Stung by the dismal performance not only in Delhi, but also across the country in the Lok Sabha polls, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday admitted that it had indeed made a mistake when Arvind Kejriwal resigned as the Delhi chief minister.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who took over the reins two days ago, is suffering from fever and cold and will not attend office on Monday. Kejriwal was scheduled to chair a meeting of Delhi Jal Board officials to discuss ways to provide free 700 litres of water per household as promised by him.
The Congress party's only hope now lies in its desperate wish that an unstable conglomerate of non-BJP, non-Congress parties comes to power with its support and collapses within a couple of years by which time the party hopes to salvage whatever it can from the debris of 10 years of the UPA's incumbency, says Saroj Nagi.
Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday said that had he been in the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, he would have changed perception of law and order in the state within 15 days and advised Akhilesh not to hesitate in sending errant officers to jail.
The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is buoyant. The Narendra Modi wave has made a significant mark in the state and saffron seems to be the flavour of the month, says Bikash Mohapatra.
Under intense attack, HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday made a forceful statement in Lok Sabha, saying Kanhaiya Kumar and some other students had been found indulging in anti-national activities by the Jawaharlal Nehru University authorities themselves.
Allegations of strains on democratic and constitutional institutions across the board, security threats from outside, a greedy Opposition inside, were all a part of the package then as now, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Although the Opposition has been making a hue and cry over demonetisation, the BJP's programmes have been attracting crowds.
Counting's underway and the fate of the candidates is awaited. As we wait for the results with bated breath, here's how your heavyweights are faring for now.
Speculations were on Thursday rife about the Congress planning to make three-time Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit the party's chief ministerial nominee for next year's assembly election in politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, once its stronghold.
'They (BJP) can claim of winning even 82 seats, despite the fact that Uttar Pradesh has only 80 seats'
Analysts believe that the strong Modi wave in the state will help the saffron party win 35 to 40 seats much to the detriment of the Congress and Samajwadi Party, who are fighting the anti-incumbency factor at the Centre and state respectively. Bikash Mohapatra reports.
The Congress, which wanted to contest as many as 121 seats, has reportedly now settled for 105 seats.
Ministers who were in the news for all the wrong reasons
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Friday explained to his supporters the circumstances behind him being in jail even as his party launched a mass contact programme over the issue to strengthen its support base with an eye on assembly elections in Delhi.
'There was an overt campaign and there was a covert campaign. The overt campaign may be development, government, and all this nonsense. But the covert campaign, which Mr Amit Shah was doing, was far more important with the help of RSS cadres. This has been an RSS election. From day one I have been saying, this is not Congress versus the BJP, this is Congress versus the RSS,' says Jairam Ramesh, one of the key strategists of the Congress party.
From Arvind Kejriwal to Priyanka, this has been a media-determined election. Two forces stand poised, the people inventing new politics and the media inventing its own version of that politics, says Shiv Visvanathan.
The Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Barkha Singh's counsel said that "there are no proceedings pending in the case" before the body.
From President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit to Rahul and Varun Gandhi, at least 50 parliamentary constituencies will be contested by 'sons and daughters' of politicians of various parties during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The interesting bit about the Azamgarh poll finding on India TV was the whopping percentage of Muslims backing the SP-BSP alliance, which sort of negates Mayawati's appeal to the community to not split their vote with the Congress, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'She is tough. She can be stern. She can be unpleasant. Rajiv was none of these things.' 'The Congress cannot survive without the Gandhi family. If Sonia were to quit, their Lok Sabha seats would drop from 44 to four.' K Natwar Singh shares his bitterness about the Nehru family with Rashme Sehgal.
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The Modi government's response to infiltration at the India-Pakistan border, Kumar Vishwas told Google staff, was weak, adding that there had been 19 infiltration attempts and ceasefire violations by Pakistan since the new government took charge.
'Mr Modi may have the aura of an irresistible conquistador now, but he is human. He isn't an 'avatar,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Elect the eunuchs and they will prove their honesty in contrast to a practicing politician. Without any kith and kin, they can at least be a catalyst sorely needed for minimising, if not uprooting nepotism and favouritism that breeds corruption, says Ram Ugrah.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the family of the Kathua rape victim should get justice.
All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad said the party would not react immediately and would come out with a detailed reaction in Lucknow on Sunday.
The results are a ringing endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security, nationalism and Hindutva.
Digvijaya Singh is no longer in Rahul's close circle of advisers. His move to the Upper House was to ensure that the senior leader does not meddle in Madhya Pradesh politics in the run up to the crucial Lok Sabha polls. Anita Katyal reports
'If these two parties come together, there could be amalgamation of OBC, Dalits and Muslim votes.'
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."
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday said that those seen at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's roadshow in Varanasi were "mere spectators" brought in from other states and districts in Uttar Pradesh where voting had already taken place.
Union HRD minister says women in the country are not told what to wear, whom to meet and where to go.
The second part of journalist Rajdeep Sardesai's interview to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
'The BJP would like to capitalise on Yogi's tough image on criminals, law and order situation, and hands-on CM.' 'Modi will be an additional advantage, but it is primarily a contest between Yogi and Akhilesh.'
In Uttar Pradesh, believe it or not, the BJP will not be helped in the long run if the Congress collapses completely. The more regional parties are strengthened due to the decimation of the Congress, tougher will be the challenge facing both the grand old party and the BJP. Rediff.com's incomparable Sheela Bhatt continues her new election column where she reveals the ground realities in the Battle for India, as only she can. Don't miss it!
There are also views within a section of the party that a turnaround in Uttar Pradesh is possible only if either of the Gandhis -- Priyanka or Rahul -- takes the lead in the state polls.
Delhi government on Friday slapped a show cause notice on DCW chief Barkha Singh while the Delhi High Court refused to give any interim relief to senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas.
'Like 2014, 2017 was also Modi's election.' 'Every voter you met, apart from those who are BJP cadres, everybody said they would vote for Modi, not the BJP.' 'The one and only factor is the Modi juggernaut. He is the one who turned the tide.' 'The wave which he created in 2014, and to maintain it for three years, is a huge task in itself.'
Priyanka Gandhi gets into rigorous damage control mode in wake of her party's eroding popularity ahead of the polls, reports Renu Mittal
