Today, a friendship forged by common ideals behind prison walls has become a transactional understanding, notes Aditi Phadnis.
Whether it is health, water or women's empowerment, Modi is wildly popular in his state. But that's only in Gujarat, writes Aditi Phadnis.
It is good to be brave. But you also have to be wise, Aditi Phadnis advices Rahul Gandhi
Anand Kumar, the founder of Super 30 tells Aditi Phadnis that IIT-JEE is not error-free and why he trains economically backward students each year to help them crack the exam.
Two years ago, in the run-up to the assembly elections, no one but Rahul Gandhi believed there would be a change of guard in Rajasthan, and, least of all, a person as uncharismatic, even dull, as Ashok Gehlot would become chief minister.
The party's most outspoken female member will be its face in the UP elections, writes Aditi Phadnis.
Unlike the past when G V G Krishnamurthy, J M Lyngdoh, R Peri Sastry, H S Brahma, and V S Sampath held positions in the ECI representing all corners of India, this ECI will be North India-centric.
A joint parliamentary committee is not the perfect but the best option to inquire into the cesspool that Indian cricket seems to have become, CPI(M) MP Sitaram Yechury tells Aditi Phadnis
The government is actively considering raising the retirement age of all central government employees, including those in the armed forces, from the present 60 to 62 years.Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has submitted a report to the prime minister outlining all the pros and cons of the move, including the cascading effects on government employment and the huge savings, at least for two years, on account of retirement payouts.
Aditi Phadnis travels through Banaras and Lucknow and marvels at the people and the culture, especially the food, in the two cities.
There are many factors, many actors to blame for the current situation. But I must admit that actors and the government have spent too much time being involved in situations that were not that important, says Kashmir Congress chief Saifuddin Soz in an interview.
New Delhi has a chance to rid itself of its image as the bully in the subcontinent by helping a neighbour tackle problems that India, for once, has no role in creating. It should grab the opportunity with both hands, suggests Aditi Phadnis.
Nitish Kumar has to make an existential choice: Between governance and politics, argues Aditi Phadnis.
Those in the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Congress who can't see the full picture that is emerging expect the sky to fall on their head any moment now.
Former Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan and former chief secretary of the North West Frontier Province, Rustam Shah Mohmand, tells Aditi Phadnis that the United States is part of the problem in Afghanistan.
He's looked after commerce, finance, home ... and holds forth on his predecessors, their bosses, his bosses, and more.
That's a deficit the NDA will have to make up with the help of 'friendly' alliance partners, the very groupings the PM has said are 'family-run'.
While Pilot, who declared a week ago that he was placing no conditions for returning to the government, reportedly doesn't want a berth for himself, he has sought places for his followers.
The turning point in his career was undoubtedly Nepal where he was sent as ambassador and acted with a cool head.
India should hold its horses, historian Ramachandra Guha tells Aditi Phadnis
'If the Opposition does make a dent, it could encourage the efforts of regional parties to come together for the larger battle in 2024 and mark the beginning of a new anti-BJP politics.'
Women, if addressed properly, have the potential to become a decisive factor in elections.
There's no telling how long this government will last or how cordial the relations between the alliance partners will be, but it tells us that while constancy and fealty pay, timing is everything, points out Aditi Phadnis.
A change in the Pakistan Army's mindset is the key to normal ties between the two neighbours, South Asia expert Stephen Cohen tells Aditi Phadnis.
After many years, intricate caste calculations will dominate politics in Punjab.
The survey indicates that the Congress -- one of the main opposition parties to the BJP -- was the top choice among Muslims (30 per cent), Christians (30 per cent) and Sikhs (33 per cent) in 2019, reports Aditi Phadnis.
The JD-U, may be the BJP's partner for now. But it is a party at all only because of Nitish Kumar. The day Nitish Kumar exits, the JD-U will split into hundreds of pieces. Obviously, Prashant Kishor is setting himself up as the vessel that will collect all the pieces and put them together in some sort of political instrument, explains Aditi Phadnis.
The biggest winner will be the BJP -- which has such a small presence that every incremental vote it gets can only increase its strength. But the man who will win despite losing everything will be Captain Amarinder Singh, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
'Musharraf has no constituency but the Army.'
Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit won't be afraid to tangle with the toughest of them.
There is no one in Telangana to match KCR's stature and he believes he has outgrown the state, observes Aditi Phadnis.
Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister, Bihar, says that the road building programme in Bihar has taken off on a big scale.
Aditi Phadnis picks five key seats in the three states where assembly elections are being held today.
If the BJP doesn't do something quickly, Anurag Thakur and P K Dhumal will be the ones having a quiet last laugh.
Aditi Phadnis predicts frequent stand-offs between the Centre and states in the future.
Ajit Singh represented a bridge between a constituency that represented a more traditional era in politics and a modern, forward-looking, India, remembers Aditi Phadnis.
'We have reached a new low.'
Assembly elections to five crucial states will take place in a few months and the results will be decisive for the BJP, which is eyeing a third successive term at the Centre, in the forthcoming the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
In an expansive and relaxed mood, Finance Minister P Chidambaram explained the big idea behind Budget 2005-06 and his priorities for the coming year
Electoral politics is going to be an important part of farmer protests going forward.
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