Mr Modi must stop talking, and start writing
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met his match in Kanhaiya Kumar, noted writer Nayantara Sahgal has said as she praised the JNUSU president for his speech at JNU after his release from jail and his subsequent "rational" interviews to the media.
'Jockeying for that position has possibly started at this time.'
Gandhi also said such controversies seem to play out every time his party raises concerns of "crony capitalism".
A faltering economy may have led to a re-think on economic strategy. And Mr Modi might think he is politically strong enough to take some risks. But there could be a minefield ahead, observes T N Ninan.
If the BJP wins by getting Hindu voters to consolidate, its opponents can't beat it by bundling together the Muslims and some of the 'others', observes Shekhar Gupta.
Here are some best moments from Hollande's visit.
'The Opposition parties will continue to woo Chandrababu Naidu even though he has said he will support the BJP.'
It is possible to be blind to this and pretend to carry on as if nothing has happened but that will not change the reality, asserts Aakar Patel.
Narendra Modi's diplomacy and persuasive prowess has ensured long-term investments from China and Japan.
'Someone who cannot even take his cabinet into confidence, how will he take the NDA alliance into confidence?'
Accusing the prime minister of pushing a particular narrative in the media through the PMO, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said "Modi will not be able to deflect from real issues".
The BJP coined a new word for AAP, 'Aapda (crisis)', which Modi repeated constantly during the election campaign to show how Delhi residents's lives had become miserable under AAP's 11-year rule.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday agreed to be questioned on Times Now's Frankly Speaking host Arnab Goswami on his first-ever formal television interview.
'Although perhaps not with a greater majority, and maybe even a slightly reduced majority in the Lok Sabha.'
Meet IAF Veteran Bhopinder Singh Saini from the Viro ke Vir Indian Party.
Tamil film actor Kamal Haasan said, "Mersal was certified. Don't re-censor it. Counter criticism with logical response. Don't silence critics. India will shine when it speaks."
With the BJP continuing to be the constant combatant, centrifugal pressures will rise. Fractured relations between the Centre and the states as between BJP and non-BJP ruled states is a sizeable risk owing ahead, warns Shekhar Gupta.
'India could become the newest Asian tiger under Modi's dynamic leadership. Modi could become the Nehru of the 21st century, and re-establish a new Tryst with Destiny, by stating once and for all that Mera Bharat Mahaan is and will always be a truly secular and inclusive democracy in the best spirit of Bharatiya-tva,' says Ram Kelkar, offering an NRI view of the Modi triumph.
Mr Modi and Mr Shah will need him if they want to win UP again in 2022 and India in 2024. This signals a Yogi Adityanath-sized change in BJP politics, even under Mr Modi, Shekhar Gupta.
Many were hoping that with Vajpayee's NDA gone, there would be a return to the Congress normal. Nobody was prepared for the opposite. Sonia Gandhi was sceptical. This became the only issue over which Manmohan Singh took on his party bosses and risked his government. Politically, it was riskier than the 1991 reform, recalls Shekhar Gupta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi scored 62.3 per cent in his masters in Political Science, Gujarat University's Vice Chancellor M N Patel has said.
Though India is not a member of the G7 grouping, Modi has been personally invited by French President Emmanuel Macron.
For someone who is such an indefatigable litigant, what is stopping Mr Saxena from using the law to depose Mr Kejriwal? Maybe we will get the answer after May 25, notes Aditi Phadnis.
The BJP at 43 is a work in progress, with total ideological continuity and much substantive change in political method and style, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'The 2024 general elections proved that UP is not Gujarat.'
'There is no peace in the Kashmir Valley.'
The Modi government finds itself in a contradiction of its own making. It has encouraged pro-Russian, Westophobic public sentiment while setting strategic policy that's exactly the opposite, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Will January 22 mark a point of no return for our Constitutional secularism? asks Shekhar Gupta.
A handsome victory for the BJP in UP would act as confirmation of its recent political choices. The UP chief minister would be cemented in the popular mind as Mr Modi's chosen heir within the Hindutva fold, and presumably as his successor in New Delhi, observes Mihir S Sharma.
From Central Asia to Ireland, from UK to Saudi Arabia, the prime minister has seen it all in his second year of office.
Narendra D Modi and his party campaigned in these elections uncharacteristically without any big ideas. Of course, winning each election at all costs could be a big idea as well, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Calling former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda-led party "communal" following its alliance with the BJP, he urged Janata Dal-Secular, to remove the word 'Secular' from its name.
"Troubled" and "dismayed" at Wharton University withdrawing its invitation to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the varsity's decision to change its mind "under pressure" was "very wrong". Addressing the Wharton India Economic Forum via video-conferencing, Kejriwal, who began his indefinite fast against "inflated" power and water bills today, said he was "dismayed" at the decision.
The last three prime ministers who served full terms started out in their early 70s. Mr Modi is younger and fitter than all of them. But he needs to find it in him to change course if he is to beat the odds, notes T N Ninan.
Dear Reader, what do you think of Narendra Modi and his government's performance?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Barack Obama at the White House and the two heads of state enjoyed a dinner. Ministry of external affairs Syed Akbaruddin shared snippets from the dinner. Highlights from the Modi-Obama dinner:
'...It is important for you to take a stand.' 'It is a sin to remain silent when the basic structure of the Constitution is being attacked.'
The AAP convenor thanked the prime minister for his wishes, saying he looks forward to working closely with the Centre to make Delhi a world-class city.
'The speech shone a spotlight on both the promise and the challenges of the Narendra Modi era,' says Ram Kelkar. 'The single-minded focus which Mr Modi displayed on issues of good governance and empowering the private sector and individual enterprise.'
