Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made a scathing attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on his home turf, calling him a "tantrik" (occultist) and his party "Rashtriya Jadu Tona Party" as he reached out to the youth and weaker sections, promising a six-point programme for the state's development.
BJP claimed close to 116 lawmakers from rival parties appeared to have voted for Kovind.
'Their candidates are simple people who will be there in hours of need.'
The cartoonist fraternity of the country on Monday mourned the death of R K Laxman calling him the 'original god of cartooning' and an 'institution'.
Hitting out at Rahul Gandhi's critics, Priyanka Gandhi said that her brother's style of politics was 'liberal' and 'not opaque' and that the Congress vice-president worked for the development of every section and looked upon all as equals.
The nomination process began in Varanasi for the most keenly watched Lok Sabha elections, with Congress candidate Ajay Rai, who is pitted against BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, filing his papers after offering liquor to Lord Kaal Bhairav as per local tradition.
As the news of Kalam broke, condolences and tributes poured in from all corners of the country, reflecting the huge popularity he enjoyed both in and out of the highest office of the country that earned him the sobriquet of the "people's President."
'It is the regional parties and their leaders who are the ones we have to watch.'
At the best of times, ticket distribution in India's political parties is a tough business. The post-election result has to be judged, and judged correctly. It's an impossible job in view of the 814 million voters for whom the party bigwigs have to perform. Sheela Bhatt presents this light-hearted assessment of what's top of the mind for our political heavyweights.
Cutting across party lines, lawmakers on Monday sought the passage of the amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act at the earliest amid the clamour over the release of the juvenile convict in the December 16 gang-rape case even as the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress traded charges over the delay in clearing of the legislation.
Despite the recent electoral reverses, Rahul is getting ready to walk the fire once more. The question is whether he will get burned or burnished in the process, says Saroj Nagi.
The political landscape of Bihar is set to change as the Congress, the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party are in the final stages of putting together an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls.
'I am quite optimistic that sooner or later, my wishful thinking would turn into a reality.' The only hitch is that the INC president's own career ambitions may be hurt if the Congress merges with the BJP,' says Sudhir Bisht.
With only one day left, the Winter session of Parliament is on the verge of a washout as it failed to transact any business again on Thursday.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party waiting to pull down the Congress-led state government, the new chief minister's duration of service will all depend on the results of the Lok Sabha elections, says Anita Katyal.
'The situation in the country is very scary.' 'There is an increasing attack on the Constitutional democratic rights of our people.'
On the eve of the budget session of Parliament, the government on Sunday reached out to the opposition
For the Congress, the Janata Dal-United has made up for the numbers in case the Samajwadi Party discontinues its support to the UPA government, reports Renu Mittal
IAS officer Durga Sakthi Nagpal's suspension issue came up on Thursday in the Supreme Court which agreed to hear a PIL seeking quashing of all proceedings against her on Monday even as IPS officers joined their IAS colleagues in batting for her.
It was the rejection of the Congress' welfarist economics by voters that led to the party's drubbing, says Andy Mukherjee.
Medhavi Kirti, the granddaughter of late veteran Congress leader Babu Jagjiwan Ram, has been campaigning against her aunt Meira Kumar, Lok Sabha Speaker and Congress candidate from Sasaram Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.
When it comes to the winning strike rate, Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal has emerged victorious on eight of every ten seats it contested while only one of the every three Bharatiya Janata Party candidates managed to win.
With what joyous expectations I welcomed you! You have tumbled me into a cauldron of gloomy forebodings, says B S Raghavan.
While Bharatiya Janata Party's countrywide vote share shot up by over 12 per cent at the expense of other parties, the chart throws some contrary pictures as parties like Bahujan Samaj Party got no seat in spite of third-highest vote share, but Trinamool Congress and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam clinched over 30 seats each with less than 4 per cent vote share.
Escalating further the controversy over his interview to Doordarshan, Narendra Modi on Saturday rued the "decline" in journalistic freedom in the public broadcaster and invoked "horrific" memories of the Emergency days in 1975.
While the Delhi and Haryana governments have declared that they are all set to roll-out the food security programme on August 20 -- Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary -- there is confusion among the chief ministers about the implementation of the ordinance which gives the right to people to receive adequate quantity of food grains at affordable prices. Anita Katyal reports.
'This is about demolishing all that we have stood for as a nation after Independence. This is an attack on the nation's very foundation.'
As Bihar decides its fate on Sunday, political leaders from across the spectrum weighed in.
It is possibly the first time that a regional party with not even enough numbers to move a no-trust motion has taken the lead, and others are following it. The hints of a no-trust move first came from the YSR Congress, and the ruling TDP could not have stayed on together when the question is another version of 'Telugu atma gouravam' - an issue that fired its founder N T Rama Rao in the 1980s, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Who will make the most of the disruptions of 2016 this year? Mihir Sharma's list of probables.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj is a fighter who follows her own code. Those who think she's a pushover are making a mistake, says Aditi Phadnis
If the government does not allow the Opposition a few victories, then it is opening the door to paralysis and an entrenched culture of confrontation.
A landmark bill to replace the collegium system of judges choosing judges was on Thursday passed in the Lok Sabha after government dropped a controversial provision that required unanimity in recommendation if the President seeks reconsideration.
BJP President Amit Shah -- arguably the second most powerful politician in the nation -- granted a rare television interview to the Network 18 group of news channels. Rediff.com's Rajesh Alva checks out what the BJP boss said in this word cloud assessment of the interview.
Rahul is looking to bring new leadership in the state units that can bring in the young generation back into the party fold and revive its sagging image and morale. Renu Mittal reports
'Arvind's face fell... He started to say something, but couldn't continue. He broke down and as the tears fell unheeded, he crumpled to the floor.'
The second part of journalist Rajdeep Sardesai's interview to Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
As Narendra Modi files his nomination in Varanasi, Praful Bidwai believes 'a straight contest against Priyanka would have put Modi on the defensive and forced him to concentrate on Varanasi.'
The Congress party's first list of 194 Lok Sabha candidates released on Saturday night has no major surprises. Anita Katyal reports
Arun Jaitley and Janardan Dwivedi have rewritten the rules of politics in the Age of the Internet and its young and restless user base, reports Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt.
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