Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is the Bharatiya Janata Party's mascot in the Muslim-dominated Kashmir valley, even as the party is exhorting the people in Jammu to vote en bloc for it to protect the region's interests.This divergent campaign strategy for the ongoing seven-phase assembly election in the state has been worked out to resolve the party's dilemma in seeking votes in two regions where the BJP's presence invokes opposite feelings among the voters.
The BJP's strategy seem to be to wean away allies from the Congress, in Dravidian Tamil Nadu, and maybe later in UP, Bihar and elsewhere, though in slow doses, but without wooing them into a new alliance. The idea seems to be only to weaken the INDIA bloc from within -- and leaving it at that, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'It is not his doing, but Rahul Gandhi is forced by circumstances.' 'In taking political decisions, everything has to get his clearance.'
'An entire operation was running systematically prior to the revoking of Article 370.'
All 39 constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Tuesday reposed faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and resolved to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unitedly under his leadership.
The generational shift in the Bharatiya Janata Party was complete on Tuesday with its founders Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi being dropped from the Parliamentary Board, the highest decision-making body, which has the stamp of Prime Minister Narendra Modi all over now.
The prime minister assured the people of Nagaland that the Centre will always be sensitive to the needs of the people.
The poll, which sampled 14,351 people across various age groups in 19 states, also measured the mood of the nation on the performance of the UPA government in the past two years.
The matter of disqualification of 16 MLAs following the upheaval in the undivided Shiv Sena last year could have been effectively dealt with had the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) moved swiftly after the resignation of Nana Patole as the Speaker of Maharashtra Assembly, said senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Friday.
An "exhaustive" list of witnesses, which includes former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, was on Tuesday placed before the JPC probing the 2G spectrum allocation scam, but a decision whether to call them was deferred.
Gujarat was labelled Hindutva's crucible and Modi was to become the chief 'chemist'. A revealing political saga excerpted from Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay's The Demolition, the Verdict and the Temple: The Definitive Book on the Ram Mandir Project.
He also said there are leaders who stand firm in their ideology but their number is gradually declining.
While about 8,000 people are in the long list of invitees, the select list features 506 A-listers, including prominent politicians, leading industrialists, top film stars, sportspersons, diplomats, judges and high priests.
"While I had given his name for prime ministership in the first place, I don't expect him to return that favour to me," Advani told TV news channel CNN-IBN in an interview.
Former Bharatiya Janata Party president M Venkaiah Naidu has said he had wanted Atal Bihari Vajpayee to become the President of India but the latter turned down the proposal.
Keeping the United Progressive Alliance government in the line of fire on Indo-Pak Sharm-el Sheikh joint statement, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's praise of Atal Bihari Vajpayee cannot shield him from his 'monumental lapse' in reversing India's consistent stand on Pakistan.
In comments that are likely to create a political storm over the next few days, former Research and Analysis Wing chief A S Dulat has reveled that former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had expressed his discontent over the 2002 Gujarat riots and called it "our mistake".
According a Chinese health department official the number of SARS cases has shrunk to around 200 from 2,500 during the peak period in late April and May.
The prime minister also wanted Pakistan to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure in its territory.
Ramesh stressed that the prime minister should participate in the debate on Manipur.
In any institution that has a passionate ideology, the moderate is always vulnerable to the person who is more extreme, because that is what the supporters want.
They are scheduled to attend the ASEAN summit in Bali, Indonesia.
Vishnu Deo Sai, a prominent tribal face of the Bharatiya Janata Party, will be the next chief minister of Chhattisgarh where the saffron party returned to power after a gap of five years following the recently-concluded assembly polls.
The change of heart in the US and India was propelled by the increased threat of China to both countries, explains Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
A stern articulator with outspoken views and a dignified personality, Sitharaman now bears the responsibility of steering the economy which has witnessed sluggish growth in recent quarters.
A rotating chief ministership as a way to appease factions can work only if there is a credible guarantor, explains Aditi Phadnis.
Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today admitted for the first time that the Gujarat riots were one of the reasons for the Bharatiya Janata Party's defeat in the recent Lok Sabha election
Referring to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's famous statement, Abdullah said "we can change friends but we cannot change neighbours".
The Centre on Monday extended the ban on terrorist group Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for five years for its involvement in fomenting terrorism and disturbing peace and communal harmony in the country.
'Relieve me of active politics. It's enough, let me go,' the editorial in the latest issue of the Panchjanya has quoted him as saying before joining the BJP's campaign in UP
Under the Special Protection Group Act, the prime minister and his immediate family members get the SPG cover while the former premiers are provided with the cover of this elite force for one year after they step down.
At a time when the BJP's stars are at the top on the eve of the Lok Sabha polls, the Puri-Joshimath Sankaracharyas may have kick-started a row whose efforts might be to divide Hindus, not in the name of castes, but on what passes for greater belief, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
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.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and the tribal face of the party, Vishnu Deo Sai, on Wednesday took oath as the chief minister of Chhattisgarh, 10 days after the saffron party returned to power after a gap of five years by unseating Congress in the assembly elections.
Former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and three others were on Sunday inducted into the Union Cabinet as Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded his Council of Ministers, bringing in 21 new ministers as Shiv Sena kept away from the exercise.
The rumours have primarily been about the impending resignation of JD-U national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', for alleged proximity towards ally Rashtriya Janaat Dal at the expense of loyalty to his own party.
Musharraf claims the CIA made a secret payment to Pakistan for surrender of al Qaeda agents.
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