'The Jharkhand government is increasingly intolerant of voices of dissent.' 'Recently 20 persons, including activists, writers and academics, were booked for sedition.' 'Many of them have been critical of the government's apathy towards Adivasis,' notes Siraj Dutta.
While the PM is trying to hardsell his developmental agenda, his rivals are targeting him in the run-up to the assembly election
Party leaders, sources said, maintained that Congress cannot afford to have a new leader at the helm for rebuilding the organisation at this juncture and that the responsibility for the defeat is collective and not individual.
The Aam Aadmi Party alleged that the chief minister was manhandled during the "pre-planned" protest.
In a setback to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, ruling Janata Dal-United candidate from the Muslim-dominated Kishanganj parliamentary constituency, Akhtarul Iman, on Tuesday announced that he would not be contesting the Lok Sabha polls.
All India Congress Committee general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad said the party would not react immediately and would come out with a detailed reaction in Lucknow on Sunday.
Banerjee feels that as long as Sonia Gandhi is the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party, she should be the undisputed leader of a united front of opposition parties, reports R Rajagopalan.
After the setback in the Lok Sabha election, the ruling Congress on Friday recorded a big win in the bypoll to three assembly seats in Uttarakhand retaining Dharchula seat which went to Chief Minister Harish Rawat and wresting Doiwala and Someshwar seats from Bharatiya Janata Party.
'Scindia's willingness to consort with the BJP, a party he has rightly, and eloquently, excoriated in various speeches and statements in the recent past suggest a shallowness and hollowness of convictions and principles.'
The best message the Prime Minister could bring to London is that he will return to India to focus on economic matters. Britain, on its part, should ensure that it addresses matters that concern India, instead of engaging in pomp during his visit, says Adam Roberts.
Springing a surprise, Vijayakanth-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam on Wednesday struck an alliance with the four-party People's Welfare Front for the May 16 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu with the actor-turned-politician being declared as the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance.
Moderate to high turnout on Saturday marked the bye-elections held in three Lok Sabha and 33 assembly constituencies spread across 10 states in an exercise seen as yet another key test of the Narendra Modi government's popularity since it assumed power in May.
The Congress forget Modi has demigod status in Gujarat and there is no way he can be defeated in the state, argues Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
The BJP scripted history by opening its account in the state assembly.
The battle for Maihar in the upcoming bypolls is crucial for the Congress as well as the BJP.
'Modi is larger-than-life, but not invincible. Yet,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Navjot Singh Sidhu forms a new party called the 'Awaaz-e-Punjab' and ties up with the Pargat, Bains brothers.
The 72-year-old master strategist ensured that the Congress's internal conflict ended and took on the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shivraj Singh Chouhan -- the state's longest ever serving chief minister.
Springing a surprise, Vijayakanth-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam on Wednesday struck an alliance with the four-party People's Welfare Front for the May 16 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu with the actor-turned-politician being declared as the chief ministerial candidate of the alliance.
'Then all the usual troubles will break out.'
Ramesh also said that business as usual approach will not work against Modi and Shah.
If the BJP doesn't do as well as it is expected to, it might have to seek Upendra Kushwaha's help in forming a government for a price: the chief ministership
'I don't think the state administration has shown the resolve to enter Muslim neighbourhoods and arrest offenders in the last decade.'
The BJP has already cobbled up 28 seats to counter-bargain with the PDP's 28 seats in future talks. It is up to the Kashmir-based parties like the National Conference and PDP to assess the damage of going with the BJP which is perceived as the 'Hindu' party in the state. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com's takeways from a historic but fractured mandate in Jammu and Kashmir.
The former cricketer reiterated his love for his state, saying he would choose it over any party or family.
In a jolt to the AAP government, President Pranab Mukherjee has refused to give assent to a legislation that protects 21 party MLAs, who have been appointed parliamentary secretaries, and face the prospect of disqualification.
'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.
'For a country that has successfully maintained its democracy for more than seventy years now, this sudden storm of hate is highly surprising.' 'My worry is that if the debate continues like that for some more time you will have an entire generation of Indians permanently inoculated with this germ of hatred.'
Counting of votes in the high-stakes close-to-call Bihar assembly elections, billed as a hot battle between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will take place on Sunday.
Modi may bet on old faces and new to boost reforms
Sonia Gandhi was on Saturday re-elected chairperson of Congress Parliamentary Party and asked party men not to bicker in public amid a fierce blame game in the party over its worst electoral defeat which has seen Team Rahul Gandhi coming under attack from a number of leaders.
'It's a great victory for Constitutionalism and the rule of law.'
Jindal's house was raided by the CBI on Tuesday.
The Uttar Pradesh by-election will be the real test for the Modi government. By-election results are not a referendum on Modi but the time has come to analyse whether the Modi government is succeeding in assuring people that the promises it made would be fulfilled, says Dharmendra Kumar Singh.
'I would personally like to see Rahul Gandhi continue as party president.' 'I genuinely believe he has far more to offer to the party still, particularly in leading us in these challenging times that we find ourselves in.'
She said if somebody commits a mistake, he should be punished as such a course only brings laurels to the institution.
The MNS chief gave the Western Railway an ultimatum of 15 days to evict illegal hawkers from all railway stations, failing which, he said, he will deal with them in the 'MNS style'.
With the Supreme Court reinforcing its stay on jallikattu, the state BJP hopes it can persuade its party leadership to bring in an ordinance. But this is a path filled with risk, reports R Ramasubramanian.
Embarrassment apart, it is a reminder to the Narendra Modi government that it is in acute minority in the Upper House
Unless the merger is reversed, the Congress is set to lose its Opposition Party status in the state assembly.
