Despite failing to secure a simple majority in Parliament, we will continue to see him on TV, newspapers, magazines, bill boards, vaccination certificates, railway stations, bus shelters, airports, sea ports, on the highway and on rural roads, sighs A Ganesh Nadar.
Kurumbur in gold-loving Tamil Nadu was once a thriving centre for goldsmiths. Today their number is down to two.
The former Congress chief accused Modi of 'diverting public attention' through various means.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday suggested that if the Congress comes to power, it would redistribute wealth of people to Muslims and cited former PM Manmohan Singh's remark that the minority community had the first claim on the country's resources.
In nearly 100 seats, the BJP stands almost no chance of winning. In 200 seats, it is a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress where the BJP has an upper hand. In 243 seats, the BJP is pitted against regional parties and it is not going to be easy. That is why 400 seats may end up as a pipe dream, states Ramesh Menon, author of Modi Demystified: The Making of a Prime Minister.
The Congress on Thursday accused the Modi government of aiding 'drain of wealth' from ordinary Indians to crony corporates, and said it will end this practice if it comes to power at the Centre.
'During the election period, Modi did not refer to the government as 'Government of India'...it used to be called Modi Sarkar, Modi's guarantee. Today that Modi guarantee is no longer there'
Targeting Modi over inflation, Priyanka called him a "mehengai" man.
Aam Aadmi Party convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party will not form the government on June 4 and said if the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) comes to power, the direction and fate of the country will change.
The first time the Election Commission has taken cognisance of a model code of conduct complaint against a sitting prime minister.
This election will be remembered for being the first election where the Election Commission failed to take action on gross violations involving the ruling party that repeatedly used religion, communal slurs, lies and undocumented allegations, observes Ramesh Menon.
They realised that the Portuguese were better prepared to defend Daman than Dadra and Nagar Haveli. If reinforcements from Daman were to reach Silvassa, there was no chance of defeating the Portuguese. They decided that cutting Daman's communication lines would have to be their top priority before attacking Silvassa. A fascinating excerpt from Neelesh Kulkarni's new book, Uprising-The Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Kharge claimed that though the BJP says the corrupt must be put in jails, when leaders facing corruption charges join the saffron party, they are "put on the lap" and sent to Rajya Sabha or assembly.
Modi referred to the Lok Sabha polls as a "Kurukshetra (battle)" in which "there is development on one hand and 'vote jihad' on the other".
Karva Chauth was special this year for some film folk, as they had their first taste of it.
The Congress leader also said that the BJP wants to change the Constitution, and reduce and weaken the rights given to the people through the statute book.
A delegation of Congress leaders met the Election Commission and handed over complaints against the prime minister, alleging that he has trampled upon and violated the model code and directions of the poll body.
The big surprise is that Narendra Modi, the greatest conjurer in our national politics, has not yet presented a theme to this election, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Titan's October-December quarter (Q3) business update claims 22-23 per cent revenue growth in the standalone jewellery sales (excluding bullion sales), implying a 4-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.3 per cent. Store additions also looked healthy, with 21 new Tanishq stores opened in Q3, taking the total count to 466 (+43 in 9 months of FY24) including two in the US and one in Singapore. Titan added 90 stores in Q3, pushing its total retail outlets to 2,949 (including CaratLane).
It will be in Modi's interest to reinvent his party, read the writing on the wall that voters wrote, and move ahead. He has little choice now. The country is watching, asserts Ramesh Menon.
2019 was the Bharatiya Janata Party's breakout year, when it stretched the boundaries of what was thought possible and ended up with 303 seats on its own steam. Now it is forced to play defence, on a pitch queered by too many variables, asserts Prem Panicker.
'If you post on social media on an issue like power cuts in Tral, the police will come to your home and tell you to remove your social media post.' 'If you don't, then the local police threaten you that they will book you under PSA.' 'This is happening all the time in Kashmir.'
For the first time in his political career, he failed to carry his party to even a working majority -- and again, for the first time in his career, he finds himself in a situation where he cannot rule by dictatorial fiat, points out Prem Panicker.
In the coming days, unless Modi tones down the communal spiel, it will be clear that anxiety continues to drive his mind and clouds his judgment, observes Modi biographer Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Drishyam 2 Director Abhishek Pathak got married to his actor girlfriend Shivaleeka Oberoi in Goa on February 9, and the couple have been sharing lovely memories from the big day.
"Girls are sitting outside classrooms and demanding their fundamental rights. The hijab is a part of their cultural and religious identity of these girls. It is like the mangalsutra for Hindus, crucifix for the Christians and turbans for the Sikhs," Prathapan said during Zero Hour.
This time Modi has no emotive message to take to the stump. Muscular nationalism doesn't work against the backdrop of China's successive inroads into Indian territory. Rising prices is a sore point that cuts across class and caste barriers; unprecedented levels of unemployment has the youth in a ferment. This has reduced the BJP campaign to a laundry list of recycled grievances and thinly veiled communal appeals, neither of which are working as well as they have in the past, argues Prem Panicker.
Kriti is in a London state of mind...Kartik gets a heart...
A section of Deoband-based clerics reportedly also issued a 'fatwa' (diktat) against the Trinamool Congress lawmaker. The first-time MP from West Bengal's Basirhat came to Parliament on June 25 wearing vermilion and sporting a 'mangalsutra', and said 'Vande Matram' after taking oath.
Moreover, there have also been speculations that while entering into an alliance in August last year, a "deal" was struck whereby Nitish Kumar would give up his chair for his deputy who in turn would back him for the top job in national politics.
Days after Herwad village in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district passed a resolution to ban the customs associated with widowhood to maintain women's "right to live with dignity", those spearheading the campaign are now following up with the state government, demanding that a law be framed to end the "regressive" traditions.
Swamy was presiding over the wedding of a party colleague at a temple when the faux pas occurred.
"Some vidharmis are constantly hurting Hindu sentiments. The video 'Madhuban me Radhika nache' is one such condemnable attempt. I am warning Sunny Leone ji, Shaarib and Toshi ji to understand. If they don't remove the song after apologising in three days, then we will take action against them," Mishra told reporters when asked about the song.
The Jonases -- or is it the Chonases -- are back in Mumbai.
As the curtain comes down on 2022, Roshmila Bhattacharya flashbacks to some of the year's news-makers and events.
Banerjee, who was flanked by newly-elected MP Nusrat Jahan and her husband Nikhil Jain, said, "Togetherness and tolerance for all faiths is the real religion."
If he tenders an apology, we are going to think over it, said Madhya Pradesh HM Narottam Mishra.
The marriage was held at Cliff House, the official residence of the chief minister, with less than 50 people, comprising close relatives and friends, participating in the function.
Lakshmanan contracted polio when he was only three months old. 'I didn't want to go for the swayamvar, but my uncle convinced me to attend.' He sat close to the door at the swayamvar. And then, Rohini walked in. Both her legs, too, were afflicted with polio.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the question in the Karnataka hijab ban matter is only about the restriction in schools as nobody is prohibited from wearing it anywhere else they want.
