'Indian secularism doesn't deserve a tombstone. It needs a new shrine,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
'It was a reaffirmation of his party's unrelenting defiance of its erstwhile ally, the BJP; an attempt to forge a new relationship with the community the Shiv Sena had always targeted; and a pointer towards the political imperative of taking everyone along if the fight against the ruling party had to succeed,' notes Jyoti Punwani.
As round one of the seven-phase Lok Sabha election began in 91 constituencies across the length and breadth of India, from the hills of Kashmir to the islands of Andaman and Nicobar, reports of unrest and irregularities cast shadows over the world's biggest poll process.
A total 61.92 per cent votes were cast in the first phase of polls in 13 of the 81 assembly seats in Jharkhand amidst sporadic incidents of damage to Electronic Voting Machines.
Branding Trinamool Congress rebels as 'traitors' like Mir Jafar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party for fielding the turncoats in the polls leaving saffron party old-timers shed tears.
Mayawati was outmanoeuvred by the BJP in the race for the Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh just days after she helped the Samajwadi Party snatch two Lok Sbaha seats from the saffron party in bypolls.
The voter turnout in the first three phases of the civic polls in the valley has been low.
An LJP parliamentary board meeting chaired by its president Chirag Paswan instead passed a resolution in favour of an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and said its MLAs will work to strengthen the hand of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Opposition grand alliance is proving to be a non-starter, with senior RJD leaders reluctant to be ordered about by an immature and entitled Tejashswi, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Thomaz Bellucci's forfeiture enabled India draw level (at 2-2) with Brazil in the Davis Cup world group play-off tie in Chennai on Sunday.
The UP CM didn't deign to attend the actor's nomination.
With US counting its votes, here's a look at how Americans are reacting to the news.
Old people undeterred by their age came out to cast their vote
About 2.34 crore voters, spread across 78 assembly segments of the 243-strong assembly, will decide the fates of 1,204 candidates, including the Speaker and 12 members of the state cabinet.
The development is being seen as a blow to the opposition Congress which was planning to forge a grand alliance in Chhattisgrah to unseat the ruling BJP.
Anand did not quite re-work his energy and lost to Carlsen in the first game of the third day and then made a draw with compatriot Vidit Gujrathi.
Modi polled 5,16,593 votes -- about half of the total votes -- while the Congress's Ajay Rai, and candidates of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party now run the risk of forfeiting their deposits.
'We thought we'd be away from Mumbai for two or three years.' 'If only life were that simple!'
Sonal lived the feminist slogan: The personal is political, in a way few feminists have been able to. She will be remembered and missed for doing this not with a dour self-righteousness, but with humour and a rare joie de vivre, remembers Jyoti Punwani.
Joginder Tuteja looks at the big hits scored, and presents his half-yearly report.
Polling stations across the United Kingdom opened on Thursday morning to decide the historic referendum on whether the country should remain a member of the European Union or leave the politico-economic union of 28 member states.
It was a shot in the arm for thousands of protesting Iranians when the Guardian Council the religious body entrusted with overseeing the election in the country -- said the number of votes counted in about 50 cities exceeded the number of eligible voters there.
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.
By voting massively, Aruachal Pradesh, it seems, has sent out a strong vote to China.
The EC received complaints from five places that EVMs were connecting to external devices via bluetooth, but after inquiry, it was found that there was 'no substance' in the complaints.
'The Constitution, which talks about democracy and equality, is something that will be applied in this country, and not Manusmriti in which the RSS believes.'
