'Anyone can string together a few alliterative words, but are they a substitute for serious thought?' 'And do they make for a strategy or plan for coherent action?' asks T N Ninan.
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.
Uttam Ghosh offer his take on the Pragya Thakur controversy.
It is too early to write Narendra Modi's political obituary, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
Will it be home or defence for Amit Shah?
Modi seems to have an innate faith in his capabilities to handle the myriad challenges confronting the nation and would rather manage the affairs of the nation as a CEO would of a large industrial-business empire, observes Virendra Kapoor.
'I bow to the great freedom fighters born in Andhra Pradesh. We have not forgotten our freedom fighters, we will not forget and we will move forward by taking inspiration from them,' the prime minister said
'There is little doubt that his exertions are among the reasons why Narendra Damodardas Modi routinely lambastes the dynasty at nearly all his rallies, suggesting that he regards the Congress's First Family as a bigger threat than any other political formation,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
Modi on the global stage always comes across as a statesman, counselling peace and amity to world leaders even as his policies at home hurt certain sections, explains Virendra Kapoor.
'If he loses Gujarat, then he has a major, major, problem coming up in 2024.'
'No amount of digression can hide deflect the fact that the PM's visit was badly conceived, planned and executed,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Modi warned China, therefore they have come to the talks.' 'Nothing will come out of these talks.'
'Modi wants to go down in history not necessarily as India's first overtly Hindu RSS pracharak prime minister, but as a world statesman who built the idea of India as a great nation.'
Dar also said Pakistan views Russia as an important player in the West, South and Central Asia, and strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation with Russia remains an important priority for Pakistan's foreign policy.
'We know each other for quite some time.' 'He could provide stability to the country for five years.' 'But he could not provide confidence to the countrymen that he is our leader.'
Prime Minister Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attended CCS meeting.
'In politics, not everything is spoken and there are a lot of messaging done very discreetly.'
'Whatever we are today, if playback singers are here even today, and that includes me, it is because of Didi.'
2019 will be 'a match between the old caste politics and something new which we have not fully understood in UP,' says Aakar Patel.
Dominc Xavier wonders if this latest Modi pitch is in tune with strongmen trends around the world, setting the course for a presidential-style poll during the Lok Sabha election.
There is a sense of relief in Beijing that Modi will be at the helm of affairs in Delhi at a critical juncture in the geopolitics of the region, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'If the Singh government was characterised by policy paralysis, this one is afflicted by hyperactivism, sans a roadmap,' says Yogendra Yadav.
'In today's situation, it is not going to help anyone's case if they try to politically contest with the BJP on ideological issues.' 'Instead, it is best is to swim along the tide, present the more acceptable face of the cultural Hindu, but not be a political Hindu as the BJP or Mr Modi is.'
'We are very close to become a theocratic State where Hinduism is the official religion of the government.'
Despite consumer inflation, joblessness, etc, ordinary voters still think Modi is the best to rule the country.< Going into the poll with a tried and tested prime ministerial candidate is a huge plus for the BJP --- and a huge handicap for the Opposition, points out Virendra Kapoor.
If the BJP is set to return to power in UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur and even Goa, it is not because of the party's performance or the quality of governance. No. It is essentially Modi's popularity, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Our precipitous decline is being noticed and recorded abroad with alarm. It is strange that within India we are carrying on as if it is business as usual, observes Aakar Patel.
Dominic Xavier wonders what will happen to the poorest who have been ravaged by the strict lockdown imposed by the Narendra Modi govt in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic and the unemployment rates spiralling out of control every passing month.
'There is so much for the country that we have to achieve.' 'Be it Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign, or economic targets or many other pledges like this, we have to achieve them during this period.'
The BJP hopes that any vote AAP gets should only be from the Congress. At the same time, it does not want AAP to get too much of it. Because, a declining old opponent is a blessing as much as a rising new rival is a threat, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The ministry of finance will kickstart its massive budgetary exercise from October 15.
'The conception of Make-in-India, Skill India, Smart Cities, Digital India, Beti Bachao, Beti Padao and so on show a visionary breadth of mind, and Modi is almost the first political leader in India to put them into effect with single-minded zeal,' notes B S Raghavan, the former civil servant.
'Modi's finest political legacy ought to be a border settlement with Beijing,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat -- arguably, the third most powerful person in the ruling dispensation -- on Monday, December 20, met the Dalai Lama at Gaden Phodrang, his home in Mcleodganj, Himachal Pradesh.
R Rajagopalan reveals the BJP's master plan to get Modi re-elected.
It may well be possible to defeat Modi. But nobody seems to know how, points out Vir Sanghvi.
'We are going to be taken seriously by the government.'
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.
When he speaks of them, it is either in denial or to highlight successes that are only part of a larger story that is worrisome in its totality, observes T N Ninan.
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