'Even if they try to silence us, even if they kill so many of us, we won't give up.' 'We won't give up doing the good work we are doing for society.' 'Because we love this country.'
Even as the two parties appeared confident that they have reached out to every voter and publicised their new symbols, experts suggested varying impact of the split and the symbols on the vote bank.
The MNS chief started his speech with the name of Nehru, then paused. After a few tense seconds, he resumed: "After Nehru, here is the only politician who will be PM for the third term."
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Opposition Leader Keir Starmer clashed in the House of Commons over a controversial by-election leaflet, which had been branded "divisive" and "anti-India" by Indian diaspora groups in Britain.
Will Vijay will go the most successful MGR/Jayalalithaa way, or that of Vijayakanth, Seeman or Kamalahaasan, or will he end up as another Rajinikanth who cries wolf at the last minute and quits the scene even before it all had really begun, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Addressing a function after laying the foundation stone of the Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Sciences in Lucknow, Shah said Bharatiya Janata Party governments work for the development of the poorest people.
The department of legal affairs has asked the commission, a recommendatory body, to submit a report on the issue that has always been dear to BJP and the Sangh Parivar.
In an unusually hard-hitting response to criticism against it in a United States government report on religious freedom, India on Friday described the findings as 'deeply biased', visibly driven by 'votebank' considerations and a mix of imputations and selective usage of facts.
The BSP has not entered into any alliances and has also been keen to shed the tag of being a 'B-team' of the BJP.
Gandhi is out to "connect" Bharat but he needs to study Indian history first, Shah said.
'We want to ensure that no government in J&K will be formed without our support.'
Perhaps Kay Kay Menon should choose his projects carefully, instead of wasting his talent like this, observes Deepa Gahlot.
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.
Hitting out at Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut for demanding revocation of voting rights of Muslims, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi said the Bharatiya Janata Party cannot dissociate itself from his statement and asked it to take action against him.
'When honest, wealthy people come forward to serve India, people should feel proud and welcome them.'
Asking Team Anna to clarify its stand on reservation issue, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Wednesday said he suspected "political ambitions" behind Anna Hazare's decision to expand his committee to include Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Muslims.
Its passage, argues Sharat Pradhan, will only give rise to more bitterness and sharper social conflict, overcoming which might be easier said than done.
The inaugural Sangamam turned out to be a political Hindutva function than a gathering on the Hindu religion, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Describing the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as an "election of hope", Narendra Modi has said he wants to rid the nation of bad governance, vote bank politics, dynastic rule, corruption and misuse of constitutional institutions which were "nourished" by Congress governments.
The welfare schemes of the government, particularly Lakshmir Bhandar, have had a major impact on the electoral outcome.
If Tamil Nadu voters preferred the DMK combine, it owed to the Modi-Annamalai combo's ideological battle which often crossed the line of political decency and also challenged 'Tamil pride', argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Baharatiya Janata Party condemned Uttar Pradesh government's crackdown against VHP yatra from Ayodhya and accused it of playing vote bank politics while Samjwadi Party said it won't let the state "become another Gujarat" or a repeat of Dec 6, 1992, when the Babri mosque was demolished.
Amid outrage over Maharashtra government's decision to de-recognise madrasas which only educate students on Islam, the Shiv Sena on Saturday said the move should not be seen as one intended to strike a blow to religious education in the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday accused the Congress of using the Sohrabuddin encounter case to promote its vote bank politics ahead of the Bihar assembly polls. BJP chief Nitin Gadkari told journalists that his party was ready to legally and politically fight the case filed against former Gujarat minister Amit Shah. "The BJP will face the legal challenge presented by the fabricated prosecution in a court of law." he said.
Terming the National Counter Terrorism Centre as a "constitutionally vulnerable" instrument which went against the country's federal structure, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh why the fight against terror through the Prevention Of Terrorism Act was "compromised" for vote-bank politics. "When you talk of fighting against terror with a constitutionally vulnerable instrument, BJP puts forth some questions to you," said BJP leader.
Where do Vijay and his TVK expect to get their votes from? Vijay has a huge fan following among women, but will they automatically become his voters like they had done for MGR's AIADMK, asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
Hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party supporters gathered outside senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley's residence in New Delhi accusing the opposition party of bribing its MLAs.
BJP leader Narendra Modi on Sunday attacked Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav accusing them of indulging in vote bank politics and "misleading" Muslims in the name of secularism.
Four Indian nationals accused of killing Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year in Surrey were ordered by a Canadian court to have no contact with several people in the community, as they made their first joint appearance before it in the case that has severely strained ties between India and Canada.
Unless Punjab has a chief minister who is able to look beyond community/vote bank politics, carry all sections of society, stop appeasing while addressing genuine concerns and break the stranglehold of the SGPC over Sikh affairs, my beloved home state is bound to die and conversions will be rampant, warns Sanjeev Nayaar.
'The victory is an expression of agrarian distress and social turmoil.'
Convener of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, Hardik Patel's clarification came a day after some Patel leaders announced they were planning to contest the upcoming local body polls.
Environment struggles are now being used to create political space and new form of vote bank politics, alleges BJP activist Bhupender Yadav.
A land-owning class, the Jats are a powerful community and account for 28 per cent of Haryana's population. The time, they believe, has now come for them to take revenge.
Even as back channel talks over power sharing were on between BJP and Shiv Sena, the latter, in an apparent attempt to mend ties with its former ally ahead of government formation in Maharashtra, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hosting a Diwali tea party for National Democratic Alliance allies.
Holding illegal migration responsible for the recent ethnic violence in Assam, Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday demanded that the border with Bangladesh be sealed.
The manifesto claims that while the BJP has unified the country by abrogating provisions of Article 370 and Article 35A that provided special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, the People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration -- an amalgam of several mainstream political parties, including the Ntional Conference and the People's Democratic Party -- was working against the national interest for vote bank politics.
This appears to be a common refrain in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri Lok Sabha constituency where farmers want better prices for their produce and respite from the stray cattle menace and others want political leaders to talk about job creation instead of issues like the Ram temple and Article 370.
Vote bank politics cannot be above protecting the sanctity of girls and women, he said virtually launching the campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha election at Chaibasa, about 150 km from in Chaibasa.
Shah said that it is "a 3-D government in Rajasthan and three Ds stands for 'dange' (riots), 'durvyavhar' (ill-treatment) with women and 'Dalit' atrocities.
