A political handshake between the Narendra Modi-led government and Jayalalithaa seems to be in the offing as the latter embarks on a crucial second term as Tamil Nadu chief minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
If the concerns over risking political capital are overcome, the long-term gains for the Indian economy will be immense, asserts A K Bhattacharya.
Muslims' share in the reservation will keep on increasing also because of "conversion and infiltration because they are having a secular cover from them (the Congress)", he added.
Born in 1924, Vajpayee entered politics during the Quit India movement in 1942. He was also the first external affairs minister to deliver a speech in the UN Assembly in Hindi. Vajpayee was elected to Lok Sabha from Lucknow in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004. He is the first and the only non-Congress leader who completed his full term as prime minister.
The Congress may get chairmanship of the prestigious Public Accounts of Committee but still there is no guarantee whether it will get the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The state's economic health is in focus as it has consistently breached the fiscal deficit in eight of the last 10 years since Telangana's formation.
Granting SCS to the state has been a long-pending demand of the JD-U supremo and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose Bihar cabinet had even passed a resolution last year requesting the Centre to grant SCS to the state.
M Venkaiah Naidu, former president of Bharatiya Janata Party, flayed the Union government for threatening to impose president's rule in Orissa amid the continuing communal violence in the state.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said there was "some amount" of intolerance in the society which has to be identified and dealt with firmly, instead of generalising it.
Ten years after his defeat, Chandrababu Naidu is once again going to be the chief minister of a truncated Andhra Pradesh, says Aditi Phadnis
Opposition parties continued their protest over the suspension of 12 MPs on Tuesday with a 'dharna' in Parliament premises that saw several leaders holding up placards demanding revocation of the action taken.
Chandrababu Naidu's latest announcement that the Telugu Desam Party would be a part of the just-conceived "Federal Front", on Thursday took senior party leaders by surprise as it currently maintains a cordial relationship with the Left.
Telugu Desam Party President N Chandrababu Naidu tonight urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to break his silence and take a "proactive role" in resolving the concerns and do justice to all over the proposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Committed to secularism; wouldn't remove the word, says M Venkaiah Naidu
Adding yet another dimension to the "cash-for-vote" scam, the Andhra Pradesh Police issued notice to news channel T News for airing an audio tape of purported conversation between Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and nominated Telangana MLA Elvys Stephenson, sparking protests by media fraternity on Saturday.
Narendra Modi will take oath as the prime minister for a third consecutive term on Sunday evening as President Droupadi Murmu has invited him to form the government.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi greets 93-year-old Lilabai Chitale during the party's Bharat Jodo Yatra at Patur in Akola. Lilabaiji went to jail in 1942 when she participated in the Quit India Movement of 1942.
'Don't be surprised if the Census forms come with a caste box.' 'I will be surprised if it doesn't. It will be a point conceded to Rahul Gandhi and his allies,' asserts Shekhar Gupta. The BJP machine could take all 3 in its stride, but this election has changed that, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Facing the opposition's attack over the conversion issue, the government on Monday said in Lok Sabha that neither it nor the Bharatiya Janata Party was involved in such acts and the state governments should take action if anyone violates the law.
'Commentators have said that dealing with allies as equals will make Modi more sensitive.' 'Remember that the people Modi is dealing with are equally autocratic in their own lairs.' 'Further, Modi always has handy the threat of dissolving Parliament and calling for fresh polls.' 'Most of his own party, and certainly his allies and opponents having blown their budgets of efforts and resources in the just concluded elections, have no stomach for this.' 'They are all greatly looking forward to the loaves and fishes of office on offer.' 'That gives Modi an unbeatable advantage in any push-comes-to-shove situation,' explains Shreekant Sambrani.
Banerjee said her microphone was stopped after five minutes, while other chief ministers were allowed to speak for longer durations.
Politely decline to be prime minister, and hand the baton to someone else in the BJP -- like Sonia did to Manmohan Singh -- advises Krishna Prasad.
How many seats will the TDP win? How many seats will the YSR Congress win?
Aamir Khan was at the centre of a raging debate a day after he expressed "alarm and despondency" over the rise in incidents of intolerance in the last six to eight months.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies on Tuesday welcomed the Union Budget and said it focussed on youth, farmers, women, and has 'substantial allocations' for Maharashtra, but the opposition slammed the annual financial statement, claiming it neglected the western state and only seeks to please the saffron outfit's partners in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
While there are some new faces in the cabinet, leaders such as BJP president JP Nadda and Jual Oram have returned as ministers.
Independence Day was celebrated across states and Union territories on Thursday, as several chief ministers announced job schemes while some others vowed their support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047.
'The West has always opposed a strong nationalist leader in India and Narendra Modi is no exception.' 'The West prefers weak leaders who are amenable to Western pressure and Mr Modi's independent stance is not to the liking of the West,' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Among the keenly watched contests are those involving former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj, UP) and Union ministers Giriraj Singh (Begusarai, Bihar), Nityanand Rai (Ujiarpur, Bihar) and Raosaheb Danve (Jalna, Maharashtra).
In switching over, Nitish has sent out a message that if he could not now become the NDA's PM, then he would need to stay on as CM at the very least, which a third term for Modi would not let him have, N Sathiya Moorthy points out.
Stating that the Third Front has no policy or commitment, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday termed the 'alternative' combination of parties as a "parking slot."
"Party is taking note on what is being said by whom. They have not come out against Narendra Modi, they have just made a comment on our strategy about Bihar. The section of media has highlighted it as a headline," Union urban development minister said.
The TDP and JD-U will have a lot to answer inside Parliament, day after day, session after session, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The government will give a final shape to its proposed flagship scheme on developing '100 smart cities' next month.
Bharatiya Janata Party's National Democratic Alliance partners have got five cabinet ministerial berths in the third term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as against none in the outgoing government, given the party's dependence on allies for a majority in the Lok Sabha.
A day after YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy was sent to jail in connection with the disproportionate assets case, leader of opposition in Andhra Pradesh assembly and Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu went hammers and tongs against the YSR family alleging that they indulged in the biggest corruption in the history of India.
The National Democratic Alliance during its rule conducted the nuclear tests, he said.
In the event of the BJP's poor performance in the assembly polls this year and in early 2025, Modi's hold will get further weakened because he will no longer remain the invincible electoral persona tightly controlling the machine at his disposal, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The BJP president said the party would not deviate from the agenda of the coalition (NDA) it is leading.
