The BJP's post-Vajpayee succession battle will resolve itself only when it is in a position to form a government. For that it will need to woo regional satraps, many of whom have prime ministerial ambitions of their own.'
'Even if the numbers are on the BJP's side, many regional leaders can't afford to support a Modi-led government for fear of losing their Muslim vote blocs,' says Shivam Vij.
Dharmendra Kumar Singh explains the importance of getting 28 percent of the vote in Uttar Pradesh, which is witnessing a five-cornered contest.
Former US President Donald Trump addressed his supporters on Wednesday, thanking them for giving Republicans an unprecedented and powerful mandate, and said this moment will help the country "heal".
Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
Will Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who gets his orders from New Delhi, call the shots or allow a democratically elected government to independently govern, questions Ramesh Menon.
'There is ample evidence to suggest that attacks on the PM's probity and his connections with business houses do not resonate with voters.'
Interestingly, the Muslim representation in West Bengal assembly has dropped this time when compared to what it was in 2016, even as members of the community voted en masse for the Mamata Banerjee camp.
'The Kerala BJP leadership is doing the job of clerical staff. What the boss orders, they just follow them.'
'How can the BJP give Muslim candidates tickets if they don't have any good Muslim candidates?'
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday claimed that contrary to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's "false propaganda" that the population of Muslim community was increasing in the country, the number of the minority community members vis-a-vis Hindus was fast declining, and added that he could prove it.
'There are legions of unemployed degree holders across rural and semi-urban belts in Maharashtra. Now, they aren't finding brides.' 'This issue has now snowballed into a social crisis. In 2014 and 2019, they had voted for the BJP.'
From start to finish, Dharmaveer 2 feels less like a biopic and more like propaganda crafted for Eknath Shinde's political gain, observes Prasanna D Zore.
'INDIA will easily cross 50 seats out of 90 in Jammu and Kashmir.'
'I will not say that the AIMIM is a 'B' team of the BJP. But due to the AIMIM, the BJP benefits for sure'
'He won't be able to migrate; he must survive in that environment.' 'He will go back after the election to becoming invisible.'
'...or go to jail.' 'The government is getting them silenced.'
A delegation of Muslim leaders led by Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari met Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi during which she asked them to ensure that secular votes did not split in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
'We have finished that fear.'
The Maharashtra minister alleged that Muslim voters were convinced that Uddhav Thackeray had "forsaken" Hindutva ideologies and the ideals of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray which led to them coming together to help the Congress and Shiv Sena-UBT candidates.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
'The BJP alliance needs to handle the Maratha quota issue skilfully and address its root cause, which is agrarian distress. Then there is stalled industrialisation. If these issues are addressed, caste fault lines would wither away. But, this is next to impossible in a short span of three-four months.'
A delegation of Congress leaders met EC officials and raised several issues, including the use of pictures and large cut-outs of the prime minister in government buildings and colleges and demanded that those be removed to maintain a level-playing field in the upcoming parliamentary election.
Ganguly joined the BJP in New Delhi at the party headquarters in the presence of several other party leaders, including its national media department in-charge Anil Baluni.
The RJD polled the highest vote share in Bihar, but it was not reflected in the number of seats it won.
'The Hindu electorate is more or less in the BJP defined space now.'
The Vishwaguru who addressed the maximum rallies and boasted of being blessed with divine energy, who promised guarantees in his own name, turned out finally not invincible, points out Jyoti Punwani.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister on Tuesday decided to provide special facilities to all Muslim prisoners during the holy month of Ramzan.
The BJP has again fielded Prataprao Patil Chikhalikar who humbled Ashok Chavan in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by over 40,000 votes.
'Netaji Bose followed the concept of Bharatiya and he united all religions and communities of India as Bharatiya.' 'I follow that politics of Netaji and so does the BJP.'
'Rahul Gandhi is going to turn 54 and in India political leaders peak when they are around 60.' 'This 'bhai-behen ki jodi' has done a wonderful job for the Congress.' 'Priyanka Gandhi was a very effective campaigner.'
Infighting between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot has been out in the open throughout the Congress term.
She has been asked to respond to the notice within the next 48 hours.
Ansari said the Muslim community is now shedding the 'illusion' created by opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Congress.
Plummeting to its lowest ever tally of winning only one seat in the current Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Mayawati said it was the media's aggressive propaganda showing the BSP as the 'B team of the BJP' that drove away Muslims and anti-BJP voters from it.
Modi referred to the Lok Sabha polls as a "Kurukshetra (battle)" in which "there is development on one hand and 'vote jihad' on the other".
Faced with one of the worst showing in Lok Sabha elections in which her party failed to open its account, BSP chief Mayawati on Saturday said the parties which had supported the UPA at the Centre faced the anger of the people towards the Congress-led alliance.
'Why is she against refugees obtaining citizenship? I request refugees not to be afraid, please apply for citizenship'
The Congress on Sunday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his 'redistribution of wealth' remarks targeting the party, saying after facing 'disappointment' in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls, the PM has now resorted to 'lies' and 'hate speech' to divert people from the real issues.
In a setback to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, ruling Janata Dal-United candidate from the Muslim-dominated Kishanganj parliamentary constituency, Akhtarul Iman, on Tuesday announced that he would not be contesting the Lok Sabha polls.
'It is an existential crisis. We cannot recover lost ground through social media. We need to forge alliances and reshape our ideological contours.'