Tandav is as mainstream and contrived as it gets, but not completely without its moments of charisma and drama, observes Sukanya Verma.
With six days to go for state assembly polls in Punjab, political parties have intensified their campaign in the state. The outgoing ruling alliance of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and Bhartiya Janata Party is banking on Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and L K Advani to regain the power in the state.
Slamming the United Progressive Alliance government for its "authoritarian" approach towards states, Bharatiya Janata Party veteran L K Advani on Sunday said all those who believe in strong Centre-state relations should come together on it even as he praised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for highlighting the issue.
A low-intensity bomb rigged to a cycle exploded near an auditorium-cum-temple complex in Madurai in the wee hours of Tuesday, causing a security scare ahead of next week's Bharatiya Janata Party state-level conference, which is scheduled to be attended by senior leaders including L K Advani. The explosion of the bomb placed in a box fitted to the cycle damaged the vehicle totally, police said, adding that there were no casualties in the incident.
Communist Party of India-Marxist general secretary Prakash Karat on Sunday said there was possibility of an alliance minus the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress and other parties on Sunday took a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani saying he has conceded defeat even before the race has begun for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections while some BJP leaders differed with him.
"Since RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and other leaders are not scheduled to visit Delhi in the immediate future, I decided to meet them in Nagpur," Advani told media persons on arriving at the Nagpur airport.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani is set to start his anti-corruption rathyatra from veteran socialist leader Jaiprakash Narayan's birthplace Sitabdiara in Saran district of Bihar on his birth anniversary October 11, according to party sources.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders met President Pratibha Patil on Thursday to complain about "subversion" of Parliament over Lokpal issue and sought her intervention to re-convene the House to enable voting in Rajya Sabha on the crucial bill.
Terming Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani's proposed 'rath yatra' as a "farce", the Communist Party of India-Marxist has said the country can ill-afford the sharpening of communal polarisation under the "veil" of fighting corruption.
Ravi Shankar Prasad is set to become the new deputy leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha with Parliamentary Party chief L K Advani on Thursday recommending his name for the post to the vice president.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the Lokpal fiasco in Rajya Sabha, alleging that he had chosen "conspiratorial silence and acquiescence" while the government ran away from a vote on the Bill.
Terming as "extremely alarming" the media report of two army units moving towards Delhi without notifying the government in January this year, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Friday said it shows that the government-army ties are at an all time low and highlights the "trust deficit" in establishment circles.
The absence of Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani at an event to mark 40 years of Emergency, where party chief Amit Shah was the main speaker and organised by a party-affiliated body, set off speculation whether the veteran leader was not invited.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday decided to move a privilege motion against Home Minister P Chidambaram, accusing him of showing "disrespect" to Parliament by making a statement outside on the recent controversy over allegedly helping a local hotelier.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday held a meeting with senior BJP leaders L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj and Yashwant Sinha to discuss these two legislations.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has paved the way for the appointment of Jagadish Shettar as the next chief minister of Karnataka. BJP leader L K Advani who had reservations about the appointment of Shettar appears to have given in to the demands made by former Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa and his camp.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Tuesday led party MPs from Gujarat protesting outside Parliament House against the appointment of R A Mehta as Lokayukta by state Governor Kamla Beniwal without consulting the Narendra Modi government and demanded her removal for "bypassing" established norms.
It also marks the end of the first half of the Budget session in the Lok Sabha.
A group of Anna Hazare supporters on Friday protested outside the residence of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, shouting slogans in favour of the Gandhian and his demand for a strong Lokpal.
Expressing deep displeasure over India's response to the WikiLeaks cables, veteran BJP leader L K Advani on Thursday said "even now, they (the United Progressive Alliance) should correct themselves".
Amid mounting pressure from B S Yeddyurapa for his reinstatement, Karnataka Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda on Thursday met the Bharatiya Janata Party top brass, including Nitin Gadkari and L K Advani, and said he had been assured that there would be no leadership change.
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".
Senior advocate Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Uttar Pradesh, told the bench that they have complied with the top court's direction and extended the tenure of the special judge till he delivers the judgment in the Ayodhya demolition case.
With A P J Abdul Kalam deciding not to contest the Presidential poll, BJP appeared set to back P A Sangma's candidature and convince its dithering NDA allies like Janata Dal (United) and Shiv Sena to fall in line and give up plans of a consensus on Pranab Mukherjee.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday tabled a notice for an adjournment motion on black money issue in Lok Sabha and demanded suspension of Question Hour in Rajya Sabha while deciding to continue its boycott of Home Minister P Chidambaram in Parliament.
As the Bharatiya Janata Party grapples with deepening internal fissures, the launch of a book on L K Advani on Tuesday saw party president Nitin Gadkari lauding the hard work put in by him and other veterans and said it helped people like him "reach the top".
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani's yatra on Sunday met a hostile reception in Punjab, with protesters hurling eggs at his 'rath' and waving black flags, briefly disrupting his convoy's journey in the state, where the party is in power along with Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal).
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Friday questioned Congress President Sonia Gandhi's "silence" on corruption issue and asked what she was doing as United Progressive Alliance's "most powerful leader" to curb the menace.
Non-resident Indian Anshuman Mishra, who was recently in the news over the controversy surrounding the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate for Rajya Sabha polls from Jharkhand, writes an open letter to party patriarch Lal Krishna Advani in which he advices the latter to make a dignified exit and hand over the reins to the party's second generation leaders.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Thursday admitted that people were "disappointed" with the party and appeared to be hitting out at party chief Nitin Gadkari as he said the campaign against corruption had been hurt due to induction of an ousted Bahujan Samaj Party leader facing graft charges.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Saturday questioned the silence of Congress President Sonia Gandhi on black money, corruption and inflation and asked her to speak on these issues.
Stepping up his attack on the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition, Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani said the "corrupt" government has brought "disgrace" to democracy.
Alleging that terror attacks in India were a proxy war waged by Pakistan, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Thursday said the Indian government must adopt zero tolerance towards terrorism.
Advani is unhappy with the manner in which the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has dominated the show behind the scene to insist on Nitin Gadkari setting a second tenure as the party president.
"Because of corruption, the central government has become paralysed, has become dysfunctional and is unable to take any decision," he said.
Sudheendra Kulkarni, former aide of Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani and an accused in the cash-for-vote case, on Saturday moved the Delhi high court against refusal of bail to him by the trial court. Besides Kulkarni, former BJP Members of Parliament Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahabir Singh Bhagora also approached the high court, challenging the verdict of the trial court dismissing their bail pleas.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Saturday accused the government of trying to make coalition partners a scapegoat of corruption for which the government as a whole is responsible. He also attacked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over rising inflation and said that price rise is continuing unabated even though "we have supposedly an economic expert" at the helm of affairs.
However, he will continue to be in hospital till infection is controlled.
The Karnataka high court has adjourned further hearing on the bail plea filed by former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to Monday. Justice B Pinto who has been presiding over the marathon arguments heard the objections on Friday while adjourning hearing to Monday.