The concept of 'fairness by rulers' is deeply ingrained in Indians and any weakening of this dents the legitimacy of the ruler, warns military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'The Maharashtrian Congressmen's decision to break away from their reluctant leaders in Delhi to side with the Shiv Sena is seemingly the first sign that the 'high command' is not as powerful as is believed,' says Amulya Ganguli.
The NDA's combined parliamentary and state-level committed Presidential votes number around 12,000 fewer than a majority.
'The procurement cycle still consumes too much time; little has changed.'
'My request to Amit Shah would be "Please do not use archaic laws and muscle power against voices that have always stood by India.".'
'Right now, politics is operating in a state of suspended animation. That works to Modi's advantage.'
PM Modi's pinstriped suit monogrammed is the star attraction at an auction.
'In Bengal it is a very sad way in which the party is faring. I don't have high hopes.'
'The central government is putting conditions on farmers organisations, that they have to allow passenger trains to ply, only then will they allow goods trains to ply.'
'There was no need for opting for such an elaborately and expensively organised spectacle,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
The prime minister says he will bring real change to Bengal. Perhaps he will. The interesting thing is that his party has never defined what this change is, observes Aakar Patel.
In its sway over national politics now, the Modi-Shah BJP is what the Congress was under Indira Gandhi. Why would they indulge coalition partners, their greed and egos now, asks Shekhar Gupta.
The ad is one more illustration of the way Maharashtra's new Shinde-Fadnavis government has been milking the Ganpati festival, with CM Eknath Shinde visiting Ganpati Mandals all day these last 10 days.
'If you want to change everything all of a sudden to polyester, then the production of khadi flags will come under trouble.'
'Mr Modi's next challenger/s will need to invent a new politics,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'I don't think the Bharatiya Janata Party can claim any USP which was it is a party with a difference.'
India looks less equal to China than 5 years ago, the strategic alliance with the US is hobbled by trade, and Pakistan is looking anything but chastened by Balakot. What has gone wrong? asks Shekhar Gupta.
'Maybe, if Mr Modi can fire over Patel's gigantic shoulder, people will start to think that he is very much like Patel?' 'It's a long shot, but the Modi sheen has worn awfully thin, and after five years and a long, much-frayed rope, he faces real accountability from voters.' 'He needs any help he can get,' says Mitali Saran.
Where do the four members of the Supreme Court appointed panel to interface with farmers stand on the Modi government's farm laws?
The party is less forthcoming about who the chief minister will be if it stays in power.
'The AMs are a different beast and reflect the political play within the government.' 'Prime Minister Modi does not need to assuage any interest group to take the final call on any decision that belongs rightfully to the Cabinet,' points out Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
In 2018, the BJP's rare successes in north-east India aside, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong for the party.
'The pressure to work together is even greater than before, because the Chinese have launched a full-court press on the border, in the region, and globally to advance their geopolitical agenda.'
Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari reveal that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar's name is now doing the rounds as President Kovind's likely successor.
'The larger intention is to create a political State where there is no opposition.'
He is the first British prime minister to visit Gujarat.
'I am not a politician removed from the people, I get constant feedback from top to bottom, my connect with the masses is direct, not through the media, so I know what is going on.' Saisuresh Sivaswamy listens to the PM explain why he believes 'for the first time in this country, a pro-incumbency wave is on.'
'The Bills (Bharatiya Saksha, Bharatiya Nagarik Sanhita and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) are arbitrary, opaque and ambiguous and structurally quite violent.'
'Wisdom demands Modi moves to restore the critical institutions of the State and dial back on the cult building around his persona,' say Sonali Ranade and Shealja Sharma.
'There will be very strong interest in cooperating with India under any future American administration, but on the margins India will need to be careful not to tip its hand regarding the election.'
'In this election, the only thing that is going to matter is which caste aligns with which coalition.'
'The debate, by being mostly in Hindi, lost much of its educative relevance to the southern states.' 'All the prime minister's debating skills and oratorical prowess went over the heads of the South Indian audience,' points out B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Some of the key proposals of the agenda relate to transforming the banking sector, addressing agrarian distress, countering hate crimes and discrimination, and spurring employment generation.
'The Chinese made their point repeatedly after August 5. They backed Pakistan more overtly than in the past.' 'Kashmir is not completely off their radar. But in order to keep the atmosphere surrounding the Chennai meeting, they did not discuss Kashmir.'
'The threat of ceding space to China in Afghanistan appears to be one factor propelling our government to get a bit more active now.'
Is anyone in the BJP listening -- to what Nitin Gadkari had to say, but possibly left unsaid? asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The next prime minister will be from an Opposition party and not from the BJP.' 'The BJP may be the single largest party, but not with a majority and there will be a fractured verdict.' Anti-Modi and non-BJP parties will be in a majority.'
The military is mobilising to play a central role in holding patients exposed to the coronavirus.
The Bengal Tiger, the Asiatic Lion and the more widespread leopard have had to swallow their pride. Rarely has the prime minister turned up in person, sun hat and camera at the ready, to welcome a member of the big cat family, notes Shyam G Menon.
Malik believes he can solve the problems of farmers and is sending signals to the government to give him a chance.
