Even if the BJP gets 60, 70, or even 100 per cent of the votes in the seats where it scored more than 50 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, these will still add up to only 224 seats, argues Shekhar Gupta.
In a state that usually plumbs for a Dravidian major, three candidates have a chance of delivering for the BJP, observes A Ganesh Nadar.
Landslides triggered by heavy rain cut off large parts of northern and eastern Sikkim, including Nathula pass, while efforts were being made to restore connectivity, officials said on Friday.
Speaking to media-persons after paying his last tributes to five soldiers, including two Army captains, who lost their lives in the Rajouri firefight, Lt Gen Dwivedi said, "While we lost five of our brave soldiers in the encounter, we also eliminated two dreaded terrorists. Our boys went after the well-trained and equipped foreign terrorists without giving any thought to their personal safety. This (taking out the dreaded terrorists) has dealt a major blow to the terror ecosystem and Pakistan. As per our estimation, 20-25 terrorists could still be operating in the area. We should be able to control the situation in a year's time with the help of locals."
'With butterflies in our stomachs, but confident of our mission, we took off for Jaffna on the morning of 24 July 1987.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe recalls a conversation with Air Vice Marshal Harpal Singh Ahluwalia (retd), then a wing commander and mission leader for the clandestine operation.
To honour the supreme sacrifice of the infantry in fighting the Pakistani raiders in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947, the Indian Army on Tuesday celebrated its 68th Infantry Day with traditional solemnity and gaiety all across the Northern Command.
If Tamil Nadu voters preferred the DMK combine, it owed to the Modi-Annamalai combo's ideological battle which often crossed the line of political decency and also challenged 'Tamil pride', argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
As India and the United States are set to begin negotiations on two transformational deals -- Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) and Reciprocal Defence Procurement Agreement (RDP) -- the Pentagon has said that the defence industries of the two nations will come together once the negotiations conclude.
Referring to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's famous statement, Abdullah said "we can change friends but we cannot change neighbours".
The southwest monsoon has started on a weak note and this has delayed the sowing of kharif crops. Though a cause for concern, the situation hasn't reached a stage where it warrants any panic response. Moreover, according to meteorologists and industry players, monsoon rains will witness a revival in the coming few weeks.
The University of Northern Virginia has been ordered to shut down with immediate effect, leaving a large number of Indian students stranded and jeopardising their academic career.
Some may see China's decision to antagonise India as strategically unwise. But China believes its prestige demands standing up to India, whatever the cost.
After a stellar run on the bourses that saw tractor stocks rise up to 52 per cent, analysts are turning cautious on the sector as muted demand trends may weigh in the near-term. Total volumes in the tractor segment for the last three quarters of the current financial year (9MFY24) have remained weak with VST Tillers, Escorts Kubota, and M&M seeing declines of 21 per cent, 5 per cent, and 3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y), respectively, during the period, amid patchy rainfall, delayed crop harvest, and lower reservoir level. Across industry, total domestic sales volume so far in the current financial year (April '23 to January '24) has declined 5 per cent Y-o-Y, as per Tractor Manufacturers Association (TMA).
With a 50 per cent increase in the last four years, Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number (785) of tigers in the country, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444), according to the data.
India has significantly enhanced military infrastructure, surveillance and combat capabilities along the nearly 3,500 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China since the deadly clashes in Galwan valley in 2020, sources in the defence establishment said Wednesday on the eve of the third anniversary of the hostilities.
India is likely to experience below-normal monsoon rainfall this year, with a 20 per cent chance of drought due to the end of La Nina conditions and the potential for El Nino to take hold, private forecasting agency Skymet Weather said on Monday.
A voter turnout of 60.19 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections in 93 constituencies spread over 11 states and Union Territories on Tuesday with sporadic incidents of violence in West Bengal.
'The Weather Channel argues that India faces the gravest challenge: Climate change-induced health vulnerability.' 'This is an issue often neglected, alerts Claude Arpi: "Prolonged summers, unpredictable rains, floods, droughts, and rising sea levels are the harsh realities of climate change in the country. These factors increase the frequency and severity of illnesses, pushing people into poverty, and forcing migration".'
Meet these Inspiring Lady Soldiers who made history this year.
Northern Army commander Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi on Friday said the situation along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh was stable but in a state of "heightened alert" and asserted that there would be no security lapse on fronts of "operational preparedness and readiness" along the India-China border.
'I certainly think India can play a leading role in helping us resolve the Russia-Ukraine crisis. India obviously has an old relationship with Russia'
The Lok Sabha contest in Thiruvananthapuram is shaping up to be a significant battle involving key candidates like Shashi Tharoor, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Panniyan Ravindran. This three-cornered fight highlights the political dynamics in Kerala's capital city, with each candidate bringing their own vision and promises for the region's development, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
One day state mourning will be observed across India on September 11 as a mark of respect to United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II, the government announced on Friday.
The second batch 12 cheetahs was on Saturday brought to the KNP from South Africa. On September 17 last year, the first group of eight cheetahs from Namibia was released into the KNP at a function by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
'In the short term the relationship will get worse.'
Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'When my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed that his son would one day grow up to become its leader.' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com profiles Dr Leo Varadkar who will step down as Ireland's taoiseach (prime minister) next week.
'If a poor voter sees Modi's picture on ration bags, it is natural he will vote for Modi and the BJP.'
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday arrested the key and last absconding accused, who had been in hiding for over 13 years, in connection with the mutilation of a college professor's hand in Kerala, for alleged blasphemy.
'My understanding is that by the time President Xi Jinping came for the Chennai summit [2019], he had already instructed his army to undertake the action in Galwan in the summer of 2020.'
'Barring Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the BJP will may make inroads in Karnataka, Andhra and Telangana in 2024.'
'If attacks escalate, there is a risk the Suez Canal may be closed.'
As rescuers in India on Tuesday successfully pulled out all 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in Uttarakhand after 16 days, the global media hailed the rescue operation and provided live coverage of the dramatic development.
Nearly 70 Indian students in the US continue to remain in limbo after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials raided the University of Northern Virginia and the Customs and Immigration Service subsequently rejected their transfer applications. Their attorney and counsel Sheela Murthy says that she has now advised them to file a class-action suit against the university.
India has allocated Rs 1.72 trillion, or 27.67 per cent of the total defence budget to cater to modernisation of the country's arsenal. Modern militaries spend up to 50 to 60 per cent of their total defence budget so that they go into combat with superior weaponry and equipment.
Three experts from Western Coal Fields, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited, camped at the Silkyara tunnel site from November 20.
India and China made progress in five-six friction points along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh through talks in the last three years and efforts are underway to resolve the remaining issues, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.
Putin said the 'policy' pursued by Modi is the main 'guarantor' of relations between the two countries.
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