The BJP vs Barack Hussein Obam

June 27, 2023

Does criticising former US President Barack Obama help India’s case? Given that the Prime Minister has just returned from a rather successful US trip where he was feted by President Joe Biden, why is the BJP so rattled by a former President’s comments? The reference here is to Obama’s interview...

STATE LESSONS FOR BOTH BJP & CONGRESS

June 21, 2023

At a time when the BJP is going global, the Congress seems to be going local. With the Central leadership still to get its act together, the focus is clearly on the state leadership that is winning elections and keeping up the party’s morale. It is fast becoming a party...

Can Kamal Nath win back Madhya Pradesh?

June 14, 2023

The Congress launched its Madhya Pradesh campaign with a high-profile tour by Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. She began her tour with a Narmada aarti, surrounded by priests to give the right optics; and also addressed a public meeting where she made the following five promises, should the Congress...

Why the BJP loves to keep Rahul Gandhi in the news

June 7, 2023

Rahul Gandhi’s trip to the United States, coming as it does on the eve of the PM’s own trip to the United States, has stirred a hornet’s nest in the capital, more so because Rahul Gandhi has not been very complimentary about the Modi government during his foreign sojourn. The...

New Beginnings Overshadowed with Old Politics

May 23, 2023

Should the Opposition boycott the opening of the new Parliament Building on 28 May (which coincides with the birth anniversary of the controversial rightwing leader Veer Savarkar)? The Congress has issued a strongly worded statement questioning the PM’s right to inaugurate a building that it feels should be inaugurated by...

The Congress and the Bajrang Dal Ban

May 9, 2023

The jury is out as to why the Congress decided to bring in the Bajrang Dal ban in its Karnataka manifesto, but on the surface, it does seem as if the Congress has scored a self-goal. Until the manifesto release, the Congress was running a fine campaign, raising issues of...

The Congress Karnataka Model

May 2, 2023

The Congress may or may not win Karnataka but the leadership model on ground is worth taking a note of. For one, Rahul Gandhi is not the chief campaigner or the face of the campaign. The local leadership is fronting the campaign with both Siddaramaiah and DK Shivkumar holding dual...

Can Nitish unite the Opposition?

April 26, 2023

The Bihar Chief Minister has been very busy during the last few days, travelling to Lucknow, Delhi and Kolkata meeting various Opposition leaders. Nitish Kumar has realised that in order to give the BJP some sort of a credible fight in the 2024 elections, the Opposition needs to get its...

Battle Ground Karnataka: A Curtain Raiser

April 19, 2023

The Karnataka elections are slated for next month and this promises to be a high profile face off between the BJP and the Congress, with the JD (U) playing a supporting role. Ticket distribution has been more or less finalised and this is usually when inner party rivalries and turf...

Should RaGa rule himself out as PM face?

April 11, 2023

Should Rahul Gandhi announce that he will not be a PM candidate from the Opposition? While it is politically suicidal for any politician to rule himself out from the highest (political) office, Rahul is already on record stating that for him, power is poison. And since then, none of his...