'For half a century, Delhi has not seen a truly powerful ruling party president.' 'The Cabinet, chief ministers, and even the heads of the most powerful departments and agencies now acknowledge where power lies, besides the prime minister's office,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The names of two veterans -- Health Minister Laxmikant Parsekar and Speaker of Legislative Assembly Rajendra Arlekar -- are being considered for the top post in case Parrikar moves to Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who inducted 19 new ministers into his Cabinet on Tuesday has carried out major changes in the portfolios of his top ministers.
'Modi swept the 2014 elections for two main reasons: First, the disgust with the Congress government with a non-functional prime minister, and second, more importantly, his promise of performance and hope.' 'He cannot expect to win 2019 on these planks again. His own success in finishing the Congress will take away one plank, and with five years of reign on his CV, he will need to flaunt performance more than promise.'
Narendra Modi's ministry expansion makes disdain clear for others who are supposedly allies, quite unlike the Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance.
One of the dropped ministers, Bojjala Gopala Krishna Reddy, resigned from his assembly membership.
'He still has to deal with party norms and traditions and has been careful to follow the order of seniority,' points out Claude Arpi.
Many in the Congress feel that holding meetings at the block, district and state levels would reveal the real reasons for the Congress's defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Rediff.com contributor Anita Katyal reports
With the Aam Aadmi Party fighting for survival, Congress struggling for an identity and the BJP seeking to hold on to its political capital, these elections will be one of the most interesting India, says Aditi Phadnis
'That the two sides allowed such a situation to arise exposed the level of inaction and inefficiency in China-India border management.' 'The Modi-Xi meeting in Xiamen initiated a process to to avert such contingencies in the future.'
While it was no secret that Mamata was upset with Patha Chatterjee for a while as he has hardly been successful in bringing any big-ticket investment, there is a strong buzz that it was the controversy over the HPL bid that finally influenced her decision.
'The mood in Beijing is already nervous and feverously watchful.' 'Developments in China will be scrutinised as intensely and nervously as the ones in Washington,' says Claude Smadja.
Perform or perish. That's what Rahul Gandhi has told Congress leaders in the run up to the elections in five states in November. But will his party shed its old habits? Renu Mittal reports
'The American fear of the Chinese military is overblown. The countries that should be concerned are China's neighbours,' Jeffrey Wasserstrom tells Rahul Jacob.
Devanik Saha wonders if saffronisation of India is on the rise
'Sirisena will keep both Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe on tenterhooks till the next general election due in 2020,' says Aditi Phadnis.
Dr C P Joshi, the rising star in the Congress party, explains his strategy for the Rajasthan poll.
Rediff.com lists a few instances when BJP leaders and ministers shot their mouth off.
'The Modi Model we see now is still the old Gujarat Model.' 'But with an acknowledgement that governing India is more challenging than governing Gujarat,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
In the event of a triangular contest the winning party will need about 40 per cent of the votes polled. And it is here that the votes of the numerically smaller communities will come into play.
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday carried out a major reshuffle in the party set-up
'The BJP should know that simple caste arithmetic may have ceased to follow the basic law of addition.' 'Adding up seemingly distinct vote banks can even cause overall reduction in numbers,' says Sudhir Bisht.
After being deserted by people whose battles he fought, Amar Singh is going to have another go at politics, says Aditi Phadnis
The loss in Bihar has forced a change in NDA's market positioning, says Shekhar Gupta.
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The stock market responded to his speech by going up by over two per cent; the rupee also gained in strength, by about 1.45 per cent, against the dollar.
'Modi has shown political courage by instituting several economic reforms which include demonetisation, ushering in GST, eradication of benami transactions...'
Sujatha Singh is the third senior official to have been dismissed by NDA.
'You have a chance to use this massive mandate to push through life changing reforms, transform India into a superpower because our nation's biggest strength are its people, and we the people are the most hardworking industrious and entrepreneurial the world has ever seen.' 'Arm us with a society which lives without fear, a governance where business can be conducted smoothly without greasing palms, instill in this great nation a sense of pride once again. Let this nation be bigger than you and the party.' Suparn Verma's impassioned appeal to Narendra Modi.
Palaniswami and Paneerselvam joined to oust Dinakaran and EC cancelled R K Nagar by-election.
The BJP calculates that simultaneous polls to Parliament and TN assembly could help it, intent as it is on making the state break from its Dravidian past, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
India changed its stance towards Britain over Lalit Modi who has ED cases against him, and Vasundhara Raje, who gave the ruling BJP its most triumphant victory in Rajasthan, is in the dock for alleged nepotism.
'If the BJP wins UP and one or two other states, it could get emboldened and press ahead with its reckless agenda, as well as its divisive agenda.' 'If the BJP fails to form the government in UP and suffers a setback in Punjab and maybe one other state, it could go either way: It could become more reckless or pull back, pause and take stock, moderate its position.'
As the year 2014 draws to an end, we at Rediff.com take to look at some of the ridiculous remarks made by some blundering politicos.
Confronting a slowdown in growth, China says it will only increase its defence budget by 7.6% this year, against the anticipated rise of between 20% and 30%. 'It is difficult to explain the reduction in the Chinese defence budget,' says Claude Arpi. 'Is there a hidden budget? Possibly!'
Internal report, to be finalised in seven-10 days, may also suggest reduction in subsidies
'India is a huge market for Chinese goods. I don't think a war stands to logic when you have economic compulsions, but then Chinese are known to do illogical things.'
'Well begun is half done, today there are more hits than misses by the Modi government in its support towards science in India,' says Pallava Bagla.
Hours after 21 ministers took the oath of office and became a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministry, speculation began on which minister would be handed which portfolio. However, all speculation ended after the list was announced.
'Those who have seen the functioning of the Modi government in Gujarat know that the issues related to Hindutva and issues of economy and growth function simultaneously.' 'Modi's politics are based on the understanding of the middle-class consumer society which is in pursuit of material aspirations.' Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reveals the Modi government's economic and political plans for the year ahead.
