When Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's name was floated as Venkaiah Naidu's successor as vice president, the RSS instead suggested Jagdeep Dhankar, indicating that he was also Mohan Bhagwat's choice, states Prakash Bhandari.
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.
With a decelerating economy that weakens India's hands on geopolitical issues, it will be interesting to know which way this trip will go.
This is not an election Budget in the sense that I might target the voter in the coming elections. But if you look beyond this round of state elections, and tilt the periscope to graze at the more distant horizon, see how the Narendra Modi government wishes things looking by the summer of 2024, observes Shekhar Gupta.
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.
The appointments to the Supreme Court and the high courts cannot be speeded up unless both the Judiciary and the Executive agree to a new mechanism which affords both near-parity in decision-making, argues Virendra Kapoor.
'I've seen Akshay Kumar and several A-listers shooting on the streets of UP while unmanageable crowds jostle to see them, touch them.'
'The RSS ideology has been borrowed from fascism and is not borne out of Hinduism.' 'They want India to have one historical identity whereas India is a land full of divergence which goes in every direction.'
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.
If the challenge of the government is to regain the confidence of the minorities, it has to first overpower its own unruly gangs and their heroic masters, says Sunil Varghese.
'They will somehow survive the pandemic, but if these laws are not amended for the benefit of farmers, or is not scrapped altogether, they will surely die of penury and exploitation.'
'The unprecedented bitterness and rancour that marked this election campaign need not spill over into government and governance,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'Modi personally provides the higher direction of the ministry and the minister then works with bureaucrats on implementation,' points out Aakar Patel.
Japan could soon be the second country after the US with which India has a logistics support agreement. Besides the LSA, India and Japan may also sign a maritime domain awareness agreement which would enable the two navies to share information. For example, if a Japanese P-1 maritime patrol aircraft detects a Chinese submarine in the Indian Ocean, it would pass on the information to the Indian Navy, reveals Ajai Shukla.
'I don't think there will be any problem for Hindus to accept Adityanath as the leader, since they have already chosen Modi.'
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala sounded another note of caution on the nature of the latest bull run.
'This kind of poisonous and anti-national activities happening in the country and the economic failure of the Modi government may boomerang in the form of a Congress revival.'
'In difficult times as now, the call of the village is all that these migrants can hear,' observes Vijaya Pushkarna.
'I do not think it's possible for the winners and losers to shake hands and go back to regular business at the end of this.' 'It seems visceral, personal and nasty at a depth we have not plumbed before,' says Aakar Patel.
Just six years after his father's Rath Yatra, the BJP came to power in New Delhi in 1996, points out Jayant Advani.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Monday traded barbs with her party dubbed as 'Behenji Sampatti Party' and she punning on his initials calling him 'Mr Negative Dalit Man'.
Mihir S Sharma gives us a rundown of what could happen, depending on the number.
>Putin's last-minute intervention with PM salvages $5.43 bn pact.
The high-pitched election speeches skipped corporate issues, unlike during the assembly polls about four months ago.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday said curfew will be imposed in the entire state from Monday midnight as the fight against coronavirus has reached a "turning point".
Malik believes he can solve the problems of farmers and is sending signals to the government to give him a chance.
In the new Parliament House, with a soft launch this Winter Session, paper is expected to disappear. For the guidance of ministers, secretaries can scribble notes on linked pads even from their offices to respond to queries from members.
'Has any prime minister spent so much time in one state holding election rally after rally?'
'The Saudis are in the driving seat in navigating the relations with India; they set its compass and calibrate its pace,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
2019 will be 'a match between the old caste politics and something new which we have not fully understood in UP,' says Aakar Patel.
Ajit Singh represented a bridge between a constituency that represented a more traditional era in politics and a modern, forward-looking, India, remembers Aditi Phadnis.
'When you look at the content of Modi's speeches, the word 'Modi' is what he pronounces the most by far, which is not a healthy sign.'
'It doesn't take much time for people's perception to change about a person.' 'People come and go based on people's will.' 'Nobody should forget that.'
'This Ram Navami -- the birth anniversary of Lord Ram -- presents the majority community an opportunity to shed its minority complex and offer an olive branch and discrimination- free society to the minority,' suggests Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Diamond merchant Lalji Patel, who bought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pinstripe monogrammed suit at Rs 4.31 crore in a high-profile auction, on Saturday took out a procession of the two-piece ensemble which was put on a mannequin resembling Modi.
'The oddest thing about this general election campaign so far is that one might think that the BJP was fighting with its back to the wall, rather than as the favourite to win.' 'Perhaps there is something they know that we don't,' says Mihir S Sharma.
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
'They have to be seen as being responsive to the employment woes and economic stagnation afflicting many young people.'
For many, he is the Dhirubhai Ambani of Kerala. For others, he is the most influential Indian in West Asia. M A Yusuff is back in the spotlight after the controversy surrounding the UAE's reported offer of a Rs 7 billion aid package for flood-hit Kerala.
he news reports of the response that Tejaswi has been generating at his election rallies must definitely put a smile on his father's face, observes Asmita Bihari.
