India's real risk is not that crony populism would fail, but that it would succeed, consolidating a path that is fundamentally a trap, both in terms of social inequalities and long-term growth, says Michael Walton.
'He is seeking to harness the power of Indian Diasporas to national (support for India in global capitals) and political (enhance the Bharatiya Janata Party's support base) ends.'
Addressing BJP workers at a felicitation function after the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in Bihar elections and various bypolls, he asserted that the only mantra for his party's victory was 'Sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas' and also launched a veiled attack on the West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, saying those who cannot challenge the saffron party democratically have resorted to 'murdering' its workers to realise their goals.
The BJP continuing to look at the Dravidian polity through the religious prism has not worked in Tamil Nadu whereas it has yielded political and electoral results across much of the rest of the country, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Eknath Shinde's credibility will not grow beyond Thane, Uddhav's credibility will rise across Maharashtra and perhaps in the rest of the country'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who turned 64 on Wednesday, arrived in Gandhinagar to seek his mother's blessings.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's bypoll win in four of the six seats it contested has invigorated the party ahead of assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Ahead of Cabinet formation, Narendra Modi, prime minister designate on Monday held discussions with his close aide Amit Shah and senior party leader Arun Jaitley even as newly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party members of Parliament met senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionaries at the Sangh office.
'The Modi Sultanate -- like the Congress Sultanate -- does not understand local aspirations and politics. It will repeat the same mistakes whenever it takes on powerful regional leaders.'
Kejriwal congratulated Modi for the BJP's victory.
Kamla Beniwal, who had a running battle with Narendra Modi when he was Gujarat chief minister, was on Wednesday night sacked as governor of Mizoram just two months before her tenure comes to an end.
Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath to 10 cabinet ministers and 14 ministers of state, including five ministers of state with independent charge.
The 46-year-old MP from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh was among the 15 new Cabinet ministers who took oath in the first major rejig and expansion of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government after it returned to power for a second term in May 2019.
All the Gujarat cadre officers have one thing in common. They do not need Modi's 'informal interactions' and advice because they are from the so-called 'Modi school of governance.' They know Modi well enough to perform their assigned roles.
Meeting the families of six persons killed in serial bomb blasts during his Sunday rally, BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Saturday assured them all help from the party.
The prime minister is checking in with baggage of the kind that will make history, any which way things take a turn, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Dharmendra Kumar Singh explains the four major factors that contributed to Modi's win in the 2014 elections.
Sawant took the oath in Konkani language.
Dhami under whose leadership the BJP had contested the February 14 assembly polls was the frontrunner for the post.
He will visit the state party headquarters later Thursday to meet the newly elected MLAs and other Janata Dal-United functionaries. Raj Bhavan sources said they have not received any communication about when the swearing-in ceremony will take place.
It is clear to any observer that the BJP risks its demolition drive boomeranging on itself. Except for one unpredictable factor in the works -- Rahul Gandhi himself, observes Shyam G Menon.
'The Modi government needs some big private sector trophies to affirm its anti-corruption credentials before the polls.' 'So on whose neck will the sword fall next?' 'To that extent, the outing of the ICICI Bank-Videocon story is cathartic,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The BJP, which has clinched 31 more seats than the 43 pocketed by Kumar's Janata Dal-United, is likely to have two deputy chief ministers on the lines of Uttar Pradesh. The names of four-time MLAs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, who were chosen the leader and the deputy leader of the BJP legislature party on Sunday, are doing the rounds for the post.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday defended his new government's decision to provide 'Z-plus' security cover to his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, rubbishing criticism of the move by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'Vajpayee would not have approved either of the way the BJP now functions or of the thoughts that it entertains in its mind,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
The ultimate consequences of Rahul Gandhi's yatra may be known only in 2024, points out Dr Sudhir Bisht.
His father Ramniwas Garg has expressed concern over the racial attack on his son and has demanded a strict punishment to the culprit.
US President-elect Trump had recently said that he would not allow Americans to be replaced by foreign workers, in an apparent reference to cases like that of Disney World and other American companies wherein people hired on H-1B visas, including Indians, displaced US workers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, hosted the National Sports awardees, including Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu and bronze winner Sakshi Malik, at his 7 Race Course Road residence in New Delhi.
Modi leads politicians and sportspersons in wishing countrymen on National Sports Day
Modi presented his Irish counterpart reproductions of a selection of historic manuscripts and papers pertaining to two Raj-era Irish officials.
A K Bhattacharya deciphers Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first cabinet reshuffle.
'Gloom is nowhere in sight, with healthy foreign exchange reserves, a strong rupee, healthy tax collections, corruption and crony capitalism under check,' argues Gopal Krishna Agrawal.
Spread over 10 districts, polling in these constituencies will be held from 7 am till 6 pm on Thursday.
Modi, 68, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony at the forecourt of majestic Rashtraparti Bhavan.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of some BJP-ruled states were among those present at the Raj Bhavan ceremony.
'It seems the action against Nupur was because the vice president was in Qatar and officials in his secretariat did not want any embarrassment.'
Claiming to have been vindicated after the Supreme Court barred N Srinivsan from contesting BCCI Presidential elections owing to conflict of interest, sacked IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said the verdict will clean up corruption in the game.
Now, that's how desperately Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to win Bihar. M I Khan reports from Patna
In Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari has done pretty much as he liked, observes Aditi Phadnis.
