The Hindutva poster boy has lost his sheen following the BJP's poll reverses in Hindi heartland states and his style of governance, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
Against the backdrop of the opposition closing ranks on the CAA issue and the BJP faring poorly in several state elections recently, the 2022 electoral battle is unlikely to be a cakewalk for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
The Opposition also asked the Prime Minister's Office to probe the incident, calling it "shameful.
This is the first reshuffle in the Council of Ministers by Prime Minister Modi since he assumed charge for a second term in May 2019.
People like Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram, who as finance minister had fully supported the NPS, refuse to exercise their moral and political influence to try and stop Ashok Gehlot and others hell-bent on wrecking the states' finances, notes Virendra Kapoor.
Conscious that he will have to rely on the bureaucracy to deliver, Adityanath is changing the faces and rejiging the administration.
Having twice betrayed the BJP -- and Arvind Kejriwal determined not to admit in AAP anyone who could question his authority -- Sidhu seems to have reached a dead-end in his political career, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
In spite of his trying hard he is unable to connect not only with ordinary voters but with most party colleagues as well, observes Virendra Kapoor.
The core BSP campaign continues to be 'cadre-based' and personal connect, such as knocking each door or through nukkad sabhas.
The West Bengal government has taken a serious note of the situation in certain areas under the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate, including Bhatpara, which has witnessed a series of clashes since May 19, when the bypoll was held in the assembly constituency.
Even as Priyanka is gaining traction among the electorate and the media, her counterpart for the western UP region, Jyotiraditya Scindia, has been low key and perceptibly missing from the 'heat and dust' of elections in UP, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
With the 2019 Lok Sabha polls less than eight months away, the party has resumed stoking the emotional issue through its second-and third-rung leaders.
The Centre is likely to take punitive action against five senior police officers of West Bengal.
'Scindia did not just come to a new party, it was an ideological shift for him. In the past one and a half years, Scindia never lost communication with RSS leaders in the state. He left no stone unturned to ensure his acceptability in the party'
Statistics show the BSP has always gained from pre-poll alliances, reflecting in the party winning more seats in subsequent elections and largely retaining the vote share too. Virendra Singh Rawat reports.
"The way the policemen dealt with the situation was ugly, they were in uniform... It was an indecent display on part of the police department," the SP said.
The police in every state teems with officers like Sachin Vaze, observes Virendra Kapoor.
The Americans have expended a lot of diplomatic energy to coax India into toeing their line but India has refused to buckle under pressure. As Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, India has not taken anyone's side but its own side, points out Virendra Kapoor.
The inexperienced Uddhav is forced to match up against 24x7 political pros Amit Shah and Narendra Modi who have the added advantage of wielding power at the Centre, asserts Virendra Kapoor.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in large numbers. "Today, there are bypolls taking place in various places across India. I urge those voting in these seats to vote in large numbers and strengthen the festival of democracy," he said in a tweet.
Congress leaders are confident that Priyanka would act as a catalyst for the party and boost the sagging morale of cadres to put up a spirited fight against the BJP and also the SP-BSP pre-poll alliance which had already shut its door on the Congress, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
Beyond announcements and optics, key projects have hardly moved under the Yogi government, reports Virendra Singh Rawat.
There will be total of 51 seats going to polls spread across 7 states in the fifth phase.
Goldie of Laxman Tilak village in Dera Mangalpur block in Kanpur Dehat district had been engaged for quite some time to Veeru alias Virendra Kumar Rathor of Baisapur village near Taalgram in Kannauj district. Their marriage was last slated to be held on May 4, only to be postponed then for a convenient date at the earliest.
There was no postal intimation to unitholders who didn't have a registered email address, according to a letter that Midas Touch Investors Association sent to Sebi.
Given the controversy over Uttar Pradesh's population control moves, Hemant Shivsaran/Rediff.com digs deep to find out how many children BJP MLAs in UP have.
But why is everyone getting so het up over what, after all, is a mere film? If you don't like it, don't watch it. Why create a public spectacle over it? asks Virendra Kapoor.
Sukanya Verma raises a toast to the man and his movie magic.
Although Mulayam Singh has made public his preference for Akhilesh as his successor, younger son Prateek's presence in the rival camp hasn't gone unnoticed.
Members of the G-23, who had shown courage to point out the flaws in the party's functioning, have allowed themselves to be co-opted by the Family to go through the motions of a post-mortem, notes Virendra Kapoor.
Without doubt, the BJP is miles ahead in marshalling digital tools for electioneering better than any other party, observes Virendra Kapoor.
If not now, when, asks Virendra Kapoor.
The studies that put Virat Kohli as the top brand now do not have Rohit Sharma in the Top 10. That will change quickly if he delivers the T20 World Cup next year or the ODI championship the year after.
Two government school teachers, including a woman, were shot dead by terrorists in Eidgah area of Srinagar amid increasing attacks on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman and tennis sensation Sania Mirza were among sports personalities to express their views on social media.
The fear that Mamata might snatch the mantle of Opposition leadership which the Gandhis firmly believe to be theirs by birthright seems to have persuaded Sonia and Rahul to give up their hoity-toity ways, observes Virendra Kapoor.
'All selectors must be sufficiently thick-skinned and prepared to take criticism.' T C A Srinivasa Raghavan checks out Ravi Shastri's first book.
Kamalpreet Kaur, who finished second in the qualification round in the Olympics women's discus throw on Saturday, says she has 'natural talent' to play cricket as a batsman.
Given the worsening security scenario in Kashmir, we cannot afford to have a restive Punjab with its peasantry up in arms against the central government, argues Virendra Kapoor.
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