'The BJP and RSS accept that the party is winning election after election because of Modi.' 'If the BJP is winning due to Modi, it will also lose due to Modi.'
The future challenger to Narendra Modi would be somebody who can bring the Hindus and Muslims together again. The Hindus as Hindus, not broken caste groups, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The fulcrum of victory or defeat of parties attempting to form a government is held by smaller players and those willing to defect.
The Congress hit out at the government, alleging that it was treating the EC as its "subservient tool".
Nitish Kumar will be the chief minister only till the time the BJP wishes, points out Ramesh Menon.
If Tamil Nadu is to avoid a hung assembly, it is up to the silent voters, whose combined strength is more than that of the two major combines in the fray, says N Sathiyamoorthy.
'It will be suicidal for Left voters to vote for the BJP because of their anger against the TMC.'
It does not stop here, though. According to field information, state ministers, AIADMK candidates and campaigners are asking BJP cadres accompanying them not to carry party flags at common rallies and also avoid their saffron shawl on those occasions. BJP cadres are also asked to stay out of the common campaign when it enters a minority-dominated areas, especially of Muslims, and re-join later, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
On the second day of his visit to Varanasi, Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday undertook a road show in the rural parts and interacted with villagers, including farmers, in a bid to make inroads in the temple town where he is facing a formidable rival in the Bharatiya Janata Party's Narendra Modi.
'In some quarters it has been suggested that there will be an 'official candidate' backed by the leadership but on the contrary, it has been repeatedly stressed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in my conversations with them over the last two weeks that the Nehru-Gandhi family welcomes these elections'
>The BJP's star campaigner could not help even half the number of candidates for whom he campaigned in his aggressive 'Didi-o-Didi' style in Bengal
The going is not going to be easy for the DMK and its allies in Elections 2024. Despite the seats sweepstake in the 2021 assembly polls, the vote-share difference of 5.6% (DMK's 45.38% versus AIADMK-BJP's 39.72%) is not insurmountable on a bad day, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The combined Left parties drew a blank in the polls to the assembly which they had run with an overwhelming majority for 34 long years, with their vote share dwindling to a mere 5.47 per cent in 2021.
'Priyanka did draw huge crowds and eventually all of those ended up voting for the Samajwadi Party.' 'The voters today are smart enough to vote for the party which they know is going to win or they know this party will come second, but no way will they vote for a party which will come third or fourth.'
This was a difficult election to win, but the Modi card, the caste divide and the division in the Opposition vote bank helped overcome many challenges.
'The country has moved beyond the likes of Yogi Adityanath and his medieval thinking. The results of the by-elections are early warning signals by impatient Indians. It's up to the BJP to learn its lesson or face the consequences,' says Ashutosh.
'I had the Indian American community fully supportive from day one when I ran and they said, Yes.' 'I ran again, I lost and they said, Yes.' 'I came back to them again, and they said, Yes, every time.'
The couples wearing garlands and traditional wedding attire arrived at the polling booths and neighbouring Tirupur District immediately after their marriage, officials said.
Think you are a political junkie? Go ahead, take the Rediff.com Election Game!
Describing Chirag as wise and mature politician, Paswan said the party needed a young face, one who can travel and work for its expansion.
Singh's remarks come in the backdrop of a renewed buzz in the Congress circles about Rahul Gandhi's sooner than later elevation as party president.
If the Opposition has any chance at the prime minister's job, it can happen only if they all stop dropping names and work at the grassroots-level, state-wise, suggests N Sathiya Moorthy.
R Rajagopalan, who travelled through Tamil Nadu, says it will be an election of many firsts.
It was not a one-way ride up though for the man who now could potentially become the BJP's national president over time.
'We need to see more Indian Americans and people of colour hold elected office and serve in executive roles.'
To claim that Tamil Nadu was waiting for a messiah of the 'spiritual' Rajini kind is misplaced, if not mischievous, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Varun Gandhi explains why he has moved a private member's bill in Parliament enabling voters to recall their representatives.
M Sundar was not surprised when his son hit that memorable six during India's second innings at the Gabba in Australia. 'Washington always knew how to hook. He is a natural hook player. 'He is a strong player. He is a natural hitter of the ball.'
A group of first time voters who run 10 km everyday to prepare for fauji recruitment rallies, tell Rediff.com's Archana Masih they need two things: quality education and jobs.
Social media is the new advertising tool for today's politicians and political parties, says Viveat Susan Pinto
The measures include an information search prompt with the Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) and State Election Commissions to provide reliable information around the elections, a custom emoji to encourage participation, a series of pre-bunks and debunks to tackle election-related misinformation, and a youth discussion series titled #DemocracyAdda aimed at voter literacy and civic participation among young Indians for the upcoming elections.
'The EC seems to have killed the joy of elections by stretching it interminably.' 'Imagine watching Andhadhun in a six-hour format and you will get the point,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The Modi leadership could lose Election 2024 if a communal flare-up becomes cause for all-round catastrophe, warns N Sathiya Moorthy.
Seven years is a long time for any of Modi's promised actions to show up. If voters are angry and cynical today, it is because the rhetoric stings, argues Ramesh Menon.
The Bihar CM will have make good on his poll promises of a clean administration, providing piped water, toilets, pucca roads and unemployment allowance
Leaders of 22 opposition parties met the Election Commission and demanded verification of VVPAT slips of randomly-selected polling stations before the counting of the votes.
Given the vital role played by cyberspace in new-age electioneering, the UP police have constituted a digital monitoring cell to curb objectionable and defamatory social media posts on the eve of the elections.
The young RJD leader is yet to earn the trust of the crowd and many senior party members believe he is no patch on his father.
Narendra Modi's victory does not represent a victory of 'the Indian nation', but only an elite-driven polarising phenomenon. The sooner we -- and the BJP -- recognise this, the better, says Praful Bidwai.
Here are some of the striking moments captured by Reuters photographers as United States voters went to the polls and the stories behind the images.
