Ghosi by-election is a test for Akhilesh’s status in I.N.D.I.A

August 30, 2023

A by-election for an Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh is emerging as the first example of the efficacy—even though in a limited manner—of the ideological coming-together of parties that claim to be part of the India coalition. The by-election to Ghosi Assembly seat, in Mau district of eastern UP, has...

Birthday wish from Mamata

June 21, 2023

Rahul Gandhi celebrated his 53rd birthday quietly without any fanfare. Congress workers are not seen outside the resident of Sonia Gandhi where Rahul stays now after his eviction from official Tughlak Lane residence. This year, Rahul got surprise birthday wish from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Those who know...

CONG TO MAKE CASTE CENSUS NEXT BIG ISSUE

June 17, 2023

The issue of a caste census, raised so vociferously by JD (U) and RJD some months ago, has now been acquired by the Congress as its major campaign plank for the forthcoming Lok Sabha election. In UP, the Samajwadi party too has been raising this issue with Akhilesh Yadav making...

Will common concerns bring Cong, BSP closer?

June 17, 2023

From being a party that formed the government in Uttar Pradesh for the maximum terms and gave world-class leaders from this state, the Congress finds itself in an unprecedented abyss in the state. There were decades when the party used its heft from UP for national expansion, but now is...

Allies wait on Re-Alignments

June 15, 2023

A renewed aggression on the part of the BJP in some states is leading to new tensions, as has come to light in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, and indications from the BJP are that this could continue in other states too, where erstwhile allies may be waiting for a re-alignment....

SP poll preps from Hindu Holy Site

June 13, 2023

Coming close on the heels of BJP’s election preparation meetings for UP in which CM Yogi Adityanath and other leaders participated, the Samajwadi Party recently held a highly-publicised meeting in Naimisharanya, a small but highly revered Hindu pilgrimage centre in Sitapur district, 92 km from Lucknow. Since major Hindu pilgrimage...

A strategist in mentor’s footsteps

June 10, 2023

Is Sunil Kanugolu, the new kid on the block in the political strategist universe, following in the footsteps of his senior, Prashant Kishore? Kishore prepared the communication strategy for the victory of the BJP and many other parties, and after doing the same with Janata Dal (U) in Bihar, he...

Awaits pilot’s next move

June 8, 2023

Political scenario in Rajasthan is hyper-excited with reports that estranged Congress leader Sachin Pilot is just about to announce his next course of action. As the party high command – president Mallikarjun Kharge waiting for ex-MP Rahul Gandhi’s return to India – guarding its decision on Pilot’s demands on three...

Is Akhilesh Yadav a factor in Opposition unity?

June 8, 2023

The exercise to forge unity among parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been continuing for more than a year now, and as the next Lok Sabha election is just about 10 months away, these moves have gained an urgency that is understandable. It is significant that the...

Crucial for all, says SBSP

June 6, 2023

The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, or SBSP, is a comparatively recent political outfit in UP, claiming a wide support base among most backward castes, Dalits, and Muslims, especially in central and eastern UP. It had allied with the BJP in 2017, and its president, Om Prakash Rajbhar, was a minister...