Taking a jibe over bickering in Bharatiya Janata Party on Narendra Modi's nomination as prime ministerial candidate, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday claimed that the party would not gain from the decision and empathised with L K Advani saying the "Iron man" has been left to "rust".
Around 75 professors and other academics of Indian origin working at some of Britain's prestigious institutions such as Cambridge and Oxford university and London School of Economics on Tuesday issued an open letter, sharply attacking Narendra Modi and saying, "The idea of Modi in power fills us with dread".
Being a pragmatist Modi is not likely to give preference to China over Japan. Both security and economic aspects are likely to shape Modi's decision in terms of engaging the two biggest economies of Asia, says Sana Hashmi.
"BJP leaders are playing the game at the behest of central leaders. MLAs were offered money... Rs 10 crore in advance and Rs 15 crore after the government is toppled," the chief minister alleged and added that the BJP wants to convert the state's politics into a goat market, 'bakra mandi'.
Late Santokben Jadeja's son Kandhal Jadeja is taking on BJP strongman Vitthal Radadiya in the Porbandar Lok Sabha constituency. NCP's Jadeja, with his family clout, will look to limit the chances of Radadaiya, the influential Leuva Patel leader, who is clearly perceived a hot favourite. Haresh Pandya reports.
BJP strategists need to remember even at this late hour that 'negativism' sells when you are in the Opposition as the Indian voter has mostly voted anti-incumbency, and not when you are in power. You still needed to highlight your achievements and promises, and let the voter draw his conclusions, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Extravagant new promises can buy him time, but far from solving the problem, they compound the risk.' 'His main alternative is to stress not aspirations, but resentments.' 'He has already de-emphasised aspirational appeals: Nothing has been heard for over two years of the coming of achhe din,' points out James Manor.
Why do hundreds, and in some cases, thousands, turn up for a single vacancy at the lowest rungs of government jobs? The answer is simple: It offers a stable, assured income, which overcomes all other objections, says Shreekant Sambrani.
The Congress has already been deserted by the urban middle classes and the youth, but by outsourcing its battle against the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Admi Party, the grand old party could end up inflicting more damage on itself.
'Some of his decisions were not so good, but his intentions were always guided by a deep national interest.'
'It is not that he has not committed any mistakes; he has.' 'But people were willing to forgive you if you were honest.'
'It is almost certain that in the absence of note-bandi, the party would have lost in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh,' points out Amulya Ganguli.
"This is an unparalleled and unprecedented win," he said.
'Cynicism does not necessarily fetch votes, nor does mindless populism. Good governance, strong leadership and a squeaky clean image now command a premium.'
While most applicants seek positions in the personal staff of ministers, some want to be inducted into one committee of the government or other, G Sreedathan reports
With polling of votes for the Gujarat assembly elections drawing to a close on Sunday exit poll results indicate that Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party is set to regain power in the state.
The BJP is the frontrunner, but incumbent Virbhadra Singh is the most popular chief ministerial candidate.
'Never before in Bengal had a single party been re-elected with two-thirds of the assembly,' notes Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on Friday attacked External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid for his criticism of the Election Commission and the Supreme Court, accusing him of denigrating the country's two most respected institutions on the foreign soil.
The tough question before the DMK and its leader MK Stalin now is, what should their response be if sounded out for an alliance by the BJP for or after the next parliamentary polls, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Modi wants a 'change in the Indian citizen's character.' 'An internal transformation.' 'This is reformation of the sort that is usually done by spiritual and religious leaders.' 'It is not in the domain of popular politics,' points out Aakar Patel.
'It can be said without hesitation that Rahul, Priyanka and Sonia Gandhi enjoy perfect relations of mother-daughter-son all together in the family.' 'But their worldview is different and their style of functioning is different and their favourites in the party are different people.'
A logjam on the GST front could turn things upside down and turmoil in Gujarat might also have an adverse impact
By annoying potential allies ahead of the polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate is playing a dangerous game but if he wins, he gets it all, says Aditi Phadnis
The significance of the Assembly poll results will be more psychological than real for the impending parliamentary elections, says Bharat Bhushan.
Earlier Uddhav had to manage only seniors in the party. Now, he has to manage the leadership of two other parties who have been political adversaries in the past. Aditi Phadnis notes.
'Since the rise of the Modi-Shah paradigm, the BJP has followed a simple formula.' 'Sweep the Hindi heartland and the two big Western states, and you can rule India with a majority by just adding some little bits on the platter from here and there,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
In the past one week alone, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh have issued orders to take over private hospitals in some districts. Sohini Das, Vinay Umarji and Gireesh Babu report.
With the D-day for the polls drawing closer, Modi upped the ante against the Siddaramaiah government addressing four back to back rallies at Gadag, Tumakuru, Shivamogga and Mangaluru.
Let national interest alone be Narendra Modi's guiding principle, says Virendra Kapoor. No personal agendas, no divisive ideas and ideologies, no crony capitalist interests.
The Congress continued to stall the Parliament over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Pakistan remarks' against former premier Manmohan Singh.
'...getting drenched in the rains, doing farm work, labour and sweating it out so that they can get their evening meals.' 'I want to tell them that this Ram Nath Kovind of Paraunkh village is going to Rashtrapati Bhavan as their representative.'
Asserting that there was no comparison between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi, the Congress on Sunday said while the Gandhi scion was an undisputed leader, the Gujarat Chief Minister was a "leader of all disputes".
To believe that the key job of his senior ministers is to ensure that his image be kept intact whatever be the outcome of his policies is to expect too much even of someone as ambitious as Narendra Modi, asserts Rashme Sehgal.
The court also took on record the original and certified copies of documents filed by Irani pertaining to Irani's Rajya Sabha nomination in Gujarat in 2011.
Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday said the Congress could consider extending support to the Third Front or taking its help, if necessary to form the government at the Centre after the Lok Sabha polls.
Mounting an assault on the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday asked the voters in Maharashtra not to be swayed by the party which "spreads hatred in society". She said BJP and Shiv Sena might have parted ways but in reality they are one.
'The administration started intruding into the kitchens and bedrooms of the local community.'
'For the first time in 50 years the people of Lakshadweep who have till now never raised their hands, got out on the streets and started raising their voices.'
'Rather than 'consolidate' the Hindu majority votes, as the BJP-RSS combine has been known and wont to try, this time round PM Modi has himself taken the party to the next step, by seeking to create a new divide within the majority community, a la V P Singh in his time.'
'We like to believe that it's the politicians who impose such bans. But it's the womenfolk of Bihar who made Nitish Kumar enact the ban,' says Ashis Nandy.
