She faced off against former disciple-turned-defector Suvendu Adhikari in a very different contest. It's not land acquisition, but an ego clash that has acquired, tragically, communal overtones, explains Kanika Datta.
'The economy is in a free fall.'
'And it's been declining for so long, so consistently, that the promise of growth and better days now looks a fantasy.' 'A mid-1970s kind of pessimism, even hopelessness, is growing among the young.' 'This isn't what Mr Modi promised them.' 'Their aspirations and needs are clear and present, and not being fulfilled,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Any defeat for the BJP now would imply that anti-incumbency against Modi has set in, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Once our voices are crushed, they can bring in an agenda of privatisation.'
'About 90 per cent of our netas have no loyalty and will go with the winner.'
Your promise to protect bankers for their commercial decisions is a huge confidence booster, but how does one define a commercial decision? Are our investigative agencies well equipped to dissect lending decisions of bankers?
AAP will have to learn to be patient as such electoral changes do not happen in a hurry, asserts Ramesh Menon.
'The workers's dance of wilful destruction has the potential to kill all investments planned in India by any foreign entity,' argues Dr Sudhir Bisht.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar condemned the violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and said that it was a "disturbing and fascist strike" by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Should candidates for particular positions in the government be permitted to agitate for changing the recruitment process itself? The candidates have to meet the requirements of the jobs rather than ask for their own standards to be accepted as the requirement of the jobs. Those who cannot meet those criteria should seek other jobs that match their skills, says T P Sreenivasan.
'I am a Muslim and if my Hindu brothers were to march to my house and if that were to give birth to any controversy, then this government will use it to exploit another issue.' 'I don't want to give BJP leaders a chance to play their communal politics.'
Kashmiris hope that India and Pakistan can find a lasting solution to what many call the Kashmir 'problem'.
With two years to go before West Bengal elects its next government, the BJP's internal objective is to scale down the Trinamool Congress tally from 211 to 45 seats. This amounts to an annihilation of the TMC while enabling the BJP to win a record 250 seats in the 295-member legislature, reports Radhika Ramaseshan
Candidates appearing for the exam in Kolkata were seen standing in queues while abiding by the social distancing norms.
'Whether or not Chandrashekhar Azad succeeds or fails electorally, he has already made democratic politics more accountable to Dalits.'
Why did such a 'socially conscientious' people adapt to cash-for-votes and the like, as fish to water? N Sathiya Moorthy offers an explanation.
By the looks of it, the Congress cannot hope to return to power even in election 2024. What it can do is to start from the bottom, hold organisational elections, which are honest, and co-opt those elected to form teams of office-bearers at all levels, right up to the working committee. By the very nature of the elections that they are going to lose, the party should use the interim to shore up youth power, or whatever remains, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'The people of India have not only challenged the ruling dispensation with the constitution, they have also opened the eyes of the leadership that sits in the Opposition.'
Chief ministers of states like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka were among those who raised the issue of loan waver scheme for farmers.
'The government may backpedal for now to stave off bad international press and diplomatic demarches, but that it will go ahead with putting religion at the centre of citizenship rules is certain.' 'For it is convinced that this is the magic bullet that will ensure its return to power in 2024,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
The sub-quota scheme may now lead to a ganging up of non-Vanniyars in individual constituencies against the Vanniyars just as in the past, such ganging up against SC-ST candidates was seen in the non-quota constituencies, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
President Trump said that he has great love for young immigrants who came to America as children.
Of the 27 named, at least four are workers and functionaries of right-wing organisations, including the Bajrang Dal, officials said.
Despite the Oscars, the box office glory, and the universal acclaim, Francis Ford Coppola, I am sure, remembers The Godfather with as much frustration as pride. Like Michael Corleone, he got into it with the best of intentions, and got out of it on top but lost in the heights. Sreehari Nair revisits the film as it turns 50 this month.
The victory in the assembly elections, the first in Telangana after its formation in June 2014, might well act as a springboard for the leader, often accused of perpetuating family rule and promoting nepotism, to realise his ambition of playing a greater role in national politics.
'Sounds familiar? Barring inflation, much else looks, sounds, and feels more than a bit like 1974.' 'A phenomenally popular leader, with a party of unquestioning followers, a broken Opposition, a nationalist high and an economy in free fall, crippling joblessness,' recalls Shekhar Gupta.
Ajit Balakrishnan offers a thinking man's guide to the angst of the professions.
A win for Trump, 69, as latest polls indicate, could very well bring the billionaire real estate magnate very closer to the magical figure of 1,237 delegates needed the win the party's presidential nomination for the November 8 election.
The means to do so via an expanded Aadhaar system is easily at hand, too.
'The political environment makes it extremely difficult for youngsters to be hopeful about their lives, and focus on their dreams.'
The church bells don't toll in Churachandpur any more. The hill district in Manipur has been in mourning for more than a year.
'The nominations were not meant to last permanently, but depended on the government of the day.' 'There was no question of revoking it during Congress, Janata Dal or even Vajpayee's NDA rule.' 'But Modi is different.'
A time has thus come when state encouragement for rural students led to empowerment of the socio-economically marginalised sections of the population. It included women. Today, with greater exposure and consequent enlightenment, it has gone beyond 'empowerment' to become 'entitlement', says N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Now you have a full clampdown and a huge security blanket. How long are you going to maintain that? The moment you lift it, all that suppressed protest and anger will come out.'
'If Article 35A is scrapped, then Jammu's identity will be over.'
With Andhra Pradesh on the verge of a division, the "government" in the state exists only on paper after a notification issued by the Governor and is non-existent for practical purposes.
'The Opposition has no option but to make it an 'All versus One' fight to even think about winning.'
Modi and Shah can't afford to lose any of the 24 per cent Dalit vote of 2014, says Shekhar Gupta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on range of issues -- from Rafale deal to Ram temple and triple talaq.
Incidents like these are a wake-up call, says School Education Secretary Anil Swarup. 'Today, if a particular problem has been found, technology allows solutions to address it,' he says, suggesting alternatives such as printing and distribution of encrypted question papers on the day of the exam. Swarup wants electronic tracking to keep tab on who has access to and can, therefore, leak papers.
