'The threat of ceding space to China in Afghanistan appears to be one factor propelling our government to get a bit more active now.'
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.
'The Modi Model we see now is still the old Gujarat Model.' 'But with an acknowledgement that governing India is more challenging than governing Gujarat,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
'The larger intention is to create a political State where there is no opposition.'
'In Kejriwal's re-election, we are finally seeing someone who has successfully bridged his Hindu identity with ground-level development triumphing over the BJP,' notes Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'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.'
'Joko's re-election bid has been as tough as Modi's.' 'But in a curious reversal of roles, what Joko faced was a platform somewhat akin to Modi has chosen for himself to woo voters,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Malik believes he can solve the problems of farmers and is sending signals to the government to give him a chance.
'If the Modi government doesn't act now, it will demoralise and hurt the people who voted in hope of a better times,' argues former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
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 party is less forthcoming about who the chief minister will be if it stays in power.
That's a deficit the NDA will have to make up with the help of 'friendly' alliance partners, the very groupings the PM has said are 'family-run'.
'Right now, politics is operating in a state of suspended animation. That works to Modi's advantage.'
'The fact that Modi and Xi exuded confidence to accelerate the negotiations for a border settlement alone underscores that the Russia-India-China triangle has become very dynamic,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'From the Indian perspective, Trump's invitation to Imran Khan to visit the White House is a bitter pill to swallow,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
In students' register of M N College Visnagar Narendra Modi's date of birth is mentioned as August 29, 1949. In his election affidavit, he did not reveal his date of birth, but mentioned his age. His official birth date, as available in the public domain, is September 17, 1950.
Make no mistake, the Bangladeshi and Afghan missions in Chanakyapuri would report verbatim to their capitals the abrasive remarks attributed to the Indian leadership, casting a slur on their countries' political culture and national honour, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
It appears that the party has some kind of political death wish, observe Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Where do the four members of the Supreme Court appointed panel to interface with farmers stand on the Modi government's farm laws?
While acknowledging Shivaji's naval contributions, questions are being raised about the inadequate acknowledgement of Chola sea-power in southern Tamil Nadu, which dates back by a few centuries, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
'There are three pillars of concern: The expansion of Hindu majoritarianism, the concentration of executive power and decay of independent institutions, and curbs on free expression and dissent.'
'He wanted to learn all the time.'
'They keep issuing statements to win a few rounds of applause.'
If the BJP comes to power, sources say it may change the financial year (April-March) to the calendar year (January-December).
'It seems a wiser decision to pull out at the right moment than regret after joining the pact,' explains Dr Rahul Mishra.
He dropped those perceived to be non-performers or whose integrity came into question, and also where it was felt they needed to learn a lesson or two in humility.
'During the nine years of BJP rule, not a single temple has been reconstructed.' 'They might have constructed the Ram temple as it is an emotional issue. But they are not much interested in issues like heritage.'
Saisuresh Sivaswamy tells us what we must know from the election news in the print and television media.
'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.
'Punjab elections are there and so are UP elections. They must have done some calculations (before announcing the repeal).'
The JD-U and the Opposition RJD are united on a caste census in Bihar, which the BJP is opposed to.
Nitish Kumar has to make an existential choice: Between governance and politics, argues Aditi Phadnis.
'In this election, the only thing that is going to matter is which caste aligns with which coalition.'
'My request to Amit Shah would be "Please do not use archaic laws and muscle power against voices that have always stood by India.".'
'I don't buy the theory that if the BJP gets less than 220 seats or 200 seats, there will be a change in leadership.'
Important for Chinese President Xi Jinping will be Zhao's discussions on the issues of Tibet and the Dalai Lama and his assessment of the likely results of India's coming national elections, notes former senior RA&W officer and China expert Jayadeva Ranade.
'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.'
'The procurement cycle still consumes too much time; little has changed.'
'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.
'As far as acquisition of Russian equipment is concerned, with about 70% of Indian military equipment being of Russian origin, a sudden decision to abandon imports from Russia is not feasible,' points out Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
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