending suspense, the Bharatiya Janata Party has picked actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani to take on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.
His margin was just a shade lower than the 6.96 lakh record set by Pritam Munde in October 2014 when she won the by-election to Beed seat in Maharashtra after the untimely death of her father and former Union minister Gopinath Munde.
The resignation of Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party vice-president Aamir Raza Husain over Narendra Modi's "puppy" remarks gave Congress a fresh handle to attack the opposition party as it wondered what stand will the other Muslim leaders in the BJP take.
L K Advani has less to lose because he has actually lost what is vital in politics. His support base within the party is lost because the party thinks Advani can't help the BJP regain power. Since Modi is vulnerable, Advani, now and then, hits the headlines. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt explains the Advani Affair.
'Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bengal can be the game changers of 2024.'
By keeping the Sanatana Dharma row alive and adding the Ayodhya temple consecration scheduled for January 22 and adding the free darshan promise from four polled states to the entire country, the BJP may have a self-fulfilling concoction, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy.
Here are the key figures among the 32 accused in the Babri mosque demolition case who were on Wednesday acquitted by a special CBI court in Lucknow of all charges.
Modi's decision to bring Shah in his cabinet signals that he will now play a crucial role in the government.
While about 8,000 people are in the long list of invitees, the select list features 506 A-listers, including prominent politicians, leading industrialists, top film stars, sportspersons, diplomats, judges and high priests.
"Leaders like Vajpayee, Advani treated me with respect," the JD-U leader said.
