A rotating chief ministership as a way to appease factions can work only if there is a credible guarantor, explains Aditi Phadnis.
The Bharatiya Janata Party leader attacked the Congress for according Rahul Gandhi a "special treatment" following his conviction in a defamation case and accused the party of pressuring the judiciary, and doing everything possible to stay relevant.
In his letter to the Congress National President, Mallikarjun Kharge, Lovely said that all unanimous decisions taken by the senior Delhi Congress leaders have been unilaterally vetoed by the AICC general secretary (Delhi in-charge).
'Rahul Gandhi is the face of the INDIA alliance. If he contests against a BJP candidate and defeats her/him, it will send a strong message.'
'He was the best court craftsman that I have ever seen who could modulate his arguments in accordance with the judge and the mood.'
'The victory is an expression of agrarian distress and social turmoil.'
'Sheikh Abdullah ruled the state with secular values. Post 1953, when he was sacked, corruption took over governance.'
Electoral setbacks and thwarted ambition can have an unpredictable effect on leaders,, observes Aditi Phadnis.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had 'begged for forgiveness for past betrayals' before his parents, party supremo Lalu Prasad and ex-CM Rabri Devi, before they allied with the Janata Dal-United president in 2022.
The real risk is that the core assumption -- that the votes for a candidate sponsored by an alliance will at least equal the sum total of its parts -- proves to be facile, observes T N Ninan.
The BJP is the preferred choice because it offers what the Mughals and later British offered in their time: A stable polity and an environment in which business could function, explains T N Ninan.
There is, between Rao's tenure as PM and the current Modi regime, a powerful resonance of how transition can be managed. Rao's tenure saw many scams -- one where he was supposedly approached by Harshad Mehta with a bribe for making the securities scam go away. The Opposition insisted on a JPC. Despite knowing a JPC report would undermine him politically, Rao agreed to one, saying he had 'nothing to hide'.
'There might be some internal tussles that can be expected between any two persons in any party.' 'But I do not see any tussle which might weaken the possibility of dictatorship.'
'Every Indian who is concerned about the unity, integrity and the map of India should be worried about this growing divide.'
'They were very vocal on the defence of the Constitution, reservation, SC/ST Act and democratic rights.'
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
The Congress on Friday claimed that a 'silent undercurrent' is brewing across western Uttar Pradesh against the 'failures' of the Modi government, as it flagged issues such as 'neglect' of sugarcane farmers and examination paper leaks.
When Nehru came in active contact with Gandhi 100 years ago, he was a Westernised rationalist while Gandhi was deeply soaked in the Indian ethos and spirituality, notes Rasheed Kidwai.
'The BJP is racing against its opponents by putting a chain on their legs.'
Moitra said she has been found guilty of breaching a code of ethics that does not exist and that there was no evidence of cash or gift given to her.
On Thursday, the SC had voiced "serious concern" over Governor Ravi's refusal to reinduct Ponmudi as a minister in the state cabinet even after the SC had suspended his conviction in a corruption case.
Will a caste census make tens of millions desert Mr Modi?, asks Shekhar Gupta.
'Even if the BJP's hope of a Congress-mukt Bharat is realised, it will still have to contend with Mr Gandhi's god-like status in the foreseeable future,' says Amulya Ganguli.
As the counting of votes ends in Maharashtra and Haryana, Rediff.com takes a tongue-in-cheek look at what leaders across the political spectrum said.
With the kind of money and talent that has gone into making this movie, a really good biopic of a personality like Savarkar could be made. But this film is lost in polemics, as is the case with almost every biopic and period drama today, observes Utkarsh Mishra.
'The Bharat Jodo Yatra successfully resurrected the Rahul Gandhi brand.' 'There's a critical mass that has built up for the Congress and Mr Modi is feeling the heat on the Adani issue, the raids on the BBC offices, the Opposition getting together.'
In Karnataka, the BJP lost the elections because of multiple poles of power, a problem the central leadership could not sort out in time. Could the same happen to the Congress in Rajasthan? asks Aditi Phadnis.
Gandhi also said such controversies seem to play out every time his party raises concerns of "crony capitalism".
Desperate times need desperate actions, and the BJP's only option is to enforce legislation to build a Ram mandir, says Sunil Sethi.
'Someone who cannot even take his cabinet into confidence, how will he take the NDA alliance into confidence?'
Ramoji Rao lived as the interface between business and politics and was an active participant in both for most of his remarkable life.
Interacting with civil society members at the Bharat Jodo Yatra Conclave at the Constitution Club in New Delhi, Gandhi said the yatra is like tapasya for him, according to sources.
'You can attack and conspire to weaken us, but you cannot destroy the Congress permanently.'
'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.'
The Congress has been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for holding political rallies amid the rise in coronavirus cases in the country.
'Hindutva will not win any elections. Hindutva as a political plank never works.'
Kharge said the leaders of INDIA parties have come together as democracy is under threat under the Bharatiya Janata Party government.
A political row broke out on Tuesday after Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee derisively mimicked Dhankhar during the opposition's protest on the stairs of Parliament against the MPs' suspension, drawing strong condemnation from the ruling BJP.
If Rahul's yatra makes a political statement from the other side of the aisle and Shah Rukh's success underlines a more relaxed popular mood, Mr Modi and Mr Bhagwat's cues to their followers are coming from another place, observes Shekhar Gupta.
It would be best that Rahul remains party chief, but at the same time, Rahul's own wishes must also be respected, Aiyar said.
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