More than 750 constituencies spread across four states and one union territory will go to the polls on Tuesday
FIXES BY THE GOVERNMENT: Energy price fixed, tax issues linger.
In the Congress, Sushmita Dev enjoyed the indulgence of the Gandhi family. She has been true to them and has been graceful in her gratitude to the party that gave her unparalleled political opportunities.
Failure to deliver on governance, corruption allegations, preoccupation with Lok Sabha and gram panchayat polls and factionalism have weakened Siddaramaiah's government in Karnataka. This may well hand the BJP a chance to make a comeback in the state, says Raghu Krishnan.
Never back down! The government has decided to battle out the controversies in Parliament and a conscious decision was taken not to shorten the monsoon session, say sources
BJP-led govt will need regional parties' support in Upper House to get legislation cleared. Archis Mohan reports
The private discoms that join the scheme would only benefit in terms of operational efficiency and there will not be any financial bailout
In the same breath, the RPI-A leader said, "No one can challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- neither Congress president Rahul Gandhi, nor SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, nor BSP supremo Mayawati."
Will N Chandrababu Naidu's son Lokesh be able to manage the old guard the way his father did?
The Bharatiya Janata Party had initially taken a conciliatory stand on the issue with a minister even going as far as to tell rediff.com that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not indulge in petty politics on this issue. The party had left the final decision to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports
LS MPs are paid Rs 2.8 lakh per month plus travel and other perks which works out to nearly Rs 177 crore for 545 MPs during the last financial year. Add another Rs 78 crore for the Rajya Sabha MPs, according to data.
Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad tells Rediff.com that the government have decided to repeal 36 obsolete laws immediately, but many more will be added to this list in the coming months. The minister also informs that this exercise was undertaken on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had flagged the issue soon after he took charge. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports.
'Modi swept the 2014 elections for two main reasons: First, the disgust with the Congress government with a non-functional prime minister, and second, more importantly, his promise of performance and hope.' 'He cannot expect to win 2019 on these planks again. His own success in finishing the Congress will take away one plank, and with five years of reign on his CV, he will need to flaunt performance more than promise.'
Aadhaar, an ambitious initiative of the previous government, has been used to initiate mandatory attendance for government officials, prisoner identification and by linking it to passports, mobile SIM cards and provident fund accounts.
'Mr Modi would compliment a Nobel Prize winner, but members of his party or the government would not be restrained from either making unfair comments or criticising him for having offered advice to an Opposition political party,' says A K Bhattacharya.
Cracks are widening within Bihar BJP with more party legislators coming in the open and alleging lack of inner democracy with one MLA openly vouching for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar saying he would serve as a better prime minister.
CPI-M veteran Pinarayi Vijayan, who led the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to an unprecedented consecutive victory in the April 6 assembly polls, on Thursday took oath as chief minister of Kerala for the second time along with 20 ministers.
Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Saturday found himself in a controversy over sharing on Twitter a screenshot of Pakistan's daily Dawn website carrying Nitish Kumar's ad of vote appeal, prompting the Janata Dal-United to launch a sharp attack on him and seek his immediate sacking.
Modi's NDA is good enough to give a psychological boost to the once 'untouchable' BJP and Modi but if the NDA doesn't get a majority on its own, then walking the last mile will be the greatest challenge of this election for Modi, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi would seek to befriend Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government to forge a good and healthy relationship, and would not be confrontationist with the successor state of Andhra Pradesh but would fight tooth and nail for the rights of Telangana, a key party figure said on Monday.
Obviously, the not-so warm vibes between the two during the recent election season is a thing of the past, with Jaya scheduled to offer the Tamil angavastram as a mark of respect to Modi in his South Block office.
Opposition members tried to corner the government in both the Houses over the Supreme Court decision that states are not bound to provide reserved seats for the SCs, STs and OBCs in appointments and promotions.
'In a party run by 'two-and-a half men', Kovind fits the bill perfectly because, unlike the BJP's previous choice for the Presidency, A P J Abdul Kalam, he is unlikely to return a bill as Kalam did with the office of profit legislation,' argues Amulya Ganguli.
No other foreign leader seems to have been extended such a warm welcome by an Israeli Prime Minister in the past few decades.
'Is Ansari flagging a genuine concern? Is a rectification called for?' 'And finally: Do minorities matter?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance were ranged against each other both inside and outside the Parliament on the opening day of the budget session on Monday.
The new Insurance Bill may take little time to see light of teh day.
Sarbananda Sonowal was on Tuesday sworn in as the 14th chief minister of Assam in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah and other dignitaries at a huge public function at Khanapara field.
The 61-year-old feisty leader, who had single-handedly wrecked the red bastion in West Bengal in 2011, was unfazed by the Left-Congress alliance ahead of the assembly polls.
Indian airlines currently are required to have a minimum fleet of five aircraft and five years of operational experience for starting international services.
The panel will also recommend a fiscal consolidation road map for the central and state governments, study the impact of GST on the divisible pool, and propose performance-based incentives for states.
In Maharashtra, where the 'Mahayuti' alliance of BJP, Shiv Sena and smaller parties is against the 'Maha-agadhi' led by the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party whereas the ruling BJP is locked in a contest with the opposition Congress and the fledgling Jannayak Janata Party for the 90 assembly seats in Haryana.
Empowered in the Modi government, junior ministers have enough on their plate.
Shiv Sena's Suresh Prabhu makes predictions ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls
Wishing him, President Droupadi Murmu said the work for nation-building under his incomparable hardwork, dedication and creativity continue to advance.
Economists expect Modi to announce big-bang reforms.
She said she will go to Ayodhya on Wednesday and visit the makeshift temple to seek Ram Lalla's blessings.
'The National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party, as recent events suggest, are quite content as New Delhi's collaborators rather than trying to be true representatives of the Kashmiri people,' says Athar Parvaiz.
Similarities between NDA and UPA on some key policy issues are now becoming too stark to be ignored, says A K Bhattacharya.
'We need to take steps towards ease of doing business.'
