According to political pundits, the Democrats have a good chance of winning the House, while the Republicans are likely to retain the Senate.
In a golden moment in Pakistan's chequered 66-year political history, President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday left the presidency after successfully completing his five-year term, paving the way for India-born Mamnoon Hussain to take over.
He calls himself a "political revolutionary" now, but Arvind Kejriwal says that he had never imagined that he would one day plunge into politics, form a party and contest elections.
'There are 17 million Hindus in Bangladesh and we, in the north east, see this Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as a route for them to enter India on the plea that they are facing persecution in Bangladesh.'
Modi's non-reference could also imply that the BJP may be keeping its alliance options open vis--vis the AIADMK. It could also imply that the BJP's national leadership had not given up on the DMK returning to power in the state post-poll, and the Centre having to do business with a new government in Fort St George, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Against the backdrop of difficult administrative, political and economic problems, Imran's temperament and staying power will be the subject of intense expectation and public scrutiny,' says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan Desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Twenty years ago, Aziz Mirza had the foresight to predict the great discord India would witness and revolt against, notes Sukanya Verma.
'I was at a very senior position in the CBI and what happens is, hints are dropped for you to act upon. But then it depends upon your conscience, to do it or otherwise.' 'I know the rank and file of the CBI, they will bounce back; it is the leadership which has failed.'
Naidu, a former BJP ally, said he will meet non-BJP political leader and convince them about the need to fight collectively against the BJP.
Yashwant Sinha explains where the Modi government has gone wrong in its handling of the economy.
'It disappoints and saddens me no end that Mahua has allowed herself to be carried away by the Goebbelsian onslaught mounted on the BJP and Narendra Modi by certain vested interests which find themselves exposed and thrown out of the gravy train,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at his one-time ally, the Congress, and said that in the state the BJP is nowhere.
'It is time someone told BJP leaders that they were not elected to remind people of Congress corruption. The people of India voted for Narendra Modi and the BJP because they believed that he and his party were clean, unlike the Congress-led government,' says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
'Balakot and Pulwama will definitely help the BJP, but it will still not help them to create a 2014 like situation or go beyond that.'
The move came at a time when deliberations between the Congress, the NCP and the Shiv Sena seemingly reached the final stage on Friday.
There have always been question marks about temperament of Kohli. However, BCCI has always stood by him. Precisely what happened in Dhoni's case when Srinivasan was in charge. If this isn't a clear indication, what is?
In a legal and political setback to the Congress-led United Democratic Front government in Kerala, a vigilance court on Friday turned down its move to wind up the palmolein import graft case dating to 1992 when late Congress veteran K Karunakaran was the chief minister.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a fresh charge sheet, delving specifically into the role of British national and alleged middleman Christian Michel James and his few Indian associates, in connection with its money laundering probe in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal.
On the pricing issue, Eric Trappier said that the present aircraft are cheaper by 9 per cent.
Three powerful associations of the Board of Control for Cricket in India -- Mumbai, Vidarbha and Punjab - which regularly host Tests matches are likely to face the heat from the ruling group of the Board in the wake of the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Mudgal Committee giving a clean chit to Narayanaswami Srinivasan in the IPL 6 corruption probe.
Addressing a press conference at the AAP headquarters, senior party leader Manish Sisodia, who was the deputy chief minister in the outgoing government, said the cabinet ministers will also take oath along with Kejriwal.
The government and the opposition are heading for yet another faceoff over constitution of the selection panel for the maiden Lokpal, with the Bharatiya Janata Party opposing the prime minister's proposal to appoint senior lawyer P P Rao as its fifth member.
The Iraq war veteran has become the first-ever Hindu to be running for the presidency in the US.
It also directed the BSF to produce before it the investigation report and the steps it has taken with regard to allegations levelled by Yadav.
'After Vajpayee-Advani, Modi-Shah is the second best in India.'
'These officers should have sat together and sorted things out.' 'And if things were not working out amicably then the other organisations which control the CBI -- be it the CVC or the prime minister's office or even the home ministry -- someone should have gone ahead and solved these problems rather than reducing it to this farcical situation.'
This time round, even 'petrol coupons' were reportedly distributed for those attending campaign rallies, especially those addressed by top leaders, cutting across party lines. If this owed to the rising cost of petrol and diesel -- which is a poll issue this time -- there were the customary coupons for 'quarter' (liquor bottle size) and non-vegetarian biryani. Some media reports claimed that some of these 'crowds' attended more than one political rally on the same day in the last week, and at times for rival political parties in adjoining constituencies or districts, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
He said those who were insulting India's tradition and culture in the name of secularism and appeasement are feeling threatened after he took office.
The government didn't call a meeting of the selection committee deliberately to facilitate the appointment of a junior officer to the post, the committee's Congress member told the PM.
'Imagine a situation where an upright officer refuses to carry out a chief minister's or a central minister's orders that he considers wrong.' 'Can he be summarily thrashed at a meeting at your residence, or in his own office?' 'If AAP legitimises political violence, there are many, many, tougher political leaders elsewhere to draw the wrong lessons,' warns Shekhar Gupta.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved appointment of Sarraf, who at present is Managing Director of ONGC's overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd.
Modi said officers must fix clear targets to improve the country's tax administration by 2022, the 75th anniversary of Independence.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) left its door ajar for corrupt officials on Sunday, sidestepping a directive from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bar tainted officials from contesting its elections.
The Gomti Riverfront Development project, the Agra-Lucknow Expressway, the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre and the efforts towards the beautification of Old Lucknow are some of Akhilesh Yadav's initiatives that are the subject of investigation.
'It is not a merger. It is a commercial agreement reached for self-interest,' he said.
The Sports Ministry on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice to the Indian Olympic Association, threatening to derecognise the body if it does not reverse its decision to appoint scam-tainted Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as Life Presidents.
Former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal on Sunday hit out at his detractors, who questioned his re-nomination from Chandigarh over the cash-for-post scam issue, claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy and had suffered despite there being no evidence against him.
'Some in the Congress believe the party should, somewhat brazenly, claim the cause of fighting corruption as its own. But the Congress's idea of fighting corruption is nothing but tinkering with laws, it lacks the stomach to take on the corrupt,' feels T V R Shenoy.
The truth is not that Chandrababu Naidu's centre-right policies led to his defeat but rather almost the reverse: his defeat, and for that matter that of the NDA at the Centre, was widely -- but falsely -- interpreted as a rejection of their economic policies, rather than put down to bad luck and conventional anti-incumbency., say Vivek Dehejia and Rupa Subramanya.
We salute the late thespian in this compilation of his ten essentials movies that highlight his range and stature as an actor par excellence.
