The move is being seen as an attempt to forge opposition unity to defeat the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Union ministers, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and various other top leaders have condoled Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's demise and paid glowing tributes to her.
Stalin owes his victory this time, like in 2019, to the hate-campaign of the local Hindutva forces, which kept haranguing him, and even his dead father, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
It looks as if competing political parties in Tamil Nadu have not grasped the full impact and import of a sizable section of voters possibly staying away from voting -- voters, supposedly with a predictable polling pattern -- owing to the Covid second wave and more so, how it could affect the outcome in individual constituencies and even booths, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
The 89-year-old leader was expelled by the CPI-M after he refused to step down from his position as Speaker holding that the post is above any party politics.
As West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry prepare for new administrations, one is reminded of the disparity that runs through the veins of the Indian states, notes Mihir S Sharma.
'The Modi Sultanate -- like the Congress Sultanate -- does not understand local aspirations and politics. It will repeat the same mistakes whenever it takes on powerful regional leaders.'
BJP leaders said the party will take corrective measures, while its long-time ally Shiv Sena appeared taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shah said the Congress was not rooted in any ideology or principles and was sort of a "special purpose vehicle" to secure freedom.
'The BJP will be the single largest party in the next Lok Sabha, the only one party with a three digit tally.'
Congress leadership would take a call on who would be its deputy chief minister on Tuesday.
The Congress president alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party deceived people and siphoned off hard-earned money of farmers, poor, small businessmen to fill the pockets of the country's 15-20 big industrialists.
Attacking the central government, he said it has made everybody stand in queue and wondered if this was the 'achche din' for which people had voted for Narendra Modi. "It has harmed the economy," he said.
'Rahul is only making a pathetic public spectacle of his lack of judgment and good sense by hallucinating that somehow, the Congress, or whatever political combine is cobbled together, will displace the BJP at the coming Lok Sabha election by constantly harping on the Rafale deal,' argues retired civil servant B S Raghavan.
The biggest winner was Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan who ran her ship with self-confidence and aplomb.
With an aim of ending insurgency in Nagaland, the government on Monday signed an accord with key outfit Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland- Isaac-Muivah which Prime Minister Narendra Modi described as a "historic" step to usher in peace in the state.
The Congress said it will observe 'Save Democracy Day' on Friday with party workers and leaders holding protest marches at all district and state headquarters.
Arun Shourie, a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cabinet, has hit out at the Narendra Modi government, saying its economic policy was "directionless" while the social climate was causing "great anxiety" among the minorities.
'I am as Bengali as they come in my cultural and personal orientation and I think probably all the BJP candidates who are contesting are pretty non-vegetarian in their food and as Bengali in their cultural orientation.'
The Opposition is putting up a symbolic fight for the presidential polls as it knows that the BJP has the numbers to get its candidate elected to the top post.
The results are a ringing endorsement of Modi's popularity, his government's achievements in the last five years and his campaign, which centred around national security, nationalism and Hindutva.
India is only the fourth country to acquire such a specialised and modern capability after the United States, Russia and China.
BJP-led govt will need regional parties' support in Upper House to get legislation cleared. Archis Mohan reports
'It will be our attempt that in order to get the country out of the condition it is in because of their (the BJP) coming to power, the Congress will go to them (leaders of parties opposed to the BJP) and if there is need for support we shall do so too.'
For the third front to become a reality, it needs a party that has a pan-India presence and wins more Lok Sabha seats than all other parties in the front, say experts.
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.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has called a meeting of chief ministers of 12 Congress-ruled states to figure out how to fill out the vacancies in the Rajya Sabha. Highly-placed sources have said that he wants to cajole Amethis's former feudal lord Sanjay Singh; by giving him an RS ticket, in view of his own weak position in Amethi. Renu Mittal reports.
'Modi swept the 2014 elections for two main reasons: First, the disgust with the Congress government with a non-functional prime minister, and second, more importantly, his promise of performance and hope.' 'He cannot expect to win 2019 on these planks again. His own success in finishing the Congress will take away one plank, and with five years of reign on his CV, he will need to flaunt performance more than promise.'
The Congress, out of power in UP for 27 years is making a big pitch to bounce back, on a cocktail of caste politics and promises of agriculture debt waiver worth Rs 49,000 crore and power rate reduction for farmers hit by high input costs and diminishing returns., reports Amit Agnihotri.
'Rahul is misguided by a handful of family retainers who don't want him to show unrestrained initiative in forming allies.' says Sudhir Bisht.
'He has got all the criteria that are good for running an NGO.' 'He is always doing charitable things.' 'To be a political leader you must have cunning to go for the seal.'
Right now, in Modi's Cabinet and in the BJP, there is no challenge whatsoever to Modi's leadership but even those leaders who have some potential, who the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh can think of backing in an unforeseen circumstance, are fast turning into damaged goods, reports Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com.
Taking a jibe at the Narendra Modi government over its 'Clean India Mission', Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that angry people are running the nation.
'The Left's decline is now a reality, both nationally and in West Bengal.'Behind it lie: Ideological rigidity and confusion, outdated party programmes... a socially conservative upper-caste leadership,' says Praful Bidwai.
The BJP is confident of winning all the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh and even political experts believe the Congress stands no chance. Bikash Mohapatra reports
At least 13 attempts were made earlier at modernising.
'We want to protect our history, we want to protect our people from getting overwhelmed by the influx from Bangladesh, that is why the people of Assam are out in the streets,' says former Assam chief minister and Asom Gana Parishad leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta.
'You can never say never in politics.' 'We may still see the return of AAP, but hopefully not of the same abusive politics again,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'As a governor, I have every right to speak my mind if I feel the security of my country is at stake.' 'Why is it that we would have to shed tears when Muslims are killed or tortured, but have to keep mum when the Hindus receive the same treatment?'
'Narendra Modi might not have made 145 in Maharashtra, but it is definitely true that the Congress, and other dynastic parties, are well and truly stumped.'
