Election Commission data shows 15.88 crore (158.8 million) voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the second phase on Friday.
'I have had occasion to work with Bill Gates as a young engineer, and am one of the few people in India who has interacted with Steve Jobs and Larry Ellison.' 'I have worked with Andy Grove at Intel, so I know what bright and great people are like, but Modiji is a different level of perfection.'
There is no use of the BJP targeting the likes of Mamata Banerjee and M K Stalin, directly by the party's political bosses, both in Delhi and the respective state capitals, or even using the Raj Bhavans to fire those salvos from. Successive elections have proved that it's counter-productive, if anything. But the BJP is yet to understand it, acknowledge it, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Rising energy demand could tilt India's energy basket towards fossil fuels from coal to oil, natural gas.
The Indian Air Force's Surya Kiran aerobatic team rehearses for an air show ahead of the World Cup 2023 final between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi stadium.
'He is the only president, the only American politician, who had the guts to stand with Hindus.'
There was not a dry eye in sight as 3,024 beneficiaries of a slum rehabilitation project were overwhelmed by emotion as Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi handed them the keys to their new homes at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
When the landslide hit, Sruthi's house was washed away, along with its inhabitants. She lost her entire family and some relatives. All she had left for a close confidante was her fiance Jenson. Days after the landslide and the loss of her family, Jenson died in a road accident that also left Sruthi with serious injuries. News of the accident and Sruthi's backdrop as the lone surviving member of a family wiped out in the July landslide, was picked up by the media, and people rushed to help.
Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi attended an event organised for Abhidhamma Day in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, which saw the participation of Buddhist monks from many countries.
Who else do we know who meditated so with such impeccable timing (much of the Lok Sabha elections over and with only the last phase to go) and hordes for unsolicited defence of the grand meditation at public expense? asks Shyam G Menon.
'The Constitution of India defeated the BJP.'
There are reports that the government will soon cut income taxes by about Rs 50,000 crore to boost consumption.
Prime Minister Modi, I suggest that, instead, you distribute about one lakh crore rupees per year to the 80 crore poor, which will boost both consumption and economic growth, suggests Kalyan Singhal, McCurdy Professor of Business at the University of Baltimore.
'In this assembly election, Muslims here will vote for one who works, but also one who safeguards their identity.' 'Their existence is more important they feel, than a faulty light meter. So yes, a Muslim representative will make a difference.'
The BJP's nationwide vote share saw its steepest decline in Rajasthan, falling by 9.23% from 2019, resulting in the loss of 11 seats.
During his three-day visit, typically packed with appointments, Modi will address the United Nations General Assembly, attend the Quad Summit and meet with Joe Biden at the White House, their first meeting after Biden was elected America's president.
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The recent 'revelation' by TN fishers freed by Sri Lanka after they had paid up Lankan rupees 50,000 each in fines, that their hair was tonsured in prison and they were forced to remove their garments other than the underpants, and were also made to clean toilets, as if with vengeance, has touched a raw nerve this time, just as another issue or issues had done it ahead of the Jallikattu protests, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Never, not even once, has Kamala Harris said that she is Indian American. I know why.' 'From the Indian American community she can get maybe 1% percent votes. But if she says she's African American she gains about 20% votes.'
'The politics of divisiveness won't work.' 'The janta is too clever not to see through it.'
'When I stepped down from the (United Nations) secretary general's race, the first visitor I had was a former minister of the Vajpayee government inviting me to the join the BJP.'
'Patients under the scheme may ultimately have to go to private hospitals.'
If Rahul's yatra makes a political statement from the other side of the aisle and Shah Rukh's success underlines a more relaxed popular mood, Mr Modi and Mr Bhagwat's cues to their followers are coming from another place, observes Shekhar Gupta.
By proposing the addition of six permanent members this year, it may appear that it was a major concession, but in actual fact, it will make no difference to the privilege of the permanent five as the new six will have no veto, ever! points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Vellore is one of the two seats that the DMK alliance won by the narrowest of margins in 2019. For the DMK's vote-score to be so low in a constituency with a substantial Muslim population has not missed the BJP strategists' eyes, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The veteran politician accused the BJP of breaking duly elected governments in opposition-ruled states even as it boasted about providing a stable government at the Centre.
Another priority in the first 100 days could be the launch of an e-platform -- Trade Connect -- to help exporters connect with stakeholders of international trade.
'Episodes of targeted attacks on Muslims established that for a section of people and, sadly, even officials of the State, the election results conveyed no lessons.' 'Opposition parties must not be hesitant in speaking out whenever the mob with tacit State support targets Muslims,' asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author of Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Delighted by the Centre's move to notify the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), nearly 2,000 Pakistani Hindus living in Nagpur are preparing to seek Indian citizenship.
Not known to share the best of equations with his former deputy, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday came out in support of Sachin Pilot amid allegations by the Bharatiya Janata Party that his father, former Union minister Rajesh Pilot, was involved in the bombings over Mizoram in 1966.
There are states that could swing either way and change the results of the 2024 general election.
At a time when none in Kerala's Left politics questioned the chief minister's authority, MLA P V Anvar hurled a series of accusations against Pinarayi Vijayan's government, notes Shyam G Menon.
Their armies of acolytes, fans and supporters believe that both men are supermen, blessed with almost magical ability.
According to insiders, their lack of enthusiasm is showing on the ground. There is nothing to suggest that their enthusiasm will return in the final four phases of polling, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'I would think that India faces less damage from opinions voiced overseas compared to the damage it suffers if the right to free speech of its citizens is curtailed in the name of image management,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
Ms Swaraj was a conscientious woman who understood suffering and pathos and attempted in her inimitable way to mitigate them, recalls Rup Narayan Das.
The response was tepid in other parts of the country even as several INDIA bloc parties as well as other non-BJP outfits extended their support to the bandh.
The Congress last week hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his criticism of then PM Indira Gandhi's decision to use the Indian Air Force in Mizoram in 1966, saying he "twisted decisions" taken by his predecessors out of their political and historical context to score "petty debating points".
Amid the rhythmic chug of the train, a chorus of voices rises, each bearing its tale of hope and despair.
'Has any prime minister spent so much time in one state holding election rally after rally?'
'It was a war-like situation, but instead of enemy fire, we fought against the vagaries of nature,' says Major Seeta Shelke.
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