Bharatiya Janata party state president for Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje is a blue-blooded category of politician who inherited political acumen from her mother late Vijayaraje Scindia, the queen-mother of the erstwhile Gwalior state in Madhya Pradesh.
The first Bharatiya Janata Party government in Maharashtra headed by state party chief Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in on Friday with Shiv Sena unlikely to join the new dispensation for now as talks continued between the two saffron parties for a tie-up.
'Modi's idea of India is to make it less liberal, less tolerant and a less accommodative of diversity.' 'We are headed, if Modi continues, to become an ill liberal democracy.' 'Modi is not Vajpayee. Vajpayee was fundamentally decent, tolerant and fair. He played by the rules of the game. Modi is a different story.'
The focus on non-issues like 'love jihad' has dragged radicals like Vijaykant Chauhan from the fringes to the mainstream in Uttar Pradesh
'Antony and I have been friends for over half a century, and I know the man does not tell lies. The problem is that what he believes to be the truth might not actually be true. He may believe that India needs the Congress, and that the Congress in turn needs the Nehru-Gandhi family, but that does not mean that India shares those articles of faith,' says T V R Shenoy.
'Amit Shah was, briefly, a stockbroker before devoting himself to politics. By instinct or training, he knows the value of keeping blue chips in one's portfolio.'
Aggressive campaigning and the existing 'Modi wave' and a lack of will on part of the Congress has put the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajasthan far ahead of others. The party is comfortably placed in 21 out of the 25 seats, and they have been able to do this because of maintaining the same tempo that enabled them to defeat the Congress badly in December's assembly elections. P B Chandra reports
Under fierce attack for his DNA jibe against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which has been turned into a major electoral weapon against him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought to make amends, calling Biharis the "most intelligent" people.
'Some in the Congress believe the party should, somewhat brazenly, claim the cause of fighting corruption as its own. But the Congress's idea of fighting corruption is nothing but tinkering with laws, it lacks the stomach to take on the corrupt,' feels T V R Shenoy.
'There is no remorse over the Dadri lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq or of Pehlu Khan by cow vigilante groups.' 'But should you not have remorse for those who came to kill them?' 'They were Hindus. Do you accept that?' 'That to kill one Pehlu, 20 Hindus have become murderers.' Rajdeep Sardesai in conversation with Ravish Kumar.
The level of political discourse in the country is generally low, but it touches a nadir during election time. You will hear downright lies, half truths, breathtaking exaggerations, and extravagant promises, but never the truth, says Sherna Gandhy.
'Like 2014, 2017 was also Modi's election.' 'Every voter you met, apart from those who are BJP cadres, everybody said they would vote for Modi, not the BJP.' 'The one and only factor is the Modi juggernaut. He is the one who turned the tide.' 'The wave which he created in 2014, and to maintain it for three years, is a huge task in itself.'
Confrontation between the Sikh bodies of Punjab and Haryana has become more political than religious, says Rediff.com contributor Upasna Pandey.
Why are so many people so reluctant to give up on Arvind Kejriwal? The simple answer is 'Narendra Modi', or rather the fear of Narendra Modi,' says T V R Shenoy.
Social media teams of the Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress are trying to engage with the voter on Facebook, twitter and Whatsapp as they try to set the agenda in the online space. Upasna Pandey/Rediff.com reports.
'Since Pranab Mukherjee is the Custodian of the Constitution, he should present practical ideas to solve the problems he has been so outspokenly highlighting,' feels Sudheendra Kulkarni.
'They gave Nitish their votes to bring progress. But he forgot this and got involved with his own political interests. That is not done. So he was rejected.' 'Lalu is a symbol of anarchy. He is the symbol of regressive politics.' BJP General Secretary Dharmendra Pradhan discusses Lalu, Nitish, and his strategy to bring Bihar in the BJP's fold, with Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com
'Narendra Modi is single-handedly changing the formula to win elections. With money, human resources, mobile technology, the Internet, advance planning and tremendous confidence, he has spread his image more in UP villages than in urban areas.' Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt reports from Lucknow on how Team Modi is changing the rules of the election game.
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