There is discontent in the Bharatiya Janata Party and Telugu Desam Party cadre, and the decision to turn allies could lead to some members turning rebels, says Vicky Nanjappa
With the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party seat-sharing talks deadlocked over the latter's insistence on getting more seats to contest the assembly polls, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday said he is against breaking the alliance but party workers feel the ally's "body language is anti-Congress".
The Congress is banking on minority-oriented schemes like those providing medical aid, skill development and promoting leadership among women to reach out to Muslims ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore and Uttam Ghosh report from Maharashtra's Malnourished Corridor, visiting an anganwadi, which is often the first line of defence in tackling malnutrition.
As Maharashtra's main political players, the Congress-nationalist Congress Party alliance and Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena combine, brace for the Lok Sabha and subsequent state assembly polls this year, they would have to contend with a new opponent, the Aam Aadmi Party, which has decided to take the electoral plunge in a big way.
Newly appointed Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shahryar Khan wants cricketing "powerhouse" India to encourage "democracy" in the functioning of the ICC after being forced to let BCCI have the control of the governing body along with England and Australia.
By region, Thiruvananthapuram leads with 247 defaulters, followed by Kolkata with 173 and Bhubaneswar with 115
Former Union minister and Haryana Congress leader Kumari Selja decries former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's style of functioning, his inability to carry everybody with him and pitches for a fresh leadership in Haryana after the poll debacle, in an interview with Anita Katyal.
Dave complained of uneasiness at his home on Thursday morning and was rushed to AIIMS.
Diplomats agree that amid stormy relations with China and Pakistan, Modi has posted impressive foreign policy successes, notes Aditi Phadnis.
One can expect significant changes at India's banks in ensuing months.
'He should bring in a working president from outside the family.'
Known for his clean image, Harsh Vardhan will face a stiff challenge of uniting the faction-ridden Bharatiya Janata Party as his nomination to the chief ministerial post comes after a bitter internal squabble that had threatened to derail the party's campaign to wrest power after 15 years in the capital.
'Is standing in a queue any bigger sacrifice than that of a soldier's family?'
'Anything that is anti-growth is demonised because growth is the biggest religion.' 'Growth is synonymous with progress. In fact, it is the opposite.' 'Exponential growth is cancer.'
Affaq Husain and his wife Saira built a Rs 100 crore empire preying on the most vulnerable people in society.
Brazil arrested 10 people on Thursday suspected of belonging to a poorly organised group supporting Islamic State (IS) and discussing terrorist acts during the next month's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
'...and then react.' 'There are two options before him if the alliance breaks.' 'He either teams up with the BJP or goes for a fresh election.' 'My impression is that he will avoid a fresh election.'
With the weaker-than-expected agreement at the recent Climate Change Conference at Lima, there is an urgent need to highlight endeavours in civil society and business for a sustainable global economy with grassroots empowerment, say Rajni Bakshi.
'There is anger against Rahul and this will become obvious in the days ahead.' 'He tried to run the party like a corporate.' 'He has been successful in wiping out the party from large parts of the country.' Within the Congress party there is extreme anger at Rahul Gandhi's style of politics.
It is too early to say whether the Aam Aadmi Party's transformation from a watchdog of Indian politics to the lapdog of the political elite is complete. But it seems to be heading in that direction, says Bharat Bhushan
'You want a steady, confident, self-assured and highly skilful hand at the till. 'It is a pity that the BJP has decided to deprive itself of such a hand at this politically sensitive time.' 'It is like sacking your surgeon in the middle of your brain surgery,' says S Muralidharan.
'Having a voice at the table means the other side has to show up to listen. It became clear that wouldn't happen,' says actor Maulik Pancholy, one of the 10 members who resigned from the US president's advisory commission on Asian Americans.
The Bharatiya Janata Party claims it has over six lakh committed workers in Bihar, a team of 10 deployed for each of the 62,200 polling booths.
Hailing from a village having no electricity, Ankur Mishra now runs two start-ups, educates his community, gives TED Talks and is on his third novel.
'This wipes out the entire black money in the nation in one stroke. Ninety per cent plus of the black money is kept in Rs 500, Rs 1,000 notes. What they have done is a brilliant move.'
Tarun Vijay, MP, salutes the General whom he adored as a great friend.
It's not just the aam aadmi who has been feeling the corruption heat.
'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.
Anshu Gupta, the founder of Goonj, has transformed the culture of giving in the country. He has for 15 years now, worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between the haves and the have-nots, by making discarded materials a resource for the poor. His weapon, he says, is 'cloth as a tool of social change.'
Can we make high speed 4G Internet available at 10 cents per GB, and make all voice calls free of cost -- that too in a large and diverse country like India? Can we make high-quality but simple breast cancer screening available to every woman, that too at the extremely affordable cost of $1 per scan? Can we make a portable, high-tech ECG machine which can provide reports immediately and that too at the cost of 8 cents a test? Can we make an eye imaging device that is portable, non-invasive and costs 3 times less that conventional devices? Can we make a robust test for mosquito-borne dengue, which can detect the disease on day 1, and that too at the cost of $2 per test? Amazingly, says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, all this has been achieved in India, not only by using technological innovation but also non-technological innovation.
Following are the possible contenders for the post of Maharashtra chief minister. We request our readers to take the poll at the end of this list.
For all the blame-game over the flood preparedness in Chennai and elsewhere in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, this is not the first of its kind. Nor would it be the last, given the nature of the north-east monsoon, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Gujarat took the lead when it came to empowering farmers in dairying.
Rediff.com gives you a look at newbies in the Council of Ministers
The BJP doesn't want to focus entirely on an anti-Mamata campaign.
After a series of defeats since 2012, the results of the recent panchayat polls are being seen by her as a tide changer for the upcoming UP assembly elections
As the first Indian female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics, Dipa Karmakar knows she has to pull off something spectacular if she wants the world to take notice.
'He should have at least offered to step down. He should have shown some grace as head of the government in whom the party leadership reposed so much faith.' 'Sonia Gandhi is essentially a democrat. She does not like to disturb chief ministers. It is a reflection on the person's style of functioning when they mistake this trust as their personal power.' Former Union minister Kumari Selja lashes out.
Those who have a long-range mission of true nation-building will pay close attention to World Bank's new action plan for fairness in all matters of land use, says Rajni Bakshi.
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