'The BJP's solo aim in Mumbai and Maharashtra is to finish off the Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar's NCP.'
'Their candidates are simple people who will be there in hours of need.'
The word was actually coined in 1965!
'If there is anyone who is a victim of vendetta politics, it is me.'
A record five Indian-American lawmakers from the ruling Democrat Party, including Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera have been elected to the US House of Representatives, while several others were elected in state legislatures, in one of the most polarised midterm elections in the country.
In MP, the Congress is hoping for a comeback, while in Mizoram, the BJP looking to defeat the Congress in its last bastion in the Northeast.
Complaints of electronic voting machine malfunctioning poured in from several booths on Tuesday during the third and largest phase of Lok Sabha polls which saw voters turning out in large numbers to cast their vote in 116 seats, including all constituencies of Gujarat and Kerala.
The death of the 74-year-old leader, who was identified with the state's Dalits for over five decades, so near the polls will mean that none of the LJP's rivals will like to attack the party and its young president strongly.
'She should review her strategy of social engineering and get back to the BSP's initial plank of social change.'
Parties expected to splurge a fourth of advertising budget on social media.
Tamil Nadu is the celebrated home of the 'social justice' movement in the country, yet caste differences and violence has only been increasing in numbers and becoming more brutal in recent years, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
There are concerns that his arrest and arraignment could bring with it a repeat of the kind of violence and protest seen during the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol building by pro-Trump rioters in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost to Joe Biden.
'Modi's charisma and appeal is unparalleled.' 'Yogi has his own appeal and people connect.' 'He is seen as trustworthy, hardworking and honest.' 'People feel that these qualities are both common to Yogi and Modi.'
The party's research department is quietly collecting data, facts and figures to puncture the Modi government's claims on the note ban, the goods and services tax, and the economic growth.
'The Election Commission has to deal with money power, intimidation tactics and caste politics.'
Punjab's voters are dissatisfied with the Akali Dal-BJP ruling combine. The Congress does not have a strong agenda on which to fight the 2017 assembly polls -- fertile ground for the AAP to step in.
With political parties using social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook in a big way for campaigning in Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission has issued detailed guidelines for political advertisements on such platforms that include obtaining certification for contents before putting them in public domain.
AAP will have to learn to be patient as such electoral changes do not happen in a hurry, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'I have promised that I will eliminate the problem within four weeks.' 'We know -- in fact everybody in Punjab knows -- who are the people who control the drugs supply and trade.' 'We need to tackle them.'
'I cannot remember a time in my life when we had such economic strife, such levels of unemployment, a national epidemic and the enemy inside our house and such little interest in these and a focus on Bollywood and temples and such things,' notes Aakar Patel.
"For any reason, if one is not able to vote, it should pain one," he said.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday urged the government to put an end to the alleged 'systematic interference' of Facebook and other social media giants in India's electoral politics.
support for the AAP notwithstanding, the BJP is convinced it will win Delhi.
As the two parliamentary constituencies in Meghalaya, Tura and Shillong go to polls on Wednesday, the glare will be on Tura constituency where former Lok Sabha Speaker and eight-time Lok Sabha member Purno A Sangma, 66, of the National People's Party is fighting the most crucial election in his life against Congress greenhorn Daryl Williams Ch Momin, 27, in a straight contest.
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.
Among the major political parties, chief minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United is contesting in 35 of the 71 seats, followed by its ally Bharatiya Janata Party (29), while the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal has fielded its candidates in 42 and its coalition partner Congress is in the fray in 20 assembly segments.
'What worked for the BJP were three things: Hindu nationalism, religion and a silent but strong anti-Muslim sentiment.'
The impact of Shinzo Abe's towering personality is such that even in death, Abe remains a polarising figure, asserts Dr Rajaram Panda.
'There are voters that may only come out to vote for him because he's speaking to their issues and they may not be Democrat or Republican'
'Our approach is forward-looking. The central leadership wants young leaders to lead the charge now. This will also send a clear signal that lapses will not be tolerated. We are targeting beyond 2025.' Satyavrat Mishra reports.
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.
In his first tweet after election results started coming in US President Trump claimed success. "Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!".
41 years ago, Dalits in Meenakshipuram converted to Islam, sending shockwaves through the nation.' A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com returns to the village to discover that past antagonisms lurk below the surface.
To beat BJP, you either deny them a critical mass of Hindu vote or build a regional leader and party strong enough to protect their turf, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Anti-Congress regional parties may have felt the possible impact of Rahul's South-North yatra, pending a second East-West padayatra, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
"Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton represent the values and ideals of America." "After long quarrels, it is finally getting close to being over." George Joseph hears from voters.
Rice at Re 1 per kg for poor families, bonus for farmers, interest-free loans for peasants, free laptops and tablets for students are the key promises made by the ruling BJP in its manifesto for the Assembly polls to be held in the state this month.
Sharing his experience of the yatra so far, the Congress leader said he felt sad while talking to farmers, youth, and tribals.
More than two crore voters in Bihar will decide the fate of 1,066 candidates on Wednesday across 71 assembly segments in the first phase of elections.
