The Congress on Thursday suffered its worst-ever defeat in Gujarat but appeared headed for a close win in Himachal Pradesh, a mixed bag result for the party that not only faces a rampaging Bharatiya Janata Party but an ambitious Aam Aadmi Party vying for the leadership of the Opposition going forward on the road to the 2024 general elections.
I watched from my balcony and found that during the next eight hours up to 5.30 pm, not one prospective voter was seen to go to the Congress table, notes Rashme Sehgal. The rush was all around the BJP table.
The culture of freebies burdens coming generations with the huge bill for the flagrant abuse of power by preceding governments, points out Virendra Kapoor.
Kickstarting its interactive sessions to connect with the masses and woo voters ahead of Delhi assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday launched a five-point programme for youth, guaranteeing higher education by setting up 20 new colleges and having Wi-Fi connectivity across Delhi.
Former Delhi high court judge Reva Khetrapal will be Delhi's new Lokayukta, a post which was lying vacant since 2013.
Top Punjabi singers have descended into the electoral scene in Punjab, courtesy political parties seeking to cash in on their popularity to woo voters.
'You can never say never in politics.' 'We may still see the return of AAP, but hopefully not of the same abusive politics again,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The relaxation will be subject to existing instructions of state disaster management authorities and preventive measures imposed by concerned district authorities, it added.
Given the politics behind it all, one possibility is for binding the governor to act according to the decisions of the state government and clarifying his position vis a vis bills and resolutions passed by the state assembly -- or, re-enacted if returned, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Aam Aadmi Party's chief ministerial candidate Bhagwant Mann too questioned separately Gandhi's description of Channi as belonging to 'gareeb ghar', asking 'from which angle, is he poor'.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on these quaint developments.
Such is the situation of the government in Punjab, the prime minister said while hitting out the Congress, and asserted that he will come to Jalandhar again and pay obeisance at the Devi Talab Mandir.
While the likelihood of these states going the Lanka or Greece way may be an alarming assessment, the financial situation of some states such as Punjab and West Bengal is indeed quite weak.
In one state, the BJP sweeps in Modi's name -- and only because of Modi's name. In the other state, Modi's name did not work. Himachal underlines the limitations of Modi's magic, observes Shekhar Gupta.
How did Arvind Kejriwal, a one-time votary of secularism, turn into a bargain-basement version of Narendra Modi, wonders Vir Sanghvi.
For Sikhs, they say, honour is the bottom line; and whatever the state of the SAD's political fortunes today, arrogance will not be helpful in the negotiation.
What these elections prove beyond any doubt (if ever there was one) that Modi's hold over public mind and Shah's mastery of election management are unparalleled. It doesn't seem likely that they will be matched any time soon in the Indian political scene, reaffirms Shreekant Sambrani.
The arrest warrant was issued by the court of Judicial Magistrate Ravtesh Inderjit Singh.
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Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday released its first list of 20 candidates for Lok Sabha elections, pitting Kumar Vishwas from Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's seat, and former banker Meera Sanyal and social activist Medha Patkar from Mumbai.
'Even if the government does not implement an all-India NRC before 2024, it will be part of the party's long-term project.'
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.
"A hundred years ago, Britishers had called Bhagat Singh a terrorist and 100 years later, history is repeating when all these parties want to prove Bhagat Singh's follower (Kejriwal) as a terrorist, but people know the reality," he said.
The senior AAP leader played the audio tape at a press conference and claimed the BJP "dalal" (broker) heard in the clip was one of the three people arrested in Telangana over an alleged bid to poach that state's ruling party Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLAs.
'Both of us are not politicians. We were forced to enter politics to counter corruption that is looting the country.'
Battling growing infighting, the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday went on damage control mode by deciding to restructure it and rejected resignation of its senior leaders Yogendra Yadav and Shazia Ilmi, who had attacked Arvind Kejriwal for lack of internal democracy in the party.
It was crucial for the BJP to bag the two seats as it does not enjoy a majority on its own in the 40-member assembly.
'It is not just about numbers. Sometimes coalitions and alliances have symbolic value.'
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that primary schools will be closed from Saturday in view of spike in pollution levels in the national capital.
Political parties were bracing for the assembly election results on Thursday in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and politically volatile Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, sending out feelers for possible post-poll tie-ups.
Though the Congress, AAP and other Opposition parties may have high hopes and some positive takeaways to seize on from the results, it is the BJP which has a big headstart and is firmly in the lead.
To help the country emerge as a true welfare State, political parties must put the country's interests first before strategising to win elections and short-term goals, argues Ramesh Menon.
Jain, 57, is the minister for health, power, home, PWD, industries, urban development, flood, irrigation and water in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government.
The Bombay Velvet director said Pahlaj Nihalani has been lying and pressuring them to delay the release of the film, slated to hit theatres on June 17.
In a five-minute video message on Twitter, Kejriwal said he would truthfully and honestly answer questions posed by the CBI in the excise case as he has nothing to hide.
The Aam Aadmi Party has to return to the drawing board and learn from this experience. The party is here to stay and make its mark in Indian politics, says AAP members in the US. Ritu Jha/Rediff.com reports from California.
The two-time MP was taking part in the Rahul Gandhi-led march in Phillaur in Jalandhar where he fainted, said senior party leader Partap Singh Bajwa, who was also marching in the yatra.
'When the assembly elections happened in West Bengal, it was predicted that Mamata didi will win only by a thin margin but she won with a huge margin'
That AAP managed a sizeable vote share in Gujarat is creditable. The BJP can no longer ignore AAP's growing presence in its strongest bastion, explains Ramesh Menon, long-time observer of Gujarat politics.
'For Modi, it's not just winning, but winning with style.'
