Insiders say the BJP is now concerned the LJP putting up a good fight against the JD-U would mean benefitting the MGB in those seats. Moreover, Chirag and Tejaswi are known to be friends, and the former is battling for his political survival.
Jammu and Kashmir's mainstream political parties, including the National Conference and the PDP, formed the Gupkar alliance on October 15 for restoration of special status of the erstwhile state and also to initiate a dialogue between all the stakeholders on the issue.
Yadav also called for firming up of an Opposition alliance to take on the BJP in the 2024 general elections, suggesting that the Congress must focus on over 200 seats on which it is in direct fight with the saffron party, while taking a 'backseat' in states where regional parties are a formidable force.
While everyone says that in terms of actual contribution to Nanded or in moral authority, Ashok Chavan cannot compare with his father, in terms of contact with his voters, he beats S B Chavan hollow. 'Sab ko sambhaltey hain.'
With the Bahujan Samaj Party keeping out and the Congress being in the fray only for namesake, Saturday's bye-election for 11 state assembly constituencies and for one Lok Sabha seat will determine the supremacy between Samajwadi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'This is millions of Indians standing up for values rather than an individual gain.' 'This is why this protest is unique and this is why this protest has for the first time made this government uncertain and doubtful of what to do next,' says Aakar Patel.
The Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Pradesh will be reduced to its 2012 tally of 47 or thereabouts as the wind is blowing in favour of the Akhilesh Yadav-led coalition this election, says Swami Prasad Maurya who left the saffron party to join the Samajwadi Party last month.
'People are questioning these highways and expressways in UP because ultimately, they want to get bread and butter first.'
Banks on mobilising support from Dalit and Muslim voters. Sanjay Jog reports.
Congress leaders are confident that Priyanka would act as a catalyst for the party and boost the sagging morale of cadres to put up a spirited fight against the BJP and also the SP-BSP pre-poll alliance which had already shut its door on the Congress, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
Stalin described his party-led coalition as the "Secular Progressive Alliance."
BJP's best bet lies in the TDP and the TRS striking a deal with the Congress and framing the battle as a UPA versus NDA clash, reports Radhika Ramaseshan.
Left behind after elections will be the Biharis with their stagnant conditions of poor education, poor health infrastructure, poverty, unemployment, division of society and the aftermath of coronavirus. What will remain is the Bihari tenacity, observes Asmita Bihari.
A day after yoga guru Baba Ramdev kicked up a storm over his 'anti-Dalit' remarks, Bharatiya Janata Party national vice president C P Thakur was under fire by demanding end of reservation in jobs and educational institutions in the country.
'Go to any village, you'll find a Dalit 15 years and above wearing jeans.' 'Earlier, Dalits were not allowed to wear a dhoti till the ankles. Jeans does not have this kind of restrictions or design. It is universal. So Dalits have also entered a caste neutral clothing zone.' 'Wherever you see Dr Ambedkar's statue in this country or abroad, he is always wearing a suit and with that English comes naturally. The Dalits' veneration of Western dress is very intense,' Dalit thinker Chandrabhan Prasad tells Archana Masih/Rediff.com
The AIMIM chief claimed top leadership of the Congress has "ignored" important elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.
The case involving an inter-faith couple was filed in Vadodara under the amended Gujarat Religious Freedom Act and the interim relief granted by the court to the four, including the main accused, will be pending the disposal of a petition filed by them seeking quashing of the FIR against them.
Kickstarting his party's 'Mission 2022' with a 'rath yatra,' Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party, saying it has 'crushed farmers' and on return to power in Uttar Pradesh would 'crush the Constitution' as well.
'This is the first time a majority ruling government is nominating a Dalit for President.' 'So, the moral credibility definitely will go with the BJP, particularly Narendra Modi.'
Getty's Allison Joyce went out with a cow vigilante group in Rajasthan to get a sense of their working style.
Addressing a rally in Lucknow in support of the CAA, Shah threw the challenge for the debate to Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. He also declared that the construction of a Ram temple 'touching the skies' in Ayodhya will begin within three months.
The ABVP on Friday demanded a fresh inquiry and sought an FIR against ASA and SFI leaders claiming that certain lines of Rohith's suicide note implicating them were struck off.
It seems that in the 2019 general elections, people want Narendra Modi, but not necessarily the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate. Aditi Phadnis reports
Both the parties had been banking heavily on the internal feud in the first family of the state
Writing on January 18, 2017, Nazarwala had this to say: 'The Modi wave may help the BJP score a triple century; its vanvaas in UP shall end before Holi.'
Writing on January 18, 2017, Nazarwala had this to say: 'The Modi wave may help the BJP score a triple century; its vanvaas in UP shall end before Holi.'
'The unusual aspect of this election is that this time there is a triangular fight.' 'Previously, the fight used to be between two parties.'
'I fight for anyone who is poor, marginalised or victimised.' 'If a Dalit factory owner is inflicting atrocities on his Brahmin worker, then I will fight for the poor Brahmin.'
Sukh Ram and Raja were charged with corruption during their tenure as telecom ministers. Sukh Ram was convicted while Raja has been acquitted. One had cash found under his bed; in the case of the other the trial judge mockingly asks: Where is the money? And if there's no money, where is the corruption? So, pronounced innocent. Sukh Ram is a Brahmin. 'Maybe he strayed just that one time, people like that aren't usually corrupt.' And Raja is a Dalit. 'Can you expect any better?' What race is in some places, caste is in India, says Shekhar Gupta.
'Seems more than half of the 'desh' remained untouched by his 'samajik ekta ka andolan',' points out Jyoti Punwani.
'It will be a grand alliance where they could get the Muslims, Dalits and Yadavs in one camp and pose a serious challenge to whatever the BJP might conjure up in the run-up to the 2019 election.'
Congress' chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the 'Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir' is also aimed at deliberating on challenges facing the country such as "freefall of the economy", increasing inequality of wealth, price rise of essential commodities, "deep-rooted conspiracy" to hand over farming sector to a select group of private corporates, "attack on India's territorial integrity by China, "attack" on rights of Dalits, SCs/STs, minorities and attempts to divide by using Hindu-Muslim rhetoric.
'Nitish is now a helpless junior ally of Hindutva.' 'He just cannot think of reining in the hoodlums raging, marauding and killing in the mohallas,' argues Mohammad Sajjad.
'The problem of a Hindu rashtra is that it has no text which can be adapted to the modern world.' 'The most prominent element of the Hindu way of organising society and the State is through caste.' 'This is not acceptable to most Hindus.' 'Because a Hindu rashtra also erodes the power and the rights of the majority of Hindus, we can be assured that this is not something that the BJP, or any other force can do,' argues Aakar Patel.
She said neither the Congress nor the BJP works in the interests of the upper castes' poor and the remaining majority.
'...there are people in the NDA, who don't wish to see Narendra Modi as the prime minister. They are the ones circulating misleading news,' he claimed.
'First they will say Kashmiris are not good enough to be Indians, then it will be Muslims are not good enough to be Indians, then they will start a conflict within Hindus that Dalits are not Indians'
'Dalits are not going to vote for the BJP in 2019.'
The outcome in UP is far more significant than in the other states going to the polls next year. An unlikely setback in UP can cramp the Modi government, virtually making it a lame-duck two years ahead of the 2024 parliamentary poll, observes Virendra Kapoor.
The BSP boss has left no stone unturned in running down Narendra Modi, particularly in the context of Muslims and OBCs. A large chunk of the 'most backwards' among the OBCs had been part of her vote bank. What also made her anxious were reports of a sudden shift of a section of Dalits from the BSP to Modi.
