'For the first time one single party is getting 49% which is a record of its own.'
'I don't think there is a wave in favour of the Samajwadi Party, or against the BJP.' 'This election is largely about which party is able to build a larger social and political coalition.'
'The BJP's solo aim in Mumbai and Maharashtra is to finish off the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP.'
'For a party with a fuzzy ideology, one that lives only for power, having a leadership that thought vaguely about returning to power in the distant future was a distinct handicap,' points out Mihir S Sharma.
Jonathan Garner, chief Asia and emerging markets equity strategist, Morgan Stanley, gives Samie Modak his assessment of the Indian economy after 3 years of Modi Sarkar.
'Police officers have to meet Dalits and other communities, find out about issues that could lead to law and order problems.'
'With the victory in Maharashtra and Haryana, the question which needs to be asked is why the government was reluctant to share names of these people, because there is a possibility that they may have been funding the BJP's election campaign.'
Can welfare schemes truly transform from being flagship to flag-bearers for a government that is looking to get a second term in 2019?
Realising, that there was a ground swell of anger against several lower level TMC leaders who were often accused of petty corruption in execution of public welfare schemes, Kishor designed the 'Didi Ke Bolo' (Tell Didi) campaign under which citizens could directly approach Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee with their grievances.
Jayendra Saraswati, the shankaracharya of Kanchi, discusses the temple entry for women controversy, the Ram Janmabhoomi temple issue and gurus getting into business with Rediff.com's Saisuresh Sivaswamy and A Ganesh Nadar in his first interview since being acquitted recently by a court.
Can you even imagine the fear that must have passed through Kiran Rao's mind, asks Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
While no specific state-oriented sops were rolled out, a strong thread of political wellness ran through the Budget.
"Nobody other than Modi can give a strong government," Shah said.
BJP president Amit Shah, while kickstarting 'Ganatanatra Bachao Yatra' in Bengal, vowed to overthrow the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in the state.
Nearly two decades ago, then defence minister George Fernandes said: 'China has built roads up to the border, while there has been negligence on India's part.' Since Fernandes uttered these brave words, what has been done on the Indian side? The Modi Sarkar is apparently trying, but little has been achieved so far, says Claude Arpi.
SBI was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, jumping around 3 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra, UltraTech Cement and PowerGrid. NSE Nifty rose 36.40 points to 15,337.85.
The Union Budget seems to have elicited a starkly opposite view from rural India compared to urbanites, says Mahesh Vyas.
Last year, he was the BJP's darling. Today, Arnab Goswami is a hated figure for the Modi bhakts. What changed?
'The honourable prime minister virtually handpicked me for the Amritsar East seat.' 'Amit Shahji announced that if I am elected, the whole of Punjab will be drugs free.'
Old-timers seem not impressed with the idea of dropping from the RJD poster its jailed supremo who is acknowledged, across party lines, as the biggest crowd puller ever seen in Bihar's poitical arena.
'Bureaucrats have transformed a project meant to empower the poorest Indians into one that empowers only babus and disempowers everyone else,' says Mihir S Sharma.
Veterans bemoan the 'lack of intention' shown by the Modi sarkar, who seem to have reneged on their poll promise.
The interim Budget has attempted to tick all the boxes that could help the Modi government return to power, reports Archis Mohan.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday assured that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will not be implemented in Assam if the party is voted to power in the state in the coming assembly poll.
The Income Tax Department on Wednesday raided the homes and offices of Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap as well as his partners who launched the now shuttered production house Phantom Films, officials said.
If this election is about Narendra Modi, then it is also about the RSS, notes Mihir S Sharma.
"I am ready to take the responsibility. I will not run away from taking the responsibility," he said when asked if he would accept the task of chief ministership.
If Uddhav Thackeray is fazed by the BJP's attempts to build a narrative against his government in order to bring it down, he is not showing it. He has fought against all odds to remain in the CM's chair and faced difficulties with a smile, reports Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
Sunil Sethi raises five questions to avoid the pitfalls that ended his ignominious earlier tenure as chief minister exactly a year ago
'Rather than an outcome of 'pro-incumbency', the exit poll results betray a completely lackadaisical approach of the Opposition parties.' 'While a new kind of politics was on display for the past five years, they were still mired in their old-style methods which will cost them the election,' predicts Utkarsh Mishra.
Asian Games heptathlon gold medal changed her life as she became a star but Swapna Barman, on Friday, said she sometimes get nervous and scared of the people's high expectations.
Voting is being held in 59 of the total 60 seats .
Jayanta Roy Chowdhury reports on how the West Bengal elections are being fought by the BJP and Trinalool Congress amid COVID challenges, 'Bangaliana', and campaigns based on religion, region, and caste.
'Those who thought they are above law and above courts of the country are now approaching courts praying bail; some people have already gone inside (jail) which is their rightful place.'
Tens of thousands of farmers gathered in Muzaffarnagar town on Friday to attend a mahapanchayat in support of the Bharatiya Kisan Union-led protest against the Centre's new farm laws in Ghazipur on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.
If the BJP wins Bengal, would Kishor's indiscretions have played a significant role in that victory? Victory for the TMC would be another badge of honour in his CV, but defeat would raise an unsavoury question: Which party was Kishor actually working for? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.
'They wil show the whole world see how this government is treating its farmers.'
Why this non-BJP MP became a Modi bhakt.
Greater autonomy, freedom to recruit faculty and government funding are just some of the perks these institutes will enjoy.
'With sufficient gaps between polling dates, the BJP will have time to convert the 'fence-sitter' votes,' observes Payal Mohanka.
