As Varanasi's mega electoral battle reaches a crescendo, the Congress on Wednesday stepped up offensive against Narendra Modi accusing him of invoking religious sentiments to woo voters as his "personality cult" campaign had failed, and tried to paint it as a fight between the "son of the soil" and "outsiders".
From Kutch to Itanagar, Kashmir to Kanyakumari, there is only one emotion, it seems. Fear. Of coronavirus.
The Congress's revival plan says it needs to bring back into its fold Hindus repelled by the Sangh Parivar, take its message to youth and women and sections upset at curbs on their personal freedoms.
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.
'Never before in Bengal had a single party been re-elected with two-thirds of the assembly,' notes Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien.
Gujarat was among the earliest civilisations in the sub-continent, dating back four millennia.
Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said his prime focus is to uplift the lot of 70 crore-strong working class engaged in the country's unorganised sector.
Known as an astute strategist whose non-political interests range from playing chess and watching cricket to stage performances and listening to classical music, 54-year-old Shah is often hailed as the BJP's most successful president for crafting its way to power states after states.
'You haven't heard a peep out of Kashmir so what is going to erupt? What repercussion will be (there) in long term, you will have to (wait) and see'
Opposition parties now recognise that the king on one side of the chessboard, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is ensconced, and unlikely to be shaken, although on his side there are no identifiable kings, queens, rooks, bishops or knights.
'We are in the presence of a truly great politician,' says Aakar Patel.
The government is looking at building by-laws and floor area ratio so that you can build up instead of out, thus requiring less land.
'Some BJP old timers have remarked that the BJP is now driven by its own high command, the way the Congress was under Mrs Gandhi, says Subir Roy.
Faceless Ambedkarite groups from across the country are running BSP's election war rooms, writes Archis Mohan.
He accused the BJP of creating friction between communities and 'igniting' fire and ramped up his attack on the PM.
'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.'
The BJP chief exuded confidence that the party would retain power at the Centre in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with more strength.
Despite Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis' ambitious plan, 40 per cent of the state is reeling from drought and its water tanker economy is booming. As of February 2019, the state government declared drought in 151 of the 358 talukas.
Congress leader Manak Agarwal's demand for a CBI inquiry into the godman's suicide has set off a controversy.
'Jignesh Mevani has many strengths: Youth, articulation, fearlessness, proficiency with social media, political and ideological flexibility.' 'Also focus, as in targeting the BJP as the one and only enemy for now and using that justification to align with the rest,' says Shekhar Gupta.
The BJP needs to revisit its strategy ahead of the forthcoming Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections, says Dharmendra Kumar Singh
The Goa CM knows running a coalition government while pursuing a development agenda will require a fine balancing act.
The test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be to convince not just friends in the media with crisp sound bytes but the very people most affected by the politics of hate through concerted action, says Shehzad Poonawala.
How the BJP's politics plays out at the grass-roots level will determine its relationship with Muslims in the near future, says Sajid Bhombal
Given the twin embarrassments of a TTV win and party nominee Karu Nagarajan losing his deposit, polling fewer votes than NOTA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP boss Amit Shah would be pushed to rethink their strategy. Tamil Nadu would thus become a part of the BJP's grander strategy for 2019 rather than a stand-alone affair, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
It is unusual to see Narendra Modi highlight his OBC status -- something he has never done in his long political career. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com examines Modi's compulsions for bringing his caste to the foreground
Describing himself as a "son of soil", Congress candidate Ajay Rai says the poll battle in Varanasi will be mainly a contest with "outsider" Narendra Modi and dismisses any challenge from "deserter" Arvind Kejriwal.
After yoga guru Baba Ramdev was banned from conducting programmes in Himachal on Monday and booked in Maharashtra and Rajasthan under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Atrocities Act for his honeymoon remarks targeting targeting Rahul Gandhi, the yoga guru said he would move the courts against the curbs.
The Congress's new treasurer Ahmed Patel has been meeting industrialists and businessmen. He met one of the biggest industrialists of the country last week, but the assurance of any significant donation was half-hearted from the other end. Business houses aren't exactly queuing up to offer donations, reports Archis Mohan.
Modi invoked Lord Shiva on Mahashivratri and said people, with their third eye, can see what is good for them and what is bad.
Now, that's how desperately Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to win Bihar. M I Khan reports from Patna
Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday expressed confidence of defeating Narendra Modi in Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency in the upcoming elections, saying that he had not chosen a 'safe' seat since his main objective was to beat the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.
'Similarly, he is against Dalits forgetting that the only way to get rid of poverty is to empower poor people.'
'If Article 35A is scrapped, then Jammu's identity will be over.'
L K Advani's observation on Narendra Modi, an attempt to cut the BJP's prime ministerial nominee down to size, billing him a mere event manager like Vijay Raaz in Mira Nair's film Monsoon Wedding, speaks volumes about their differences... In the coming days, the Congress and BJP may lock horns over the AgustaWestland chopper deal. In an Italian court, Guido Haschke, one of the accused middlemen who allegedly bribed the Indian side, has sought a plea bargain to reduce his jail term if convicted. On or around April 11, we will know how much Haschke is ready to reveal. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt detects which way the political wind is blowing these days.
Convener of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, Hardik Patel's clarification came a day after some Patel leaders announced they were planning to contest the upcoming local body polls.
Congress leader Kantilal Bhuria, who wrested the Ratlam Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh from the BJP recently, speaks to Prasanna D Zore.
Whatever Mr Modi's other shortcomings be, his consistent efforts to motivate have created an aura of positivity, hopefully stable. He has also shown that he is not averse to taking decisions with possibly negative implications for him, says Shreekant Sambrani.
Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Trinamool Congress competed with each other in trying to raise the issue more vociferously
Security is a worry but the Gujarat chief minister will continue is campaign ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
