'The arithmetic of the outcome shows that Nitish is not likely to jettison the BJP, which he might have been tempted to do had he won a majority on his own.'
For the moment it suits the DMK to hang with the Congress, for all the irritants in their relationship. But the dilemmas for the Congress are no less than for the DMK, says Neerja Chowdhury.
The Congress may say that Sonia Gandhi's call to new Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa was a courtesy call. But there was a clear message that the Congress president wanted to send, says Neerja Chowdhury.
Politics is going to get even more sharply polarised in the weeks and months to come. And the 2G scam is not going to die down so easily, says Neerja Chowdhury
Congress president Sonia Gandhi appears to be playing for larger -- and long term -- stakes and the move to provide reservation to women is not bereft of political calculations, writes Neerja Chowdhury
Though the stakes of both the Dravidian parties are high in these elections, Jayalalithaa has a little more to lose or gain than the state's First Family, says Neerja Chowdhury
The World Cup victory has come as a badly needed morale booster for the country. But it is also a warning to the political class that their leadership can be usurped. This apolitical trend can be unhealthy for a democracy, says Neerja Chowdhury.
The Telangana bypolls and the opposition's united voice on issues like prices should have come as a wake up call for the Congress. Once the Teflon effect begins to wear off -- and this is beginning to happen -- the party will be on a slippery slope, says Neerja Chowdhury.
'Somewhere down the line, Omar lost the plot, and in some ways, his troubles have stemmed from a lack of political maturity which has been evident in his decisions.'
There is a lack of connect between the Congress president and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in UPA-2. But Sonia Gandhi has ensured that the government does not waver from her pet policies -- NREGA, RTI etc, notes Neerja Chowdhury.
Neerja Chowdhury says that dynastic politics is the bane of our democracy.
Nitin Gadkari had raised expectations as a no-nonsense man who meant business. Even as he has tried to synchronise the pulls and pressures that any head of a political organisation would have to, the composition of his new team, his first real test as party chief, has been disappointing. What is more, he has failed to come across as his own man.
They demanded the immediate release of Kanojia, Anuj Shukla, who is the editor of Noida-based TV channel Nation Live, and its head Ishika Singh
A tally of less than 45 seats in the Lok Sabha reduces Congress to a regional party, just a shade better than the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's 33 seats, making it vulnerable to a split if the party leadership does not get its act together, warns Neerja Chowdhury.
Shahnaz Anklesaria Aiyar was a formidable journalist. More importantly, she was an incredible human being, says Sanjoy Hazarika.
Rahul Gandhi's press conference showed how cocooned he may be, that he does not brainstorm with a large enough group of party colleagues and senior leaders. But it also showed how difficult it is going to be to reform an entrenched organisation like the Congress from within, says Neerja Chowdhury.
Could the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP become the rallying point of new energies that are getting unleashed all over urban India, in quest for a different kind of politics, to such an extent that he can rein in Narendra Modi? It all depends on how it pans out its politics in the coming weeks, says Neerja Chowdhury.
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