By presenting the battle in Bengal as one between Mamata on one side and Modi-Shah on the other, the saffron camp has projected the former as a larger-than-life figure, a portrayal which has the potential of turning her into Modi's main competitor in 2024, predicts Amulya Ganguli.
The saffron party, which had witnessed unprecedented growth in terms of vote share and mass base over the last few years, had opened its doors wide for leaders from other parties as part of its poll strategy, but that did not go down well with many senior leaders, who had once locked horns with the newbies from rival camps, sources in the BJP said.
'The continuous and mysterious praise of the BJP and the chief minister by AIUDF leadership and senior members have affected the public perception of the Congress party'
Noor, niece of Congress stalwart A B A Ghani Khan Choudhury, have quite often been taking stands which were not in line with that of the party's state leadership.
There will be 2,364 counting halls as compared to 1,002 halls in 2016 in 822 assemble constituencies, a more than 200 percent increase, in view of the COVID guidelines, according to the Election Commission which had drawn flak from the courts over the conduct of polls during the pandemic.
'KCR's plan for the future is three-pronged. He wants to see a non-Congress, non-BJP government at the Centre in 2019 so that he can become the Union minister for home or defence,' says R Rajagopalan.
Bollywood's power couple Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora Khan are going to introduce you to the other power couples in showbiz, and let YOU be a part of their daily life!
Congress members don't want Rahul Gandhi back as party chief. But the problem is that Sonia Gandhi won't have anyone other than her son to take over the Family Firm, notes Virendra Kapoor.
The first firing which killed six civilians, occurred when army personnel mistook coal mine workers returning home in a pick-up van singing songs on Saturday evening, to be insurgents belonging to the Yung Aung faction of the banned outfit National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), about whose movements they had been tipped-off.
The body of Debendra Nath Ray, in his 60s, was found hanging from the ceiling of a verandah outside a shuttered shop near his home in Bindal village in Hemtabad area of the district, police said. Ray had won the Hemtabad (reserved) seat on a Communist Party of India-Marxist ticket in 2016 but later joined the BJP. He had, however, not quit his assembly seat.
TMC and other opposition party members rushed into the well of the House as Vaishnaw was called to make a statement over the issue.
Banerjee feels that as long as Sonia Gandhi is the leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party, she should be the undisputed leader of a united front of opposition parties, reports R Rajagopalan.
'If Mr Modi and Mr Shah have made a poisonous, polarising campaign their brahmastra for 2019, Mamata Banerjee is showing them its limitations,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Congress is the only other horse in the race for national power, never mind how distant. Narendra Modi and Amit Shah know better than to take the Congress lightly, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Opposition parties have expressed solidarity with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
Campaigning came to an end on Saturday for the single-day election in Uttarakhand and Goa, two states known for political volatility where the Bharatiya Janata Party is attempting to retain power, and for the second phase of assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh on February 14.
'The Modi-Shah duo won't leave the war zone without putting up a tough fight.' 'Modi's slogan for 2019 could well be, "I have done much. Give me one more chance to do even more".' '2019 will be tough for the BJP.' 'But it will be even tougher for the Opposition -- united or otherwise,' says R Rajagopalan.
BJP won 18 of the seats while the TMC won 22 of the seats.
If the BJP is set to return to power in UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur and even Goa, it is not because of the party's performance or the quality of governance. No. It is essentially Modi's popularity, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Dhoni holds a special place in the hearts of the fans
'The BJP will not be able to create dictatorship of the kind it is perhaps dreaming of.' 'We have Bengal as the biggest example.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs one lakh each to the injured from the state government.
Accusing Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi of being an "opportunist", prominent cleric Maulana Barkati on Tuesday asked Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee to be more critical of Modi in order to prove her secular credentials.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP from Hyderabad, chanted "Jai Bheem, Jai Meem, Takbeer Allahu Akbar, Jai Hind", after members from the ruling side shouted slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram', 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'.
Kabhi haan, kabhi naa... The gossip now is that Rahul Gandhi won't become a Cabinet minister. Even as Congresswallahs wonder what Mamata Banerjee is upto, there is one senior leader in the party who is feeling very grateful towards Didi. To find out more, don't miss this week's Dilli Gupshup.
A top official from the national federation of a prominent Olympic sport asked if Batra would deem the competition good enough if shooting is brought back into the CWG fold.
If Uddhav continues in this mode as a serious-minded, capable leader with his hands firmly on the steering wheel, and succeeds in enabling Maharashtra weather the current storm, there is every possibility of his emergence as a leader who will be seen as someone who is ready to play a larger role, observes Amulya Ganguli.
The Congress party continues to be racked by arbitrary decision-making and the absence of accountability.
Addressing a rally in Lucknow in support of the CAA, Shah threw the challenge for the debate to Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati. He also declared that the construction of a Ram temple 'touching the skies' in Ayodhya will begin within three months.
The meeting was convened by the Congress. Six major parties -- the DMK, the SP, the BSP, the TMC, the AAP and the Shiv Sena -- choose to stay away. The BJP took a swipe at the absence of major opposition parties at the meet and also said that their anti-CAA resolution must've made Pak happy.
The BJP believes that the only party still capable of leading a credible challenge against it is the Congress. Please note how BJP campaigners in states where the Congress may count for a cipher or thereabouts, mostly attack the Congress, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Top opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday agreed to work together to prepare a common minimum programme.
Kerala Chief Minister and CPI-M leader Pinarayi Vijayan, Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, West Bengal CM and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, and Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy lent support to the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government's fight with the Centre.
Other members of the group are former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Communist Party of India-Marxist chief Sitaram Yechury.
BJP protest outside Mamata Banerjee's residence over attack on BJP leader Roopa Ganguly's convoy
The Balika Vadhu fame actress was to meet designer Rohit Varma over her wedding outfit on the day she committed suicide.
The opposition parties termed the order of the inquiry a gimmick to fool the masses and cover up the important evidences in the sting operation.
To beat BJP, you either deny them a critical mass of Hindu vote or build a regional leader and party strong enough to protect their turf, observes Shekhar Gupta.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad and other leaders claimed the countdown for the ouster of the BJP and its allies from power in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls had begun.
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